My first post of a kit build-up. Here goes. I recently acquired some Aoshima VIP kits. I've been itching to build them, so now I've halted other projects to build two them.

Kit: Aoshima VIP Admiration UCF31 Toyota Celsior (aka Lexus LS430)
Building it straight out of the box. Body color will be TS-45 Pearl White (though I'm thinking maybe just regular TS-26 White). Wheels will be the 19" Amistad V's provided with the kit.

http://www.quietrage.com/cars/aos_f31cel/f31cel_start.jpg

Nice VIP kit. I have one similar to yours, but mine has the subs in the trunk. Looking forward to see this build too. :)

Nice kit and awsome wheels, they must be my fav's, dont do it white it would be a waste IMO you need a dark rich colour for any of these vip kits. :2cents:

Looks like a good model. Keep us posted on how the build goes, and remeber to post pics.

Going to looks great in white. Keep us posted.

Didn't have as much time to work on things tonight as I wanted, but sprayed most the suspension pieces semi-gloss black. Brakes are done with Metallizer stainless steel. Calipers are still unpainted since I haven't decided if they'll just be gloss black or some other color. From the reference photos in VIP Style magazine, they usually don't color the calipers.
http://www.quietrage.com/cars/aos_f31cel/f31cel_under.jpg

I'm not fond of chrome, so I knew that the chrome exhaust and tips had to go. Bathed them in CSC to get the chrome off. Then sprayed with Alclad black and then Alclad polished aluminum. Much better, IMO.
http://www.quietrage.com/cars/aos_f31cel/f31cel_under2.jpg

The chassis has now been completed. Fairly basic stuff. This was my first time working with Aoshima "adjustable" suspension. One downside is there is no spring/shock detail. Though the benefit is adjusting the ride height to your desire. It was interesting at first, but after messing around with it, the adjustability became more of a hassle than anything else. I ended up not using the springs and just cutting some styrene rods to the height desired, and glued them to where the springs went.

http://www.quietrage.com/cars/aos_f31cel/f31cel_under3.jpg

Next step, the interior. Meanwhile, the body has been assembled and primed.

http://www.quietrage.com/cars/aos_f31cel/f31cel_body.jpg

Great work on the chassis. Looks clean and good. Keep us posted.

Back from the dead. The previous pics are all gone. I apparently hosed them during the last server cleanup. New pics below.

The finished chassis was where I left off. Completed pic.
http://www.quietrage.com/cars/aos_f31celad/f31celad_under.jpg

And now for the recent updates. The finished interior.
http://www.quietrage.com/cars/aos_f31celad/f31celad_inside.jpg
http://www.quietrage.com/cars/aos_f31celad/f31celad_inside2.jpg

And the almost finished body. I still have the headlights and taillights to put on. Unfortunately, I forgot to paint the mirrors, so I'm going back and painting those right now.
http://www.quietrage.com/cars/aos_f31celad/f31celad_body.jpg

And lesson learned, like Verminator said, white is not the color. It's so boring. Should be something with more impact. But I decided to build it like the box car, so white it became. Next time, if I go with white, it'll have some pearl or flakes in it to give it some umph.

looking good, i like vip cars. the interior looks great! i also constantly forget to paint my mirrors. :biggrin:

Looks good. What color did you use to paint the "wood" parts? The white on the car look fine.

yeah nice project :smile:

Nice pics, cool buildup.

J. Barry

Looks good. What color did you use to paint the "wood" parts? The white on the car look fine.

I used a mixture of Tamiya red and flat brown, and then I put a coat of clear on top of it to make it shiny.

Although white is not the best colour, as Verminator said, looks very, very nice...Great job so far.

Looks super clean.

Nice job on the interior.
Some good detail has gone in there to make it look better.

looks good malsheem. This wouldn't happen to be the celsior with the engine, this is curbside, right?

looks good malsheem. This wouldn't happen to be the celsior with the engine, this is curbside, right?

Nope, all the Aoshima VIP Celsior's are curbside. I do plan on building my next VIP Celsior (Junction Produce UCF21) with an engine taken from Tamiya's LS400. Going to try and scratchbuild a Tom's supercharger for it, too. But that's another story.

sweet. gona definetly have to watch that thread, all though, I'm going for the naturally aspirated build for the trueno.

Very nice. I can't wait to see it completed. :)