Paints:
Extras:
First thing I did was to clean the rims from all excess pieces and applied a light coat of primer to check for defects
Then I inserted the rim inside the tire and this revealed that the rims were much wider than the tires
The firewall was also finished. Of course, more details will be added once this is attached in place
Then it was time to start working on the body. I was really disappointed with the underside of the hood as it contains no details at all. It has several sink marks which can be easily fixed, but the fact there are no details is disappointing.
Then I turned my attention to the engine bay where I attached the HD photo-etch parts, that make the bay more realistic
All the body parts were then smoothed from all mold marks and airbrushed in 2K grey primer
Several other body pieces were also airbrushed in 2K grey primer
The body parts were then airbrushed in the 02C blue, followed by several mist coats of 2K clear. Once dry, the clear was lightly sanded with a 2500-grit paper. This was done to get the surface ready for several carbon decals
Once all the carbon fibre decals were applied, all body parts were again airbrushed with 2K clear, as can be seen above
The body was then polished using a rotary tool and automotive polishing compound. Here's the achieved shine
The side-skirts were slightly modified since I smoothed out the fins that once were beneath the STI logos. As for the colours, Tamiya states that you shall paint these skirts and the rear spats in semi-gloss black. I decided to go a different way! The upper part was airbrushed in blue while the bottom part was covered in carbon fiber decal. Then, they were airbrushed in 2K clear!
The body was then masked for the window trims while the hood underside and mirrors were masked for the satin black colour
Next, the rear windows were airbrushed in several layers of Tamiya smoke to simulate the tinted windows which are commom on Japanese cars. The tail lamps were airbrushed in clear red to look like the after-market covers available for the BRZ
The firewall and windows were then assembled to the body to get it ready for the assembly of the chassis
Once the chassis was attached to the body, all the remaining engine bay pieces were assembled in place. Additional details were also added, like extra hoses, battery connectors and cables together with Prodrive and HKS decals
Final addition was a new hood strut since the Tamiya one is too thick in diameter and in my opinion, out of scale too
Finally, all the remaining pieces were assembled to the body and the Subaru BRZ was called finished!
For the complete set of finished pictures, head over to the Gallery section, or click here to be directed!