jaymcminn Posted May 3, 2017 Posted May 3, 2017 This is the Fujimi Enthusiast Porsche 356 Speedster Carrera. I've built my share of the Enthusiast kits, so I was pretty sure I knew what to expect... lots of parts, lots of detail, dodgy fit, and plenty of surprises, both good and bad. There is a large number of building options as well... top up or down (with side curtains and windows for the up-top) as well as a tonneau cover and optional pieces for a 1957 or 1958 car. The body shell took a bit of massaging to get it to look right... it was a bit "lumpy" around the rear quarters and had some pretty wicked mold seams to deal with. In addition, the bulkhead of the front trunk needed a bit of sanding to get the front end down and the interior to fit right. The stance looks great, but I would have liked the front to sit just a little lower... maybe when I build my coupe kit somewhere down the road. The engine is truly beautiful... it's a shame you can see so little of it through the tiny engine cover. I wired the twin-plug Carrera unit and scratchbuilt the twin coils. Interior detail is fantastic, but the stamped detail on the floor pan posed a problem for flocking... I wound up scratching floor mats from Evergreen v-groove siding. I used some Scale Motorsports Gullwing plaid decals for the front buckets. Most of the chrome pieces, including bumper guards, hubcaps, and headlights, were chromed using my then-new Molotow chrome pen. Exterior paint is Tamiya Gunship Grey with Testors One-Coat Clear. Interior color is Tamiya Dull Red. Flocking is custom-mixed to look like the "salt-and-pepper" German carpet of the period. So, downsides of the kit? Well, I wish the opening panels fit better. It's not terrible, but the engine cover still doesn't fit as well as I'd like despite a lot of massaging. The decals, however, ARE terrible. If I could get a hold of P/E emblems (and believe me, I looked!) I'd replace them in about 10 seconds. The upsides are obvious- the proportions, overall look, and detail are excellent. In addition, despite the complicated and fiddly nature of the kit, it was just plain FUN. Here's a better look at the interior... What's in the frunk? The mat the tools and jack are resting on is more of the Evergreen V-groove and the tire hold-down strap is an extra P/E bit I had lying around. Never throw anything away, kids... I wish I had better engine pics... Thanks for looking, and as always, questions and comments are welcome!
Bainford Posted May 3, 2017 Posted May 3, 2017 Your Porsche is gorgeous. You did a great job, and the colour choices are spot on. The effort to get it together really paid off. Nice work!
GeeBee Posted May 3, 2017 Posted May 3, 2017 Superb build, I built the 356 Carrera earlier, not the easiest kit to build and to get right, but you pulled it off !
Foxer Posted May 3, 2017 Posted May 3, 2017 One of my favorite kits (subject and detail) and you did a wonderful job on it .. looking good!
Intmd8r Posted May 3, 2017 Posted May 3, 2017 Wow - looks perfect! I’m impressed/jealous of the build quality
drodg Posted May 3, 2017 Posted May 3, 2017 Beautiful job. I love these kits when they are finished well and you did a great job. I have a 356C Carrera Coupe kit but I have not had the bravery to finish it. Anyhow very nice job.
jaymcminn Posted May 4, 2017 Author Posted May 4, 2017 Thanks guys! I wanted a cool vintage vibe for this model- '50s Porsches look best in muted colors and I think the dark grey suits the lines really well. Beautiful job. I love these kits when they are finished well and you did a great job. I have a 356C Carrera Coupe kit but I have not had the bravery to finish it. Anyhow very nice job. Thanks David! The EM Porsche 356 kits are really impressive pieces of engineering, They look a lot more intimidating than they actually are... it's really down to test fitting EVERYTHING. The only issue I found was that the "frunk" insert needed to be sanded down to match the curvature of the body, which allows the interior tub to fit properly and the front end to sit lower. Other than that it's a seriously nice kit without the stance/track issues that plague the 911 kits. I'm probably going to build my coupe as a slightly ratty, lowered "outlaw" style car. Of course, with that Carrera engine, that would be one expensive outlaw...
drodg Posted May 4, 2017 Posted May 4, 2017 Thanks guys! I wanted a cool vintage vibe for this model- '50s Porsches look best in muted colors and I think the dark grey suits the lines really well. Thanks David! The EM Porsche 356 kits are really impressive pieces of engineering, They look a lot more intimidating than they actually are... it's really down to test fitting EVERYTHING. The only issue I found was that the "frunk" insert needed to be sanded down to match the curvature of the body, which allows the interior tub to fit properly and the front end to sit lower. Other than that it's a seriously nice kit without the stance/track issues that plague the 911 kits. I'm probably going to build my coupe as a slightly ratty, lowered "outlaw" style car. Of course, with that Carrera engine, that would be one expensive outlaw... Thanks for the tips. BTW that would be one expensive outlaw!
drodg Posted May 4, 2017 Posted May 4, 2017 There was someone from South America that made a photo etched detail set for the 356 kits. I assume those are no longer available. I thought of that after you made the comments about the decals. Anyhow once again a beautiful job.
NYNS Franky Posted May 7, 2017 Posted May 7, 2017 Wow, excellent work and great choice on the color combo!
MrObsessive Posted May 7, 2017 Posted May 7, 2017 Jason, that is one BEAUTIFUL Speedster! That color suits the car to a T, and love the shade of the uptop! Yes, they can be quite fiddly-------I built several of these (Coupe, Cabriolet, and Speedster) during the late '80's/early '90's, but they're all in need of a good resto, and actually the Speedster got lost over the years, although I suspect it's in one of my empty model boxes------I just can't remember which one! I've got new kits of each now and like you said, test fit, test fit, and test fit again! The kit will go together, but you have to check everything as you go along. This is where I learned not to paint any body parts until things fit together right-------these kits will make you learn that!
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