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Post by Ben_B on Jul 14, 2021 8:11:10 GMT -8
This is the Hasegawa Minolta Supra Turbo A70, released in 2020. I finally made enough progress to take a photo. The body is ready for decals and I've been mostly painting subassemblies. They've come a long way since their '80s-vintage Sauber Mercedes, Mazda 767b, and Porsche 962 I built last year. As you can see, it's a curbside kit, with basic chassis detail and no engine. Most of the underside of the engine area will be covered by a shield, so I just did some very basic painting. The fit and molding quality is on par with Fujimi's, Nunu's, and Aoshima's latest. The only gimmick is the pop-up headlights, which I'm going to permanently close. The kit decals look pretty good, but I'm going to use a set from Studio 27, instead. They were made for the Tamiya kit that was released in 1988 and there are some significant differences in the body shapes. I'll have to use the blue stripe decals from the kit because the Studio 27 stripes won't fit the Hasegawa kit. Here's what it will (hopefully) look like when finished (via Hasegawa's web site): Ben
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Post by Joel_W on Jul 14, 2021 10:58:36 GMT -8
Ben, Another gem in the making. Your turning out kits at an amazing pace.
joel
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Post by Ben_B on Jul 14, 2021 12:11:45 GMT -8
Thanks! This has been a fun kit, so far and the simplicity is making things go faster. We’ll soon find out if Hasegawa’s decals have improved over the years like their kit making has.
Ben
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Post by Joel_W on Jul 14, 2021 14:20:30 GMT -8
Ben, I've just started the Tamiya 1/20 scale Martini Lotus Type 79, and it's the exact opposite. Details everywhere, and where there's none or not enough I started to add my own. Can't get more opposite to your build, as I usually build my models the same way as you do: mostly OOB.
Hopefully Hasegawa has kept up to the pace of Tamiya and Fujimi with respect to decals. Both companies have really made huge improvements.
joel
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Post by ShawnS on Jul 15, 2021 2:31:32 GMT -8
Looking good so far Ben. Hasegawa have really lifted their game recently and are producing some great kits. More builders need to get on to these kits and see what they are missing out on.
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Post by Joel_W on Jul 15, 2021 3:34:00 GMT -8
Shawn, I've been waiting for their new release of the Nissan GTP car which is fully detailed. Should be a great build.
joel
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Post by Ben_B on Jul 28, 2021 10:47:51 GMT -8
Made some progress, then had to take a step back. I decided to try the Studio 27 decals for the stripes to see if I could get them to fit the Hasegawa kit. Nope. The decals were brittle and impervious to Solvaset and heat just caused them to curl up. The cars depicted in the decals are for an '86-'87 body. The Hasegawa kit is an '88-'90 model, with different tail lights, so the Studio 27 decals wouldn't have worked, anyway. I decided to just go with the kit decals like I had originally planned. Problem was, the areas that had been hit with Solvaset stayed stuck while the rest came off with very little effort. While I was wet sanding the blue parts off, the little bear logos on the front and one of the Jump logos washed off, so I just set the rest of the sheet aside and used nothing but the kit decals, which performed much better. Studio 27 provided some Potenza decals for the tires and I can use the extra large Bridgestone logo on my Lotus X180R project, so it wasn't a total loss. Ben
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Post by Ben_B on Jul 28, 2021 10:53:49 GMT -8
The Hasegawa decals performed flawlessly, laying down with a little Micro Sol and sometimes Solvaset. I just have to clean up the decal goo and touch up a couple of spots, then the body will be ready for the clear coat. The chassis is done, except for the seat belts. Once they're done, I can add the seat and the rest of the roll cage. Ben
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Post by Joel_W on Jul 28, 2021 16:01:56 GMT -8
Ben, What a great save. the kit decals look great. I'd say that you pulled off when great save.
joel
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Post by Ben_B on Jul 29, 2021 1:42:00 GMT -8
Thanks, Joel! Other than the detour with the aftermarket decals, this has been a fun build. It will look good next to my Minolta Toyota 88C-V.
Ben
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Post by Ben_B on Aug 4, 2021 3:53:24 GMT -8
Once I switched to the kit decals, things moved pretty fast. So fast I forgot to take any more in-progress pics. I added seat belts cut from painted medical tape and made the hardware from pieces of thick aluminum foil from my contact lens containers. I cut the logos and belt adjusting hardware parts from the kit decals and added them to the tape. Looks pretty good from normal viewing distances. This is a very nice kit, with no fit issues. Almost Tamiya-like to build. The only aftermarket decals I've found for this car are from Shunko for the ancient Tamiya kit, and as previously mentioned, they don't fit this kit. The kit decals work fine, anyway. Ben
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Post by Joel_W on Aug 4, 2021 7:55:33 GMT -8
Ben, Absolutely an impressive build. Your painting and decals skills are right up there with the best of them for sure. As for the seatbelts, nothing wrong with your method as enclosed cockpits make it rather hard to see them. I've even used better kit decals for belts from Tamiya and honestly I liked the results. Of course if the model is contest bond, then shortcuts shouldn't be taken.
As always, I'm looking forward to your next build. Keep 'em coming,
joel
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Post by Ben_B on Aug 4, 2021 11:49:55 GMT -8
Thanks, Joel! This is most definitely a case of crappy photos hiding a multitude of flaws. It’s still a pretty good two-footer, maybe even a one-footer if I don’t wear my reading glasses, so I’m happy with it. Ben
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Post by afx on Aug 5, 2021 3:33:06 GMT -8
Great looking build Ben.
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Post by Ben_B on Aug 5, 2021 7:16:52 GMT -8
Thanks!
Ben
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