Background:

A new tooling of a great looking late 80s/early 90s Japanese hot hatch. Easy for me to choose this one.

Kit review:

Pros:

Very nicely moulded, great shape, very little moulding cleanup required. All goes together well. Clearly designed to make ease of painting a consideration - the multi-part seats for example. Very detailed underbody, transmission and suspension. Clear parts all very nice and good decals.

Cons:

Uncorrected the rear suspension is too low. The boxed wheels seem a little small. As this kit shares a lot of it's parts with the rally version, there's work to be done converting the rally-biased mouldings - mainly either plugging holes or drilling them. The interior moulding is clearly biased towards the rally version too. Some of the instructions for assembling the suspension are a little unclear.

Verdict:

Hasegawa have certainly improved compared to older kits I've built. This is a much more modern feeling kit to assemble and aside from the "too low" rear suspension issue, it's very good indeed. Recommended.

Build notes:

Built over about two and a half weeks in March 2025. Painted in Nissan Silver Moss and clearcoated with Mr Hobby Premium Top Coat. Aside from adding my own number plates, I've only changed one other thing from what was supplied in the box - the wheels are from a Tamiya ND Mazda MX-5. As a result I've also made adjustments to the ride height to both accomodate these slightly larger wheels and to correct the kit's "too low" rear.

---