galaxyg Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 I began this kit about 6 months ago and it's one of those on-again/off-again builds - mainly due to not want to deal with the many shortcomings of the kit. I'd not taken photos of the unworked bodyshell but it took a lot of fettling. There was such a mould misalignment in the back bumper it had a step in it that needed filing off and sorting out, and it wasn't the only issue either. However those will have to remain unphotographed. I'm hoping that a WIP thread might incentivise me to complete it, or at least do some more. And below, this is how it's sat for 6 months or so. Body fettled, scribed, fillered, sanded, primed, painted but not clear coated. And now continuing in Feb 2021, the seats need filling, twice. The back and then the holes behind where you glue in the headrests (not done yet). Seats are not well moulded either. The excuse for a chassis. This may well be the worst model kit I've built, up there with Fujimi's own Mitsubishi Starion. I'm not going to fit the boxed wheels. The white NSX wheels suit it well, as do the others on the right, although they're a bit large with those tyres. Probably it'll be the NSX wheels. Gluing the excuse for an exhaust. The handbrake does not quite touch the gear lever but there's no room for a human hand to operate either like this. The interior is inaccurate, possibly as a result of the AA battery bay in front of the dashboard. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 The body looks really good. The chassis reminds me of the Fujimi Honda Prelude (it's similar but not identical). On the Honda the seats are hollow-backed and need filling, although the interior generally seemed true to the real car. I look forward to seeing how you correct the gear lever and hand brake. I also think the NSX wheels are the right choice for the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Mansfield Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 Ah the 80’s... body looks good. I like the 2 tone look on these cars. I agree with the NSX wheels, they’ll look much better than the kit wheels. The kit wheels can’t be original for this car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galaxyg Posted February 10, 2021 Author Share Posted February 10, 2021 11 hours ago, Mr Mansfield said: The kit wheels can’t be original for this car? They're not, I think they're "designed" to go only with that OTT body kit shown on the box art, which I've declined to install too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galaxyg Posted February 13, 2021 Author Share Posted February 13, 2021 I found the solution to the gearstick problem - I'd mounted it in the wrong place. The fact the instructions don't resemble the actual part didn't help, although I should've checked a real-life reference picture first - seeing one for dashboard colours is what alerted me to the gearstick. Anyway, soon remedied. On flat surfaces, 100 grit sandpaper secured with double-sided tape is my preferred "flocking" method. The rest of the front seat's backs are complete with filler as well. The door interiors and the dashboard are one of the few decent parts about this kit. However when assembled, the interior gives this giant chasm either side of the floor they're supposed be a part of. This is pretty awful. The floor pan is not nearly wide enough to match either the interior or the body. Flip the car upside down and it's even more obvious what's going on - nothing good. Notice also how inboard the front wheels are. Also notice I've one odd tyre on the NSX wheels. Not sure where the correct one's gone. And as if it wasn't already apparent, here's another shot of how inboard the front wheels are. The only realistic solution for this is to fit a long fixed axle through both steering joints and make the front wheels non-steering. It's not a loss as the current fulcrum is so far inboard that even if they were turned using it, they'd look abnormal. I will say it again at some point, this is the worst car kit I've ever built. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiny Posted February 14, 2021 Share Posted February 14, 2021 That gap looks terrible, so bad I had to check the title just to make sure that it was the Fujimi version as I have the Aoshima one in my stash On the bright side, that dashboard looks very nice. Good luck fixing the floor and front wheels - once you've sorted it you'll probably get more satisfaction from beating it than one of the easier builds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galaxyg Posted February 17, 2021 Author Share Posted February 17, 2021 Body is now clearcoated with TS-13, polished and panel lines, door handles, radio aerial (black blob on first image) and side repeaters painted, and the inside of the lights, such that they are. Photos don't quite do justice to the level of shininess. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galaxyg Posted February 19, 2021 Author Share Posted February 19, 2021 Raiding the parts bin has found this car some brakes, as they're not part of the kit. Skyline discs for the front and NSX discs for the rear. I've also found some more suitable wheels as the bright white NSX ones looked a bit like a pair of bright white trainers on a person that can't quite carry that off. As the brakes are glued to the rims because there's no suspension at all, the wheels will be glued to the axles and the axles glued to the chassis. It's not a toy, so it doesn't need to roll. I can then be sure it's sturdy and the brake calipers will remain where they belong, rather than rotating with the wheel. Next I'm going to address the steps to solve the problem of the gaping chasm in the interior, and the amount of light that leaks everywhere as a result of both that and it having no wheel arches. A build up of styrene rod and plate will do the job. Meanwhile, round the back of the car, the rear lights are done. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiny Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Even without the body fitted, that chassis looks much better with the filler strips along the side of the cockpit. Somehow it just looked a bit narrow before, even with nothing else added. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 I've encountered a few cars that were lacking in the inner wing department, but that was by accident, rather than design. Well, more corrosion than accident, but you get the idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galaxyg Posted February 20, 2021 Author Share Posted February 20, 2021 The windscreen is more or less the same size as the hole to contain it, with little to overlap or glue. Fortunately - black electrical tape makes both the scuttle panel and the attachment and the adhesive all in one. And it's easily removable and repositionable with no mess penalties. The bonnet nostril is included in the box, but happily, it's optional. I have no problem with it on the real car, but on the kit, it just looks ugly. The exhaust tip is made from sticky aluminium sheet, rolled around the solid plastic pipe. More electrical tap to hold the interior together. I've "manufactured" some side windows from transparent sheet as the kit has none, and yet more electrical tape to hold them in place. Some details take from the spares box - windscreen wipers as the kit has none, and better number plates. The kit's not too far off done now and stands well. Attaching the wipers. Completed interior. Although the steering no longer works, one benefit of plastic axles is they can be bend and positioned for photography, such as below. This will be the last WIP post, the next photos will be the completed kit. See you in the ready for inspection forum, once I've got it photographed properly. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 Modelling the side window half open is a nice touch. Looking forward to seeing the RFI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunkyChiken Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 Cool build, and good save on the kids shortcomings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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