Tamiya Toyota bB (Scion xB)
Toyota introduced the Toyota bB at the 2000 Tokyo Auto Show, and it was a big hit. it was so different then any other car that Toyota has produced until then. it was basically a box, everything inside and outside of the car was designed as a box. which made the car very unique, and very popular with the young crowd in Japan. trying to bank of the success of "Tuner" cars in the United States Toyota starting importing the little funky box to the U.S. in late 2003, under Toyota's new Scion brand name. a division in which Toyota started to bring younger buyers into Toyota's show room.
The Tamiya kit is typical awsome Tamiya, no mold lines, awsome engaving, but the kit is based of the Japanese version bB, which is different from the American version, Exterior there are no differences between the bB and the xB, but the interior is almost completely different. The only piece shared between the two cars in the door panels, The steering wheel is the same on but cars but the bB uses a colunm shifter, the U.S. Xb uses a floor shifter on both auto and manual transmission cars, and it would also require scratch building a center console, another thing in which the bB does'nt have. also the seats are completely different, the bB has basically a bench front seat, and the xB has buckets. The dash is the same on both vehicles but the kit is a RHD only, but with some basic scratchbuiiding it could be converted.
now lets get to reviewing the kit. THe body on the kit is great, and it features a seperate front and rear bumper assemblies, which is great for the aftermarket to give us a Drift or any other style body kit for it. The glass is a two piece unit, which is wierd for Tamiya becouse on most of there lower kits they all have one piece glass. The kit is new enough that it has window masks, but still too old for Tamiya's fantastic metal transfers. The kit comes with a flames decals, and decals for the interior and bB markings for the exterior
The interior is typical Tamiya. but a nice feature is the carpet for the interior, also some cutting is needed to get it to fit which may be above the skills of some lesser skilled modelers.
The chassis features seperate exhaust, and front and rear suspention
The wheels and tires are correct for both the bB and the Xb,
once again another fantastic kit from Tamiya, which has become of habit of there kits. although it would be nice for Tamiya to update this kit it is nice just to have a Scion xB in any form.
I give this kit a 9/10, just becouse i'm picky and want a U.S. Scion version
