1/24 1982 corona HT 2000GT,my first ever build,

[keepleft]

Hello

This is my first build and first post,

I have collected 1:18 and 1:24 die-cast cars for a few years and I started to find it extremely hard for me to find die-cast replicas of the models I want, so I thought, I would try models kits, I am currently an Industrial design student and I am comfortable building prototype models and using modeling material,

so here we go, the first model I have ever made, this took me over the course of about 2-3 weeks, about 10-15 hrs all up,

I have had a look around the site and haven't found to many vintage Japanese kits, so I am hoping that at least I am contributing to the forum in some new way.

The kit that I have chosen is the Aoshima, The best car Vintage No 58. Toyota Corona HT 2000GT

I was not a fan of the stock rims that came supplied with the kit, so I looked around and found this(period correct )kit also by Aoshima, This kit included new rims, some sideair pods and a few other goodies,

this is a photo of the new rims, left as is OOB and painted with Tamiya X-27 (clear red), I wanted to color match the rims, as was the style during the 80's, You might also notice that the ride height is lowered quite a bit, I was not happy with the final "stance" of the model, for some reason it was sitting way to high, so with a small drill and some replacing of some suspension parts I lowered the stance. I am extremely happy with the way it sits and think the new rims are well worth the time and effort

I did not take any photos whilst building as I did not think I was going to post on a forum,This is my first build ever, I used tamiya spray TS-39(mica red) as the base coat, I did not sand between coats or prime with any coat, for my next models this is a must, as I am not happy with the final outcome of the paint, I used masking tape and some fine brushes to apply the rest of the paint and decals were not as much of an issue as I thought they would be,

I have also placed this car on Japanese "trade plates"

This was my first build and I have allready learnt alot, Thank you for looking, please fell free to give my any tips or if my different rim choice was correct or not?, I will be building more vintage japanse soon

Thank you

Jack Graham

North Parramatta, NSW, AUS

Edited April 4, 2012 by keepleft

[traditional]

Congratulations, Jack....Your model looks great.

You're right, even if you usually collect diecast models, building kits (in whatever material) is a great way to round out a collection as well as achieve models of cars not available as diecast. It becomes addictive and there's a great sense of accomplishment in 'doing it yourself'.

I hope your Industrial Design studies are going well...it's a wonderful career, and any modelling skills learned here as a hobby will transfer well when you build concept models of the products that you are designing. I'm a recently retired 'Industrial Designer' in Canada.

[keepleft]

small world traditional, I recently lived in (sunpeaks B.C), lovely country and people,very similar to Australia, what area of industrial design did you specialize in?. I love old japanse cars and it is almost impossible to find good die-cast models of any decent cars, let alone the actual models I want,

my next to projects are

Fujimi ID-82 Nissan Silvia Hard Top RS 1/24 scale kit

Fujimi ID-112 Nissan Skyline RS-C R30 2000 Turbo 1/24 scale kit

Edited April 4, 2012 by keepleft

[traditional]

small world traditional, I recently lived in (sunpeaks B.C), lovely country and people,very similar to Australia, what area of industrial design did you specialize in?. I love old japanse cars and it is almost impossible to find good die-cast models of any decent cars, let alone the actual models I want,

my next to projects are

Fujimi ID-82 Nissan Silvia Hard Top RS 1/24 scale kit

Fujimi ID-112 Nissan Skyline RS-C R30 2000 Turbo 1/24 scale kit

It IS a small world. I'm heading to BC next week to buy and arrange shipping of a 1989 Nissan S-Cargo (quirky little Japanese panel truck).......it will be one of three Japanese KIE cars that my brother and I have collected. We also have 15 or so other antique or collectible vehicles.

Please email me.... cliffandheather@gmail.com .... I know an Industrial Designer near you in Aus, who also spent lots of time in BC before moving to Australia about eight years ago.

[keepleft]

email sent,

do you have a public link to the cars you have collected?,

my dream car is a datsun fairlady roadster, you don't have one do you?

[crazyjim]

Welcome to the forum, Jack. Extremely nice build for your first one.

[keepleft]

thanks jim, I am happy with it, but there is massive room for improvement in the paint department for me

[surfjunke]

Welcome to the forum & welcome to the modelling community.

For your first build, it turned out great! Really nice finish & clean build.

[LAone]

welcome.

sweet corona. i like the 80s feel of it. not bad at all.

im one of the hand full that like to build imports on here, especially this style.

looking forward to the next 2 projects.

[keepleft]

thank you everyone for your kind words, I have massive room for improvement, I am looking forward to my next two projects and will make some WIP photos

[Harry P.]

thanks jim, I am happy with it, but there is massive room for improvement in the paint department for me

Don't feel bad. I've been building models for 40 years and there's still room for massive improvement in the paint department for me!

[Dragline]

Harry, REALLY?

Self depreciation is unbecoming. Your paint is always top notch as far as I'm concerned.

Bob

Edited April 4, 2012 by Dragline

[keepleft]

Don't feel bad. I've been building models for 40 years and there's still room for massive improvement in the paint department for me!

I don't feel bad, I just want better looking models!

[cruz]

Very cool! Are you using the stock rims? I am deperately looking for some. I just PMed you, want something for them?

[hotrod59f100]

Absolutely perfect in my eyes.