1:24 Subaru 360 [Mecha-Doc]

The Subaru 360 in 1:24 scale, a special boxing

Hasegawa has released this injection-molded kit in a box with an illustration from a Japanese animated series about a crew of car mechanics. The body parts are molded in pink plastic and the sheet contains the markings of a demonstration car from the story. Figures are not included and the shapes of the model may differ in details from the animated series.

The real subject

The Subaru 360 was the brand's first production car and one of the founders of the Japanese class of smallest cars. Its rounded unitary body earned it a nickname taken from the ladybug, the engine was mounted at the rear, air-cooled and had only two cylinders working on the two-stroke cycle. The car stayed in the range from the end of the 1950s to the beginning of the 1970s and to this day it is among the icons of postwar Japanese motoring.

Building and painting tips

The model is very small, so it is worth working with a sharp knife and a fine file, so that the remains of the gates do not spoil the rounded shapes. Pink plastic shows through under a light finish, so do not spare the filler primer. The chrome strips and surrounds can be managed with a polished pigment or a thin brush. Fit the small glazing with cement for clear parts; ordinary cement would fog the surface.

Who the model is for

• Collectors of Japanese cars of the smallest class
• Fans of animated series about cars
• Modelers who want a quick and undemanding build
• Anyone interested in an unusual piece for a display case with classics

The model is unassembled and unpainted; the finished appearance comes about only at the modeling bench.