Realism Gets You The Win
Starting the selection process

When faced with the dilemma of which two cars to pick out of a forty-long selection of meticulously-executed custom RC drift bodies, there was no other way around it. Seeing as it was all about creating something as realistic as possible, the guidelines had to be pretty strict; it’s the only way that you can start eliminating cars that just don’t stack up.

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With this in mind I made my way around the line-up that was neatly set up on the carpeted floor, and one of the first cars I took a long hard look at was this Hilux truck. Now it’s already surprising enough that bodies of these things exist, but what the owner did here was combine the sort of touches you would see at a Mooneyes custom car event and throw in some one-off touches like one of the front fenders finished off in marbled primer, making it look like it was recently involved in a little crash and on its way to getting fixed up.

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The stance it was sporting suggested the owner was inspired by the bagged or hydraulic suspension look, sitting lower in the back like it was trying to show off what that suspension can do!

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One glimpse at the bed revealed a cut-out section exposing the suspension underneath as well as a safety fuel cell. Hawaii plates and a heat-stained, twin-pipe side exhaust completed it beautifully.

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And speaking of Hawaii, here’s another one with the plates everyone just wants to have. I thought I was at the Exciting Car Showdown in Nagoya looking at this Osaka-style S13 drifter, the front and rear over fenders attempting to contain the aggressive negative camber.

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Misaligned body panels probably hint at the rough use it’s subjected to in the docks at night! Oh, and sun roofs were all the rage this year – a variety of types, either fixed, tiltable or even sliding back to reveal the interior beneath.

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Like we saw in the previous post, the whole USDM thing with flashy coloured wheels and the obligatory BMX bike on the roof is another popular look that some of these detail-obsessed scale modellers like to go for. We saw an Estima van last year with an LCD screen in the trunk, so it wasn’t as much of a surprise seeing a tiny screen squeezed in the back of this EK9. That doesn’t make it any less impressive of course!

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Ah, yes the FC, we all love them and they look so adept when done up as drift cars. This sported a nice and aggressive aero kit and through the rear glass you can make out the roll cage.

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But the surprise came when you viewed it from the front! How about that for a front end swap! We’ve seen BMW front ends on S14 Silvias but never a CLK face on an FC, unless I’ve obviously missed it in real life. Again the whole thing was very nicely done with the joint lines hidden away and a set of LEDs to give the effect of HID headlights.

JDM legends
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For me, the more grassroots the approach is, the better; that means cool old school JDM rides, bulbous flared fenders and lots of details in the interior. This was probably the first time I’d seen gusseting done to a roll cage!

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Some guys preferred to save all the attention to detail for the paint just like this low rider style Aristo. Having painted my fair share of polycarbonate bodies, I can’t even begin to imagine the intricate work and skill this complex air brushing required!

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While most of these bodies get painted from the inside so that the glossy exterior can sustain the unavoidable crashes and damage, matte or rust-like finishes require the paint to be applied on the outside. This also makes it possible to add some scuff and paint damage for yet another touch of realism.

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Camo paint too is applied to the exterior and is one touch our very own Mad Mike might like! Like the military-themed S13 above, this 180SX not only had a similar Rocket Bunny over fender kit fitted, but what really got me was the use of tiny little rivets to get the authentic look down to a tee. It’s touches like this that score highly with the judges.

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The realism of it all takes a big step up when people start taking things to new levels, paying more attention to the interior of the cars as well as other touches. Aside from the caricature driver behind the wheel and the Kanjo-racer style netting on the open driver’s side window, what I really liked was the slightly tilted bonnet, something that a lot of drifters and track racers do in an attempt to cool their engines a little bit more. Of course it’s more about looks and when done in a scaled way it’s even cooler.

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Then there are those that really truly impress, and Hulk Hogan had much to be proud about here! I thought I was up at a Drift Matsuri in Ebisu Circuit when looking at this AE86 missile. It’s had a hard life this car, drifted and banged around to within an inch of its life and it sure shows as it’s missing all its bodywork from the front end. To get this look the owner had to hand-build the chassis, down to the welded-on fender reinforcements, the suspension turrets, radiator support and subframe.

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Then of course there’s the engine: a micro 4A-GE, hand-formed out of plastic, sporting even all the pulleys, alternator and all the belts connecting them up. The key here is to form and shape its underside so that it slots onto the RC car’s front diff casing. Mind blown!

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The beaten look extends all the way around the car, with a mismatched yellow trunk lid and the fuel filler cap that’s just about ready to fall off.

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And it doesn’t end there; there’s of course the interior, and depending on the chassis used, the motor and the battery position, there’s usually enough space to allow the addition of interior pieces like the instrument panel and steering wheel. However what made this particular AE86 special was the servo operated door that can be made to swing out at any time. In fact the owner was opening and closing it while drifting the car on track, which made everyone laugh!

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Seeing the different levels of standards, it was becoming a little easier to separate the amazing from the truly mind-blowing.

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This was one car that really stood out: a homage to Mike Burroughs’ roof chopped E28 street rod, albeit finished off with some USDM touches like the rusted bonnet and skateboard, and curiously enough, a kyusha-style bumper-mounted oil cooler. Ok, so it’s not roof chopped and the shell is of an E30 M3 but you can’t deny the amazing execution of it all. The Speedhunters tyre bombing stickers we’d already seen before, but the Takata X SH tow strap? Really? Mind blown again!

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This was the only Kaido Racer style body there and I was a bit disappointed that there weren’t any more, especially considering there were a couple last year that really made the contest so special. Still, all the right touches were there, starting off with the race-inspired Bridgestone livery.

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At the back we have the puttied-off rear section, much like the back end of the Mizuno Works-built Liberty Walk Kenmeri, also finished off with round tail lights and the naughty folded-up-at-the-corners number plate.

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Obviously half of the satisfaction of creating these one-off works of miniature automotive art is seeing them paraded in a line-up like this. Lots of picture taking is always a must!

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The 86 seems to have lost its popularity as people prefer to concentrate on the more old school stuff, but that didn’t mean there weren’t a couple worth checking out this year too.

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If you ask me, the rarer the shell the better, as this JZX81 perfectly shows. Pumped fenders mean aggressive offset can be run for that perfect grassroots drifter stance.

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Looks pretty mean from the back too! Check that poke out!

Redefining levels of detail
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If it’s realism mated to perfect execution that I was to find, then I was pretty sure my search was over when I saw this Z10 Soarer. The body was pretty simple and stock – no crazy paint jobs in sight, just a glossy white finish with black body protectors all the way round. It sat low on a set of what could be described as reversed BBS-type mesh rims with gold centres.

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The basic things ended there however, the bonnet dampers sort of hinting that there was much more to be discovered. Under the bonnet, as you can see in the opening picture, was a perfect replica of the 6M motor that powered it.

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But that wasn’t it. It also sported a full interior, including suede wrapped front and rear seats, transmission tunnel console and dashboard. There was no doubt in my mind that for 2014, this was the car that really pushed the envelope. I was sure my choice was the right one.

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Along with my pick, two other cars were selected and added onto the scaled RC Custom Body Show stage for the award presentation.

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Along with them was the Best of Best Award car, the blue Aristo that was a combined choice between myself and the rest of the judges, picked for its authentic representation of the modern day VIP scene and the fact that it really pushed headlight design with the replica Cima multi-LED reflectors built into the stock housing.

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The happy winners were also given some Speedhunters goodies to take home along with that flashy laser-etched glass award.

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I still find it amazing how this whole RC drift scene goes so perfectly hand in hand with the car culture that we cover around the world. It’s the challenge of recreating these styles faithfully that keeps these dedicated group of guys going and if what we’ve seen so far is anything to go by, we’re in for even more of a treat in the years to come!

Dino Dalle Carbonare
Instagram: speedhunters_dino
dino@speedhunters.com

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47 comments

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1

E30 is boss.....

2

How and where do you get projects like these?

3

Awesome soarer...

4
speedhunters_dino

Spaghetti  Yeah thought some might like that. But...no interior or engine

5
speedhunters_dino

gabosess  What are you referring to?

6

Do you know by any chance, the company that makes the TA60 Carina body?

7

Dino, is there any chance for an RC post outside of Japan at some point in the future? I know a lot is happening in Japan when it comes to RC-dori and the level of detail is absurd, but there is also a lot going on in Europe for example ;)

8

incredible

9

Impressive! Difficult to pick a winner, BMW is my favorite.

10

westhave  agreed, and also, RWD has come to RC Drifting, and that's something that needs to be pointed out...

11
speedhunters_dino

TomSorayume westhave  I'd be more than happy to cover an event in Europe. However I do live in Japan... haha

12
speedhunters_dino

AndreasXenos  No idea sorry, there are just so many! Even tuners like Kazama Auto get custom bodies made under their RC Drift labels. It's crazy stuff, everyone is doing it, even URAS and T&E

13
speedhunters_dino

nova retrotech  Insane right?

14
speedhunters_dino

RodChong  :)

15
speedhunters_dino

koko san  Yeah I really liked it too, but as I was judging with realism in mind...it didn't have an interior or an engine to show off

16

speedhunters_dino AndreasXenosThank you very much for the reply.

17

Now I really want to go over there and see the event in person

18

Another great hobby post! Thank you guys again! I love this stuff!!!!

19

Awesome Dino! your legs must be sore scooping down to take those pictures

20

speedhunters_dino TomSorayume westhave  Your home country has some very good RC drifters as well Dino-san ;)

Perhaps I put some pics from European events in the #IATS pool on Flickr, maybe Paddy will notice them there!

21

speedhunters_dino AndreasXenos  T&E/Vertex are actually quite big in the RC scène, much international promotion and such.

22

Awesome article! More rc-related articles please!! Would be really cool with some shots of the best shops in Tokyo for instance. And perhaps Yokomo parts for sale in the speedhunters store? ^^

23
CameronPhillips

Fantastic article, Dino.  I've never been disappointed by any of your articles.  All of the Speedhunters crew are talented writers/photographers, but I always get kinda stoked when I boot up my computer at work in the morning, sit down with my coffee and see your name at the top of the page on a fresh SH article.  Keep doin' what you do, man

24

Nice article. Backfire light is cool shit, got me wondering if any cars were making sparks from underneath? Also are any of them piping in faux engine sounds?

25

That JZX81 is killing it. I've already begun looking at several models so that when they become legal to import (stupid US rules) I can get one pretty quick. I love that chassis and that RC car may have just inspired me for the real build. Love the article Dino. Keep em coming bro!!!

27

hopefully you can keep the rc drift stuff coming

28

Add some barbies to make it look like a HIN R/C Scale event.

29
speedhunters_dino

KE20  There is a big meeting at the end of the year, might hit that up :)

30
speedhunters_dino

KennethHay  Agree with you. The rearer the cars the better, be it scaled or full size!!

31
speedhunters_dino

prazzi  No sparks and no sounds. Most of them run very noisy brush-less motors so that's where most of the noise comes from

32
speedhunters_dino

CameronPhillips  Thanks man, that's very kind of you to say! :)

33
speedhunters_dino

@guest  I'm happy to see there is so much interest on these RC Drift cars. I guess I can hunt down some other cool places & events to cover

34
speedhunters_dino

@jeff  Haha it was actually a very calm and easy day for me. Certainly a change of pace from the hectic events and shoots I often have to do

35
speedhunters_dino

WFunktion  :)

36
speedhunters_dino

benracer999  It's on every year! What are you waiting for?

37
speedhunters_dino

westhave speedhunters_dino TomSorayume  I had no idea!!

38
speedhunters_dino

westhave speedhunters_dino AndreasXenos  Yep they have their own shop and race track in Yokohama.

39
speedhunters_dino

MinionMariuos  HIN?

40

The attention to detail blows my mind! I'd kill to be able to make something like this! Sweet article Dino!

41

Seems like a great father/son activity and for those of us who can't afford to do this life size. I hope to see this spread more over the world.
Keep it up, Dino!

42

I'm surprised TRA Kyoto isn't making scale versions of his kits for the R/C guys… or perhaps he already is?

If not, Miura-san, you can have that idea for free - just so long as you hurry up with that kit for the e36 touring-body!

43

Don't forget RWD drifting is starting to making a scene in RC drift world now

44
FrankCastiglione

Why is the majority of the writing on the trophies in English for an event in Japan attended for the most part by Japanese people?

45

gila cui... detail bgt tuh....

46

speedhunters_dino KE20  
That would be cool, I've been into rc drift for about 4 years now but theres very limited info of how the scene etc works for outsiders unless you read Japanese. Info on parts is ok but makes it hard to completely understand the culture etc.

47

Forever alone.

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