My return to modeling: Tamiya Prelude XX

Good morning (afternoon/evening). It has been many years since I've posted on here but recently came across a thread titled "What happened to scale modeling on the internet?" in the main car modeling forum. It was definitely an interesting read and got me thinking about why I haven't been contributing over the last few years. Without going into much detail about my personal reasons I've decided that there really isn't any reason not to contribute any longer. I've never really stopped building but always felt that my work wasn't necessarily worth sharing. I hope to change that this year and hopefully learn and develop my skills a bit more. So let's get on with it.

The subject matter here is the Tamiya Prelude XX (83-87 Honda Prelude in the US, as pictured 1982 Prelude for Japan). I purchased the kit a couple of years ago and painted the body blue...and then tucked it away. I figured this would be a good kit to start with since it's got an engine and allows a bit of customization if I so choose. So I took it out of the box after reading the previously mentioned thread. The intent was to just build it straight out of the box but my mind started wandering about upgrades.

The first thing I thought was to utilize these Sakatsu carbs that I had ordered probably 10 years ago. They are the right size and allowed me to claim a customized engine piece. It required a manifold adapter so I made a crude piece that got the job done. After looking at it, I felt it needed an upgraded exhaust manifold. My first attempt was a generic high rise style header that didn't turn out so well but my second attempt was a Bisimoto style header that came out pretty decently I think. It took me about 6 hours to make it from styrene including time spent on many mistakes.

I apologize in advance, all pictures are taken with my iPhone4 so quality isn't as good as it could be.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX000_zps86e8b64b.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX002_zps7d2c35c2.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX001_zpsd63e6511.jpg

Satisfied with the general shape and appearance I added pins to attach it to the exhaust ports and did a test fit into the engine bay to see if the assembled manifolds interfered with the chassis.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX003_zps6c4653fd.jpg

I did a quick dry brush of the valve cover to capture some details. All was good but then I noticed the funnels on the carbs just didn't look correct so I dug through my stash of parts and tried two different sets of funnels but neither fit. Using styrene tubes I heated and stretched, I fabricated new funnels that aren't exactly what I wanted but look much better than the solid pieces cast into the Sakatsu carbs.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX004_zps56b82147.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX005_zpsf81ad6d7.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX006_zps1161c166.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX008_zps57ffa427.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX007_zps5d95fb49.jpg

I added some Alclad II chrome to the funnels, a much needed improvement. Eventually I used it on the header too.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX009_zps097d7163.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX010_zps913fecf5.jpg

Then I got to wiring the distributor. The distributor is cast with the plug wires facing directly to the side. I didn't think much of it so I proceeded as is but after looking online at pics of the real engine I see that I should have went with my gut and re-positioned them to be at an angle for a more natural look. So that's on my rework list now.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX012_zpsc8d6121c.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX011_zps4664cb29.jpg

While digging through my parts bin I found a few pieces I could incorporate into this model so I said what the heck let's go for it (so much for box stock).

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX013_zps0508ab41.jpg

The resin Optima battery was full of pin holes and is warped. It doesn't show in the pics but I plan on trying my hand at entering this model into a contest in a couple of months so I'm going to scratch build another one. Add that to the rework list.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX014_zps69c53201.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX016_zpsdccac195.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX015_zps776359d6.jpg

That's it for now. Rework items I hope to complete over the weekend. Aside from those I also hope to add some fuel lines, fuel filter (kit piece), steel braided hoses for the radiator, scratch build a half sized radiator, and hopefully both the throttle cable and clutch cable.

Looks great so far, and thanks for posting! It seems to me that perhaps the intake funnels are a bit close to the firewall? Could they or the intake manifolds be shortened slightly?

ianc

Well that was what I wasn't really fond of about them (funnels). That's why I said "not exactly" what I wanted in the first post but since you were able to spot that flaw I guess I'll be adding that to the rework list for the weekend. I appreciate the criticism and such a close eye early on.

Week 2 of working on this and the progress is slow but taking shape. I was only able to complete 2 out of the 3 rework tasks. First one was creating the new funnels. I had spent about 4 hours in total experimenting with a candle to make these things. I tried the heat and stretch method, I tried sticking pieces into my dremel so as to mimic a lathe, I even went out and bought different sized styrene tubes. From my experience, the lathe technique wasn't accurate with the dremel but I believe it was mainly because the styrene tubes were smaller in diameter than the clamp built into the dremel head. I made an adapter out of the next sized styrene tube and it worked but after trying to machine a few pieces I found that the tubes were spinning off center. It gave me a good nice funnel shape that was offset from the center line of the tube itself. So that was a no go but I will say it might still be worth trying again if I can correct the issue. My next idea was to heat up the tubes and push them onto an appropriate sized punch tool so that it would form to the radius of the tool as it flares to the handle/hex side. That didn't work either. What I ended up with was a bunch of random pieces seen here:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX019_zps2b9ceb47.jpg

After playing around with the candle and some scrap I found a decent enough method to at least visually create a similar look that I wanted but still found it extremely difficult to replicate the funnel 4 times. So what I did was make about 20 of them and then selected the 4 that were closest in shape and size. Here is the end result:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX017_zps69eab9fc.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX018_zpsd7b3cb06.jpg

And just so you can see how difficult it was to match them in size compared to the failed attempts:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX020_zpscddabcf5.jpg

I'm satisfied with the outcome and will leave them as is. Maybe on another build I can utilize the nice metal ones I bought that didn't fit on this model.

So onto the next task, the battery. Aside from the resin piece being flawed a friend of mine had pointed out that the battery was humongous!! It's nearly the size of the engine if you look at it. Since I was already planning to scratch build a new one I made the effort to make it an appropriate size. It was rather simple, just glue 6 pieces of rod together (I believe I used 2mm, not positive though) and add styrene sheet top and bottom trimmed to size.

Here you can see the base battery shape sitting next to the resin piece. It is MUCH smaller and I feel it is looking a bit more sharp in definition:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX021_zps5e0dcbb2.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX022_zps0c9bf5c3.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX023_zpsb0992b36.jpg

For your own comparison I snapped a few pics of the resin battery, my scratch built battery, and the kit battery (it had the expansion tank for the radiator connected to it but I removed it).

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX024_zps45987810.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX025_zpsab4452da.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX027_zps15c01177.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX026_zps18c45663.jpg

Again I'm satisfied with the outcome. Just need to add the battery terminals and paint.

After the initial mock up I noticed that the exhaust manifold I had put so much time and effort into constructing wouldn't be seen. The hood on this car tilts forward so you won't be able to see the curvature of the piping which is what is visually eye catching about the manifold. My solution is to make a half sized radiator so at least the exhaust manifold can be seen through the grill of the front bumper. It's not much but at least it's possible. My time constraint lead me to just cutting the kit radiator in half.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX028_zps7bf000ec.jpg

Easy solution right? Well the front side of the radiator has ejector pin marks and even though you can't see them when it's installed it still bugs me. I can sand both halves and glue them together making a slightly thicker core similar to the koyo radiator I have on my real car or I can just leave it since it's not visible anyway. I'll make a decision about that later.

Here are the last pics with the new components mocked up.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX029_zps20c97691.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX030_zpsffec9d35.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX031_zpsac3fdb25.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX032_zpsb99c1ee4.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX033_zpsed673d02.jpg

New update for today, I woke up extremely early and did a bit of work before I went to...work. I used some styrene rods, .75mm and 1.6mm to be exact, to make some fuel line fittings. Using a pin vise and drill bit I made the following pieces. My initial idea was just to cut and glue everything as needed by overall size but by drilling the holes and inserting longer lengths of the rod I was able to build a stronger piece and at the same time the extra lengths made it easier to handle. In this first picture you can't even tell what I'm doing yet but it'll make sense as you see the progression of the part(s).

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX034_zps1ad85793.jpg

Here you'll see a couple of practice pieces on top with the 3 main pieces I was planning to use:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX035_zpsc0faccdc.jpg

On the left of the following picture you'll see the nearly complete piece that has been trimmed down while on the right the raw piece is seen. At this point I also added 1mm hex rod on top:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX036_zps31bbe3c6.jpg

And this point I felt it would be best to combine the final fitting with the t-connection I had made:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX037_zps31e20f2e.jpg

Trimmed down some more, you can see it taking shape now:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX038_zpsb16be426.jpg

Added a hose to connect the two pieces:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX039_zps2988eaf8.jpg

And now it's nearly complete. I left the extra length of rod for ease of handling until I was ready to glue it in place.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX040_zpsef5adaf4.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX041_zpsa0deb6f5.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX042_zpsb4a04536.jpg

Satisfied with the outcome I trimmed off the extra length of rod and glued it in place. It's not perfect by any means but this is my first attempt at doing this so I'm content.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX043_zps163af051.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX044_zps3ac6e475.jpg

I enjoy your work! NIce!!

Looks to be quite a nicely detailed build so far!!! :sunglasse

Thanks for the compliments guys.

Small update for tonight. I thought I'd try to run brake lines in the engine bay but doing so I would need to scratchbuild the proportioning valve. Unfortunately at this time I'm only capable of creating it slightly bigger than it should be. I went forward just to see what it would look like. It took about 2 hrs for the three attempts.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX045_zps71dfb6df.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX046_zps395c1b73.jpg

And here it is mocked up along with the brake master cylinder.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX049_zps0893bd4c.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX048_zpsbe8aeddb.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX047_zpsd78b2c78.jpg

Hopefully I'll have the brake lines in place by the next update.

Week 3 has passed and I have some new tidbits that I worked on. Last post I added the brake proportioning valve and although I liked it visually on it's own I just couldn't stand how big it was. I went out and bought some micro drill bits from Harbor Freight which allowed me to make the valve the size I wanted. They only cost about $10-$11 so if you don't have these I'd recommend grabbing a set as they come in handy.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX050_zps70a66d0e.jpg

Here is the new brake proportioning valve mocked up, such a big difference compared to the other one:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX055_zps2c84c651.jpg

So the next thing I wanted to do was run the brake lines but found that I should finish everything around the bay and do the lines last as these will have to snake around any objects that are mounted close by. So instead of the brake lines I focused on the battery, more specifically how it will be mounted. I needed a new battery tray and I figured I might as well make a decent battery tie down while I was at it. Here is the basic tray and battery tie down:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX051_zps752ff6a6.jpg

Both the tray and tie down are made from a piece .020in styrene sheet edged with .010x.010 styrene strip. Didn't turn out half bad and those micro drill bits came in handy for the tie down.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX052_zps0a13d7e5.jpg

And here is the finished tray along with the battery painted. I also fabricated a fuse panel cover because the kit has it molded into the engine bay. Doing this little piece separate adds so much more depth and also allowed me to make it a bit more accurate compared to the generic box shape that the kit has molded in.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX053_zps0c4b925f.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX054_zps483d360f.jpg

Off subject, this past weekend was Valentine's Day and I decided to pick up a new camera for my wife as her gift. She was nice enough to let me use it so the remaining pictures are using the new camera. Pictures are much clearer now!

Finally got to mock up the battery fully painted with it's decal in place. If you look closely the black square around the "A" in OPTIMA came off so I'll need to do a bit of touch up with some black paint later on.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX056_zpse41c9efa.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX057_zps896881ea.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX058_zpscbd81266.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX059_zps3e84e1a5.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX060_zpsd353c666.jpg

Testing out the close up capabilities of the new camera:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX061_zps9a510a78.jpg

Here you can see I have the brake master cylinder prepped for the hard lines and you can also see where the rear brake hard lines will terminate on the firewall:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX062_zpsb4187d33.jpg

That's all I have for this update. I believe in the next update I'll have the plug wires corrected as the new micro drill bits will allow me to make some decent replacement plug ends out of styrene instead of the black hose seen in the pictures so far. Also I plan to fabricate the remaining fuse box/panel covers and then run 4 of the 6 hard lines for the brakes. Hope you guys are enjoying what is taking shape and if you have any comments/suggestions or constructive criticisms please speak freely. The competition is still a little while away but it feels like it's coming up fast!

wow, all that detailing!

Thank you fellow modeler from my motherland :). I forgot to mention up above that I redid the intake manifold adapter for the carbs. I originally had them slightly angled upwards and the hood still closed but I made a new one to allow for some clearance in case I decide to add a strut tower bar later on (still undecided on that).

Great work.....welcome back......we need more people coming back from their hiatus and post.

Thanks buddy, another familiar name from way back when.

Woah, there are not a lot of this kit getting built so well! Your detail scratchbuilding is incredible! Your fuel system is awesome, the brake parts are great, and you really did handle that battery perfectly. So much better proportioned and better looking. This is going to be a great little model!

Thanks willimo, you're one of the builders I followed back in the day so that means a lot to me. I still remember the shock I felt when my resin RNRs ended up on your hatchback model. I was stunned because I sent them to someone else haha

New update.

A little more progress. First two pictures show the new battery tray installed and painted along with the initial mock up of the brake lines:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX069_zpsd486b2a5.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX070_zpsa1fb7f0b.jpg

Then I put the engine and battery in to make sure all was good:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX065_zpseec616c8.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX066_zpsa85d2299.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX067_zps0d9388af.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX068_zpsf3165fac.jpg

Feeling pretty content but I might redo the brake lines in brass rod. The sakatsu lines were very soft which was good for shaping but lost some of the original bend radii that I had initially created.

Speaking of brass rod, here's my first attempt at hinging a hood. I created the hinge as straight forward as could be (worth noting is the hood hinges forward from the factory on the real car).

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX071_zpsfedc23bd.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX072_zpsb12adf1b.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX073_zps73bfd766.jpg

It works! :)

Moving back to the engine once again, I tried to address the plug wire boots. I started by creating the individual boots seen here:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX074_zps674de237.jpg

Then decided to make more without the pin, instead opting to recreate the distributor with the pins on that piece:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX075_zps16d1290f.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/TamiyaPreludeXX076_zpsbe24d951.jpg

That's as far as I was able to make it because my eyes hurt. One more boot to go and then I can install it on the engine.

Fantastic Job!!!

Please moreee!

Uploading/typing it up at the moment...

EDIT: adding my post

So I've never discussed much of the exterior since the plan is to keep it stock but I really wanted to add some time era specific wheels. I grew up in the 80's so I have a soft spot for rims of this era. I had in mind some sort of 5 star or tri-fin style wheel much like either of these:

SSR Hiro V-1

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Reference%20Pics/1987SSRHIROENGINEERINGHIROV-1%202_zpscqykjuxo.jpg

SSR Bang Vec

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Reference%20Pics/SSR%20Bang%20Vec_zpsaueuw2tn.jpg

So I began my search and immediately found something fitting and was actually of the same line and had styling cues from both rims:

SSR Hiro V-2

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Reference%20Pics/SSR%20Hiro%20V-2_zpscanam45c.jpg

So I had my good friend order these off of ebay for me and received them last week.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20077_zpsgis0s9fr.jpg

After inspecting them my fear of the over sized tires was correct. They aren't bad, to be honest they're perfect on scale for say an old 86-91 Mazda RX-7, 86.5-92 Toyota Supra, etc. but for the prelude it was just too big of a tire. It even said on the tires themselves, 225/50R15 front and 265/40R15 rear. Definitely not good in real life for this car. I've heard of people buying low rider wheels and using the tires off of those so I figured that would be my best shot. I went to my local hobby shop and picked up a random set. While I was out I stopped by a local Japanese market (Marukai for those familiar) and thought that a set of those Tamiya slot car wheels might do the trick as well (sorry, I don't know if "slot car" is the correct term for those little guys. I knew them as "record breakers" when I was younger). For $2.00 I bought these:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20079_zpsfns0kcek.jpg

Proportionally I like them best. Realistic size from the side view BUT being that these aren't necessarily meant for scale models, they have something built into them. I'm not a fan of "Hella Flush" style in general but these might be desirable for some of you out there. They have a built in camber for high speed cornering for those slot cars. For static scale modeling, you can add camber and maintain good "contact patch" on the ground. Here's a few comparison pics to show what I'm talking about.

1st is the low rider tire installed (left) compared to the stock tire (right):

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20080_zpsnoybt1aa.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20081_zps8m9gdiv1.jpg

Not my favorite. Next is the cambered slick tire:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20082_zpszsvx2boj.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20083_zpsaov399ud.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20084_zpsta2yrbcj.jpg

The only downside to these is that there is no tread pattern but I guess you can say it's on slicks...oh well, I like them so the decision is final. Slicks it is. The next issue to address is the staggered offset wheels. I didn't like having to do this since these rims aren't common place any longer (or even in production for that matter) but I'll just let the pics do the talking for this portion:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20085_zps9tp5ppp2.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20086_zpsrdvuf3gi.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20087_zps9afb8l2d.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20088_zpsbgxjrcwi.jpg

So that was my solution for making them front wheel drive friendly.

Now that I have the wheels sorted and there's no going back, I modified the suspension to allow for a lowered and cambered stance. I was contemplating making coilovers from scratch but being that the deadline is around the corner I'm opting not to. This is my first time "pinning" the modified suspension components and I must admit I wish I had known about this technique when I was younger (once again, those micro drill bits played an important part in allowing me to accomplish this step).

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20089_zpsdjrih4w8.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20090_zpsjllqadr4.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20091_zpsdtc5hmcj.jpg

And here's the general idea of how it will look once completed:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20093_zps9p6pxbdm.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20092_zps0zmqcwix.jpg

Only problem I have encountered now is that I have no way to attach the kit supplied brake discs without adding even more negative offset to the wheels. I had already shaved the hub down to get the wheels to sit inside the wheel well so I'll have to figure out a way to make some new discs that fit around the hub of the rim. I'm really considering making this brakeless because the face of the rims is so wide that you won't be able to see any of it but I'd hate to have that be noticed later on at the competition. I'll experiment later tonight and figure out a solution.

Rear suspension to be done this week. Not shown yet is the new distributor and plug wires installed but with time permitting I'll have a mid week update.

Great WIP, thanks for sharing and best of luck with the rest of your build.

So over a month has passed and the competition has come and gone. Life got a tad bit busy so I wasn't able to update on a weekly basis but I did continue to work on the model as time permitted. Rather than doing the weekly breakdown I'll just show the pics and describe the challenges this experience presented.

I last left off with the suspension in progress. It wasn't too difficult to cut and modify the existing suspension but painting it proved to be more trouble than it was worth to me. I felt using wire would yield cleaner results. The struts were eventually painted yellow but I didn't take a picture of it after it was glued into place.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20094_zps1ql2imhm.jpg

These next 3 pics are shown sitting on the wheels without suspension. I was trying to see what I wanted in terms of ride height and camber.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20097_zpsrzgs4dat.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20096_zpsad8mmf7m.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20095_zpsxadehvne.jpg

These pics were after I finalized the suspension height and camber angle I wanted. Also you'll see I painted the lower half of the car with Tamiya Metallic Grey. Also pictured is the initial mock up of the Fujimi roof rack and surfboard set I had purchased. It needed to be narrowed up just an bit to fit the width of the roof of the Prelude but was otherwise just fine.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20098_zps9yhfgfod.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20099_zpszto9vww0.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20100_zpsdnnbhnsi.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20101_zpszq6pln4t.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20102_zpsxbyf8soq.jpg

I wouldn't call this "hellaflush" style since it's not what I was going for but you can call it what you want.

Next I painted the trim in black and used Alclad Chrome II for the accents. Lesson learned here, too heavy a clear eats/burns through the Alclad and turns it silver. I read acrylic clear works fine so I tried using Tamiya clear in the jar which seemed to work but I cleared again with Mr. Hobby gloss coat in a can and it turned silver. I've since picked up a bottle of the Alclad clear meant for the chrome paint. I'll try it out on a future project.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20103_zpsxshdk2yd.jpg

I was happy with the overall look at this point.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20104_zpsz1sytfcw.jpg

Got a little bit of bleed through on that bumper (oops).

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20105_zpsmfn3rsdd.jpg

Nearing it's exterior completion...

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20107_zpsk3viptqu.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20108_zpsjj7vzyj6.jpg

Hood finally painted but not cleared yet.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20106_zpscmlxis88.jpg

Interior airbrushed three different shades of grey per the instruction manual and even did some pre shading. After all was said and done, you barely see even two shades once the windows were installed. On top of that it basically was just one shade since the windows are slightly tinted and made it difficult to see airbrush work. Whatever!

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20110_zpsjbvumjyi.jpg

Used Tamiya Sky Blue to do the seat and steering wheel. Touch ups aren't shown here though.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20111_zpsp3rd3rgx.jpg

Roof rack sprayed in Tamiya Gloss Aluminum and later touched up with Tamiya Semi Gloss Black for the ends.

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20109_zpsmnqdz83d.jpg

So the biggest blow to my physical car aside from the many execution mistakes I made was the headlight covers. Just prior to spray painting the roof rack in the morning before work, the head light covers were still on the same piece of cardboard I was spraying on so I removed them. Not wanting to get over spray on them I placed them aside and lost them completely. I was searching for them that night when I got home and realized I must have placed them on top of my wife's car. She went to work as well that morning so...bye bye headlight covers. I was in a panic, the car wasn't close to done yet, but I had to get going because the drive was about 7 hours in total. In the end I finished what I could at my sister's house. I brought my styrene stash with me and made some very crude headlight covers. I stayed up the whole night and made it to the registration cut off with about 5 minutes to spare. My car was still wet, glue was still curing, polish was visible in the cracks, but I entered anyway knowing I pretty much stood no chance...and I didn't. I saw that there was only 3 other models in my category (stock) and all 3 were mind blowing in terms of execution and cleanliness. None of them had engine detail either and my wife was hinting that I hadn't spent enough time dedicated to the body of the car. She was right. Also, I managed to break the header I had made so it went in without it (stock manifold in place), I forgot to put the MSD components back in, etc. In the end my personal take away was that I just rushed the model in all aspects. I haven't called it quits though, I plan to address all errors on this model.

Pics of it sitting on the display table:

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20114_zps7k86yysa.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20113_zpsqxc5bwsk.jpg

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k212/mrceej/Scale%20Model%20Cars/HONDA/Tamiya%20Honda%20Prelude%20XX/Tamiya%20Prelude%20XX%20115_zpspmkb0rvh.jpg

Really good! I love it! This is such a fun kit and I am glad to see someone have so much fun with it and build it so well! I really like the surfbort. The whole look is spot on and you did a great job getting a lot of good detail into it. Great!

Thanks buddy. It's still a work in progress. I have since removed the roof rack and surfboard. I only installed it to go with the theme of the contest. I need to work on the header again and after that it's all little details in the engine bay.

It looks terrific to me!