Building our second BRZ Limited
 

My wife and I are undergoing a project to build a near replica of our brand new DGM BRZ. (Love the car very much.) :)


We've already completed step one (buying the parts) and step two (cleaning), so here are a few pics.


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o.../WP_000091.jpg


Washing:


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o.../WP_000089.jpg


And drying:


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o.../WP_000088.jpg


We're going to try to make it exactly like the real one - which means lots of super detailed paint effects in the interior (red stitching....I'm going to let her do that).


Anyway, rear suspension is tonight, hopefully!


:word:

Here is the rear suspension, sans brake rotors. It also needs a coat of semi gloss black on everything except the silver transfer case cap. FWIW Tamiya is my new favorite model kit company - the level of detail is awesome.


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o.../WP_000093.jpg

Updates for tonight:


Brakes assembled and ready for painting.


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o.../WP_000099.jpg


Hubs painted. Hard to see, sorry - I thought my phone camera was good?
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...WP_0001004.jpg


Brake rotors painted.
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o..._0001052-1.jpg


Calipers done (yes, three separate colors...very tedious).


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o.../WP_000106.jpg


First coat of body color on underbody. Will need multiple coats, and the body will probably need to be primed - the model is case in silica bluish.
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...WP_0001072.jpg


More tomorrow!

Awesome! Can't wait to see the final results! I always tried to build models and do detail but failed miserably lol!

in !! looks like fun!

plan any mods? if i built one, i'd like to lower it a bit and put some custom rays wheels on like these:
http://www.hlj.com/product/FRYRM006/Aut

Probably no mods, just stock like our real one. It is indeed fun, although I'm having a hard time convincing the wife to join in. Not everyone's cup of tea, unfortunately. :iono:

I've been in the mood to paint lately, this might just be a great alternative

Go for it! It's a great kit!

This is cool. Thanks for sharing!

Subbed. Most unique journal by far.

Very Cool! Keep the updates coming!

Wow!

I bought the same kit 6 months ago. It has been sitting in the middle of the dining room table like the thanksgiving turkey (shows how often I entertain).

I built many models while rehabbing injuries years ago, always taking time patience, and tedious details to the extreme. Gave most away to kids.

Have been too busy working and building the real car to take the time (as you and your wife are) to build it with care and detail. I will be painting mine SWP to match the car in the driveway, which will include building and installing my aftermarket parts on the model as well.

Thus I am subscribed

:popcorn:

No turbo no care. :)

Oh yeah, I am going to try to put the turbo on it

Thanks for the comments, everyone!


Here are a few updates. The next step of assembly will take a very long time because of the amount of painting we will have to do on the underbody.


Anyway, here's the exhaust and complete rear suspension painted and ready to install:


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...WP_0001082.jpg


And here is the time hold up - three coats of body color and two coats of Mr. Super Clear sealant. Doing the last coat of Mr. tonight, and then tomorrow night will be masking and painting the actual color.


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...WP_0001092.jpg


Why three coats, you ask? Because of this original color (reverse side of part):
http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...WP_0001102.jpg


Yes, should have primed. Lesson learned for these parts, which will be primed tonight. They're way ahead in the instructions but considering how long the underbody took, I want to get a head start with priming tonight. Color will be Dark Grey Metallic.


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...WP_0001112.jpg

Shame you didn't get the version that comes with the fa20 engine. Everything seems to be sold out on HLJ.com or I'd get one myself.

I'm surprised you didn't prime to begin with! Great thread and I love the progress pics. Can't wait to see it finished!

Light load tonight. First primer coat (didn't want to overspray) and last coat of Mr. Super Clear on underbody. Tomorrow night will be more - we'll be painting the front suspension and details on underbody. Tuesday night should be assembly.


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o..._0001124-1.jpg
















http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...70403080_l.gif

Keep up the great work! Severe attention to detail!

"Daily" update! Lots of painting last night.


Second coat of primer on all but the exterior body (that will be tonight).


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o.../WP_000116.jpg


Final painting of underbody, complete with cool drip pan. Also, the front suspension is painted (still needs a touchup on the inside).


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o.../WP_000114.jpg


Close-up of front suspension:


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o.../WP_000113.jpg


And, the other side of the underbody, now black.


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o.../WP_000115.jpg


Tonight is assembly of rear suspension and exhaust, touching up of front brakes, final priming of exterior, and probably a bit more painting for the engine area.


:thumbsup:

This brings me back to when I was obsessed with building model fighter jets. Great job with the paint detail, this is going to look great.

Hey everyone, quick update but we didn't get everything done last night because of storm/traffic delay in DFW. But here's what we were able to do:


Assemble driveshaft and rear suspension.


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o.../WP_000118.jpg






Exhaust:


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o.../WP_000119.jpg


That's it for a couple of days. Student trip to baseball game tonight, so it will be a late one. More updates on Thursday.


Thanks for all the comments!

:popcorn:

Very detailed model, you guys must be very patient.

Sub'd! I've got two different company's models. One FR-S and one RHD/LHD GT86. My original plan was to kit mash the two together to make one as close to my car as possible. Just never have the time to do anything to it...I'm excited to see the process you go through on yours!
:popcorn:

Awesome! Great job! Can I ask why you washed the kit before you began? I've never seen that before.

Companies use a releasing agent in the styrene mix. This keeps the parts from sticking to the mold when the plastic cools and is ready to be popped out. Washing removes this and helps the paint and cement bond better to the surface. :cool:

Yeah that would be a definite time commitment! You should do it anyway. Which companies' kits do you have?

Rangers won Wednesday! :party0030:


More updates, not much though.

Body is finished priming. Probably going to jump ahead and do assembly tonight.

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o.../WP_000124.jpg


Front suspension finished painting (inside of calipers) and preliminary assembly.


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o.../WP_000125.jpg


And front wheel well with final coat of body paint last night. Just using one coat of Mr. Super Clear, and that went on this morning. Probably going to paint details tonight.


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o.../WP_000126.jpg


More to come!

I wanna say it's the Aoshima kit and the Tamiya kit.

Yeah I think the Aoshima is curbside but I think has more body styling options. That does indeed require a lot of finagling of connection but I think it'd be fun!

Daily update: 17.08
 

Good morning everyone!


Did some painting yesterday, assembly and more painting tonight.


Front wheel well/engine base. Can't tell from the pic but the wheel well is base color in front and semi gloss black in back. (BTW I have no idea why my pictures keep getting washed out. It's a camera phone but it's supposed to be one of the best. I'll investigate further...)


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...P_000131-1.jpg


First coat of body. I must say I'm a bit disappointed in the color. Tamiya says to use TS-64 Dark Mica Blue to match the factory Dark Grey Metallic. I was a bit skeptical but I got it anyway, well, my skepticism was well founded. We'll see once I get the final coat and Mr. Super Clear on it.


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o.../WP_000132.jpg


Front and rear bumper. I was going to assemble the body tonight but realized there's a lot more sub assembly to the bumpers. Oh well.


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o.../WP_000133.jpg






http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o.../groovekid.gif

Update - 20.08.2013
 

Hey everyone, sorry for the lack of updates over the weekend - it was a busy one, therefore we didn't get a whole lot done.


Here is the front suspension pre-assembled onto the body. There are a few blue spots from sanding for glue. I hate that part. Anyone know of a glue or cement that will not attack paint?


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o.../WP_000136.jpg


Front wheel well assembled.


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o.../WP_000138.jpg


Engine and interior parts prepped for painting tonight. I really wanted to do it last night but it was too late. Plus, the cement for some of those parts needed to fully cure. Patience strikes again!


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o.../WP_000139.jpg

I have the same kit just sitting around almost 6 months now. Glad I found this thread - going to start this build!

keep up the good work. No way will mine come out that good...

Front suspension installation looks so neat.

Thanks guys! I'm really forcing myself to be patient on it, and it's paying off. It makes me think more about the assembly and painting. It also helps that Tamiya is pretty specific with paints/etc.

Update 20.08.2013 #2
 

Hey everyone, two updates in one day to make up for the weekend.


Body assembly connection points all sanded away and taped for final coat and Super Clear.


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...WP_0001403.jpg


Coat #2 of body color on auxiliary parts (bonnet, rear view mirrors, spoiler, firewall, hood brackets).


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...WP_0001412.jpg


And two shots of the interior after the coat of semi gloss. Painting details tomorrow - red stitching!


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o...WP_0001422.jpg


http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o.../WP_000143.jpg


My wife is painting the engine and radiator right now, so I'll have pictures of that in the morning.


:happy0180:

Glad to be an inspiration. :thumbup:

Sure it will! Just go slowly and keep at it. Good paintbrushes help too. :)

Yeah, I think so too. I love the detail they put in parts that hardly get seen.