Progress: WRX Sports Wagon

Really frustrated with my R34 model so i've started a new project..
the WRX Wagon. I really like sports wagon and WRX Wagon is one of my favourite (actually it's the STi Wagon but i don't think there is a STi Wagon model so it's the closest thing i can get, the other sports wagons i love are Audi RS4, RS6 but anyway it's off topic.)

http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/WRXWagon/wagon1.jpg

I've searched the forum and quite surprising thing is it seems there was only one WRX wagon built here. I'm going to modify it a bit, nothing really major, just the usual stuff like lowering, bigger wheels, exhaust...etc. I'm going to try do a bit putty work and trying to modify the front bumper a bit as it looks a bit dated. THis is what the front bumper looks like at the moment... I'm not really good friend with putty so i hope i won't screw up anything

http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/WRXWagon/wagon2.jpg

Body will probably be white or pearl white with matt black wheels.

Will post more pics when i have more progress
and please wish me good luck as i got really bad luck with my R34 model.:banghead:

:)

Not sure if i will put the fog lights there or not.
And the front lip is from the FD3S RX7

I look forward to this one! Jay was the only one here to have built one. I never started mine because I haven't found the right set of wheels to set it off just right. Good luck with it!!:)

sweet, I think the pearl white with black wheels will look great!

have fun, looks like an awoms ebuild so far

Sweet a change in the cars. Usally see skylines. But a WRX wagon is a great idea. Im going to follow this build up.

Look forward to more

great project, can't wait to see more progress

yeah Jay was the only one who has built a WRX wagon here. And i have problems finding some wheels for it as well as. All the wheels i got at home are female ones (and this one is male). But i'll see what i can do :)

And yes i will probably go for Pearl White

Cool. This would be a great gift for a freind of mine. Who carries it? Have you any interior plans for it?

I'm with what Chris says

thanks for the comments guys.
I bought it from my local hobby shop (there is only one shop that stocks it).

No plan for the interior at this stage as i'm still focusing on the body shell. But it will be a street car so i don't think i will do much to the interior. Probably a different steering wheel, maybe the SAS seats, and maybe a bit C/F treatment but we'll see. Definitely no rollcage or any crazy stuff :)

Richard

Good job so far, on the build and on the choice! I have not seen even the one WRX you saw, yours will be the only one I have seen so far.

alright... A power wagon!!! finally :) looking forward to seeing more..

Very cool. :sunglasse: More wagons!

The FD lip will look pretty cool, I think. The kit's side skirts and rear spats should give you a good building block start on the rest.

Look up pkw1's thread about building the sedan version of the same kit. He went in-depth about how to modify the complicated rear suspension and adapting different wheels. (bit his pictures may be dead now... :( ) I just cheated and glued the wheels higher up on the hubs.

Let me know what you do with the 3rd brake light. I tried painting it several different ways, but it looked like crap no matter what I did.

I think I'd like to build it again someday, and kitbash it with a Fujimi ver V or VI kit for the later front end and hood.

You might want to look up how it looks in white, with a black c/f hood, but with a white scoop and vents. ;) (Because it looks awesome!)

Oh i've just checked pkw1's thread. man the lowering + adapting different wheels look really complicate!!!! Maybe i'll just cheat as well heeee....

And his putty work is simply amazing.. i just don't understand how you guys can make the putty looks so nice, clean and smooth and looks just like "factory". While i have lots of problems just filling a small hole!!! Lots to learn i guess but anyway learning is part of the fun isn't it?

There are quite a lot WRX/STi Wagons around here in NZ. (I've test drive a few of them before i bought my S15.) And i saw a white one with CF bonnet and it looks very cool! So I may do that.. not sure about the cf hood with white scoops and vents tho heeee

A small update: Progress is slow as i'm pretty busy these few days..
still working on the front bumper.. decided not to use the FD3S lip.. but use the lower part of the CWest FD3S front bumper instead. Looks a bit more aggressive. And here are two more pics (obviously the front bumper is not finished yet.. )

http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/WRXWagon/wagon3.jpg
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/WRXWagon/wagon4.jpg

Looking great!
I am always excited when I see a wagon. :lol:

nice dude you got talent did yo ever finish the streeted skyline im dyin to see it

turbo type-r: no not yet. The skyline is now swimming in brake fluid pool as i need to strip the paint and repaint it again, yes AGAIN!!. I also run out of primer and alclad paint so need to go grab some this weekend or else next weekend. Really frustrated as i've spent a lot of time on the skyline and my theory seems to be:
THE MORE TIME YOU SPEND ON A PROJECT, THE MORE LIKELY YOU WILL MESS IT UP AT THE END!!!!!
but anyway, instead of keep working on the skyline and keep screwing it up, i thought i should take a break from it and work on a different project first. But don't worry, i'll work on the skyline again soon.

good theory lol

not enuf people see the significance of a nice wagon... great job and thanks!

Wagon is looking good so far.

Nice project. Never seen a Impreza Wagon project. looking forward to see this one finished!!!

Oh yeah, Be careful around those B-pillars. They're ultra-thin. I had to replace one of mine outright.

Looking great so far! :D

Wagons rock!! Keep going with it!! :sunglasse

I really like that front bumper! Awesome job.

Inteior finished, nothing really special. Still working on the front bumper.
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/WRXWagon/interior1.jpg
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/WRXWagon/interior2.jpg

no comments? do you thnk the interior is a bit boring?? or too ugly? :P
tell me even if you don't like it :)

Hey dude...your interior look clean man...i like it...but dont really like the seats to be too glossy...making it look as if it is coated with plastic rather than cushion etc....in my opinion :icon16:

:iagree: I think it needs a coat of semigloss on the seats and flat on the floor... interesting color :) I can not really judge you as I suck at building car interiors :iceslolan

I am sure it will be fine...

Looks good, the interior needs some flat or semi-gloss clear coat IMO.

Did you sand off the side markers? Are you going to replace them?

I removed mine, but not before I made a simple latex mold intending to make clear replacements, but it didn't work out for mine... :(

Thanks for the comments guys.. I bought some flat clear paint yesterday and i think it looks more realistic now. Thanks!!!!
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/WRXWagon/interior3.jpg
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/WRXWagon/interior4.jpg

and here is a small update pic of the body:
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/WRXWagon/wagon5.jpg

Still working on it but i'm almost there

Jay: yeah as you can probably see from the pic, i'm sanding off the side markers as they look just too fake. and I will try to replace them with something... my C-West RX7 got some spare sidemarkers which i think should be ok.

Looking good, great putty work..............

Later, Mike :smokin:

Looks hot. Like the interior. The putty work is great.

tightness bro tightness

Looking good, nice putty work as well, should be a stunner :)

The interior looks nicer with flat clear.
Nice work on the bumper too.

I've changed my mind. Instead of (pearl) white, i've decided to paint it BLACK !!! :biggrin:
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/WRXWagon/wagon6.jpg

I was thinking of matt black at the beginning but now i think i'll add a clear coat and polish it instead.

The wheels are the Advan RG. This is the only set of male wheels i got at home (apart from the 13" cappucino wheels) .. i've painted it in a custom metallic dark blue colour.. unfortunately they seem to be too big!!!!!!! not only it completely fill the wheel arch, it's too wide and even with the modified suspension it still doesn't fit very well.. also it makes the car sitting so high even thou i've already lowered the suspension. :banghead:


http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/WRXWagon/wagon7.jpg


So i'll probably have to find another set of wheels... :disappoin

Show the stock wheels for comparison... ;)

Looks great. Love black. Yet the wheels look fine to me. But then again it does look a bit high.

Guess what? I changed my mind again :)
i feel the surface wasn't really smooth so i strip the paint and redo the putty again. And this time i choose another colour.. which is:






BLUE :)
And this is what it looks like now after a few layer of clear coats. Yeah some orange peel but should disappear after polishing.

http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/WRXWagon/wagon8.jpg
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/WRXWagon/wagon9.jpg



The colour in the photo is a bit off. The blue should be slightly darker.

And i've decided to use this wheels (some of you may know where are the wheels from) .
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/WRXWagon/wagon10.jpg
These wheels are quite wide so i cut them into two halves and now i can JUST fit them under the guard. They are a bit too big but i can't find any wheels that i like and in smaller size.

That's what i got so far..

Looks very nice. The front bumper is better than from the real car.

Wow, that interior is awesome. I love the Carbon Fiber accents in the interior. Really nice work with the putty on the front bumper also. Can't wait to see it done :naughty:

I have to admit, I'm not as thrilled to see it in blue as I would have been to see it in White or Black. But, it's your kit. :dunno:

You say you re-sculpted the putty? Like, all the way from scratch again?

And, BTW, I also has to cut the tires I used in half to make them fit... But I don't think mine were nearly as large as yours.

danm thats nice. I think the flat black was better in my opinion. but danm it looks nice. THE RIMS ARE OFF THE CHAIN

This looks very nice! I love the rims!!

Correct me if I´m wrong but is the shifter backwards? :D

Clean looking build you've got going on here Richard. I especially like the rims.

Flying finn: I don't think the shifter was backwards as i did try to make sure it's in the right direction when i glue it on.. but now you make me look at the pic again and it seems you are right? Hm... ok i'll check it tonight, and yeah you have sharp eyes! :loser:

Jay: Yeah i agree with you. I like it white more than any colour and if i buy a real wrx wagon, it has to be white. But i just suddenly see this blue colour and really want to try it so :evillol:.. heee... maybe i'll build another one later and paint it white.
and no, i didn't redo it from scratch.. but i did cut the putty back quite a bit and spent 4 more days on it. I think it's a bit more balanced now and a lot smoother. Still not perfect to be honest and i have to improve my putty skills a lot! Yeah the wheels are pretty big. But as i said i can't find any smaller wheels that i like. All the smaller wheels i got are those "factory" wheels are either too small, too ugly. or in most case both.


Thanks for the feedback guys and feel free to comment (either +ve or -ve) :)

The wagon is looking great! Keep us posted on the progress!!

A small update:
polished the roof tonight using T-cut then Tamiya polish (1st time). Not really finished but if you look at the pic below and you'll know that i'm very happy with the result :
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/WRXWagon/wagon11.jpg

The tamiya polish is very good stuff!!! HIghly recommend.

PLease wish me luck as i don't want to polish back to primer :/

I like it!! I'm just glad to see one being built!! Mine still has the plastic on the box :p I see your real car in your sig; tell them to put yours in the front!;)

ok after nearly one week of polishing (i'm kinda busy), the body is nice and shinny now :D
just to show you how much orange peel there was (even after clear coat) and how much i need to improve until i can get PMan shine:
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/WRXWagon/wagon12.jpg

and here are two pics after polishing:
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/WRXWagon/wagon13.jpg
http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/WRXWagon/wagon14.jpg

Will work on details now.

I guess I was lying before: I'm very excited to see it in blue. ;)

what a huge improvement... great job

what a huge improvement... great job
:1:

is there gonna be a 22b bumper?
and
nice wanna se it done! =D

holy crud that shine is amazing!

I'm a bit busy recently so didn't have much time to work on it but finally it's finished.
I was really frustrated with the transparent window part as it doesn't fit very well on the body.:banghead: I always hate glueing the windows onto the body shell but this one is the worse! Probably not a design fault just the body was slightly deformed so the window doesn't match the shape of the body perfectly (esp A-pillar). The CF wheels and brakes are from my (now dead :disappoin) Xanavi R34. Intercooler was scratch built as factory WRX has top mount intercooler.
I took some pic before i sleep last night. Didn't have time to clean it so it was quite dirty (and dusty) with lots of fingermarks on it. If you guys want, i'll take some better day time pics of it this weekend after i clean it up and before i put it into my display case.

http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/WRXWagon/wagon17.jpg

http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/WRXWagon/wagon16.jpg

http://img25.photobucket.com/albums/v75/yellow15/Models/WRXWagon/wagon15.jpg