Hasegawa Toyota Corolla WRC 1999 Portugal Rally (1:24)
Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2016 7:52 pm
My second entry for the Wheelie Good Build will be this Toyota Corolla WRC, Hasegawa Kit.
First, a short background for this model, presented by Hasegawa.
"The fourth race of the 1999 WRC (World Rally Championship) was held from March 21st to the 24th in Matosinhos, close to Oporto, the second largest city in Portugal. At this point in the circuit, Toyota held the lead in the manufacturer's points and Didier Auriol and Carlos Sainz held second and third places, respectively, in driver's points. Corolla WRC had upgraded their vehicles with experimental lighter, high-performance engines. At the first SSS (Super Special Stage) of the opening day on March 21st, the Corolla vehicles started the race amidst wild cheers from the spectators. Corolla WRC, putting forth its best potential, saw Sainz battle for third place and Auriol holding on to fourth. The second leg started at 6am next day. Sainz and Auriol faced bad road conditions, but were undaunted by this obstacle. Throughout the eight SSs of the day's course, Corolla displayed superb fighting spirit, posting the best tim in the 5th SS, and shaving 20seconds off of the 50seconds lead Colin Mcrae of Ford had held going into the second leg. For the third leg, Sainz let out all the stops in a ferocious battle for the top place, decreasing Mcrae's lead to 12 seconds by the end of the race to finish second. Auriol, who also put up quite a fight, finished in third place. Corolla WRC, satisfied with the debut of the new upgraded engine, is determined to see it power their vehicles to victory in more races in the future."
And the resume of the rally:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ya8siHxlBw
Sprue Shots
Instructions
Decals sheet (Cartograf decals)
Rubber tires and decals (and again, that awfull seam in the middle of the tire threads...)
Clear parts masks
Aerial and vynil sheets for the seatbelts
And finally, a small PE sheet
The kit gives 2 livery options which basically can be resumed to one driver or the other (Sainz/Auriol): it's exactly the same livery with diferent names and nationality flags. There's also the option of adding auxiliary head light over the bonnet, which I will not had, as all the stages of this rally were during daylight.
The kit seems to me really nice, no flash or ejector pinmarks on uncovenient places. The extras included in the box, the PE sheet, vinyl sheet for the seatbelts, tyres decals and clear parts masks really add value to the kit. And for 20Eur/15,50GBP/22,50USD, it's a lot of extras for the price.
But, and there's always a "but", this kit has some flaws. First the above mentioned tyres seam line just in the middle of the tires thread: looks bad and to sand it means to damage the tire thread detail. Second, the engine: the body shell has the bonnet closed, but even if you wanted to open it, this is the engine you'll have.
Third, when I was checking the clear parts, found small cracks on the windshield.
All the sprues, including the clear parts one, were packed all together in the same plastic bag. Fortunately, once the windshield in place, these cracks will be hiding under the rooftop. It could be worst, definitely.
As always, opinions and criticism are welcome, feel free to comment!!!
First, a short background for this model, presented by Hasegawa.
"The fourth race of the 1999 WRC (World Rally Championship) was held from March 21st to the 24th in Matosinhos, close to Oporto, the second largest city in Portugal. At this point in the circuit, Toyota held the lead in the manufacturer's points and Didier Auriol and Carlos Sainz held second and third places, respectively, in driver's points. Corolla WRC had upgraded their vehicles with experimental lighter, high-performance engines. At the first SSS (Super Special Stage) of the opening day on March 21st, the Corolla vehicles started the race amidst wild cheers from the spectators. Corolla WRC, putting forth its best potential, saw Sainz battle for third place and Auriol holding on to fourth. The second leg started at 6am next day. Sainz and Auriol faced bad road conditions, but were undaunted by this obstacle. Throughout the eight SSs of the day's course, Corolla displayed superb fighting spirit, posting the best tim in the 5th SS, and shaving 20seconds off of the 50seconds lead Colin Mcrae of Ford had held going into the second leg. For the third leg, Sainz let out all the stops in a ferocious battle for the top place, decreasing Mcrae's lead to 12 seconds by the end of the race to finish second. Auriol, who also put up quite a fight, finished in third place. Corolla WRC, satisfied with the debut of the new upgraded engine, is determined to see it power their vehicles to victory in more races in the future."
And the resume of the rally:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ya8siHxlBw
Sprue Shots
Instructions
Decals sheet (Cartograf decals)
Rubber tires and decals (and again, that awfull seam in the middle of the tire threads...)
Clear parts masks
Aerial and vynil sheets for the seatbelts
And finally, a small PE sheet
The kit gives 2 livery options which basically can be resumed to one driver or the other (Sainz/Auriol): it's exactly the same livery with diferent names and nationality flags. There's also the option of adding auxiliary head light over the bonnet, which I will not had, as all the stages of this rally were during daylight.
The kit seems to me really nice, no flash or ejector pinmarks on uncovenient places. The extras included in the box, the PE sheet, vinyl sheet for the seatbelts, tyres decals and clear parts masks really add value to the kit. And for 20Eur/15,50GBP/22,50USD, it's a lot of extras for the price.
But, and there's always a "but", this kit has some flaws. First the above mentioned tyres seam line just in the middle of the tires thread: looks bad and to sand it means to damage the tire thread detail. Second, the engine: the body shell has the bonnet closed, but even if you wanted to open it, this is the engine you'll have.
Third, when I was checking the clear parts, found small cracks on the windshield.
All the sprues, including the clear parts one, were packed all together in the same plastic bag. Fortunately, once the windshield in place, these cracks will be hiding under the rooftop. It could be worst, definitely.As always, opinions and criticism are welcome, feel free to comment!!!
Anyway, as half (or more than half) of the body will be covered in decals, I'll try to sand it to a smoother finish before gloss coating it.
