Fujimi - 1:24 Mazda RX-8 VeilSide

I don't know why I bought this model, maybe I was attracted by its exaggerated modification.  The model is in so and so quality, the interior is the usual Fujimi medium detailed models, tub-liked molding, with very little detail for the door panels.  The wheels are nice but too small for the car, I think.  There are totalling 11 parts made up for the main body.  Since this is an average detail model, I am not going to spend time to do any significant modification but build it straight from the box.

[Progression]
Day 1 [16/7/08]: Detach all body parts and sand with 400-grit sandpaper.  The surface of the rear wing has serious sink marks, I used a rougher sandpaper (around 200-grit) to sand the surface smooth rather than applying putty because I want to decrease the thickness of the wing.  Since the entire rear wing need to be colored, there are no place to attach the holder, so I assembled the wing before spraying.

Day 2 [22/7/08]: Thinning the body edges with milling tool.  Glue the side skirts to the main body, and prime all the body parts with gray primer.

Day 3 [23/7/08]: Sand smooth the primed parts and paint everything in black.  Put on side decals, I was planning to finish the whole car in matt black, however, after put on the decals, I think it should looks better in gloss black.  I also apply a thin layer of clear coat to settle the decal afterward.  After I put the clear coat, I notice that the color of the decal doesn't match the color as shown on the box.  The decal on the box is in silver grey, whereas the decal is in beige.  After the second look at the decals, they don't quite match the black color body, but it's too late to remove them.

Day 4 [24/7/08]: The pump problem still keep me from finishing the final spraywork for the car body, so I turned to assemble the other parts.  I start assembling the cockpit, the cockpit is (like Prosche 959) a tub-like piece, that is the door panel and rear seats are molded in one piece.  The door panel has nearly no detail at all, so I just spray the whole tub, seatsn and dashboard with flat black.  The chassis is rough too, everything underneath is molded on, again I spray the whole panel with flat black.

Day 5 [25/7/08]: Continue assemble cockpit, front and back suspensions (actually the brake disc only since the model doesn't have suspension details.  I accidentally discard the plastic axle for the rear wheels which located in sprun A.  I don't realize that Fujimi not even provide a metal rod for the axle.  As such, I have I have to customize one using the plastic rod (pic 1).  Put a second layer of clear coat to the body.
pic 1

Day 6 [28/7/08]: Sand the body with 2000 grit sandpaper and apply Modeler (2000) and Fujimi (8000) rubbing compound.

Day 7 [30/7/06]: Put on other small parts to the body, such as the head and rear lights, side air outlets, rear wing etc.  Mission completed.