[ejsmith]

Picked up this kit the other day from an old toy shop. It's basically a repackaged Heller kit [thanks to the forum members for the info on that!] and looks rather good on the detail side, it's even got springs for the dampers! Initial fit looks a bit dodgey and the engine cover is going to want some bending but it should be ok, just means a lot of work. One thing I'm annoyed about is the 'chrome' painted sprue. The paint looks rubbish and is all going to have to be sanded off. As a matter of course I always sand, prime and paint over the bare plastic even if it's black on black but the chrome sprue just frustrates me. The real thing is flat steel, there's no chrome there at all...
I've gathered a load of reference images and there are so many wires everywhere it's tricky to see where they all lead to. Also going to order the photo-etch set. Not sure how successful that will be because it's designed for the Fujimi kit. Hopefully I should still be able to salvage the grills though. Oh and I'm gonna pop into work tomorrow and pick up some brass tubing to redo the exhausts. Despite the work that this kit will need I'm looking forward to it, it's a goreous car







glued the rear together and then to the engine cover. Basically it wasn't going to fit so I glued the rear wings (not sure if that's the correct word to use. I'm refering to the two sections with the vents on either side of the car) to the rear and then taped them in place. However the rear is curved but the engine cover was flat so I decided superglue would be the best option. I did this while the glue on the rear wings was still setting so I could adjust the position relative to the wheel arches. After curving the engine cover by holding it in place for a few seconds I put some tape over just to make sure it stayed in place. I've since looked at the picture again and decided I wasn't happy with the curvature and took it apart and did it again. A bit more curvature and a better fit on the wheel arches second time around. Tomorrow I'll remove the tape and start the sanding/puttying process..






Meanwhile I started putting the engine together. I've glued all of the main pieces together because it can all be sprayed at the same time. I've still yet to work out where I'm going to have to drill the holes for all the wiring...
The second picture shows this horrible chrome-plated (I say chrome-plated but that means it's been painted silver) plastic.