éX-Driver Lancia Stratos

       

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Original Kit:
Lancia Stratos HF "1977 Monte-Carlo Rally Winner"
Made By:
Hasegawa (kit #25032)
Scale:
1/24
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eX-Driver Lancia Stratos interior eX-Driver Lancia Stratos hood detail eX-Driver Lancia Stratos rear

 
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Kōsuke Fujishima definitely has a thing for machines. Not mecha like power suits or robots, but the machines we currently (or may soon) inteact with on a daily basis. Cars are a particular specialty, often drawn accurate down to the chassis hardware. Case in point: the Lancia Stratos HF from éX-Driver was a blend of the legendary road and rally cars, mixing a few elements of each to create a unique but fully believable vehicle. I chose Hasegawa's '77 Monte Carlo winner as a base mostly because it was readily available, but thanks to the kit's history of being released in both street and track trim it included almost everything I needed to create this blend.

The kit went together with little difficulty. Some light cleanup of mold parting lines was about the extent of what was needed, and (other than one bit I'll talk about shortly) assembly was a breeze. No complaints on the instructions or decal sheet, either - everything was clear and easy to follow and use.

Most of the chassis was assembled straight out of the box, though I did use one of the alternate exhaust setups to better match Lisa's ride. I followed the colors shown in the anime as much as possible (like most animated cars, details would sometimes change or be simplified as needed). This meant that most things got painted black, with a few silver and gray details to break up the monotony. I also gave it yellow springs, just for the heck of it.

The one place I did do some kitbashing was the interior. First, the vintage bucket seats were replaced with more modern racing seats from AMT's The Fast and the Furious Mitsubishi Eclipse. They were dressed with seatbelts made from thin ribbon, photoetched hardware, and labels from an Aoshima Drift Parts Set. I also upgraded the steering wheel with a photoetched spider. It's just about impossible to see through the Stratos' narrow windows, but I'll know it's there.

The body was assembled to include the rear spoiler, rear fender extensions, roof spoiler, and roof scoop. This brought me to the only difficult part of the build: mounting the body on the chassis/interior. Much like Fujimi's GT-40, the body had to be flexed much further than I was comfortable with to get into place. The nose had to be located first, and then the sides of the body had to be spread to clear the rear bulkhead and floor before finally popping the tail over the rear chassis mounts. Extra difficulty points were added thanks to the fender flares and door panels keeping the body rigid. By going slow and using multiple thin blades to guide the body across the widest parts I was able to get it into place without damage, but I'm glad it's not a process I have to repeat too often.

Colors were pretty basic: Tamiya TS-93 Pure Blue for the body, TS-16 Yellow for the wheels, and black for the window frames, rear window louvers, and light housings. The door handles and fuel caps were painted chrome, and the fasteners were painted Dark Aluminum. The final details were a set of custom "éX-D" decals I drew up and the roof-mounted antenna.

 

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