I'm working lately on Hasegawa's BMW E36 318i.
As I pointed out in a recent thread, this is probably the most mundane kit in my collection. But I love the E36, even the "plain, boring" versions. I own two of them, and I have to say it is a lot of fun working on a build of a car that you are familiar with.
This is not a new build for me. In fact, it is one of my oldest. I got the kit well before the turn of the century (back when the E36 was still hot in production), and probably started it almost immediately. At the time, I really wanted to convert it to an M3. But happily I soon found Dragon's M3 kit (such as it is), and converting this one became pointless. So it sat in limbo for many years. It probably could have been a fast, easy build at one point, but I didn't really get back to it. I couldn't seem to pick wheels for it, or a color for it- and I felt like I should do
something to it, so that it wouldn't be quite so plain.
And then I stared to realize that I rather like the plain version. (Maybe because there aren't nearly as many of them running around as there were 15+ years ago.) I even like the original stock wheels now. So then I had
an idea!- Build it completely stock, plain, untampered with, except- working angel eyes. We will see how it goes.
The kit itself is pretty decent. The body looks great, the wheels are quite good, and the chassis is good. The interior has a strange annoying feature or two, but nothing catastrophic.
Black! Here is the body painted and clear coated, waiting for polishing. Thank you again to BVC500 for some decals!!- unfortunately the originals didn't fare well over the years.
The chassis is pretty straightforward. (But the dark color is giving me some trouble with focus!
)
Bilstein shocks/struts and Eibach sway bar- highly recommended upgrades on full size E36s, and they help break up the otherwise monotonous black of the underside. (The 850 is getting the same treatment
) Exhaust system yet to come, and the wheels need to be painted something other than chrome.
So far, so good- it looks a bit like a BMW.
There is more to come. This kit has suddenly become my finish by the end of the year project. We will see if I can make that happen.
