Aoshima/Beemax EF Civic Si

[willimo]

Hi all,

Recently completed a model! I've already met last year's productions so maybe it'll be a banner year?

Started with the Aoshima/Beemax EF Civic. I added the interior from a gluebomb Tamiya Civic hatch. I used ZoomOn+ Recaro Speed seats, but I used the decals for the Recaro Jetsetter seats from the old Aoshima S-Parts Prelude to make them look period and interesting. The steering wheel is from Orange Wheels, and the shift knob is Hobby Design turned metal, which I painted it flat red to look like a Flossy Redhead. The exhaust is scratch/bashed from stuff from my spares box and some styrene rod, with some sheet cut and sanded to indicate flanges.

Decals are from the parts box, including a "Civic" decal for the center taillight trim which is correct, both in style and size. I've had it for probably a decade and a half, from someone here on AF that was selling Alps-printed sponsor decals, so I was pretty excited about how well that worked out!

I didn't like how bright the taillights looked straight from the box - after years of grumbling about how model kit manufacturers don't make separate, chrome plated light buckets, one finally did and I didn't like it! So after I painted the clear red and orange, I gave it a couple coats of smoke to tone it down. I probably went too far, strictly speaking, but I like the look.

My favorite part of the build is a set of wheels I've been saving for a long time. This was finally the perfect project from them. The wheels are Mugen NR10s from a (kind of) rare Mugen Beat kit. I think they're perfect and really love how they look.











I want to share a little trick that I'm proud of:

To make the red Si stripe, I used decals. I modified one of my Xacto handles to hold two blades next to each other. The distance between the blade tips is just about right for a skinny little stripe. I lightly cut the decal film with the double blade. After dipping in water, I removed the excess from either side, leaving only the tiny stripe behind. It wasn't as fiddly to apply as I feared, and with a little proding it settled in just right and I am VERY happy with that result.







Thanks for looking! As always, criticism and comments welcome!

[MPWR]

Sweeeet!

Back end is spot on, tail lights look great. And I'm off to modify an Xacto handle- love the way the stripes came out.

But I'm thinking the wheels are a bit bright. Shape is great- but make them gunmetal, and to me it is there. Just sayin'.

Still love your background.

[E46nm52]

Looks awesome! With the shadow, lighting, and the background scene, I thought it is 1:1.

[Niro750]

Cracker, nice one. Like the pinstripe as well

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

Turned out great; those Mugen rims fit it just fine!

[Plastheniker]

Very clean work, the ultra-thin red pinstripe makes it look very realistic.

[OWhite3]

Brings back memories of the EF'S I've owned. Great job!

[ricrosar]

That is so cool! Great job man, I am also working in my own street version of this kit and yeah that rear "civic" decal, not easy to come by. Again,beautiful work.

Rick

[willimo]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. I feel like AF just keeps getting better and I just keep staying the same - so it's nice to hear generous opinions!

Originally Posted by MPWR

But I'm thinking the wheels are a bit bright. Shape is great- but make them gunmetal, and to me it is there. Just sayin'.

You know, in the pictures I can see that they look a little toylike. The bright sun makes that satin chrome pop in a weird way. I also had forgotten the center caps and lugs, and after painting them I think it tones it down. Since the 1:1 wheels are a not-super-polished cast aluminum with a very-polished lip, I think that gunmetal wouldn't be quite right, and I'm afraid to put a wash on them, though I think that would help a lot. Thanks, I'm giving in thought... just unsure. I don't want to damage these wheels, as they're a bit hard to get.

[Martini Man]

Looks great, if only they kept selling orange slice in our region.

and the model looks great too.

Paul

[jswillmon]

Sweet little ride! Great job.

[circuitR]

Dude, it looks amazing. So nice to see a clean EF! So over the cambered sterile rust bombs lol. The pinstripe is awesome and a great way to make it. Thanks for sharing.

And who says this forum is dead huh!

Keep up the awesome work man!

[willimo]

I'm getting over those cars, too. It seems like a lot of the other places you find model cars online are full of them, so AF is a great respite from them!