BMW 2002 tii Estate: Overview

The Hasegawa kit of the 2002 and variants is superb, except it is a curbside. So I bought the Hasegawa kit when I saw the USCP engine bay kit. Along the way I added the Scale Productions fender flares and air dam, Renaissance photo-etched sheet and  Alpina wheels (which may get replaced with something a little bigger), and the estate body by Damien Lision of ARM (Anjou Résine Modeling). ARM also offers a Touring body, but the phantom wagon is neat and unique.



First step was to carefully cut the hood off the body, using a fine saw blade and the back of a new #11 blade. After some cleanup of the relatively small amount of flash, it all went into an isopropanol bath followed by a warm wash in Dawn soap.



The ARM resin is decent if not of the same quality as Model Factory Hiro: minimal flash, no large pinholes, and a relatively smooth surface.



As for the USCP bits, they are excellent.



With the body washed, the underhood panel has been glued in with 5 minute epoxy. Cuts to the Hasegawa floor pan and firewall have been made as requested by the USCP instructions (click here to see these instructions).






Test fitting required a bit more filing; perhaps the USCP panel should have sat a little higher in the resin body, but nothing that requires any serious correction.



Stay tuned!