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Greg Fabian
14 articles

1986 Toyota Supra

August 7, 2022 · in Automotive · · 12 · 0.9K

A friend gave me this kit 30+ years ago for being an usher at his wedding. He chose the '86 from Testors/Fujimi because, at that time, I owned a 1987 Supra. The model sat in its box until earlier this summer when I decided to build it.

This kit is one of those half toy/half model kits. There's no "engine" under the hood because there's a holder for two AAA batteries. A metal rod used as the rear axel has a large gear press fitted that would engage with an electric motor mounted under the cargo cover. The model didn't come with any of the wiring or the motor, but it did have two sets of bucket seats, two dashboards (RH and LH drive), a roll bar, and parts for building the headlights in the open position.

I spent a fair a mount of time sanding down moulding lines in the body and filling in various dips in the body surface. I was going to make the Turbo version with the rear spoiler, but it was so badly molded that I decided to delete the spoiler, just like the real Supra I used to own.

Building this model brought back old memories of my "Super Car" from the late 80's and some of the big Tamiya F1 cars (a Brabham and a John Player Special Lotus) models I built as a kid.

Reader reactions:
4  Awesome

3 additional images. Click to enlarge.


12 responses

  1. Very nice Greg, the market for the MKIII Supras have been appreciated for many years.. I've owned a '90T for almost 20 years, great car! In the scale plastic realm, Hasegawa has recently come out with a new tool kit (RHD only unfortunately). Regardless, your kit looks great built up, and is a great motivation to get some of my car kits (Supras included) built!

    • Sometimes I wish I had my old Supra. But by the time I sold it (it was seven years old), the interior was completely faded and the paint shot on the bumpers (I didn't have a garage). There's a fellow here in my neighborhood who has a black '90 Supra that, except for a roached interior, is in good shape.

  2. I remember building this one in the late '80s.

    1 attached image. Click to enlarge.

    • That's it! I uploaded the instructions to ScaleMates since it looks like there are a few people that have the kit on their wishlist. By the way, my real supra was a pearl red/cranberry color and not the blue I used on the model (Tamiya lacquer rattle can).

  3. Great result, Greg!

  4. Superb looking Supra, Greg @gwfabian

  5. Looks great in this colour.

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