Improving the Aoshima C-West RX-7

I've been doing little bits to this for the past 3 days, I'm getting a little side tracked (again!) from my Scaleautostyle stuff so don't expect there to be a regular report on this build.

However I'm going to show you what I've done so far coz i know a couple of you have this kit and i hope that you may find this useful. My plan was to do this straight out of the box as a bit of a breather from all the customizing, but it seems i can't help myself!!!

The bodykit looks good enough o-of-b but it does look a little chunky and can be improved upon. There are a few fitment issues, which make it more like an AMT kit and these need a little work.

So, first up are the sides. As you see in the pic, it sticks out a little and doesn't look at all realistic, Bri G mentioned he was going to sand down his but i'm opting for a different approach which is how most of my transkits will fit. I've tacked the side in position with tape making sure to align the sill with the door panel line.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/951799side1.jpg

With it now securely in position I scribed the edges onto the car.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/536383side2.jpg

This piece was then removed.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/951837side3.jpg

In order to fit the bodykit sides now, I constructed a lip which will glue to the inside of the model. This was made from 3 layers of 10thou plastic card, the first layer deepens the sides slightly, the second is for the lower part of the door to stick to and the third provides a fastening for the top half. This is quite hard to explain, but what this achieves is a more realistic fit of the bodykit in relation to the lines of the car and pushes out the top half of the sides slightly more than the bottom half.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/660181sidebuildup.jpg

The result is alot more pleasing i think!

http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/393244side4.jpg

http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/308345side5.jpg

The next issue here is that the sides are actually not long enough to cover the middle of the car. To improve this i added two layers of 10thou card to either side of the bodykit i.e twice on each side piece. By using 10thou and not 20 it will conform the curves better and not lose shape. This is a before and after pic.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/455255wheelarch1.jpg http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/419900wheelarch2.jpg

The headlights fit very poorly as seen in first pic. Here they are dry fitted to see what areas need filing. 10thou card was placed at selected areas, trimmed when dry then filed to allow a better fit as seen in 3rd pic

http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/356595headlight1.jpg http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/499407headlight2.jpg
http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/362193headlight3.jpg

Thats all for now!

i just purchased that kit and im gonna do that. i dint know that car was that Fckd up

thanks for the tip

How did you remove the under-door for place the side skirts

Originally posted by Luka3000gt
How did you remove the under-door for place the side skirts

Like this (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?postid=563114#post563114)

i just purchased that kit and im gonna do that. i dint know that car was that Fckd up

Glad to help!;)

edit by jay: change to permanent URL

gee, I wonder if I came up with the lip idea.......like on the s2000 hood.

looks alot better, Primera man should have done that on his silvia. it look very nice the way you did it.

any news on when you willbe selling parts?

great idea on the side skirts. If you don't mind, I'm going to drop the sanding idea since it's taking way too long to do and use your idea instead :) Those headlights are definitely a pain but I'm going to worry about the side skirts first. Thanks for the great idea chris! I might do this with my veilside s15 too. so any idea on how do the hood? very similar to your mugen s2000 hood I think.

http://www.c-west.co.jp/2img/aero/fd3s/photo/frontban.jpg
http://www.c-west.co.jp/2img/aero/fd3s/photo/aerobon.jpg

Originally posted by bri g
great idea on the side skirts. If you don't mind, I'm going to drop the sanding idea since it's taking way too long to do and use your idea instead :) Those headlights are definitely a pain but I'm going to worry about the side skirts first. Thanks for the great idea chris! I might do this with my veilside s15 too. so any idea on how do the hood? very similar to your mugen s2000 hood I think.


Of course i don't mind, its there to help! Just glad i wasn't too late.

For the hood I may add the louvres and make casts of the hood to include amongst my parts. I'm having trouble finding good pics - large pics - they all seem to be too small.

BTW I'm opting to leave the rear bumper alone coz I feel its not too bad and sanding this piece will probably amount to more problems.

I couldn't help myself from doing a little more to this so here's an update.

Headlight lens - The first pic is a dry fit as they are, look pretty appaling don't they? There isn't much give for the lens to be sanded so i've opted to sit the headlights lower down. The second pic shows yet more 10thou card added to the underside of the hood, where the tab on the headlights is to be glued. This is one layer, I added 2 in the end.
The final result looks alot more pleasing in the third pic even though the headlights are not 100% accurate by sitting a little lower, but i guess that can't be helped. These will eventually look great with the help of some CF decal.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/498894lens1.jpg http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/240406lens2.jpg http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/911373lens3.jpg

great job! you have a great eye for detail. i would have built it as is and called it a day (or a few weeks at least).

So it continues...

Fuel cap - I think the pics explain everything here; just a simple template from masking tape used to scribe the area to be removed from the rear piece. Not much to point out except that the cut out for the fuel cap on the real thing, has a slightly bigger diameter so some careful filing is in order.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/889250fuelcapcomplete.jpg

Very impressed by your work here Chris. You have done a really woderful job on the whole kit so far

Onto the front section - Not a good fit at all around the headlights (pic1), I did start to sand this flush but promptly stopped as I could see the shape would end up not at all right. Instead i've gone for the putty alternative. First of all I added a thin strip of 10thou sheet to the edge where it meets the main bodywork (pic2). The reason for this is to maintain a crisp edge - something you cant achieve by slapping putty straight on there. Once you have built up a small amount of putty to this edge you can sand flush when dry (pic3). It still need a little tidying up, but i'll deal with that later.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/504736front1.jpg http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/511462front2.jpg
http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/449150front3.jpg

The body as it is at the moment with all pieces dry fitted.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/151241body1.jpg

lookin' good, quality stuff:)

Hi,

;) ;) ;) ;) this is the best way to have a great model.... I do like you to install some kit of cars..... It's really nice to see your job.......

This is the best way.......it's hard and it take a long time but you are write............
Laurent

:eek2: your work never ceases to amaze me. you have a good eye, and keen sense of detail. keep up the good work.

It's really a joy to see your work.
Excellent.

http://www.c-west.co.jp/2img/gtwing/alumi_top.jpg

The etched wing set is a replica of the C-west type above and a bit more accurate. the kit version is too narrow, the bolt detail is incorrect and the width of the wing is too short - C-West's site say's that the real one is 1500mm (they're available in 4 widths) which should make it 62.5mm in 1/24 scale.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/3702333.jpg
http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/5192174.jpg
http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/8167195.jpg http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/8555496.jpg

Looking great and accurate!

when u say it doesnt look ralistic with the side pieces sticking out im sorry to say it but ure wrong look at real pictures and thats how they look in real life

he means the little pieces on the base plates aren't as thick and don't stick out as much as they do on Aoshima's version. (that is what you mean, right Chris?? correct me if i'm wrong...)

Coming along very nicely, I have been wanting a kit of an RX-7 for a while now but I don't really want a stock one, so I might try find this kit...

Originally posted by supratuner
when u say it doesnt look ralistic with the side pieces sticking out im sorry to say it but ure wrong look at real pictures and thats how they look in real life

Not sure which part your reffering to now? This is an old thread, do u meant the side skirts or something to do with the wing?

maybe the side scirts

just thought i would put in my 2 cents i built it but didnt put the side skirts on just the front piece and i used the back piece for the veilside rx7

whoops, he meant the side skirts. my bad. and HE's the one that's wrong. on the real car, the skirts are like yours, Chris, completely flush with the fenders. if i had that much skill, i would do that to mine too...but i'm afraid of what i would do to it...

Originally posted by supratuner
maybe the side scirts

just thought i would put in my 2 cents i built it but didnt put the side skirts on just the front piece and i used the back piece for the veilside rx7

Your not wrong, the side skirts do 'stick out', they bolt on so they would do. They are just not supposed to protrude as much as they do in the kit, can you imagine what that would look like if it was scaled up to 1:1? That's what i have corrected and tucked them in a little to be more true to scale.
http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/474367car1.jpg

http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/7594750205tur_codered_01.jpg

if i had that much skill, i would do that to mine too...but i'm afraid of what i would do to it...

Its really not that tricky to do, you just need the right materials, tool and to take care! Give it a go!

But fly, look at that picture at the Headlights... They do kinda stick up, unlike yours which fit in perfectly... I agree with ur's but the real car has F'd up headlights!! hahha , it looks AMAZING tho , i wish i could do it

hey i went to my local hobby shop today to pick up some stuff and i was looking for some satin colors but i couldnt find any does anyone know where i can get some satin colors ( websites). thanks for the help

Originally posted by HYpERShoT009
hey i went to my local hobby shop today to pick up some stuff and i was looking for some satin colors but i couldnt find any does anyone know where i can get some satin colors ( websites). thanks for the help

now this is completely off topic

10thou plastic card

wtf is that ??

Originally posted by Vric
10thou plastic card

wtf is that ??

10thou is a thickness 10 Thousands of an inch

Inch is what they have in the US, but we have mm so it is 0.254mm
e.g very thin plastic card /stryrene

Does that help

Originally posted by Hiroboy


10thou is a thickness 10 Thousands of an inch

Inch is what they have in the US, but we have mm so it is 0.254mm
e.g very thin plastic card /stryrene

Does that help

yes.. but where can I get this ? it sound very usefull

any really top notch hobby shop SHOULD carry it. the brand to look out for is called Evergreen. i went to my local shop recently not even thinking they'd have it, but lo and behold they had a huge rack of the stuff, sheets and tubes. take a look see and if your shop doesn't have it, i think you can order it off of the company URL. you'll have to get the URL off of someone else though, as i can't seem to remember it...

Seem to be getting bogged down with trivia here, does it realy matter if a kit is 101% accurate? I do cars because you can't realy get them wrong as everyones tastes are different. I stopped doing WW2 aircraft because people kept saying that bits 1.5mm to far to the left or the colours not right :mad: So what I say, just build stuff as you want it doesnt matter .
Chris, not having a go personnally but you've been to the shows you know what I mean about the 'fanatics' they get on your 'tits' sometimes.
Anyway...... carry on, great model :worshippy

Originally posted by Verminator
Seem to be getting bogged down with trivia here, does it realy matter if a kit is 101% accurate? I do cars because you can't realy get them wrong as everyones tastes are different. I stopped doing WW2 aircraft because people kept saying that bits 1.5mm to far to the left or the colours not right :mad: So what I say, just build stuff as you want it doesnt matter .
Chris, not having a go personnally but you've been to the shows you know what I mean about the 'fanatics' they get on your 'tits' sometimes.
Anyway...... carry on, great model :worshippy

I do agree! I wouldn't say i'm quite like all those 'rivet counters' we see at shows but i would be the first to admit i'm a bit of a perfectionist. Which has its good points - you've seen the quality of my products and bad points such as the amount of models i manage to finish, least of all the one in this thread!:D

I see where you're coming from Neil, but the purpose of this thread was to correct some mistakes and improve the fitment of some of the parts in this kit. For me personally, I wouldn't have been pleased with the finished model if this had been built from the box, the extra work and effort in modeling makes all the difference IMO.

Take these two for example. Nothing wrong with either of them, both are great models, one has just had that little more effort put into it. No disrespect to the latter but i know which one i prefer!

http://home.kimo.com.tw/lacryma_x/C-WEST/CWEST-3.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/carmodelworkshop/HomepagePhoto/CWestRx7rear.jpg

http://home.kimo.com.tw/lacryma_x/C-WEST/C-WEST_page-12.htm

http://www.geocities.com/carmodelworkshop/CWestRx7.htm

OMG:22yikes: Thats amazing!!!! And nice "How to" flyonthewall, very helpfull:D