Mantua Model Mincio, Part 2

At this point, the runabout looks good ... the mahogany wood is beautiful. I applied a clear Tamiya gloss to harden and protect it.

I need to make a good looking trimming ! From the beginning, I’d been looking for a way to imitate leather. I found on the web a modeler which uses real leather and thins it with a hobby knife. It seems difficult and I need 2 colours of leather.

I found some white imitation leather in a fabric shop but there is too much relief for the scale.

Still no answer until I came upon old ring binders at my office. Their cover is made from 2 plastic sheets : a clear one (which may be useful too !) ... and a colored one (white or green just like on the reference pictures !) with tiny irregular reliefs that look like leather ...

I start to build the sun-bed and the windscreen support by dressing up the kit parts ! To simulate a padding, I apply thick double-face tape then the false leather.

With a hair-dryer, I warm the plastic to soften and stretch it to help fit the part shape.

I cut small strips in the excess material to avoid tension during the gluing. I finish by gluing bit-by-bit with cyanocrylate, then apply a Klir protection coat.

Et voila ! The effect isn’t very spectacular on the pictures but I admit that I’m rather proud of myself !

Other pictures of this step :

The following is in the Part 3 !