Tamiya 1/24 Toyota Celica GT-S

Toyota Celica GT-S

Kit: Tamiya 1/24 Toyota New Celica, kit #24215

Pros: Traditional Tamiya mold quality (though I had minor problem with swirl marks), very minimal mold lines, crisp details on most parts. Exceptional fit, nicely detailed chassis and interior, choice of right or left steering (two dashboards and two sets of wipers). Great chrome plating, nice soft tires with authentic thread pattern. Metal transfers for all emblems, adhesive masks for window trim, mesh for the grille opening. Clear instructions and correct color guide.

Cons: Curbside. Stock wheels are a bit small in my opinion. Exhaust and few other parts are molded-in the chassis plate and somewhat tricky to paint. Too much clear film around decals. Front end could use some lowering.

Verdict: Very solid effort from Tamiya, great kit of a very popular car. With some additional details it could be built into a stunning replica, but even out of the box the model looks very good. Highly recommended to modelers of any skill level.

Model Details

	Headlights are made from several parts, and look very realistic after assembly. Parts fit is very precise, and is a joy to assemble.	Sunroof is supplied as a clear part, but I wanted to tint it a bit. I used a piece of developed 35mm film and just taped it with clear tape from the inside. You can still see the interior of the car from the outside, and the tinting looks smooth and even!
	Rear suspension and shock absorbers are separate parts, but gas tank and exhaust are not - it requires some clever masking to paint. I painted exhaust with a mix of bronze and brass enamels from Testors.	Interior is very nicely detailed, plus I added scratch built pedals, foot rest, CD, seatbelts with photo etched hardware and retainers, and some flocking to add a bit more realism, Everything was detail-painted with fine brush.
	Front suspension, struts, and engine shielding supplied as separate, nicely detailed parts, so front end is much easier to put tougher than the rear. I painted the parts with semi-gloss black and detailed with different metalizers.	Package shelf was covered with Detail Master gray flocking, then rear seatbelts with P/E buckles were added. The interior is easily the most detailed part of this model.

I have built this kit shortly after Tamiya released it few years ago. This is one of my earlier models (built in 2001), but I finally got the time to photograph and upload it to the site. The body was painted with Testors enamel (no clearcoat), and it is one of my better paintjobs using enamels, but it took forever for the paint to dry completely! Interior is finished with Tamiya acrylics. The model was built mostly box-stock, though I added few scratchbuilt and aftermarket things to make it a bit more realistic.

Home