S13 Silvia - IN PROGRESS

[Leon L]

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

[jgmodelcars]

very cool project, i have a ridiculous amount of videos of drift cars without bumpers anyone can im me if they want some: trigun star 71

good work so far!!

[OzZySi]

Heh, good luck on your project. I almost bought that kit today when I went out to buy a 350Z. It was marked down to like, $8. I didn't feel like shelling out the extra for rims though, lol.

[Leon L]

Yeah, the stock wheels are quite horrific. I'm only fitting basic Nismo R-6's, but anything is an improvement over the standard ones.

[blueboost]

welcome leon, I am liking your style already!

I have thought about doing something similar with my current silvia project as far as detachable bumper, huge highly detailed FMIC. You may already know, but you can always sit those brakes in CSC or brake fluid and it will remove the paint. I'll be watching this project as it moves along, thanks for sharing.

[tonioseven]

Welcome to AF and thanks fore sharing this project with us!!

[Leon L]

Thanks for the comments

I spent a few days lurking, searching, checking FAQ's and so on, so I picked up the brake fluid tip - got plenty of that laying around so I'll get those various parts soaking (got a shedload of WRC dampers too)

As I can't get plasticard (sheet styrene) until the weekend, I've cut a template from card ready.


If you look at a real S13, once the lamps, grille and bumper are removed there isn't a great deal left. There is no steel "valance" to speak of, just the headlamp brackets, and crossmember. There's a prominent washer bottle of some sort on the right hand side, opposite where the SMIC normally sits, so I'll have to replicate that with something translucent, maybe a fogged block of clear plastic.
The radiator hides most of the panel (the largest part in the centre of the template), and in turn the intercooler will hide much of the rad, plus the two horns.
I was going to steal an intercooler from an old Evo kit, but I think I'll make a big one like the GReddy job I saw on a Skyline-engined real S13.

Still undecided on what to use for the intercooler piping, possibly solder wire?

[willimo]

Solder wire is good for piping, but only if you can find it big enough. I'm sure there is some big enough out there, but I don't have it and my piping tends to look a little small, like something you would use to pipe a daily driven turbo Civic, not a killer Nissan. People have good luck with aluminum tube, but I cannot bend it to save my life. Failing solder, I have used old sprue. I like the silver paint on it anyway, its more like the heat resistant coating thats on most piping like that.

I really like this no-front-bumper idea. It's going to look hardcore. Can't wait to see how it turns out!

[Leon L]

Oh...for those not knowing what I'm on about with the "bumperless" look, here's a very short clip. (these are S14's)

Right click, save as (please excuse the poor quality, but it should give you an idea)

Bumperless Drift Cars - 900kb

[86_SR5]

you got a hell of a project on your hands. might as well dump a turbo sr20 in there! hope this turns out great. love the look of bumperless drift machines!

[Leon L]

Well, this is the first kit I've built using aftermarket parts, customisation and so on. Before I've only ever made them out of the box so it's all a bit new to me.
I thought long and hard about making an engine, but in the end decided I wouldn't have the skills I needed.

However, when the kit arrived I was pleased to see that the sump, base of the bottom end, turbo and so on are already in place. Hmmmmmmmmmm thanks a bunch Tamiya now I have a dilemma.

I might end up scratching a head for the engine. Until I'm happy with it I won't cut the bonnet - that way, if it looks awful I can leave the bonnet shut and pretend it never happened

[EMAXX]

Looks good so far. If this is your first time customizing, and engine might be a little more than you want to bite off. Once you get into the grove of customizing model cars, and you've built a few, then you might want to try. Keep us posted on how the build goes.

[remus_nl]

very nice dude

[Leon L]

Rough cut boot



Much better sanded



There won't be anything terribly exciting in here, I just want to try out some carpeting techniques and get back into building with plasticard

[AsongKar]

cool~