Background:

I got this kit very cheap, secondhand and started. I'd already built the 1992 Repsol/Marlboro Celica ST185 as a tarmac car and so since the safari parts were also in the box with this, I decided to build it as a safari version. All it needed were some extra decals which I drew and had printed up. Kankunnen was the winner of this event, so I've decalled the car as his. Safari rally cars are a niche within a niche and this is my first one. It won't be the last.

Pros:

Perfect fitment and shape, as usual from Tamiya. The kit is the same moulds as Tamiya's '92 Safari Celica so you get those safari parts in this kit for free. Like the Tamiya Porsche 959, this kit seems to be in constant production and just like the 959, is a cheap buy and easy to find.

Cons:

This kit shows it's age compared to the Evo V which I built alongside it. There's less detail in the chassis/suspension, less in the interior with more parts moulded-as-one - such as the interior tub and less niceities such as the window masks. Some of the decals are a little tricky to lay down as well.

Verdict:

Great and since it's also cheap and easy to find, a good introduction into complex decalling.

Build notes:

Built over 7 weeks in October/November 2022. Extras to the kit are: Bonnet and boot pins, and the decals unique to this version. Just like the Evo V I built, there's very little this kit needs that Tamiya don't already provide. The car is painted with Tamiya rattle-cans, clearcoated with Mr Hobby Premium gloss, then weathered with UMP weathering pigments. Annoyingly the spare wheel has moved out of it's correct position and due to the front bull-bar being glued to both the body and the chassis, I decided trying to seperate the two halves to correct the wheel wasn't worth it.

---