Honda S800 (1:24 scale) Part 2

This little sports car was equipped with a small, high reeving engine engine with a not commonly found chain transmission for the rear wheels. As this was a “wild racer” I imagined it to have an upgraded engine, with more torque and so, using most of the kit parts, modified the rear transmission and suspensions to accommodate a more conventional rear live axle. On the engine itself, the air filter box was replaced by some very short intake trumpets (scratch build from plastic card and plastic tubing), one for each of the four carburetors.

The previous photos show a dry-fit of all the components as they were kept separate to ease the painting process. The chassis was painted satin black and the mechanical components were slightly dry-brushed with a dark metallic shade. The engine, transmission elements and wheels were airbrushed with AlcladII lacquers.

To complete the racer look, the included seats were slightly modified to resemble classic bucket seats, using some plastic card and putty. A roll bar was also scratch built using solder wire and epoxy putty.

With all these elements ready, the seats were painted satin black and the roll bar was painted in a stainless steel color with red padding material detail. The interior areas were painted with Humbrol‘s Gunmetal metal cote (which looks amazing after slightly polishing with a soft cloth). The roll bar was glued in place with epoxy glue (tinted with metallic pigments), giving you enough time to adjust it to its proper position. Photo-etched 4 point safety harnesses were added, using red material, contrasting with the dark (almost completely black) interior.

To complete the interior, the instrument panel was painted in a simple way, painting it in satin black and picking some areas with alluminium color. A gray-brown acrylic wash over the details  helped to pick them up and to complete it, a drop of Marabu‘s enamel gloss varnish wash applied over the instruments faces.

Putting it all together was a breeze as all components fitted without any issues. Emulating what is usually done on track days and other circuit events, isolating tape was applied over the light lenses.

What started as fun proposition (to be part of a group of people dealing with the same theme), turned out to be a blast! The model is of great quality, well detailed and was the perfect base for this somewhat crazy project.