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Fujimi 1/24 Toyota Prius Taxi


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So I had a look and as far as I can tell, this is the first Prius model posted to BritModeller. I was surprised too! 😏 

 

Anyway, I wanted to build this model of the Prius as a Bluebird Cab which is a local cab company to me - Victoria, BC, Canada. I also have a personal connection to the company as I updated their logo about 6 or 7 years ago so I had all of the artwork on hand to get the decals printed. I laid out the logos and graphics at size and had Indycals print them out for me. The kit itself is probably the best Fujimi kit I've built. Crisp molding and a nice fit on the parts. My only complaints would be that the rear track is too wide as designed - I corrected this to prevent the tires from sticking out. Second complaint would be that the windows are super thick. I think they did the windows to push into the frames in a more flush manner but it gives the clear plastic a fishbowl kind of effect. Paint is Tamiya TS54 which was then decalled and coated with Mr Color GX100.

 

Here's the studio style shots:

 

Prius-Studio-1_1920x1080

 

Prius-Studio-2_1920x1080

 

Prius-Studio-3_1920x1080

 

Prius-Studio-9_1920x1080

 

And of course, a few outdoor shots in a rougher part of town:

 

Prius-Studio-7_1920x1080

 

Prius-Studio-9_1920x1080

 

Prius-Studio-12_1920x1080

 

Thanks for looking.

 

Martin.

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I was hoping the last shot in the rougher part of town would be with it up on blocks, minus wheels and burnt out....!! :) I so hate 'electric' cars! (I know the thing's a hybrid, but still....!!) 

 

But that is an excellent model with a lovely paintjob in a really nice colour scheme! Beautifully photographed again, your pics really bring your models to life!

 

Top job!  :thumbsup:

 

Keith

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When I read the header, I was prepared to give this a huge YEEECCHHH, Prius & taxi in one heading was too much, almost. How wrong was I, a stunning model with some superb photography to set it off. Brilliant, thanks. 

Steve.

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You've done extremely well with both the car (though it's not exactly my all-time favourite 😉) and those street shots... Brilliant paintjob, absolutely the correct amount of shine, just enough and not too much. 

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Thanks for all the great comment guys! As I said, not exactly the sexiest car and not one that I think people often have an emotional attachment to. I don't think I've ever heard anybody relate a great car story involving a Prius.

 

5 hours ago, JeroenS said:

Brilliant paintjob, absolutely the correct amount of shine, just enough and not too much.

Thanks Jeroen - definitely my intent is to not put a show car shine on everyday subjects.

 

7 hours ago, Andy J said:

can I ask what ratio you use for thinning the GX100 ?

I've been thinning a bit more recently - probably closer to 3.5 parts levelling thinner to 1 part clear. It takes more coats to get a good shine, but when I've put a thicker coat of GX100 on models before, it's tougher to get an even wet coat and I ended up with orange peel in some unsandable areas. The thinner clear flows better and stays shiny in all the recesses and vents that are near impossible to polish.

 

 

Edited by gt6mkiii
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A very nice looking build there, and as many have said that paint makes it. I think this is the first Prius I've seen built too, as has been said although you have to respect it as a piece of engineering, the Prius doesn't really grab you. This is one of those models which I see advertised and think it would be nice to do something 'normal', but there's always something which makes me buy first before this.

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That looks fantastic. I must admit I didn't know the kit existed, but it looks totally convincing. We have a lot locally as taxis, but I have never seen one in any scheme other than white -- which is mandatory for active taxis, but I don't think I've ever seen a private one. Mind you, people round here probably prefer to get their Prius in Lexus CT200H guise...

best,

M.

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9 hours ago, Codger said:

A GREAT backdrop - from a guy that builds and photos them!

Yes, but from what I've seen you actually build your backgrounds. I just print out photos to put the model in front of! 

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12 minutes ago, gt6mkiii said:

Yes, but from what I've seen you actually build your backgrounds. I just print out photos to put the model in front of! 

No matter - you skillfully 'fool the eye' which is what it's all about. :devil:

PORTRAIT-SET-UP-2.jpg

 

 

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46 minutes ago, Codger said:

No matter - you skillfully 'fool the eye' which is what it's all about.

Agreed - I do enjoy that part! Although I seem to either build the car or the background. This is a house model I built last year - the cars are 1/43 scale diecasts I got from the Mercedes and Porsche Museums:

 

House_New-10_1920x1080

 

House_New-9_1920x1080

 

House_Wide_1920x1080

 

I've got a bunch of photos - I'll try to post them in the diorama section.

 

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26 minutes ago, Anteater said:

So is the Prius background a photo or constructed?

The background photo is a printout I mounted onto foamcare and shot the model against. The road is slightly more sophisticated in that I took the photo of the street and sidewalk from the top of a parking garage and then printed them out separately and folded the sidewalk photo around a piece of foamcore to give it some dimension.

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It's cheating to post up pics of a real car 😉

 

Fantastic attention to detail, and the street scene pics are really convincing - great work! 😎

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