Japanese 4 door saloons are one of my favourite sub-genres and the chance to build a Tamiya one is too good to pass up. Eventually one came up on Ebay at a price I was happy with, I built it within a month of it arriving in the post. It's an unusual choice for Tamiya - by this point they'd almost stopped doing JDM-only vehicles (more's the pity). I do wonder if the impetus for this kit came about because like the real car - the kit shares it's entire chassis/suspension parts and door mirrors with the Celica 165, an earlier Tamiya model - so saving on tooling costs.
The usual Tamiya quality and moulded in white so you can easily make it any colour you want. Nice detail on the interior and cool Autopista period decals for the seat fabric. With only 7 steps in the instructions it's an easy build.
No engine and the wheels don't steer - and the wheels have no brakes either. The glass doesn't easily stay in place without help from additional glued plasticard.
Great effort from Tamiya in their group of simple quick build models. Builds easily, looks good - a sporty and elegant model.
Completed during July/August 2020 and painted with Ford Ginger Ale paint from my local Ford Dealer which is a pretty good fit for the Carina Autopista green-gold on the box art. It's clearcoated with Mr. Hobby Gloss, which I knew chemically would not upset the Ford paint below it. I've changed the wheels for Fujimi Hartge ones as I didn't care for the boxed wheels, and I've added some brake discs/calipers from the spare parts box. I also added some extra plasticard width to the inner wheel arches as there was a fair gap. The rest is all what's in the box. Interior is matt black and gunship grey.
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