Lotus Elan S3: overview

After clearing away a couple of WIPs, an empty bench attracts new projects ...



The Elan has always been a favourite of mine, even if at 6'0" I have a hard time getting into one. (The Miata is a better fit but just doesn't have the cachet of something designed by the master himself, Colin Chapman). Years ago I built a Gunze Sangyo kit, which was disappointing as it was a curbside kit without that lovely little twincam motor. This kit, also by Gunze Sangyo, is one of their so-called High-Tech kits, and so has a lot of detail.



First is the chassis which is made of a fairly thick photo-etched sheet and spun-cast white metal parts packaged in a large number of very small baggies. The PE sheet is very thick, and the scoring for the folds is not very deep, so some care has to be taken to get it straight.



Once folded, though, the classic sheet metal backbone is very well done and looks the part. The white metal crossmember and lower A-arms will require some cleaning and paint.



The first pass at primer, using Tamiya's fine surface primer, was not successful, with the paint pooling in creases rather than sticking. Perhaps I hadn't cleaned up the white metal properly, so it all went into an acetone bath; this was followed by two coats of Dupli-Color Sandable Primer, which I have used successfully for white metal in the past.



Now I just have to keep my grubby mitts off it while it dries. Stay tuned!

Honda N360: Complete (#11 for 2019)

It's easy to finish a couple of kits a week, when they've all been sitting, almost completed, on the Shelf of Doom for months if not years. The latest is the N360, with the 360 cc aircooled twin removed and replaced with the 1.8 litre VTEC from Revell's Integra Type R. Of course it would never fit at 1:1 but, hey, that's why I work at 1/24.



The Hasegawa kit may be poor on engine detail but has lots of well-done, fiddly little bits, like door and trunk handles. There were two versions of the N360, the Super Deluxe and the sportier S, and the kit has the appropriate bits for both, right down to different headrests. So there is a lot that would be of interest to someone building it OOB.



I went for the club racer look, even though it probably won't pass the rules for any club race you might care to identify.



The engine was a real squeeze but looks good in the bay. There is a small advantage due to the fact the engine is 1/25 but the body is 1/24, but really, kids, don't try this at home.



Honda rods rule! The S600 (widened to take the S2000 drivetrain) shows how the N360 could have been made more realistic, by splicing in 6" at scale. The S1600 rat rod is pure fiction.



Next will be to finish up the Mitsubishi Delica carrier.



Stay tuned!

Subaru BRZ: Complete (#10 for 2019)

Having been away from the bench for almost 8 weeks due to travel and work, there was a bit of a slump to get over. I knuckled down and finished the BRZ, which mainly required glass and final assembly. It was a birthday gift from a good friend and I am glad to have had the opportunity to build something I might not have bought on my own.



It's a decent kit, and Tamiya fit just gets better. Glass in particular is very easy to put in with styrene glue. I also tried the masks for painting the black window surrounds, and these worked well; a coat of clear before hand-painting the black worked well and the only tip I might have is to brush away from the mask.



Perhaps the only complaint is that while there is enough of an engine to avoid calling it a 'curbside' kit, the amount of detail is pretty poor, and there is only so much an experienced builder can do to improve it. As with the WRC, I assume the keener can find detailed engines from aftermarket outfits like Hobby Design.



Paint consists of Tamiya's Pearl Clear over the polished blue plastic that it came molded in. I didn't feel that trying to reproduce the Subaru blue was going to be any better.



A worthy addition to the Japanese shelf, which will eventually include some more factory hot rods from the stash, such as the RX-7 and 240Z. Stay tuned!