Finished: Tamiya ARTA NSX

This is a kit that I finished recently of Tamiya's ARTS NSX. I love the look of the real car and I'm happy with the finished look of the kit but for some reason I didn't really enjoy building it.

This is my first build of one of Tamiya's new "diecast chassis / simplified suspension" kits and I have to say, that part of the kit didn't bother me. Truth of the matter is that when it's finshed you can't see the chassis / suspension anyway.

What did bother me about this kit? The lack of detail elsewhere!!:mad: . I really dissaprove of Tamiya not molding the details into things like the brake disks, the hood pins, etc. in an attempt to force people to buy the PE Upgrage sets to get the same detail they used to and could have molded into the plastic parts. To me, this is the biggest let down of the kit. I can live with the diecast chassis, etc... but don't simplify the molded detail of the plastic parts included in the kit just to force us to spend more money on a kit that already cost as much as these kits do.:nono:

I'm finished complaining now....;) Here are the pic's.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Completed%20Model%20Cars/ARTA%20NSX/100_0741.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Completed%20Model%20Cars/ARTA%20NSX/100_0739.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Completed%20Model%20Cars/ARTA%20NSX/100_0732.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Completed%20Model%20Cars/ARTA%20NSX/100_0731.jpg
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Completed%20Model%20Cars/ARTA%20NSX/100_0729.jpg

A few more pics here: http://s5.photobucket.com/albums/y197/justdande/Completed%20Model%20Cars/ARTA%20NSX/

Superamazing!

I really do know what you mean. Just simply engraved discbrakes would make a whole lot of difference, without having to use PE.

Letting that go, the build really is superb! Great paintwork, supergood decaling, it looks just... as it should be. You did clearcoat the Decals?

With what?

Olivier

Great model, Eric! I take it you didn't get suckered into buying that PE set then?

First the nice words: It turned out super! I too love thecolor scheme of this car and you made it perfec.
Now the not so nice words: I totally agree with your criticism of the kit. I can live with the diecast chassis in a race car that has a flat bottom anyway. But the poor detail elsewhere is just not up to Tamyia standard. It's amazing that they can produce such great detail into kits like the Enzo and the Carrera GT, and do so bad in others like the one above. I just hope that they give up on that policy soon.

Superb! That red is so hot, the overal apperance very realistic.

I am actually of the opposite opinion regarding the diecast chassis and PE. I'm the kind of sucker who is going to use PE anyway, so having the flat disc faces actually makes it easier for me. The diecast chassis I continue to detest for all the reasons outlined here before. Having actually built a metal chassis kit just confirms the issues.

Wow, I'm not a lover of this kind of cars ...but it turned out very realistic and what a shiny painting !!!

Robi :)

Great finish, what orange did you use?

Outstanding finish, very striking looking model.

Very nice! Always loved the Autobacs cars.

Saw this in my lhs but was too tempted by the merc slr :p . Def gonna pick up this kit when I can now after seeing such great results that you've done. Nice build.

:bigthumb: GREAT!

Beautiful build. One of my fav liveries of the NSX.

I do agree with you and do not approve of Tamiya's corner cutting. Not only do they reduce the amount of detail in the kit, but they significantly raise their prices also!!:nono: :shakehead :banghead:

She's a beauty!

very great, super clean work

I hear you on this, but it still looks awesome!
For someone like myself who enjoys adding extra P/E I don't mind, but I would be annoyed if I didn't have the funds!

Great looking car and you did a superb job. I do thik your review would stop me getting it though. Does it have engine detail?

:bigthumb: :1: :1: :1: :1:

What a FLAWLESS finish you got!!!
Great build!!, I didn't know that these cars looked so god when finished!! Well, when finished this good, I know that it is not the model but the modeler, And you made look this kit awesome!, now I have to buy one...

Thanks for sharing
Are there pics of the process?
Congrats!

Great work. Killer looks this livery and color combination carries. Congrats on this wonderful result. Must look wonderful on the self!

Thanks to all of you for the compliments. To answer some of the questions.

I didn't clear over the decals on this kit. They are produced with a very glossy finish and I decided to avoid the risk of melting them with clear since that would probably be my luck.

I can understand why some people wouldn't be bothered by the lack of detail and the preference to buy the PE set. For me, I think it's more about the choice of the matter at the price you pay. If it were a $15 revell kit spending extra money to further detail it is somewhat expected. But if it's a $48.00 Tamiya kit, I expect there to be some minimal standard detail molded in the plastic, at least the brake discs.

For those that asked, this particular kit does not have an engine. It would be nice if it did but the fact that the rear window on the car is all black you can't see any of the engine anyway like you could with the past NSX racers.

The color is Tamiya TS-36 Fluorescent Red sprayed over the white plasitc and cleard with Tamiya TS-13 clear. Both from the can. The fluorescent red was difficult to paint, in my opinion, you really have to spary several light coats building up the color to get it even and it's very difficult for my camera to photograph it accurately. The color is much brighter and red-er in person.

The color is Tamiya TS-36 Fluorescent Red sprayed over the white plasitc and cleard with Tamiya TS-13 clear. Both from the can. The fluorescent red was difficult to paint, in my opinion, you really have to spary several light coats building up the color to get it even and it's very difficult for my camera to photograph it accurately. The color is much brighter and red-er in person.

Eric Thanks again for sharing such a good job.
I'm working for the first time with Tamiya spray lacquers right from the can also, so I find this very interesting!
And is the reason why I'm asking if it is possible for you to go a little deep on the explanation of the process you followed to acquire that finish?
How many coats? Mist coats? Wet coats? Time between coats? Sanding? Polishing process? This would be a much appreciated help.

Thanks again!!

It looks fantastic! Clean job on painting and decaling, impressive. Hope that my Raybrig will be comparable...

Macio4ever

I'm working on the same model right now.
I'm using TS36 with airbrusher. In my case I bought PE to have some more details.

applause! very clean work dude. soon i'll be having honda nsx.

what paint did you use for the gold rims? those looks fantastic...