The Journey of the Integra

So back to models this week.  The interesting thing about my subject this time is really more about the journey than the result, although I'm proud of the results too.  Not long after I discovered The Fast and the Furious, Need for Speed: Underground, and the world of tuner cars I bought an Acura Integra type R model kit with "customization options".  These options were limited to a couple of different bumpers, spoilers, and rims; not exactly the outrageous machines you see in the games and movies.  So before I even finished it I started messing with the components, with mostly poor results.

Here you see the cobbled together body kit, pasted on hood and roof scoops and stacked stock spoilers.  Oh, and the wavy paint and misaligned vinyl.  Nothing to be proud of and I knew it, so not long after this I took some of it apart and put on some different bits.

You can see the scratch-built, boxy spoiler, gaping mouth of a front bumper (two versions, actually), my attempt to mold in the hood addition, and some engine tweaks.  But on the whole, not much improvement.  So another round of modifying followed.

This was almost it.  I was getting the look I wanted but quality was still an issue.  New spoiler, new rims, lots of engine upgrades after having pulled the whole thing out, new interior.  But several years later I decided to put it to rest with one final overhaul.

Here it is.  I ended up disassembling it entirely and stripping the paint off down to the plastic.  I kept most of the body kit intact with faux air scoops and the spoiler.  The hood got cut out to accommodate the major engine components I put in and a hood piece from a '68 Corvette sealed it off.  The paint was put on properly this time and the decal from a second Integra kit was applied niece.  The sponsor stickers that were all over the place are now lined up neatly on the hood.  The rear seat got tossed in favor of a multi-bottle nitrous system and the seat out of a Ferrari F-40 kit took it's place up front next to an engine management computer console.  The interior is decorated with a full roll cage made from sprue.  The headlights and tail lights were whited-out and the whole thing got lowered significantly thanks to being properly assembled.  Is it a show piece? No.  But this is one of my favorite models because of the journey.