Honda S600

[70 STING]

Needed something easier after the challenging/frustrating Chevy Fleetside Build. Next up in the stash was this diminutive convertible from Tamiya. It wasn't one of their typical 'perfect fit' kits, but pretty darn close.

Body colour is Tamiya LP-39 Racing White with a darkened Tamiya LP-21 Italian Red interior.



Build Notes

Made tire valves for the first time. Just cut some black insulated wire and painted the tips with some semi gloss black.

Added a couple hoses and a few aluminum tape straps to the engine bay.

Drilled out the tiny exhaust tips.

There are no seat backs in the kit so I filled them in with styrene and putty as they can be seen from the rear.

The front grill needed a little bending to fit flush with the body - no heating required

This kit is known for having a very tight body to chassis fit. I didn't really have a major issue here. Best method is to fit the rear in place first, then pry the body open working your way to the front. I did have a problem with the hood touching the engine. I ended up cutting off the font mounting bracket from the frame so the frame could drop a little lower... it didn't completely solve the issue, but made it less noticeable.



Over all a nice little kit to build. :^)














Oh, did I mention how small this car is? Below is a size comparison with the smallish Lancia Stratos and Toyota Supra. 8^o

[keavdog]

That is a little dude. Really like the bright work and just a great overall finish.

[handiabled]

Fantastic! The interior colors really pop with the white you painted this! Your wonderful photography really brings your builds to life

[project510]

LOVE THIS! Excellent work as always. I need to get this kit now.

[maverick]

Very nicely done! Have one of these in my stash, may have to dig it out after the current project is done. Your color choices for this build are spot on. Love it!

[dupes]

First off - that's a killer build! Looks gorgeous. I'm incredibly jealous of how good your pics are. What's your photo setup like?

[70 STING]

May 28, 2024 19:54:12 GMT -5 keavdog said:

That is a little dude. Really like the bright work and just a great overall finish.

Chrome treatment via the tcoat method using black-tinted Pledge/Future. I will definitely be using this on select models going forward.

[70 STING]

May 29, 2024 3:28:07 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Fantastic! The interior colors really pop with the white you painted this! Your wonderful photography really brings your builds to life

Thanks Dood.  Photography... turning turds into gems. ;^)

[70 STING]

May 29, 2024 12:43:36 GMT -5 project510 said:

LOVE THIS! Excellent work as always. I need to get this kit now.

Appreciate that, sir.  I would certainly recommend the kit. As I mentioned in the post, it's not 100% up to Tamiya's usual high standard but it goes together pretty well.

[406 Silverado]

What a cool car to build and you've again brought out the best in this kit with your added touches and your signature flawless photography. I'm a bit surprised to see that the kit didn't have seat backs included being that this is a convertible car but you handled that issue in good fashion as well. Beautiful build and perfect photo shots.

[70 STING]

May 29, 2024 14:06:15 GMT -5 maverick said:

Very nicely done! Have one of these in my stash, may have to dig it out after the current project is done. Your color choices for this build are spot on. Love it!

Thanks maverick. The instructions call for more of a bright white, however I chose the warmer Racing White and went with a darker red for the seats.  This car would also look nice with the red body scheme - also covered in the instructions.

[70 STING]

May 29, 2024 14:07:53 GMT -5 dupes said:

First off - that's a killer build! Looks gorgeous. I'm incredibly jealous of how good your pics are. What's your photo setup like?

Thanks dupes. :^)

My photography setup is a variation of this:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nB9M36WXvQ&t=171s
It's also a popular method for shooting 1:1 cars.

Good Luck!

[70 STING]

May 29, 2024 16:13:42 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

What a cool car to build and you've again brought out the best in this kit with your added touches and your signature flawless photography. I'm a bit surprised to see that the kit didn't have seat backs included being that this is a convertible car but you handled that issue in good fashion as well. Beautiful build and perfect photo shots.

Yeah, a little surprising for a Tamiya kit to omit the seat backs.  I dunno, maybe it was drafted by a junior team member.  On their Supra kit they have 4 or 5 parts just for the danged headlights!

As I've mentioned in a number of posts, this method of photography is very forgiving and flattering to car models. 

[406 Silverado]

May 29, 2024 16:32:27 GMT -5 70 STING said:

May 29, 2024 16:13:42 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

What a cool car to build and you've again brought out the best in this kit with your added touches and your signature flawless photography. I'm a bit surprised to see that the kit didn't have seat backs included being that this is a convertible car but you handled that issue in good fashion as well. Beautiful build and perfect photo shots.

Yeah, a little surprising for a Tamiya kit to omit the seat backs.  I dunno, maybe it was drafted by a junior team member.  On their Supra kit they have 4 or 5 parts just for the danged headlights!

As I've mentioned in a number of posts, this method of photography is very forgiving and flattering to car models. 

 I'll be checking that method of yours out as I need to up my game with the photography. 

[dupes]

Oh man. I am SOOOO not prepared for this! Just watched the entire YouTube video...I'm basically going to have to start from scratch.

[70 STING]

May 29, 2024 18:33:12 GMT -5 dupes said:

Oh man. I am SOOOO not prepared for this! Just watched the entire YouTube video...I'm basically going to have to start from scratch.

I use some more advanced gear for my photography, but the same effect can be achieved with items from around the house or a trip to Michaels. A soft box can be replaced with a desk lamp placed above a couple sheets of tracing paper, a white pillowcase, shower curtain etc. to soften/diffuse the light. The key is to place the diffusion material relatively close to the model. Experiment by moving the lamp closer and farther away from the diffusion material to see the effect on the model. You will likely have to block light from the lamp from hitting the background - try placing some black construction paper behind the light (opposite the camera). Also try rolling out more paper (moving the background farther away) to get that nice gradient effect.

A more basic point-and-shoot camera will work nicely, too. Just put the camera in Manual mode and adjust the shutter speed, aperture, ISO until it looks good on the screen. Bracket your exposures - try a few that look brighter and few that look darker as they may look different of a computer screen.

You can use a cellphone camera but it would be best if you can manually adjust the exposure. There are apps that allow manual control of the camera but you should be able to adjust it by tapping on the screen and adjusting the slider controls.

[kyledehart5]

Beautiful work, and beautiful photography. These are great looking little roadsters and your color choices are awesome. I love this.

[70 STING]

Jun 2, 2024 2:27:01 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Beautiful work, and beautiful photography. These are great looking little roadsters and your color choices are awesome. I love this.

Thanks Kyle.  I just watched Jay Leno’s video on this little car.  Pretty cool little machine.