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Background: A cracking looking WRC car, in a fantastic livery, from the best (in my opinion) era of rallying. And it's McRae. The only thing it really lacks is a championship, and a re-release from Tamiya to stop those prices spiralling further out of control. Pros: Usual high Tamiya quality of moulding. Lots and lots of detail - for example moulded parts of bits of the engine to sit under the bonnet vents, and a jack and wheel nut spanner in the interior. Driver co-driver figures included too. All fits together perfectly and easily except one thing, as below. Cons: The rear windows are a bit tricky. They fit perfectly into their holes, but there's nothing to hold them there. If you're averse to decalling and curved masking, there's a lot of the former (over 100 decals) over some tricky multi-direction surfaces, and some of the latter for that rear blue area. I'd also have preferred the Telefonica/Movistar decal over the roof-rear wing to be on-transparent and spray the blue myself. Verdict: Fantastic, albeit a lot of work, even for a rally car. Build notes: Built over the course of 6 weeks in June-August 2024. I added some seatbelts, a microphone each for the driver and co-driver, some photoetch bonnet and boot pins, the curving pipes behind the x-member behind the front grille, air valves in each wheel and two aerials made from flower-arranging wire. There's really nothing else it needs that you don't already get. The only change I made to the kit was to use the second door mirror on the co-driver's side. It's in the kit but this car at the Monte Carlo didn't have it. However I dislike asymmety, so on it went. 5 or 6 of the decals split into two or three pieces as they came from the backing sheet - certainly due to age. I managed to rescue them all (well, nearly) with some care and luck.

Tghis will be my very first post in the WIP section. This kit is special to me for a reason. A long time ago (35+ years) a fellow modeler asked me how many models I had completed. I told him about 300 or so. Since I had kept almost every one and they were all in display cases it would be easy to count. I came up with 298. This won't do. That weekend I finished two, one of them was a Mercedes 300SL. Since then I have kept all the box tops and numbered them. This particular build happens to be number 900. Not bad considering I have been building since 1963. Below are 3 pictures of what I will be up against and some more info. Da kit. Purchased this one as soon as it came out. As a Ferrari fan it was a gotta have. Started it right away and di a little pre4liminary construction with what I could at the time. then got discouraged. Next pic and you will see why. This is the Perfect Parts pack I purchased form F-1 Specialties around the same time. Tons of photo etch and extras. some very tiny and at the time way beyond my skill level. Here is all the rest of the parts all laid out. You can see some of the things I started. Wheels and tires, front nose and some of the metal suspension. Next up will be some serious parts sorting and notes. Should be interesting.

The Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 is not currently legal for import or registration in the United States, as it does not meet the safety and emissions standards required by the US government. However, the 25-year rule refers to a regulation in the United States that allows the importation of certain foreign vehicles that are at least 25 years old. Under this rule, cars that were not originally sold in the US and do not meet current US safety and emissions standards can be imported and registered in the US as "classic" or "antique" vehicles. For the Nissan Skyline GT-R R34, which was produced from 1999 to 2002, the earliest models will become eligible for importation in the US in 2024, when the first R34 GT-Rs will be 25 years old. At that point, it will be possible to legally import and register these cars in the US, provided they meet other important requirements such as compliance with US customs and border protection regulations.

Hi Guys just finished assembling my Tamiya Yamaha TMax Hope you guys like it.

Test run my Nissan King Cab Jr. Hope you guys like it. IMG_7318.mov

So it's 2024, a new year and I'm starting a new project. The new Tamiya kit of Gordon Murrays successor to the legendary McLaren F1! The T-50. It does have a weird rear fan, but otherwise the styling is quite pleasing, and keeping with the central driver and slightly pushed back, 2 passengers. I started with the engine, it's such a pleasure to paint and assemble, right out of the box! Each picture has a bit more added:

Wrapped this up yesterday,typical Tamiya quality with no real fit issues,color is Imola Orange Pearl and i used Geman Grey/Nato Black in the interior.Seats came from a Fujimi parts pack wanted to build something a little different.

HI everyone!😄 this is my 1/48 P-38 LIGHTNING this TAMYA kit is just awesome!! I use some aftermarket products and decal.. alway like P-38..somehow the oliver drab is a tricky color for me😅 try to paint this beauty as best as I could.. hope you guys like it! and here is the video build if you are interested..🙂

HI everyone!🙂 this is my 1/48 Mitsubish Ki-46 "Dinah" It's not famous,but I realy like the shape of this airplane.. this kit is almost 30years old.. with some modification, I think it turns out well. hope you guys like it! here is the video build if you are interested..😊

Unfortunately I can´t open the front mask to show you the engine. Maybe something is too tight and I´m afraid to break some parts.

Fire up the Quattro! Here’s my build of the Tamiya Audi Quattro Coupe. It’s painted Tamiya TS-8 Italian Red with two coats of future. This kit builds up very nicely with plenty of detail despite the low parts count. I was pleasantly surprised that the decals worked nicely with no tearing, since most of the decals from older kits I’ve built disintegrated. I built this kit as a gift for my stepdad, as he owned a red ‘89 model during the ‘90s in the UK before he moved to the US. He sold it to his dad, who daily drove it until 2005 when it was unfortunately totaled in a crash. His parents luckily walked away unscathed, which they attributed to the car’s build quality. He always says it was the best car he’s ever owned so I know he’ll love it!

Here she is, my Tamiya Porsche 911 GT2 painted in OPI fingernail polish. This is the first time I have painted a model in fingernail polish and I am pleased with the results. It is built box stock as that is the category I want to enter it into at upcoming shows. Below is the link to the WIP. I took a lot of pictures of it because each angle gave a different result. I hope you like it as much as I do!

My current project is this Tamiya kit of the Porsche 911 GT2. I had recently seen a picture of a Porsche in a very unique color and fell in love with it. That picture was the inspiration for this build. I have been itching to shoot a model car in fingernail polish and I found a color of polish that was fairly close to the color of the real car. I figured now is the time to do it. I have experimented with shooting fingernail polish and am fairly comfortable with it. Before committing fingernail polish to the model, I experimented with the fingernail polish over a white primer and over a black base. I really liked the black base so that is how I shot the model. Here we go. I will caption each photo as needed. The Tamiya kit. The kit parts and the fingernail polish. The test spoon. I usually use a black Sharpie to highlight the mold seams. I am fairly certain that this kit started life as the race car kit. Tamiya have you remove a number of molded on items. These are also highlighted with a Sharpie. While I am at it I always rescribe all panel lines. There are a lot of parts that need to be painted body color. I made a list of these items and prepped them for priming and painting. I primed everything with Gravity Colors (Spain) primer. Next, I shot everything in Tamiya LP-1 Black. I let the black cure and knocked it down for a smooth surface. I only did the last step for the body parts. Here are 2 bottles of OPI fingernail polish slightly over-thinned with Mr. Color Leveling Thinner. Personally, I think it is a beautiful color! Approx. 5 or 6 coats applied. Some people will scoff at the Tamiya anti-static brush and the cost of it, but I use it all of the time and feel it works. I might have had 1 speck of dust in all of those layers of polish. The first two pictures are of the body fresh out of the paint booth. I let the fingernail polish cure overnight. Next up, I shot the body and associated parts in Tamiya TS-13 Clear straight out of the can. Lastly, here are three pictures of just the body shell after the clear has cured. Let me know what you think!

I am looking for a good maroon color for a 1937 Chevrolet Business Coupe. I tried Tamiya Maroon TS-11, but it's too purple for my liking & like all Tamiya gloss paint it won't stay on the model. That's two coats over Tamiya Surface Primer (grey).

The WIP topic This is a dash to actually FINISH a model before the year ends, just to add to my pathetic count. 😅 Picked this simple curbside, which had more decals than I wanted to deal with, but mission accomplished. Painted with nail 'polish'. Don't look too close, it took only 22.25 hours, and it shows. Built the CR-X convertible years ago. Not only chopping the top, but it's also LHD. Also painted with nail 'polish'. The Civic was started last century, sat in the box for a very long time, finished a few years ago. So I didn't wish to start a project that was doomed.

This is a Tamiya 1966 Volkswagen Beetle that I have modified the rims, and tires and added a 3D printed speaker box in the back.

This is my first attempt at a camouflage paint scheme and I did it entirely with rattle cans using poster putty and Silly Putty for the main masking material and Tamiya tape for some details. I found a single online reference that indicated that this paint scheme was within the realm of possibility, so I sized that reference art to scale and used it as a painting guide. It’s pretty much out of the box, but I did scratch build a simple hinge for the hatch behind the turret machine gun and fabricated some detail for that hatch cover interior from Evergreen plastic. I replaced the kit antenna with wire mounted in a base I made from brass tubing. The headlight lens was from the spares box. This was my first attempt at painting any kind of figure and I don’t consider the little feller finished, but I put him in a few photos anyway. I used some dry transfers to add some interest to the fuel drums (“P” for petrol). Overall, I’m pleased. Someday I may even get around to putting in the “correct” track sag and attempt some weathering on it.

Background: I'd always planned to build one of Tamiya's early kits, a boxy JDM car with actual wing-mounted mirrors. The 1970's looking Leopard TR-X Turbo was long my preference from the 8 or so I could have tried to find from the Tamiya catalogue. Pros: Very easy to assemble and very well moulded. Some conveniences right in the box as the front and rear lights are seperate and chromed, not moulded-in body colour buckets. Proportions look good and even a kit as old as this shows Tamiya's dedication to quality. "TURBO" decals are supplied both in white and in black, giving you body colour choices later on. There's a bonus Honda Tact scooter in the kit also, and a Driver figure. Cons: No engine. No brakes (not that you could see them anyway). No Japanese number plate decals, just dress plates. Wheels are unrealistically bright chrome. Interior floor is the reverse of the underbody floor pan and looks like it too. Some of the underbody parts like the exhaust are all moulded in. Some sink-marks to deal with. Verdict: With a low part-count It's not as detailed as a modern kit but it does build into a very good replica of a Nissan Leopard. Build notes: Built over 3 weeks in February 2022. The only extra details added are rear seatbelts, all-round seatbelt retainers and JDM number plates. Painted in Tamiya Titanium Gold (upper) and Ford Ginger Ale Metallic (lower), with an AS-22 Dark Earth interior. Cleared with Mr Hobby Gloss Premium. I didn't build the Honda Tact that comes with it yet. Looks like a lot of fiddly maskng with the way it's assembled.

I have for trade: Tamiya Porsche 936/78 Turbo Open, sealed inside. Decals are curled on the card and a bit yellowed AirFix Maserati Boomerang - TRADED Missing several parts, box is warped and dirty, decals are ehh... one has a slight tear in it, might be a good donor for another Boomerang Amt 1969 Oldsmobile 442 W-30 - TRADED Sealed, new I am looking to trade for Tamiya Porsches, Supras, or the Celica rally kit, Revell '30 Model A Coupe, or AMT Silverado kits. Tamiya Porsche: Thanks for looking! If you have something to offer, let me know. I can wheel and deal, but the kits/pieces mentioned above are what I am mainly interested in.

I started this kit about 30 years ago. Sat in the box painted metallic black or gray. Finished it finally. Not a motorcycle guy, but I think it looks kind a cool. Tamiya FZR750R OW01. Straight outta the box.

Good Evening, This was my first Tamiya kit... I now know why people rave about the quality of their kits. Pretty sure you could toss the kit into a bag and the parts would fall together. There was no engine and some tiny parts that could probably have been moulded as one but overall a pleasure to build. Great window masks were included - a first for me. The body was primed with decanted Mr. Finishing Surfacer 1500 Black and painted with decanted Tamiya TS-45 Pearl White. The TS-45 took several coats but never really covered that well so I decided to apply 2 coats of Tamiya LP-43 Pearl White and sealed it with decanted Tamiya TS-65 Pearl Clear. I did not use primer on the interior. The colours are Tamiya X-18 Semi Gloss Black and XF-7 Flat Red. I used Ranger gun metal embossing powder for the carpeting. Of course it wouldn't be a build if I didn't make a couple mistakes along the way. What I learned from this build: 1. I turned a tiny dust speck into a bigger boo-boo and had to strip the paint. Oven cleaner worked okay but brake fluid seemed to work better. Thanks for the tips I read here on the forum. 🙂 2. This was my first time using Tamiya's LP lacquer paint. It sprayed nicely thinned 1:1 with Mr. Levelling Thinner and I would choose their LP over acrylic for car bodies every time. 3. Not sure about colour similarity between their TS and LP line. Tamiya's Lacquer Compatibility Chart says TS-45 and LP-43 are the same but the LP-43 looked warmer to me. 4. I used a heavier application of white glue with the embossing powder which worked well. 5. The decals seemed a little thicker and less sticky. Had to use multiple applications of decal solution to make them stick and conform. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! 🥂

Up next on my workbench is Tamiya's 2005 Honda Takata Dome NSX. This will not be a pure box stock build nor will it be a super detailed build, somewhere in the middle I guess. I will be using Tamiya's PE set for this car and Gravity Colors - Spain Takata Green. This is one of the models that Tamiya decided to use a metal/diecast chassis plate. I have never built one of these before so we'll see how it goes. Here is what I am starting with. The Gravity Colors - Spain paint is absolutely beautiful in my opinion. I took it to work to show some of my coworkers how nice it was. I was giving it a shake as we were talking about it and it slipped out of my hand. Sigh. My shop smelled good for awhile...lol. I've already placed another order. While I wait for my new bottle of paint to arrive I went ahead and started work on the other bits. Another new one for me is how Tamiya has you make their racing harness. There are decals but I did not want to use them. The PE set has all of the required pieces and this weird vinyl material that you need to cut to 2.4mm wide. I used my Infini cutting mat for this. It took several attempts because this material stretches as it is being cut. Next up will be more interior updates and wheels/rotors.

It's box stock except for the seat covering. It came with this fuzzy stuff that was just giving off its fibers and didn't look right anyway. I put on this leather like material. I like to show enough pictures for a "walk around". First shot is without the fairings: Notice my paint detail work on the chain. No PE, it's the plastic one in the kit. I also drilled out all the holes in the brake rotors.

I would like to share my Spirit of America Porsche 956 with all of you. I fell in love with this livery when I first saw it. I found the Studio 27 decals and just had to build it. This post will be a little photo heavy so be forewarned. If you would like to see the WIP you can go here: WIP: Other Racing: Road Racing, Land Speed Racers - Model Cars Magazine Forum. A list of products used is listed there. There is also a little rant within that thread so be forewarned about that too...lol. Questions? Ask away. Comments? Please post them. Critiques? I'm a big boy. Maybe I'll learn something from them. This model has only made it to one model contest so far. I am pleased with the results. It is nice to have your work recognized by your peers. This is a shot of some test fitting during the build process. The drivetrain is not complete in this picture but I thought it was kind of cool. The rear cover is not fully in place, it is just sitting on the model. The model will normally be displayed with it off.

I thought I would share another build with all of you. I am going to build the Spirit of America liveried Porsche 956. I will be using the following items on this build: Tamiya Newman Porsche 956 Studio 27 Spirit of America decals Studio 27 wheels Scale Motorsport PE set Eduard 6 point racing harness Various Detail Master and Pro Tech items Now for a couple of notes. I am no expert on these types of race cars. I just happen to like them, I think they are absolutely gorgeous machines. I do not expect my model to be an exact replica. I will try to explain why I did what I did if I deviated from the prototype. I appreciate all comments and suggestions that you may offer. The truth is, like most of my WIP threads that I have done in the past, this model is already complete. I still think this WIP could be beneficial to someone thinking of building a similar model. The following pics are of the car that I'm building. I got them from the Internet. I would give credit to the photographer if I knew who they were. Here are a few pics of what I am starting with.