ARII Models ?

[WizPorsche944]

Hey guys I have the chance to get the ARII 82 Corvette kit. Has anyone here built anything from this brand ???? Are they decent ?

[Monty]

Hey guys I have the chance to get the ARII 82 Corvette kit. Has anyone here built anything from this brand ???? Are they decent ?

I bought their version of the '80 Corvette over a decade ago and was somewhat disappointed. The Japanese don't seem to have the best luck replicating American car shapes, and that happened again with this kit, specifically the shape and flow of the rear fenders. (Your '82 would be virtually identical with the exception of the "Cross-Fire Injection" fender scripts).

I don't recall anything noteworthy about the chassis except that the front wheels are poseable, a feature I like. OTOH, IIRC, the bottom half of the engine is molded in with the chassis, and the hood doesn't open. Despite the body accuracy issues I mentioned, the molds were very nicely done and there was no flash. The body didn't suffer from heavy parting lines either.

If you're getting this kit fairly cheaply and the "off" body & lack of engine don't bother you, then buy it & build it. Non-C3 Corvette owners probably won't notice the fender issues & depending on your familiarity, you may not either.

My '80 that I had for 20 years.

[Deathgoblin]

I've got one of the Mach 1 kits. The body shape is okay, It'll make a decent curbside. The interior is not great, the dash is really bad. Overall, I've seen better. You can definitely tell it was originally made to be motorized.

[forthlin]

I haven't done the Corvette but I did do Arii's '58 Eldorado. A nice model with a little work. The weak spot was the window frame. I broke it in three pieces because it was so flimsy& had to piece it back together.. Still, a neat model that you don't normally find.

[Foxer]

Another of my Porsche builds is using an Arii 924 Turbo kit. In another post of someone building this kit a lot was commented on about the kit so you might get some insight into their kits. Here's a link to that thread http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=32613

Sorry I can't give you any insight into the Corvette kit.

[Mike Kucaba]

I bought their Firebird kit as I plan to bash it with the 1/24 monogram kit for a full detail build.

[zenrat]

I've built 2 of their Honda Citys. Accurate shape. Nicely engraved detail on the body & interior but basic chassis engineered for a motor and battery.

However it's well engineered and retains the correct depth unlike the Doyusha Nostalgia Heroes range.

Edited September 7, 2013 by zenrat