Well, it had to happen sooner or later. Stumbled across these forums whilst looking for something totally different and rekindled a long-dead interest in modelling.
Part of the reason I got disillusioned at the time was the lack of all my favourite Japanese car kits in the UK. Now of course, having found out about HLJ, Hobbysearch and so on, I find myself with a huge list of kits I
need to build.
Anyway, enough of that. The first kit I ordered was an S13 Silvia, the Tamiya version. Why the Tamiya one? Well, I actually ordered a Fujimi one too, but the Tamiya one got posted first
I wanted to concentrate on building a replica of a realistic, usable modified car. So if you've come into this thread expecting excessive Wings West bodykits, 10 degrees of negative camber and wheels so big they'd be more suited to a fairground, I'm afraid you will be disappointed.
You are more likely to find a clean, basically stock body, exposed FMIC, subtle wheels and lowering and a mildly modded interior.
First thing I noticed about the Tamiya kit is the upsetting lack of headlamp bowl detail (as well as a few NASTY seams)
I might well cut the lamp area out and rebuild it into something a little more detailed. Time will tell.
I wanted to piss about with the front bumper, as well as fit an FMIC. I've seen a lot of Japanese guys running S13 and 14's with no front bumper - presumably to increase airflow and save catching it on high kerbs etc. when drifting. This is a feature I wanted to incorporate on my model. I know, I know, some Fujimi S13's have seperate bumpers, but what's life without a challenge?
15 minutes with a knife later....
Argh what a mess! Not only is the Tamiya plastic high in vinyl, making it "shred" when cut, but it also has a tendancy to split, hence the indicator area being a total mess.
Still, with the body part sanded down, it actually looks presentable, so I can call into town for some plasticard and start replicating the front of the inner wings and attached front panel
As you can see, the top corners of the bumper chipped off, so will need careful rebuilding with some sort of model putty. I also want to add a lower splitter/spoiler to give the bumper a slightly more purposeful look. Like I said, it won't always be displayed "on", but when it is, I want it to look a touch more aggressive than stock.
Last pic for now shows my brake dilemma. The kit brakes are crap (bottom left) and I'm not forking out for photo-etch or anything on this particular kit, so I emptied my long-forgotten spares box and found a pile of awfully painted (what was I, some sort of butcher?) Hasegawa WRC car brakes - Tarmac spec Impreza WRC setup, anyone?
That's all the pics I have for now, until I get supplies at the weekend. Until then, comments, questions and so on are welcome
