Toyota Aristo Vertex Itasha (OOB build)

[zenrat]

Toyota Aristo Vertex Itasha

Toyota Aristo Itasha 03 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

The Toyota Aristo was sold in overseas markets as the Lexus GS.
Itasha is a Japanese car culture where vehicles are decorated with vinyls of anime characters.

Toyota Aristo Itasha 08 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

This is kit is built out of box.  It is an otherwise "normal" Aoshima kit which comes with a huge decal sheet.  I don't have a particular attraction to this type of car but I did pick up a couple of them cut price with the intention of using them to practice my decalling.

Toyota Aristo Itasha 10 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

The decals were a little too translucent and the underlying "red blood pools" show through the girls faces.  Other than that though it build up really well.

Toyota Aristo Itasha 07 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

You can't see it but I flocked the rear parcel shelf and the floor with some cedar dust I had collected from my electric sander dust bag for just such a purpose.  It worked a treat.

Toyota Aristo Itasha 01 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

It's a kerbside kit but I made the effort to paint detail the underside.

[Dizzyfugu]

That's looking very good. 

[NARSES2]

Now whilst I really don't get this anime stuff that is a fantastic looker 

[zenrat]

Thanks guys.

[PR19_Kit]

A friend of mine has a Lexus GS300, and it's white too.

Somehow I don't think it'd be a good idea to mention your version to him Fred, he's a VERY conventional sort of guy! 

[jcf]

 

[zenrat]

Thanks Kit, Jon.
I have a friend who works for Toyota Australia.  I can't wait until he sees this.

[Ify]

I can see you had fun with the decals.
What would you do, next time, to overcome the transparency issue?

[zenrat]

I can see you had fun with the decals.
What would you do, next time, to overcome the transparency issue?

Good question (you are not an educator are you?).
Particularly as I have another of these kits (black car - different anime - something to do with witches).
I think the easiest way would be to scan the decals and print them onto white decal paper.  I would then cut them out and use them as backing for the kit decals.  That should do the trick.

[Ify]

I can see you had fun with the decals.
What would you do, next time, to overcome the transparency issue?

Good question (you are not an educator are you?).
Particularly as I have another of these kits (black car - different anime - something to do with witches).
I think the easiest way would be to scan the decals and print them onto white decal paper.  I would then cut them out and use them as backing for the kit decals.  That should do the trick.

I am not sure that decals stick too well to porous paper.
I was thinking of cutting a template of the decal outline. Then outline that onto the model and paint it blank (preferably white).

If decals are partly transparent, would it not be best to paint where it goes a white colour. After all, the real paint they use on the actual vehicle (car, plane, etc) is not transparent. If what I am saying makes sense, then many models that have decals placed on coloured surfaces become tainted (not real colour of decal).

[zenrat]

Decals would not stick too well to plain paper but I would print onto DECAL paper thus basically making another set of decals.
You could paint a white shape on the model but in this case that would have meant applying the red "blood splash" decals, painting the white shape over the top and then applying the anime girl decals.
Alternatively you could cut away the red decals where the anime girl was going to overlay them but that would require some very delicate cutting (not to mention transferring the shapes).

Underlying colours showing through decals is a common issue.  Especially where a decal overlays two or more colours (such as with a camouflage scheme).  In such circumstances I will usually double up the decals (if I have enough) or cut out matching shapes from white decal appear to go underneath.