Porsche Carrera GT Sportscar Covertible

I really love this model, I took my time and am very pleased by the end product. I used the colors recommended by Tamiya and was pleased. There is plenty of engine and interior detail to please and body detail is as good as you are up to doing. The only problem I had was the fit of the t-bar roof, but that's not necessary to use. Also the boot doesn't open as nicely as it should, but I am probably to blame for that. I enjoy Tamiya models for their high standards of design and engineering of parts. I saw one of these cars in person the other day and I was awestruck, well, I'll never own one, but this model almost makes up for that!

In my lifetime I have built hundreds of Tamiya kits. Most of the kits I have built have been tossed to the scrap heap of life. But I do remember many of the kits very fondly Every once in a while, one of these old kits resurfaces such as the Kubelwagen, Schwimwagen, or their Motorcycle kits, and I buy them yet again. The big difference between then and now, I’m not a little kid with a tube of glue and a 15-cent jar of paint. Another big difference is I won’t be moving again, so these newer builds of mine have a good chance of surviving. But it is with that nostalgic heart that I build my models. Even though this subject matter is not old by my standards, it does remind me of the quality the kits I used to build. The modern Tamiya car kits are works of art, and the Porsche Carrera GT is no exception. This kit comes on seven sprues plus the body, poly caps, a metal axle, and rubber tires. The body and two sprues are molded in a metallic gray. There are two black sprues, one chrome one clear and one clear red. There are 99 parts, four tires, one metal axle, some metal transfers, and ten poly caps. The instructions are clear and precise. Practice test fitting and you won’t have any problems. Many of the assemblies are broken down to make painting easier. The doors are built with three parts, each part is painted a different color which makes it easier to paint. Nice engineering on Tamiya’s part. The first two steps are building the engine and attaching it to Rear lower deck. If care is taken and some extra work done to detail and paint the engine with some plumbing it will be a standout in any model contest. If you build it straight out of the box, it will still be very impressive. Quite a bit of the engine actually shows when the model is complete, and Tamiya gives you a lot to work with. In step three, you add the exhaust manifolds. Steps four and five are the building of the front brakes and attaching them to the front suspension. No problems here, but step five does need some careful painting on the springs. The springs do show and are very prominent in the engine compartment. In steps six and seven you will be attaching the front suspension and the engine compartment to the monocoque chassis. Steps eight and nine are the building and attaching of the rear brakes. Steps ten, eleven and twelve are the building of the interior. Small parts and decals here need to be done carefully. Steps thirteen through eighteen are mostly about the clear parts and attaching them to the body. In step nineteen, it is time to attach the body to the chassis. The rest of the build is about the final parts and how you want to display the model. This is a great kit. With a little painting and a good understanding of the instructions this kit won’t cause you any problems. I finished mine in the box top silver scheme. I think the silver scheme is just too much silver for the eyes to take in. The next build will probably be in yellow or black. This kit gets high marks all around for fit, molding, decals, subject matter, and instructions. It is an easy kit to build, but it does have some small delicate parts. Overall, I would rate this as one of the best kits I have ever made and I will definitely recommend it to a friend.

Awesome but challenging model. Finished product looks great...not perfect (my fault) but very nice. I improvised a bit with the colors and like the way it turned out. I have 10 Porsche models (also one in the garage :) mostly Tamiya...this is one of their best.