Part 2: The Build

This little kit did not take me a long time to build. It took me 2.5 hours to prep the kit for paint and another 6 hours for paint, final assembly, and weathering (8.5 hours total). Given how little time it took me to complete this kit, I would qualify it as a good weekend build. Building the kit: I didn't encounter many problems with this kit at all. In fact, I press fit the windows (parts B2 and B3) into the window frame (part A10), and I press fit the upper hull (part A22) to the lower hull (part A7). I did encounter a few small issues. There were ejector pin marks on the seats as stated in the First Look portion of this review. There is an ejector pin mark on the front bumper (part A7 - lower hull) that I didn't notice until weathering was started. There is an ejector pin mark on the back side of the window frame (part A10), but this blemish can be ignored due to it being difficult to see. The floor (part A7 - lower hull) has a few ejector pin marks near the rear seat that had to be filled. The fit of the steering column (part A8) is good, but it doesn't look a thing like fit in the directions. None of these issues took long to correct. The convertible roof (parts B4, B6, and B7) gave me fits. When these parts are glued together, they make up the entire deployed convertible roof assembly including the framing and windows. When dry fit, the roof fit perfectly to the vehicle. I couldn't find a good way to mask the side windows with the framing passing over them. The framing at this location is sort of thick. I masked slowly and painted slowly, and I could not get the windows to look right, so I decided to leave the top down to show off the interior. In part 2 of the directions, there is an interesting part placed. Part D4 is just a hole filler in the floor of the vehicle. The original hole was formed by the placement of the muffler in the molding process. Sanding and filling is still needed to make the floor look smooth at this location. The photo etched transfers went on well, were easy to use, and they stuck to the kit throughout the entire weathering process. Paint and Weathering: I followed the directions for all paint on this kit. The seats and convertible roof were painted Tamiya XF-49 Khaki. The main body, interior, and wheels were painted a 50-50 mixture of Tamiya XF-49 Khaki and Tamiya XF-51 Khaki Drab. The tires, interior components, and portions of the undercarriage were painted Tamiya XF-1 Flat Black. Not seeing much of a contrast between the convertible roof and the body of the car. I lightened the khaki paint with some flat white to highlight the roof and seats. I also lightened the body color with flat yellow for highlight tones. I lightly sprayed a highly diluted layer of Tamiya XF-57 Buff to weather and tone down the tires and undercarriage. Testors raw sienna and burnt umber enamel washes were used to contrast the surface detail, and Winsor Newton Naples yellow and titanium white artist oil paints were used for a very light dry brushing treatment. I didn't really want to overdo the weathering on this kit. Decals: Both of the decals went on easily with no gloss coat below. A few coats of Microscale Micro Sol allowed the hood emblem decal to wrap around the photo etched part. Figures: I don't build figures, but after viewing the figures in this kit, I'd say that they are of good quality. Each part (head, arms, and torso) has a mold separation line that will need to be cleaned up. The surface detail on each part is of high quality. Conclusions: It is a great kit. It will look great in a diorama. Any level of modeler can handle this build, but it may be helpful to have experience with masking for the windows and the roof. This is my second Tamiya staff car in this scale, and I've enjoyed building them both. I look forward to building quite a few more of them. I'd like to thank Tamiya and IPMS/USA for this neat little review kit.

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