This step was about the underbody.
Here’s the gallery with 39 images of this step.
For this step, it was about combining a single piece with some assemblies created in previous steps. The challenge is that the underbody has three colors: light grey, dark grey, and semi-gloss black.
I was able to take some reference pictures at a Mazda dealership of this car and noticed some raised texture underneath. To simulate this, I used embossing powder. First I put down something that would dry transparent — Pledge floor wax in this case because it’s cheaper than gloss coat — then tapped out some powder onto what was wet. In retrospect, I should have worked in stages (wet one part then put the powder down instead of wetting everything then applying powder). Some parts got better coverage than others. Also, it comes off rather easily, so maybe I should have sealed it with another clear coat before painting.
Because I didn’t coat the painted textured pieces, the embossing powder came off easily with masking tape. I used my finer airbrush needle (Harder and Steenbeck 0.2mm) to get in close with low air pressure to get the dark gray and semi-gloss black. I’m pleased with the results.
To get the transmission and suspension pieces in place, I used PVA glue (aka: Elmer’s Glue) to get everything in place. (Plastic cement works if the two adjoining pieces are not painted.)
This step took about 3 hours.