History
The Toyota Harrier (Japanese: トヨタ・ハリアー, Toyota Hariā) is a compact, later mid-size crossover SUV sold by Toyota since December 1997 in Japan and once exclusive to Toyopet Store Japanese dealerships. In export markets, the Harrier was rebadged as the Lexus RX from March 1998 to July 2013. At this stage, Toyota had yet to retail the Lexus brand to its Japanese customers.
Info from Wikipedia
In the box
Now this kit was a bit of a joke kit from a friend. He knows I like Harriers, as in the Jump jet aircraft, but for a giggle he decided to buy me a Harrier, but the automobile version, and too tell the truth I quite like this SUV, and its something different to model.
So in the top opening box we have -
- One body shell moulded in black
- Five black sprues
- Two chrome sprues
- Two clear sprues
- One smoked colour clear sprue
- Four rubber tyres
- Four poly caps
- Set of instructions
Most of the parts are moulded in a glossy black plastic, and this includes the body shell. This is done so the kit doesn't need to be painted, as this kit is aimed at the casual/younger modeler as no glue is required to build it.
I will probably lightly sand the parts so the primer has something to grip too before painting.
The underside of the car has pretty much everything moulded onto it, including the bottom of the engine block, exhaust pipe and manifold, lower suspension arms and the spare wheel.
The suspension arms, shock absorbers, and the steering rack along with the brake system are made up of several parts each, and the wheels and steering should be all moveable.
All the suspension fits onto the undertray and the inner wheel arches.
Front and back bumpers need to be attached.
The interior likewise has most of the stuff moulded into it, with the rear parcel shelf, rear seats, front seat cushions and center console all quite nicely detailed, although there is no seatbelts or the mounting brackets.
The dashboard needs the steering wheel and column attached, along with the gear shift. Decals for the instruments are supplied.
The pedals are moulded onto the underside of the dashboard.
The wheels are chromed and do look pretty nice, if a little toy like, so you may feel the need to strip the chrome off and re-paint them.
The tyres are rubber and have a very nice tread pattern on them, the spare wheel on the underside of the car doesn't have any at all, which is not surprising considering its moulded onto the floor pan,
Take note of the instructions for the proper direction the tyre tread goes onto the car.
The rear windows and quarter lights are in a clear smoked glass, and the windscreen and driver and passenger side windows are clear glass. All of the clear parts are crystal clear with no sign of damage or marks on them.
The windscreen does need painting around the edge of the glass, but no mask is supplied so fashioning your own will need to be done.
Also supplied is the head and rear light covers.
The rest of the chrome parts cover the inside of the headlights and rear lights, side mirrors and the exhaust system pipe. The grill for the radiator and the boot lid latch trim is also on this sprue.
Instructions and decals
The instructions are an A4 size sheet which pulls out into one long strip.
The build sequence takes place over 15 steps and is easy to follow and in a logical order.
Any written instructions are in Japanese but also in English, which is quite handy as my Japanese reading skills are frankly non existent.
The box for this kit does state "No cement required", but so things don't fall off I will probably use some.
Internal and external colours are for the Mr Color and Aqueous range of paints.
The decals cover the number plates (Harrier), the manufacturers badges and the name of the SUV on the rear, along with the dials for the instruments.
The decals look to be in register with little carrier film.
Mfg. ID - 039540
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