galaxyg

Very nice, great colour scheme. Good to know it's a nice kit, I wonder what else Meng will do for 1/24 cars.

Really really nice. Those wheels really set it off.

That's a nice build, and a great shine. I have this same kit (as yet unbuilt) and I notice you've gone for the non-Nismo version from the in-box choices of bumpers, skirts and wheels. I'm likely to do the same. In real life, mechanically - engine and chassis, this Skyline Coupe is a Nissan 350Z.

Fantastic ! I look forward to seeing it on here. Happy building.

Background: A car so wild I had to add this to my collection. Knowing this one comes with adjustable suspension so it can easily be de-cambered made the decision even easier. And it was the perfect excuse to try a more unusual colour. Pros: This is a kit which very much seems designed to be assembled. That seems strange to say, all kits must be - but this one more so than most. A lot of parts have small locator pins and matching holes in the part they join, and it just makes assembly so much easier. About 1/3 of the parts can be made as push-fit without glue and a lot of those are in places I'd really not want to be taking glue anyway. The kit has a perfect shape and proportions, nice sharp clean mouldings, great fitment of nearly everything, has parts divided in a logical way to make for very little masking (I only masked the dashboard), sharp high quality decals and a detailed interior. In addition there are not only decals but in some cases, stickers and this also makes for an easier assembly than usual. Cons: The side scoop bodywork behind the doors fits perfectly but not when coupled with the fake-mesh part that goes with it. Then some thought and reinforcement is needed. The suspension entirely lacks detail but given the selling point of adjustable height and camber, this is fair. Verdict: Brilliant. The results speak for the kit's quality and the fact that I was able to go from opening the box to completed kit in only 2 weeks is as much a testament to how much the kit has been designed to be built without fuss as it is to the amount of time I threw at it. Build notes: Built over the course of two weeks in April 2024, painted in Halfords rattle-can Ford Tibetan Bronze, clearcoated with Mr Hobby Gloss Premium. I've added a Japanese number plate, some hoses to the engine, some carbon and alu-fibre wrap in a few areas and the Lamborghini badge on the front is a 3rd party item. Otherwise, it's as it came in the box. I did further experimentation with this model to find out what are the perfect conditions for photography - always easier on shiny road cars, and that has made for some great results which although still not quite indistinguishable from a 1:1 car, are another step closer than I've got before. I'm very pleased with both the pics and the result, the build has a much smaller number of minor imperfections than usual and no major ones; it is now my favourite build of 2024.. so far.

Background: The TOCA games by Codemasters on Playstation introduced me to the BTCC (British Touring Car Championships) right in the middle of the fantastic Super Touring era, and the A4 is one of that era's stars. As soon as the kit was announced (years ago) I knew I had to have one. After a long long wait for release, eventually it was available. Pros: Almost everything but in particular: perfect shape, nice sharp clean mouldings, great fitment of nearly everything, perfect seamless tyres, sharp high quality decals, nicely detailed interior. Cons: Fitting the glass is a pain, as there's so little glue contact area. The back windscreen is a perfect fit *when held in place* but it's natural curve is slightly less than the hole it drops into, meaning you have to use something more powerful to glue it in place than you'd want to on clear parts with little contact area. The front and sides are also not easy to glue in. The instruction manual shows the several parts fitting either in a direction or point in the build that is physically impossible and there's a small bit of the rollcage the instructions forget to tell you about entirely. Verdict: A very very good kit. Recommended. Build notes: Built over the course of one month in March-April 2024. Painted in Tamiya Mica Silver. Additions to the kit are the seatbelts and PE buckles, some wiring and detail on the interior, and the PE bonnet and boot catches.

Background: I was always going to build a Delta at some point, it was just a case of which one. Hasegawa offer a lot of liveries and though many of them were tempting - especially the Sega Rally classic, Martini. However in the end I went for the Carlos Sainz car, the 1993 Jolly Club Repsol Delta Acropolis Rally. I've learned that Hasegawa's kits of this era are frequently gravel height regardless of the intended subject or event, so at least I knew choosing this one for the Acropolis Rally would not have to have it's suspension modified to look correct. Pros: It has a Photo Etch fret included, and material for the seatbelts and mudflaps. More or less goes together OK. Some areas have a good level of detail - the dashboard is good for example. Ride height is correct for a gravel setup. Cons: The moulding for the body is quite scruffy and soft, especially around the windows. The glue points for the rollcage are tiny and weak. The front suspension is weak, vague, fiddly and has far too much play in the steering - with everything connected correctly you can point both front wheels in opposite directions. The tyres are too big and look like tractor tyres, I had to swap them. The front lights and grille could have been engineered better to aid painting. The instructions show one of the decals on the roof incorrectly - 180 degrees from the correct orientation. The supplied decals combine the Repsol logos for many parts with the colours behind them meaning you don't have the option to paint these big areas instead without obtaining other decals, which is doubly annoying since the blue parts of the Repsol livery on the decals are almost black and therefore automatically look incorrect and in need of replacement. Verdict: Not terrible but certainly not good either. It's an OK model the produces an OK but slightly scruffy result (which at least for a rally car can be partly disguised by some weathering). It's typical of many kits from this era of Hasegawa. It's certainly not good enough to make me think about buying a second one, as I had originally planned. Build notes: Built over the course of one month in Feb-Mar 2024. Changes to what came in the box are: Tamiya driver and co-driver figures added, seatbelts added, hoses and wiring inside added, new decals for the Repsol logos, changed tyres, weathering and a diorama base.

That is a very nice green. It's interesting how much of the character of the car is changed when the wheels are changed, not a big fan of the originals either. What green is the interior?

Really fantastic, great colour great finish and engine. I'd also love to see what your photo setup is. In particular - is the reflection down the side of the car a real scene - you've photographed outside? Or it's a reflection of something you've setup to mimic an outside horizon?

Very very nice. Such a clean and tidy build, something to be proud of.

Very nice. One of the best looking rally cars ever.

Sweet. Great colour.

Background: I'd bought this kit cheap to use its wheels on another build, and I thought I might as well build up the rest of it - in the end borrowing wheels from another unbuilt kit to do so (the F430 challenge). It is a nice looking Ferrari if not their best, and I use one in this colour scheme a lot in Gran Turismo 7. It makes a change from building a red one. Pros: It's a good shape and for the most part fits together perfectly. The wheels have a nice plating effect, the transparent parts very shiny and clear and on the whole it's a joy to build. Cons: Body moulded in red - ugh but understandable given how many will be painted that colour. Interior moulded in red - double ugh. I had a struggle with the body over the chassis at the end, once the interior was all in place, and while the front and everything from the engine backwards are OK, the chassis bulges downwards a little right behind the front wheels, although it's not visible in photos. The mountings for the door mirrors are pathetically small. The chassis/suspension has a low level of detail, although this does keep the kit simple. Verdict: It's a very very good kit and an easy and enjoyable build. Whenever this kit was engineered, it was when Fujimi had put their "it'll do" period behind them. As a kit, this Fujimi F430 is as good as Fujimi's F355 is bad. Build notes: Built over the course of about 4 weeks in January/February 2024. Changed the wheels for the ones from the F430 challenge kit (only difference is - these are centre lock). Added scratch-built B-pillars and some wiring to the engine, otherwise built as-is. Painted with Tamiya TS-50 Mica blue, with the interior painted in Hycote Vauxhall Mustard Yellow. For whatever reason, this particular build is a total dust magnet and proves quite stubborn to let all of it go.

Background: Found in the bargain-bin of a secondhand model kit shop in Tokyo as it'd been lightly started. I've always liked this shape of Mercedes SL - sleek and elegant. Buying it was an easy decision. Pros: Great shape, full engine, very detailed chassis, removable roof and poseable roll hoop - the whole works. If this were a later production Tamiya kit, they'd have put it in a black box instead to indicate its premium-ness. Cons: The wheels are horribly chromed, and need to be stripped. The bonnet doesn't sit perfectly without the help of something like blu-tack to hold it down. On my build - the wheels on the drivers side did not all sit straight and given there's really only one way to build a Tamiya kit, I wonder if this was me or just the kit. Rear locating tabs for chassis->body are weak and small. Mounting points for rear bumper are also small. The entire roof is made from transparent plastic, I'd have preferred this solid plastic with a separate rear window. Verdict: It's a very comprehensive and detailed kit from Tamiya with just a few niggles that stop it being called perfect. Build notes: Built over the course of about 7 weeks in December 2023 - January 2024. Painted in Tamiya Mica silver with a Peugeot Antelope beige interior. I've made few additions to what came in the box aside from a few extra wires and cables in the engine bay, plug the cross member at the front of the engine bay/ grille area. I have made adjustments to the driver's side wheels hubs (some grinding) to get the wheels on that side to sit straight.

This is fantastic, and the roof being body colour, change of wheels and the addition of the front lip and wing make it look so much better than the standard model. And you had this on the cover of the Tamiya Model Magazine. Bravo!

Presented in chronological order. My top 3 favourites would be the JACCS Accord, the Lamborghini Murcielago and the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all. Here's the last of my year in 1/24. Background: I bought this kit in a small town called Kitakata a long long way from Tokyo. Walking along the Kitakata streets in the pouring rain I saw a toy shop on the other side of the road and thought "there are stacks of white boxes at the back of that shop, I wonder if they are model kits?" Almost like some kind of kit radar. The shop was run by an elderly Japanese couple who were no doubt surprised by the sudden appearance of a foreign tourist and given the location and conditions, perhaps the only customer that day. A happy discovery as they had one of the kits on my list - this Honda Fit; I didn't see another in any other shop on the entire trip. It was here - by lucky chance - or nothing. The Honda Fit / Jazz is something I'd describe as both a quintessential Japanese car and a quintessential Honda. Small and clever. There was a time when it was Japan's best selling car. The kit itself is something of an oddity for Tamiya - released in both motorized and non-motorised versions (only the chassis is different, and the motorized version has a driver figure), the engineering of the kit is certainly not their usual style even if it is their usual quality. Even the box is different, using different fonts and without the usual front/rear/side elevation illustrations that Tamiya boxes have along the sides of the box. This seems to be the the last ordinary everyday car that Tamiya made a kit out of. Pros: Good proportions - looks exactly like a Honda Fit / Jazz. Very easy to build and comes with it's own fuzzy carpet for the interior. In particular the headlights are a joy to assemble, they're so well thought out for the builder. Very well moulded, little cleanup required. Rear lights are moulded in red, another plus. Cons: Curbside - no engine. The front wheels don't steer, and there's a lot of masking to be done for the windows although masking seals are provided although not die-cut ones, you have to cut them out youtself from the printerd pattern. The body is moulded in red as are the number plates - ugh. No real-life number plate decals supplied either. Verdict: It's a quick and easy build, looks exactly like a Honda Fit once completed. Great stuff. Build notes: Built over the course of only 6 days in December 2023, painted in Volvo Orinoco Blue, clearcoated with Mr Hobby Premium Gloss. Aside from the front and rear Honda emblems and swapping the number plates, the rest is out-of-the-box.

Background: I had planned to build a rally Subaru Legacy at some point - I love the feel that it has the appearance of an ordinary saloon car with a rollcage in it and the backseats removed. There are many liveries to choose from, I thought this one would make a stand-out version on the shelf being a yellow base instead of a white one. Pros: Good overall shape, more or less fits together well. Decent underbody and interior detail. Comes with photo-etch for details and material for seatbelts and mudflaps. Cons: The supplied tyres (which I have changed) seem much too large and make the car look and ride like a tractor. The glass doesn't fit perfectly. The headlights are buckets and lack detail and the headlight glass doesn't have a very positive fit. The interior is a tub with many details moulded-in and the door cards are flat and too simple. There are quite a few ejector pin marks to clean up, and separation lines too. As the car shares it moulds with the road version, some work is needed to open up the holed for the roof vents. Verdict: It's OK. Not great, not terrible. Not up the standards of Hasegawa's more recent kits. Build notes: Built over the course of 8 weeks in October/November 2023. The only change to the boxed kit is changed tyres and changed seatbelt harness material - paper instead of whatever that stuff is that Hasegawa provide. The mud/dust is applied using weathering pigments. The instructions would have you fit only one door mirror, the photo on the box shows none. Neither of these look right to me, so I fitted both.

Very nice. A good looking elegant car in real life too. Great colour.

Sweet. The wheels really suit it.

Thanks. It's such a good kit, despite it being around 40 years old, the only tips I can offer are 1) to make sure you carefully identify all of the mould lines on the body and remove them. There are quite a few and some are very subtle until you've got the body colour on. 2) Electrical tape is very useful for the red stripes down the sides.

Background: The Honda Ballade CR-X Mugen Pro is small, light and very 1980s, especially the wheels. It'll fit well with my Honda collection. Pros: Nearly all fits together well, looks great. Good rubber tyres and quick/easy to build. Doesn't take up much space on the shelf. Cons: This re-release kit shows it's age in a few ways: There's a fair few mould lines to clean up from the roof and bumpers; the seat backs are hollow, and there's a thin line right down the middle of the back window where the molten plastic has met from either side. In addtion, there's very little positive mounting for the dashboard and the wheels are a little wobbly once put on the car. The interior lacks some detail, especially the door cards. Some window masks would have been nice. Verdict: It's pretty good considering it's age. A nice quick, simple build of a classic. Build notes: Built over the course of 3 weeks in September/October 2023. Painted in Tamiya TS-76 Mica Silver, clearcoated with Mr Hobby Premium Gloss. The seats are Tamiya TS-49 Bright red. The only changes to the kit are the addition of some interior carpets, some mesh in the front grille and the front Honda emblem.

This is fantastic and the photography is amazing.

Beautiful. Especially the colour.

Background: I'd been waiting for one of these uncommon kits to show up on ebay for a while, and this August it finally did, so it went straight on the workbench. I don't build many US cars but the Pontiac Fiero is one I was certainly interested in, being such an unusal car for GM and having decent-from-many-angles styling. I wanted to try something a little different from my usual, and it was also the first Monogram kit I'd bought and I was interested to see how it compared to AMT in terms of quality. I've still not built (or owned) any MPC kits yet for a different comparison. Pros: Most of it fits together very well. The glass is practically snap-fit (hurrah), and the chassis and the body have a perfect snug fit where the wheel arches go all the way up to the body, no gap as per many kits. There's a nicely detailed engine and the seats look good once finished. The glass is nice and shiny. Cons: The wheels don't steer and for all four wheels, they won't stay on without something beyond what is supplied. There's a lot of flash to clean up from many parts - especially the seats. There are no side windows. The door mirrors have no decent mounting points. The decals are few and pathetic. Some of the transmission and axle parts are warped and need a lot of glue and coaxing to sit well. There are many chrome parts and the chrome is unrealistic and basically demands stripping. No option to pop-up the headlights. The exhaust tips are clumsily not-very-round. And finally - the worst thing, it's entirely moulded in red - even the interior and engine - the worst colour to cover with paint. Except the two cam covers - these are red on the real Fiero, but Monogram have chromed them. Verdict: It's pretty good considering it's age. I was expecting a lot more trouble getting it to fit together - probably based on my experience with an AMT kit. So though it requires a little work, there's nothing tricky about building this at all. The end result looks very Fiero. Build notes: Built over the course of 3 weeks in August 2023. Painted in Hycote Vauxhall Caribic blue acrylic and clearcoted in Tamiya Clear. Aside from the seatbelt retainers, carpets and the custom number plate, it's built entirely out of the box. All of the chrome parts have been restripped and where applicable (such as the wheels) repainted in Tamiya Metallic Silver.