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1:18 Scale Diecast P85 Model S painting/modding

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The official Tesla shop has a 1:18 scale Model S (Tesla — 1:18 Scale Diecast P85 Model S). I am considering buying one and having someone that paints tabletop gaming miniatures to paint it so that it looks like my car. I would get the Signature Red color because its interior is the same as my car, however, the outside would have to be painted green, the wheels would have to be painted dark gray, and the spoiler and 'P' badge removed.

Does anyone have one of these? Can you tell me, does it look like it's possible to remove the badging from the trunk lid so that it could be painted? Could the badging be re-applied? I also would want to remove the spoiler permanently. I want to know if it looks possible, but it doesn't necessarily need to be easy. If I do go through with it, I would commission someone that paints tabletop miniatures or perhaps someone that modifies action figures/Transformers/etc.
 
I picked one of these up with similar intentions. I believe the badging is painted. (perhaps a decal under clearcoat?) Everything is super detailed, nothing short of amazing! From door buttons to titanium shield to warning decals. . .but also super delicate. I've done a couple of color changes on other WAY less detailed and less expensive models with marginal results. After turning it over in my hands many times and not really finding any way in, I decided to leave this amazing work of art stand as it is. I'd be super interested to see a finished product if you go through with it.

I did use it to spoof a friend in a quick texted picture in front of what they would surely recognize as my house. It helps to know that they knew I'm a Teslaholic, and the picture was seen on their iPhone. :D
Just Kidding.jpg
 
So I just received both the red and grey models from the Tesla store. I've only examined them for a few minutes so far. The front and back 'T', 'Model S', and 'P 85' badges are all small decals, but I don't know if it would be easy to get them off in a way that you could preserve them for reuse. I don't know if there's a safe way to get the wheels off either. They spin freely, so the wheels are definitely one are more separate pieces, but they may be snapped on in such a way that it is sort of not remove-able. I do see a screen on the underside of the car inside each of the front wheel wells. I didn't notice screws anywhere else, but perhaps removing those screws leads to a way to progressively disassemble everything (of course, there could be parts that are glued on or sort of one-way snapped on that would prevent it). The spoiler probably would not be easy to remove cleanly, but that isn't an issue if you're going to repaint the trunk lid.

I do think painting the body a different color without disassembly is possibly with a careful hand. The badges would need to be replaced somehow though. The lettering is tiny and I don't know if it could be repainted by hand. Painting the wheels without removing them would be hard I think, unless you were okay with just painting the outer surface. There is a realistic disc brake and strut assembly, and it would be hard to fully paint the wheels without touching those. So I'm hoping I can figure out a way to swap the grey wheels from the grey car to the red car.

If I ever do go through with painting/modding it, I'll definitely post about it. Like I said before, I don't think I'd do it myself. I'd probably have someone that has experience modding car models, action figures and/or tabletop game components do it, unless that turns out to be crazy expensive.

Other thoughts:
The details are pretty exquisite. The trunk and frunk lids have little telescoping struts. Lots of little details everywhere. There's little clear plastic dots for the interior dome lights, the pedals are realistic, there are seat belt buckles, there's a frunk net, the frunk opens and has the little warning labels and washer fluid reservoir lid, the front and rear lamp assemblies have the correct inner details, made with multiple layered parts, all kinds of stuff.

The wheels and steering wheel are connected, but the turning angle is disappointingly small (in other words, the turning radius of the car is too large).

Expect some imperfections. The paint quality is good and realistic overall. My red model looked particularly good with a few small bumps. The grey model, however, and some noticeably large areas where the paint was not smooth and glossy, like maybe it had been scuffed or touched while drying. My red model had a scratch on the rear chrome bar by the taillights, and the grey model had a scratch on the paint and chrome trim by one of the door frames. The grey model also had a finger print on one of the windows in a spot that could have only happened before assembly. I'm not sure if I'll be able to wedge paper there or something to try to wipe it. One of the headlight assemblies is also loose on my grey model.

The packaging is nice, though the picture on the box shows the grey model for both models. Small text on the bottom of the box indicates the color of the model inside. It comes with a certificate of authenticity, but it's just a simple piece of glossy paperboard with a small message, no serial number or anything like that; it's not much to look at. There's no other kind of instructions or any indication of who makes it. The box just says it was designed by Tesla.

A few people seem to be selling these for huge markups on eBay. I don't understand why. I ordered it from Tesla's official shop and it arrived in four days. It's not sold out. The only thing I can think of is maybe there are countries Tesla won't ship to and these guys can sell on eBay to folks that really want it but can't order it from the official store.
 
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