Background:

I love how the XJ220 looks, I can't think of a car with more presence both figuratively and literally - it's huge. However I dislike it's standard wheels. In choosing new wheels and a colour I thought "what would I want from a real one? / how can I make it unique?". Without the 90's wheels I think the design of the car has aged very well.

Pros:

For a 30 year old kit it's very good. I had only minor fitment or adhesion problems with a few parts. There's a full engine and suspension and a lot of detail, and the proportions look good.

Cons:

On my kit (and I know of at least one other) either the body or the chassis is bowed a little (not sure which) and needs some help to be straight along the length of the car when putting the body and chassis together at the end. . The dashboard contact points are not great and some other parts like the front and rear louvre, and the side windows - these all lack any kind of sizeable contact points for glue. The door mirrors have only a small contact area and no location identification.

Verdict:

A great kit but not recommended for beginners. Some parts are fiddly, some need experience to deal with.

Build notes:

Built in just under 4 weeks in May-June 2021. Painted in Ford Ginger Ale metallic with wheels from a Tamiya R390 GT1 and tyres from a R34 GTR. Other modifications to the base kit are seatbelts and quite a lot of pipework to the engine bay. Sacrificing accuracy for symmetry, I've mounted both door mirrors in the same place. The real car has them staggered but asymmetricality bothers me a lot so I "corrected" it.. Usually I'll go for real-life number plates on cars but I decided this one would look better with the XJ220 model number show plate at the back. Finished with Mr Hobby Topcoat Gloss.

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