Tamiya Subaru Impreza WRC 2002

Hey all,
I picked up the Subaru Impreza WRC 2002 kit at the hobby shop tonight, after much debating and many assurances from the salesman that it was completely different to the 2001 Monte Carlo Impreza kit(#24240) and the body changes had been made in the kit.
When I got home I pulled out my 2001 kit and got the 2002 kit aside of it and compared the 2, there is NO difference, all the mold markings are the same(24240 inside the body to designate kit # even).

So here is my point, if you already have a 2001 Subaru Impreza WRC and were thinking of getting the 2002 Subaru Impreza WRC, don't waste your time, all you are getting is the same kit as you already have but with the different set of decals.

If you were wanting to build the 2002 car, rather get the transkit and do some body mods like Subaru did on the real car.

I hope my anguish will save some of you some anguish, since I know many of my AF friends had mentioned possibly getting this kit.

Hey, you could take the money and buy the 2002 Peugeot and get at least a half-updated kit instead of a re-release with different decals(that sounds like something R-M would usually do, not Tamiya)

I must say, this is the first time Tamiya has disappointed me, but I am hoping they will bring out a kit of the new 2003 car with the new shape nose.......I can hope:)

Ray

Strange. I've only known of one other instance where Tamiya pulled a Revell-o-gram and that was the With Me Racing CBR1100XX. The box top art was correct, but it did not represent what was in the box! They simply put their stock XX in with some decals and that was it! The most obvious mistake was the stock bike had 3 spoke rims and the racing bike had 5. I guess in this modern age, even Tamiya has to do an occasional questionable boxing. Bummer...
Bill
:bandit:

Still, not all is bad, you got a new kit, didn't you :rolleyes:

Yeah, I'm with Jonno, look on the bright side Ray, you got a new kit :)

Too bad it's not updated though :(

Well, that's really a bummer... :(
maybe you should just put some work (,glue and putty ) in it to transform it to the "real" 2002 car?

are there actually such prominent differences between these two cars ?

Hey Ray, don't get too freaky on us! :D

What differences were you and your (obviously very shady) salesman expecting? The Tamiya kit is for the 2002 Tour de Corse, the third round of the championship, and that car was essentialy the same as the 2001 car. Changes at that stage were very minimal, you won't need a transkit to convert it or even putty! Only differences I can see is a lower front air dam and a slightly higher exhaust position that cuts into the bumper. Boot catches were different too, but they are best replaced by aftermarket bits anyway. If there are any other changes they must be very minor because I can't see them ;)

Later in the year they removed the roof ventilation scoop, but that is dead easy to leave off. The major changes will happen on the 2003 car with a whole new front and rear end. Subaru have even been experimenting with a 'fenced' wing like on the latest evo of the 206.

Tamiya are as guilty of decal engineering as any other company but most of the time they do a reasonably smart job of it. This kit and the recently announced Focus being a case in point.

I'm almost finished with that kit. I've noticed something, the drivers look like midgets when placed in the car. The driver seems to have to look through the steering wheel and the co-driver can barely see over the dash. I didn't notice until after I had glued them in and test fitted the body. The really strange thing is that the same driver figures in the 206 seem to be the right size. If I had known they were going to look like two little kids trying to drive dad's rally car, I would have given them booster seats. :D

:thumbup: :D

Can you get a pic of that ?
:D

Yeah, I'll post one later today when I drag out my digital camera. Going to sleep for a bit first. :)

Phil,
I wasn't expecting any initially, but the 'shady salesman' was adamant the kit had the revised fender flares, wing and healight cluster of the later 2002 cars....I don't know why I let him convince me of this.....hehe.....I was pretty certain Tamiya wouldn't produce a whole new mold for 1 year.....although they did revise the aerial positions....like that was a big deal?
I started this thread because the was some debate previously about whether it would indeed be a revised mold:)
Decal engineering? You mean all the Pug kits that still aren't 100% accurate since they issued the 1999? At least they revised the body for the 2002 if not much else:)

Jonno and Toksin, yep, one more kit to build......that's 5 Subaru's I have now....hehe

Ray

Still better than "new carbon fiber hood decal"(that's actually just a sheet of semigloss black) Fujimi ;)

Ok, as promised, here are the pics:

http://members.aol.com/asmenoth/subaru1

Another view:

http://members.aol.com/asmenoth/subaru2

And the 206 with the figs looking "normal"

http://members.aol.com/asmenoth/206

See, the "guys" in the Impreza look like joyriding kids, while the "guys" in the pug look "normal" :D :D

You didn't have opportunity to open box and check what is it inside?
In one hobby shop where I buy kits, they allow everybody to check what is inside.

Originally posted by hrmodeler
You didn't have opportunity to open box and check what is it inside?
In one hobby shop where I buy kits, they allow everybody to check what is inside.

They used to do that at some hobbyshops around here, but people would open them up and take that needed part, or wheel set, so they stopped now :( .

If completely nessicery, we can open the boxes at the counter under close supervision of somebody working there.

Originally posted by Asmenoth
See, the "guys" in the Impreza look like joyriding kids, while the "guys" in the pug look "normal" :D :D

Might look a bit funny at first - like one of those 'ricer boys' with the seat laid back so far they are almost horizontal - but, in the Impreza the drivers do sit very low. I remember that Ford eventually had Nicky Grist sitting so low in the Focus he could not see the road ahead and had to rely on the g-forces to let him know where he was in the pace notes.

Check out this picture I don't think Kaj can see much of the road!
Also with the year Tommi just had he probably wants plenty of headroom so he wont bang his head when he rolls :D

http://files.automotiveforums.com/uploads/716857EK_09.jpg

Still your right Asmenoth, in your kit the driver is probably still a little low. Perhaps you could raise him a bit and lower the steering wheel a tad as well, should look about right then.

Hmmm, true. I might be able to raise the seat a bit. Here's a pic that shows the driver a bit higher.

http://www.swrt.com/cpimages/100107.jpg

Of course it might just be driver preference and such. But I agree with you in that the steering wheel seems a bit high.