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*Scratch-Build* Obscure Romanian hatchback - Dacia Nova 1/18


mihaita10bani

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Hello there peeps!

First of all, let me introduce myself - I am Mihai, from Romania and I'm 24.

I was in love with cars ever since I was a small cellular body - looking at them, drawing them, memorizing names, reading technical books before i even knew how to read because the technical drawings seemed fascinating to me, you name it.

But, like every kid from Eastern Europe, annoyed by my parents answering the question "Can I have that nice, expensive model car?" with "No", I decided to start building my own models - at the age of 6. Initially build out of cardboard boxes and wheels from plastic bottles, they eventually evolved and started to look more realistic. Long story short, I made model cars when I was young, and now I'm trying to recapture that tranquillity, but at a more advanced level and out of plastic.

So now, a Dacia what?

You might, or might not heard about Dacia, our national car manufacuter that started out building copies (licenced copies) of Renaults in the late '60, only to eventually be brought entirely by Renault in 1999 and becoming a successful manufacturer in Europe based on their low-cost no-frills motors.

The Dacia Nova is a model entirely created by the romanian automotive engineering highness - it was supposed to become the successor of the aging Dacia 1310 (Renault 12), with a more modern layout and configuration. But the development was slow, and with emerging economical restrictions from Ceasescu's Regime in the late '80, the project was delayed, taking almost 10 years to become a reality. It started in '85 and was launched in a democratic Romania in 1995, looking heavily outdated.

 

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But the quirkiness of the car and the stories of the struggle always fascinated me, and with the mk1 having a Renault 11/Peugeot 309 look - with the wrap-around hatch window and 80s black plastic trim, I always had a soft spot for this shitbox.

 

So, here are some pictures of the car as it is, I didn't made pictures from the start because I didn't anticipated that I will share anything until it was somewhat finished.

It is build from 1mm Forex PVC sheet and 0.5mm HIPS (styrene) sheet so far, indeed - having no previous experience of plastic modelling, the ticknesses are a bit over the top, but it's ok so far.

Also, I have a ton of questions for the community and feedback would be appreciated! Thx 

 

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Edited by mihaita10bani
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8 minutes ago, stitchdup said:

Cool project Mihai, its nice to see someone building one of these. I've seen a few on some of the russian stance blogs and wondered what they were

Thanks Leslie! 

Are you sure you saw the Nova? It was released as a die-cast in 1/43 though...

23 minutes ago, alexis said:

Wow! you are off to a great start so far.  Did that Front wheel come off a Diecast car?

Thank you Alan!

Nope, it was scratch-build as well. Albeit a bit "inefficient", but still sctrach-build!

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Welcome!  About the only suggestion I could make, if you make a jig, something like a piece of wood, attach the body with screws.  That way it won't be warped, and can measure from the "ground".

I've heard of Yugo, Lada, and have a couple of World Cars books listing every car made around the world.

 

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Welcome to the forum Petre!

Nice to see your project here. Scratch-building a model takes model building to another level.

I grew up in Poland in the 1970s and here is the Dacia I remember seeing in Poland back then.

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I think Dacias were Romanian built Renaults (built under license), just like Polish Fiats that were built under Fiat's license in Poland (except that the car brand names weren't changed).  But that is going back over 40 years.

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Hello there, 

A little update : 

  • I have made some small steps in finishing the engine bay --> I have finished the two strut towers, these days i might be able to finish the engine bay entirely.
  • I have test-fitted the rear 3/4 quarterpanel and the roof from cardboard, so far, so good.

About some questions now:

1) What putty/filler do you use for best results? Which one is the most easy and friendly to work with?

2) What primer do you use (brand mostly)? Did you have any good results with acrylic automotive primers and paints?

 

Have a great day,

Mihai 

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