jaymcminn

Many of these are already going up in price. My '95 MX5 Miata has jumped in value over the last several years. I can see early New Minis being the next "big thing". They're incredibly appealing little cars. Add XJ Jeep Cherokees to that list... good ones are rare on the ground these days and priced accordingly.

Bandit trying to "Jedi mind trick" me into giving him Second Breakfast this morning...

Tamiya is pretty parsimonious about their automotive rereleases. My rule of thumb with recent releases from them is to pick them up if I'm interested because they might not be back around any time soon. That reissued Mugen CRX is in the stash whispering "build me" as I speak! This is pretty tame by 80s tuner standards. There's a site called "1000SEL" devoted to 80s German tuner cars where you can see some true horrors! Thanks Steve! The foil work on this thing was pretty nerve-wracking. Several hours went into sharpening up the trim before primer so I could get crisp lines on the foil!

That Mica Red is an incredible color. I wasn't too sure about the pink primer but I think it really brightens it. I'm positive that this kit was modeled after a specific car. When I went down the 80's car phone research rabbithole I actually found the correct model of phone that Tamiya used here!

Thanks Bart! I'd love to do another one of these up as a convertible conversion. The interior of this kit puts most modern kits to shame! Agreed. I was in the market for a "weekend toy" a few years back and really wanted an SEC. Online research and common sense intervened before I did something expensive and stupid! Thanks Rob! You won't be disappointed when you get to it. The only thing I did fitment-wise was to take about 1/16 inch off of the hub/poly cap carriers to get the wheels to tuck in a little bit. The taillights needed a fair amount of sanding down to reduce the height as well. There's a lot of prep involved in getting the trim sharp and the body ripple-free but it is a 40 year old kit!

If you were a German industrialist or Saudi prince in the 80s, just walking into a Mercedes dealer and leaving with a bog-standard car was out of the question. To fulfill this need for exclusivity, companies like AMG, Duchatelet and Lorinser were there for you. Modifications ran from simple body kits to Testarossa strakes and gullwing doors, car phones to stereos that took up the entire dash. Tamiya's kit of the Mercedes 500SEC came out in 1982 and was a high water mark for their 1/24 efforts. A year later they reissued it as the Lorinser version, representing a lightly modified car from a tuner that tended to focus on appearance and comfort modifications. Newly-tooled parts included the body kit, very nice BBS "Mahle" wheels, and interior parts including Recaro seats and a Telefunken car phone. Sadly, this version has never been reissued. They go for silly eBay money these days but I got a good deal for this one at a show a few years ago. I wanted to have fun with colors and finishes with this build. Paint color is Tamiya Mica Red over their pink primer. I used Mr. Model upholstery decals for the seat and door inserts. Since the interior is very visible I added a cord for the car phone as well as removing the molded mesh in the head rests and replacing it with real mesh. Burl wood was replicated with swirled Tamiya browns with a top coat of clear orange. I added mild weathering to the chassis as well as the engine, which received a 3D printed distributor. Aftermarket details for the exterior were limited to a photoetched 3-pointed star on the trunk lid as well as USCP 3D printed valve stems. I'm debating adding a proper antenna for the car phone, which would be ugly but accurate. On to the (many) pics!

Closing out this WIP with some pics of the finished model. Final assembly was as drama-free as the rest of the build. This kit is a classic for a reason! Under Glass thread to follow soon!

Quick update... The chassis was painted in the body color and weathered with washes and pastels. The exhaust was done with Vallejo aluminum and pastels. The chassis in this kit is as well detailed as the rest of the kit. Surprisingly for Tamiya the steering isn't poseable! The engine is simple but nicely represented and responds well to washes and dry brushing. I added a 3d-printed distributor and ignition wires. I'm trying to think of Tamiya ever did full engine detail on a 1/24 kit before this one and I'm coming up blank. The air cleaner/intake plenum will be fitted once the engine and radiator are installed.

Welp, I was wondering how Bandit the Cat's iguana buddy was doing after our recent cold snap. Got my answer today... Since I seem to have a "pet" Iguana now I think he needs a name. In honor of his stripey tail I think I'll call him Tiger!

If the carpet is staying, get a large clear vinyl mat to go under your desk and building area. Great for paint/glue spills and will help stop the "carpet monster" from swallowing small parts.

Huh. Tamiya TS primers are pretty soft and I'm wondering if there might have been some loose grit in the sandpaper, especially if you started off with a fairly coarse grit, that caused this. I generally don't sand them, even if I've had to do corrections after a first primer coat I'll hit it with another coat and leave it alone.

Pretty often. There was a big one basking in the road the other day. This one was about four feet, which is about as big as I've ever seen. They tend to keep to themselves and they're not aggressive unless you're determined to do something stupid. The only time I've ever been scared by one is when it fell out of the live oak tree in my front yard about three feet away from me when I was doing yard work. We both took off in opposite directions at top speed!

Also posted in "What did you see in your backyard today". The big guy likes to go after lizards that get into the house but I think this one might be a bit out of his league!

Standoff through the sliding door that went on for an hour... all parties involved eventually got bored and wandered away.

This is literally my office Christmas decor!

One of those cars that somehow looks even better beat up. Fantastic work!

Easy, it's 30 gauge Kynar coated wrapping wire. $11.99 for 100 feet on Amazon. The Kynar coating is thinner and more flexible than standard plastic coated wire. It's my go-to for ignition wires these days.

The radio is a bit taller than the molded kit piece it's installed over and butts up against the bottom of the buttons on the center stack. The AC controls would be mounted in the empty space above those buttons. I'm not sure why Tamiya didn't include those details but I wasn't too bothered about them.

Let's try this again... Interior with custom mixed tan from Tamiya acrylics. Mr. Model "Mexican blanket" upholstery decals. Burl veneer done with thinned Tamiya acrylics with a clear orange top coat. Removed molded mesh in headrests and replaced with real mesh. Telefunken phone with cord made from 30awg wrapping wire. The interior on this kit is seriously nice and could go toe-to-toe with the best new tools of any manufacturer today. Once it's in place the interior will be very visible through those big windows so this was effort well-spent!

Posted reply in wrong place. Internet is not my friend tonight.

I'll post an update on this as soon as the site lets me. It's not allowing photo uploads for me right now for some reason. Grrr.

Can't post an update with pics on a thread due to a "page can't be found" error. Any ideas?

It's up for sale on Italeri's site. Too bad they don't seem to ship directly to the US, but it should be available through retailers that do ship here soon.

Elmer's is fine. "Aileen's Tacky Glue" is better. The nice thing about white glue is that it doesn't sink into or otherwise react with the plastic and a lot of the time you can pull the assemblies apart and peel the glue off. If it's a bit stubborn, warm water will loosen up the glue. I mostly test assemble for clearance of major assemblies, stance, etc. No need to test-fit every little part unless you're concerned they may interfere with overall fit (air cleaners, radiator hoses, etc...) I'm actually surprised that anyone would exclude clear parts such as windshields from test-fitting as they can often be the biggest culprits in causing an interior tub not to fit!

I recently finished a build of the Italeri Ferrari 250GT that absolutely fell into this category. It languished in the box for years because I couldn't decide between a racing or street car, what color combination, etc. I wanted to get it right because it's unlikely I'll get my grubby mitts on another one anytime soon! Finally I started getting into "preservation class" cars and everything clicked. I built it as a resurrected barn find "gentleman's racer" and couldn't be happier with how it turned out. I'd rather wait for inspiration to hit than build something out of some obligation to get it on the shelf in a timely manner.