MrBuick Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 How is the quality of ARII kits? I'm not a huge stickler for 100% body accuracy, but just overall general quality...fit/finish, etc. Specifically I'm looking at the '58 Cadillac ElDorado Biarritz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eshaver Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 Colby, stay away from the ElDorado HT . The top has all kinds of "Fit issues " On the other hand , the top down model goes together nicely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramfins59 Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 The convertible is actually a pretty nice kit Colby. I built one about 2 years ago. With some extra detailing in the interior and engine compartment it comes out great. Pictures of my completed model follow... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrBuick Posted May 30, 2016 Author Share Posted May 30, 2016 Awesome, thanks for the info guys. The convertible kit is the one I'm looking at. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardnerpag44 Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 Colby PM sent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SfanGoch Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 You did a great job, Richard. That engine compartment is excellent. Colby, I have the convertible also. I'll second what Richard said about the kit. With a little work and detailing, it is a nice kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edsel-Dan Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 I also have the ConvertibleIn fact, I have it and the Heller re-boxed LEE copySTAY away from the Heller/Lee kitThough the rear trailing arms are separate, the rear axle is molded in the chassis, and set up for a Toy battery operated motor!!!.Details are also a little soft on the other parts. Richard, I do Like that buildHope mine comes out Half that nice.But, neither of my 2 kits have that Trim surround on the from fendersThe slots are there, but no trim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyser Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Nice build. Dimensions a bit clunky, and it doesn't have doglegs or top boot. But it's only one available. I had one, sold it. Arii tend to be either ok, or super crude. This is best American car they've done imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SfanGoch Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 But, neither of my 2 kits have that Trim surround on the from fenders The slots are there, but no trim If you're talking about this, that's a fender vent trim spear, aka "Pitchfork", which is similar to, but not the same as 1958 Chevy Impala convertible rear quarter pitchfork trim spears That isn't a slot on the model fender. That's how the trim is modeled. The Spear mounts flush with the fender skin. That's a job for BMF, a steady hand to paint it or do a lot of fancy-schmancy masking and spray some Alclad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike999 Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 Built the top-up convertible as a junker many years ago and still have some pieces of it.If you want one of these, be aware it was originally issued by ARII in 3 different versions: top-down convertible with boot; top-up convertible with vacu-formed ragtop (which looks pretty good); hardtop, but the hardtop is a separate piece and takes some work to integrate with the body. I recall a hardtop build article from MANY years ago, probably in The Other Magazine. It came out great but was built by a very good modeler.All 3 original ARII versions show up pretty often on eBay. Be patient and you can probably find one at a decent price. As mentioned earlier, avoid the LEE version where the chassis was reworked for motorizing.For anyone who cares, along with the clunkiness etc. mentioned earlier, the kit has 2 minor errors easily verified by Mr. Google:1. The kit has 9 chrome "hashmarks" on the lower body panels, in front of the rear wheel well. The real car has 10 of those hashmarks.2. On the interior driver's side, the main power window switch is in the wrong place. The kit has it on the door panel. On the real car, it's mounted on the "dogleg" part of the dashboard. Weird, because on the ARII kit, the box sides had detail photos of the real car...showing that power window switch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SfanGoch Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 There's a fourth ARII kit, 31241, a pink convertible. I have 31002 Soft Top. It's molded in white, black and turquoise (the interior parts) The top is molded in white styrene The fins near the rear wheelwell are also to short vertically. The biggest issue is that there is a 3mm discrepancy between the rear edges of the door and inner panel. In order to align both, you need to scribe a new door opening. That also means repositioning other details. The kit body length (236.4 mm) scales out exactly to the 1:1 (5674 mm); the problem is with, for lack of a better term at the moment, the proportion of the kit body panels when compared to the actual car. These are pretty obvious when looking at a photo of the real deal There are plenty of other nits to pick; although, since it is the only model of this car available, it ain't that bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike999 Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 Thanks, Stan. 31002 is exactly the kit I built. I remembered the top as vac-formed but it's obviously molded in styrene. And the plot thickens! HobbyLink Japan sells the molded-in-pink version with a release date of Oct. 2010 and a kit number of "ARI91241." I'd think the "AR" prefix meant "ARII." But the manufacturer is listed as Microace: https://hlj.com/product/ARI91241 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SfanGoch Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 Same company. BTW..................... It's S-F-A-N! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike999 Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 Whoops! Sorry, won't let that name mistake happen again. Now I can feel stupid x2. Which happens pretty often.I know a modeler who wanted to use the ARII kit's chassis/engine under a resin copy of the old JO-HAN '58 Cadillac 4-door. He loved the ordinary '58 Cad and was hoping to cut open the JO-HAN hood and have engine detail etc. That guy was a great builder but he finally gave up on the whole idea. There were just too many problems hacking up and matching the parts of the 2 kits. Though now that I've said that, somebody in here has probably done it and will produce amazing photos of the results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 From the photos Rich posted, looks like the front seats have hollow backs that need to be filled in with sheet plastic. Also adding a top boot (either scratchbuilt or from the parts box) would go a long way as far as realism goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramfins59 Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 (edited) Harry, the seat backs are separate pieces that are glued on. They have the tuck & roll pattern molded on but the panels are slightly recessed so it looks like the seat backs are hollow but they're not. I did get a hard type convertible boot from a fellow Forum member after I completed the model and painted it to match the car and installed it... Edited June 3, 2016 by Ramfins59 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edsel-Dan Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 There should be a Boot coverHe bought it from mesince I had both the Good Arii kit & the POOR Heller oneI sold him the one out of the Heller kit as it looked identicalto the Arii pieceSome pieces in the Heller/Lee kit were OK, but that chassis..................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edsel-Dan Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 I think we were tying at the same time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry P. Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 Harry, the seat backs are separate pieces that are glued on. They have the tuck & roll pattern molded on but the panels are slightly recessed so it looks like the seat backs are hollow but they're not.Yes, I see now. I goggled it, the seat backs have that raised padded "rim" around the edges which makes the seatbacks look recessed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robberbaron Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 Whoops! Sorry, won't let that name mistake happen again. Now I can feel stupid x2. Which happens pretty often.I know a modeler who wanted to use the ARII kit's chassis/engine under a resin copy of the old JO-HAN '58 Cadillac 4-door. He loved the ordinary '58 Cad and was hoping to cut open the JO-HAN hood and have engine detail etc. That guy was a great builder but he finally gave up on the whole idea. There were just too many problems hacking up and matching the parts of the 2 kits. Though now that I've said that, somebody in here has probably done it and will produce amazing photos of the results.First problem that comes to mind is that the Arii is listed as 1/24th while the Johan is 1/25 at the largest. The old Johans were sometimes "scaled to the box", and I wouldn't be surprised if the '58 4-door is even a little smaller than 1/25. Think there would be enough of a difference to cause lots of headaches... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtx6970 Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 Johan made a 58 Cadillac kit ? 1st I've heard of this....my understanding is there 1st one was a 1959 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike999 Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 Here you go. Pic of the JO-HAN '58 Cad, randomly grabbed from the net. Like the JO-HAN '59 Cad, the '58 is a 4-door Fleetwood Sixty Special, which makes it even more interesting. As Mr. Baron says above, all these JO-HANs look to be a "box scale," maybe slightly smaller than 1/25. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrObsessive Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 Johan made a 58 Cadillac kit ? 1st I've heard of this....my understanding is there 1st one was a 1959Bill, I have a black Johan '58 Cadillac Sixty Special (actually an X-EL promo) that is still in excellent shape. These turn up on the 'Bay from time to time as well as the original promos. Expect to shell out some BIG bucks for one of the X-EL ones as they're made of the regular plastic, and not the self-destructing/warping Cycolac or Acetate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrObsessive Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 There's a fourth ARII kit, 31241, a pink convertible. I have 31002 Soft Top. It's molded in white, black and turquoise (the interior parts) The top is molded in white styrene The fins near the rear wheelwell are also to short vertically. The biggest issue is that there is a 3mm discrepancy between the rear edges of the door and inner panel. In order to align both, you need to scribe a new door opening. That also means repositioning other details. The kit body length (236.4 mm) scales out exactly to the 1:1 (5674 mm); the problem is with, for lack of a better term at the moment, the proportion of the kit body panels when compared to the actual car. These are pretty obvious when looking at a photo of the real deal There are plenty of other nits to pick; although, since it is the only model of this car available, it ain't that bad. That is one GORGEOUS profile shot! This is one car I want to slice and dice so badly to make it right! Other projects are in the way right now, but I have the hardtop one and the shape of the roof is so incorrect it's sickening to look at IMO. Looks more like a '58 Rambler than a '58 C-body Cadillac. You're correct about certain aspects of the body shape. I always thought the wheelwells in particular were a bit big and not quite in proportion to how the 1:1 is shaped. The windshield rake on the kit is another sticking point with me------but y'all know how particular I am about things like that! True, this is all we have and I don't see anyone stepping up to the plate and giving us a more up to date one anytime soon. Just another one of my '50's favorites to add to my correction list.................someday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtx6970 Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 (edited) Bill, I have a black Johan '58 Cadillac Sixty Special (actually an X-EL promo) that is still in excellent shape. These turn up on the 'Bay from time to time as well as the original promos. Expect to shell out some BIG bucks for one of the X-EL ones as they're made of the regular plastic, and not the self-destructing/warping Cycolac or Acetate.Duh,I had stryene kit on my mind and completely forgot about the promo versionnote to self, ,,,,,,, have morning coffee before posting online Edited June 4, 2016 by gtx6970 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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