Mitsubishi Pajero 1992 Paris-Le Cap winner

[The Creative Explorer]

So, everyhting to aside; for the next two weeks, during the Dakar, I will be working on this Pajero. I initiated on the Dutch IPMS board a groupsbuild, to build a Dakar vehicle during the Dakar event. It has to be a Paris-Dakar participant and basically that is all there is for rules haha.

I've been wanting to build this one for a long time, even sold it along the time, and got one back for this build. It will be hopefully a nice detailled model, trying not to make shortcuts and trying to achieve a good finish. But the deadline has to be thought off.

So far on day 1 and 2, it is a bit of dissapointment of what I got done; parts from sprues, engine glued together and started on sanding the parts. No more, no less.

 

[Renz]

Had one just like that, completed, colored, but no decals though, becuase the decals have cracked and discolored, but i am lookimg forward for this model kit to be completed! 

 

[droogie]

Interesting subject and a well timed project. I didn't know the kit existed.

[The Creative Explorer]

Thank you guys!

@Renz I was/am affraid that it might happen to mine too. But so far; the decals work, even though they are oldfashioned, poor-sized and with a lot of extra film around it.

@droogie  I initiated a groupsbuild during the current Dakar, therefore it couldn't be timed better haha

 

I must admit it is paint-wise a challenging and slow build, lots of parts need greater surfaces of different colors and the chassis needs to be done together with the body, so you can't start assembling before that has been done. I usually start painting the parts, start prepping the body, while I start assembling the chassis etc.. But with this one I couldn't.

Anyhow, I now started with the assembly of the parts and we had the first week of Dakar and I think I am ahead of the schedule, but the Decals will be a gamechanger I am affraid of.

Starting to primer the body:

 

Discovered that I didn't had the proper white in stock no more, just a bottom. So I used Vallejo Air.

When the body was drying, I started to detailpaint other parts.

And finally time for assembly!

The engine is finished and can go in.

With the shocks, radiator and intercooler, it starts to look like something

Rear shocks

And the start of the interior

Back to the paintbooth again, this time to paint some details black.

[D. Battista]

Lookin' good so far nice and neat and clean....!

[Erik Smith]

Great work so far. I've always liked the looks of this rally car and the kit. The addition of an engine and detailed chassis is frosting, man. 

[The Creative Explorer]

Thanks guys!

@Erik Smith; the chassis and engine are from the kit, I didn't add them myself.

Finally some time and the mood for updating the project, even though we are 3/4 on the way of the Dakar; I can say that I have finished. The car is ready and I even got to exercise on weathering with it, not completely happy, especially on the decals-department, both a mix of not the best decals and unskilled with decals, made me hate them. Now I know why never make racing cars haha

The pictures:
I made the light a bit more realstic with some BMF

Added decals to the seatbelts

And the finished dashboard; if I had some more time that I knew off, I could've detailled it a bit more

Backpanel glued

And added to the chassis

Rearpan and parts added

Dry-fitted

It seems to fit quite good, I guess this is where the expertise of Tamiya comes in

And time for those horrid decals:

They react bad to Sol, they start to wrinkle and it doesn't come out. the fit is poor and the sizes left and right are different.

I'd rather have decals with only the letters, I'd rather mask and airbrush the colors on

De body is on the chassis

Weathered the tyres with the Tamiya weathering stick

Made an impression of the wipers

And starting to weather (or at least an attempt to)

The engine is clean in this picture

And not so much in this one

Almost ready

Sparewheels in the back

Weathered the underside

And I airbrushed some flat lacquer over the car, to keep the pigments attached and not getting my fingerprints in them

[Mr. Metallic]

Very nicely done. I bought this kit when it was new and always wanted to build it with mild weathering like this.

[ChrisR]

Awesome!

[The Creative Explorer]

Thanks Chris and Craig!

@Mr. Metallic; do it! the kit itself goes together very well, the decals are horrible. I would go for an aftermarket set, if they exist.