1/10 R34 Skyline Hornet livery - body for Reve D RDX drifter

[Hippohunter]

When I saw the Kaido House x Tamiya Skyline scale model my first thought was that someone is going to make a drifter with the same theme. Time went on and it didn´t pop up anywhere, therefore I started gathering stuff required to do it myself. Upon consideration I thought that it wouldn´t be very original to copy an existing livery but on the other hand plenty of decal sheets for drifters are replicas of 1:1 counterparts.

By the time of writing this thread, body is finished and waits racing season to begin in September. I´ll do practice with my current Hpi Nissan S13 body, which is otherwise ok looking but the proportions are from a tank compared to most 1:10 scale drifters. I´ll write my thoughts about the build process and upload some pictures. I still can´t comprehend how much effort and steps a body took when some detail was added.

Body itself is from Aplastics, I chose it over other options because it´s proportions don´t seem off and price was cheap, about 50€ at Driftparadiz. Unfortunately it doesn´t have over the top widebody kit like the 1/64 counterpart but there isn´t a commonly available R34 rc body  with similar fenders. The body has to be a lexan body because it will be used properly.

Disclaimer: Potential image hosting issues will be fixed when noticed.

[Hippohunter]

Apparently hosting several images in one post isn´t possible.

Decals are a design your own sheet from MCI racing. Sorry for the small pic, unfortunately I forgot to take a screenshot from the decal editor.

Stripes are a set from MCI´s editor and colors are changed to match Hornet colors. I cannot recall what model they were for originally, perhaps a F-150 or other pickup. Rest are straight from the editor and Kaido House text I replaced with a bit more personal text because this isn´t going to be a diecast model. I duplicated the hornet decals for an another body which I´ll show later. Also i ordered extra wing slogans because it´s the best!

[Hippohunter]

All smaller stuff and paints gathered into a pile:

There´s a Tamiya interior set, right hand drive of course. Also a rear wing, intercooler set, rims, tires, paints, Killerbody light kit, Overdose body posts with realistic latches and a rollcage from RcArt. The cagework is made from polycarbonate and is supposed to be one fit for all. At the time of unboxing I was sure that it will be painful to assemble it. Pics from painting up next.

[Alexei]

interesting project. the Aplastics bodies are not as good as Tamiya's, but still a decent option. the main problem with Tamiya is the bodies is the width needed for drift, but i take it you already know that. but i wish Tamiya would make something a bit wider.

[JatoTheRipper]

Anxious to see this one complete!

[Hippohunter]

On 7/24/2024 at 11:18 PM, Alexei said:

interesting project. the Aplastics bodies are not as good as Tamiya's, but still a decent option. the main problem with Tamiya is the bodies is the width needed for drift, but i take it you already know that. but i wish Tamiya would make something a bit wider.

For my eyes it seems that earlier products from Aplastics aren´t that good, 4th gen Supra for instance. Newer releases are much more detailed. On the r34 doors and side skirts are clearly thinner than top parts of the body but not too thin. I managed to cut the body without issues.

Related to Tamiya bodies, offerings from MST (Max Speed Technology) seem like they come from a factory that makes Tamiya bodies. Or at least the designers have looked at Tamiya products. I can´t recall all similarities what others have noticed at my local track but dimples for body posts match between Tamiya and MST.

[Hippohunter]

Back to build updates. Before paint I cut the body, reamed holes and checked the fitment with rims that I chose. Rims are from Reve D. Offset is 6 mm on the front and 10 on the rear per side. Rear hexes are 7 mm (+2 mm to stock) so I was afraid the tires would stick out too much. Fortunately fitment seems okay when wheelbase is lengthened with about 3 mm compared to stock setting.

The rollcage was an insane test of skills with a hobby knife and patience. Parts were cut from two molds and last cuts were difficult because there wasn´t much polycarbonate left and therefore pieces tended to twist.

Picture from painting. All parts were washed before paint. Interiors base color I painted mith normal black spray paint. Underneath the body are pieces of rear wing and faux fans for the intecooler. Light buckets and intercooler got silver paint and rollcage was painted with yellow. I had to place some rocks on the newspapers because it got windy.

And now to the disappointing part of the build. Element Rc has a video on Youtube where they show how to paint carbon fiber effect with smoke color, carpet tape and silver paint. On the pic below I have painted the hood and rear trunk with smoke and started to apply the capret tape. It was really difficult to attach the tape evenly. Unfortunately the paint reacted with the tape and didn´t stick evenly. Paint formed even small bubbles. Before starting the foolery with the sticky tape I already thought about what to if I mess up. I knew that the parts could be covered with carbon fiber wrap.

When Tamiya makes a product called carbon decal it is an actual waterslide decal. Coming up next is operation carbon fiber cover-up...

[Hippohunter]

Sorry that writing has taken time! In this post I have pics from finishing painting, decals, rollcage and the carbon fiber decal madness.

Painting the interior was fun. I have painted couple of scale models about 15 years ago so working with brush paints was a familiar task. The finish is not perfect but matte yellow on the overalls and matte paint on the seat, steering wheel and dashboard did the job. Handbrake I cut from the helmet´s sprue.

Mocking up the rollcage with some tape. A-pillar tubes consist of two halves and every part had a section that was trimmed to suitable length. After time consuming trimming and refitting I mounted the cage with some hot glue. I have seen also cages mounted to the interior, but then getting a reliable mounting with the tubes close to the roof would have been difficult.

Finally got to the best part! Felt great to see the build finally coming together.

Finally done, I also did a Fat Fox with same livery but there wasn´t anything special to document on the build whatsoever.

From a bit of distance the carbon fiber decal seems okay. It was a stressful operation to get the waterslide decal evenly. It´s not a complete large piece, because a single piece would´t cover top of the bonnet. Layering small pieces with the carbon weave lining up was difficult but I managed to spread them without wrinkles. Notice the Blockhead Motors sticker on the rear wing. BHM is like the Deuce Ex Machina of rc, the ultimate hipster cool company and therefore it has to be included.

Of course the famous wing slogan found its place on both bodies.

[Hippohunter]

Last pic, mounted light kit form Killerbody and mounted on the Reve D RDX chassis.

So called stance is okay, it could be lower but then wheels would rub. On the other hand 1:1 scale Skylines have always some ground clearance or really tall side skirts to mimic being slammed to the ground. There´s no rear bumber because drifting is easier when there´s less stuff to touch barriers. Also real pro level drift cars seen in Drift Masters or Formula D don´t have a proper bumber. Also the cutout in the rear window has a reminds rear mounted cooling system but it also actually helps the motor to cool down.

Adventures of the Hornet racers can be followed at https://www.instagram.com/fullymommysboy/