Gunze Sangho 1:24 Lotus Elan S3

Gunze Sangho 1:24 Lotus Elan S3

Author
Discussion

jeremyc

Original Poster:

24,549 posts

291 months

Friday 9th February
quotequote all
Following my 1:24 Land Rover Series III and Porsche GT3 builds, I'm using another of my cars as inspiration for this one.

Whilst it's an S3 kit I'll be trying to make it look a little like my S4 Sprint.





I'm getting daring this time round and trying to use some masking tape. hehe I'll still be painting everything by brush though. biggrin

Wish me luck.smile


Lighterman1

35 posts

41 months

Friday 9th February
quotequote all
Good luck!



I'll be following progress with a deal of interest - superb choice of kit and subject matter!

jeremyc

Original Poster:

24,549 posts

291 months

Tuesday 13th February
quotequote all
Chassis and wheels done (pictures are of it the wrong way up smile).







Another pleasant surprise was a complete sprue of rubber parts. Not only the tyres, but most of the interior and even the windscreen surround. cool



Interior, and those rubber seats, centre console and door cards next. biggrin

jeremyc

Original Poster:

24,549 posts

291 months

Wednesday 14th February
quotequote all
On it's wheels, with knock-on spinners. cool








tangerine_sedge

5,173 posts

225 months

Wednesday 14th February
quotequote all
jeremyc said:
Another pleasant surprise was a complete sprue of rubber parts. Not only the tyres, but most of the interior and even the windscreen surround. cool

This seems to be a thing with older kits. I made a Heller Renault Gordini a few years ago, and that also had plenty of rubber parts. They assembled OK, but don't take paint well, and were a pain to clean up as they couldn't really be filed. My advice is a very sharp knife and a steady hand to trim the part carefully. I look forward to see how the window rubbers look - they could be a genius solution or a pain in the arse!

generationx

7,510 posts

112 months

Wednesday 14th February
quotequote all
tangerine_sedge said:
jeremyc said:
Another pleasant surprise was a complete sprue of rubber parts. Not only the tyres, but most of the interior and even the windscreen surround. cool

This seems to be a thing with older kits. I made a Heller Renault Gordini a few years ago, and that also had plenty of rubber parts. They assembled OK, but don't take paint well, and were a pain to clean up as they couldn't really be filed. My advice is a very sharp knife and a steady hand to trim the part carefully. I look forward to see how the window rubbers look - they could be a genius solution or a pain in the arse!
Yeah I had a Gunze Sangyo Porsche 959 Dakar with rubber parts including, annoyingly, the covers for the bumper side vents. These needed to be blue and, with enamel paints, took about six months to dry laugh

jeremyc

Original Poster:

24,549 posts

291 months

Thursday 15th February
quotequote all
Rubbery interior fitted, and tried on top of the chassis.







Cheeky test fit of the yet-to-be-painted body.




gruffgriff

1,746 posts

250 months

Thursday 15th February
quotequote all
Car models are supposed to be played-with! Test -fitting the body should always be part of the sequence, it's the funnest bit!

Having fun then....did it come with rubber cv-doughnuts too?

jeremyc

Original Poster:

24,549 posts

291 months

Thursday 15th February
quotequote all
gruffgriff said:
Having fun then....did it come with rubber cv-doughnuts too?
Yes it does come with them ... but nowhere for them to be fitted. hehe

The instructions explicitely call them out as not being used (along with four other plastic parts - a steering wheel rim and boss, and two unidentified half moon shapes).

I'm impressed with the kit; not obvious from the box is that it can be built as either a FHC or DHC version.

jeremyc

Original Poster:

24,549 posts

291 months

Wednesday 21st February
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Coming to life with some colour on the bodyshell. cool




tangerine_sedge

5,173 posts

225 months

Thursday 22nd February
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Looking good! I'm colour blind, is that Green or Yellow?

jeremyc

Original Poster:

24,549 posts

291 months

Thursday 22nd February
quotequote all
tangerine_sedge said:
Looking good! I'm colour blind, is that Green or Yellow?
Lime green (my real car is a colour called Pistaccio Lime Green). cool

CanAm

10,052 posts

279 months

Thursday 22nd February
quotequote all
jeremyc said:
gruffgriff said:
Having fun then....did it come with rubber cv-doughnuts too?
Yes it does come with them ... but nowhere for them to be fitted. hehe

The instructions explicitely call them out as not being used (along with four other plastic parts - a steering wheel rim and boss, and two unidentified half moon shapes).

I'm impressed with the kit; not obvious from the box is that it can be built as either a FHC or DHC version.
They also did the Elan in their Hi-Tech Series, which had full engine and transmission detail (including the donuts), so it makes economic sense to have a single sprue of 'rubber' parts to cover both versions.
Anyway O/P, it's coming along very nicely!

jeremyc

Original Poster:

24,549 posts

291 months

Thursday 22nd February
quotequote all
CanAm said:
jeremyc said:
gruffgriff said:
Having fun then....did it come with rubber cv-doughnuts too?
Yes it does come with them ... but nowhere for them to be fitted. hehe

The instructions explicitely call them out as not being used (along with four other plastic parts - a steering wheel rim and boss, and two unidentified half moon shapes).

I'm impressed with the kit; not obvious from the box is that it can be built as either a FHC or DHC version.
They also did the Elan in their Hi-Tech Series, which had full engine and transmission detail (including the donuts), so it makes economic sense to have a single sprue of 'rubber' parts to cover both versions.
Anyway O/P, it's coming along very nicely!
I had come to the same conclusion. The steering wheel rim and boss are for the metal spokes in the "Hi-tech" kit, and the unidentified half moon shapes are the bonnet hinges that would allow the bonnet to be opened to show the engine detail. smile

I wasn't confident enough to go for the Hi-Tech version, so I get to keep the bonnet closed. biggrin

My only real problem so far has been with the decals splitting/not adhering; the price to pay for an old kit I guess.

CanAm

10,052 posts

279 months

Thursday 22nd February
quotequote all
jeremyc said:
had come to the same conclusion. The steering wheel rim and boss are for the metal spokes in the "Hi-tech" kit, and the unidentified half moon shapes are the bonnet hinges that would allow the bonnet to be opened to show the engine detail. smile

I wasn't confident enough to go for the Hi-Tech version, so I get to keep the bonnet closed. biggrin

My only real problem so far has been with the decals splitting/not adhering; the price to pay for an old kit I guess.
I'm happy enough with kerbside kits too. Opening bonnets and doors can look a bit silly with huge plastic hinges on show, and then do you leave the engine detail "as is", or start adding all the wires, pipes and linkages etc to make it look real?

In my stash I have an Airfix Hi Tech 250GTO (which might even be the Gunze Sangyo one under licence) but I'm nervous about starting it, as you have to make the wheels yourself with individual wire spokes! Still, it was only £5!!

Elderly

3,559 posts

245 months

Thursday 22nd February
quotequote all
CanAm said:
In my stash I have an Airfix Hi Tech 250GTO (which might even be the Gunze Sangyo one under licence) but I'm nervous about starting it, as you have to make the wheels yourself with individual wire spokes! Still, it was only £5!!
I too have the Airfix in the stash, but here's the Gunze H-Tech I built earlier (about 30 years earlier).

The spokes were built in layers and it was not too difficult.



jeremyc

Original Poster:

24,549 posts

291 months

Thursday 22nd February
quotequote all
Body assembled and glazing in place, including the crazy rubber windscreen surround. nuts











Now just final assembly to do ...

tangerine_sedge

5,173 posts

225 months

Friday 23rd February
quotequote all
jeremyc said:
tangerine_sedge said:
Looking good! I'm colour blind, is that Green or Yellow?
Lime green (my real car is a colour called Pistaccio Lime Green). cool
Thanks - it looks ace!

jeremyc

Original Poster:

24,549 posts

291 months

Friday 23rd February
quotequote all
I'm done, I think. smile

















And a reminder of the inspiration:




jeremyc

Original Poster:

24,549 posts

291 months

Friday 23rd February
quotequote all
I'm impressed with the kit, especially the rubber parts - the interior (seats, door panels) and hood cover are very nice.

Some of the pieces were too tiny for me to be able to fit neatly (the side indicator repeaters for the front wings for example), and the decals mostly split or wouldn't adhere, but it went together pretty well. biggrin