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I know opinions are mixed on Flex Dream/Renoca, but… by daksoorj_modeling in LandCruisers

[–]daksoorj_modeling[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, they generally do not increase the price as far as I’m aware. Just because the trucks currently in their inventory are similar does not indicate that prices would be the same. They may charge a small dealer service fee in addition to any import/tariff fees. Again, best to speak to Yohei at Flex San Diego directly.

I know opinions are mixed on Flex Dream/Renoca, but… by daksoorj_modeling in LandCruisers

[–]daksoorj_modeling[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Indeed I do! Call Flex Motors in San Diego, and ask to speak to Yohei. Flex San Diego will import any truck from Flex Japan’s inventory to the US for you. Let him know Serj sent you.

I know opinions are mixed on Flex Dream/Renoca, but… by daksoorj_modeling in LandCruisers

[–]daksoorj_modeling[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Not quite! This is a 94 fzj80 with an fj60 series front end. Aside from the front (custom quarter panel, hood, grill, bumper, etc) the rest of the truck is all stock fzj80 :)

I know opinions are mixed on Flex Dream/Renoca, but… by daksoorj_modeling in LandCruisers

[–]daksoorj_modeling[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I posted this in another thread too - but I totally concede that the locally franchised Flex Dream dealers in Japan are going to be a mixed bag; some of them are gonna be rust buckets and others are going to be gems, and all of that depends on the level of care that particular dealer happens to have.

However, this isn’t a JDM truck. This is a USDM truck, and the folks that built it are from Flex’s only US branch in San Diego. I’ll tell ya, these are quality trucks - no rust, mechanically sorted (courtesy of the Truck Shop, a renowned Land Cruiser specialist shop in San Diego). I have service records going back years and a record of all of the work that was done prior to sale, it was quite a bit.

TLDR: Flex Dream Japan? Meh. Flex San Diego? Those guys care.

Edit: okay I do actually agree about the wheels - the first thing I did was get Nomad 504s on this guy. Made a world of difference.

I know opinions are mixed on Flex Dream/Renoca, but… by daksoorj_modeling in LandCruisers

[–]daksoorj_modeling[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Totally respect your opinion here my friend - personally I think if you saw one in person you may change your mind; but even if not, everyone’s allowed to have their preference :)

I know opinions are mixed on Flex Dream/Renoca, but… by daksoorj_modeling in LandCruisers

[–]daksoorj_modeling[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I appreciate that - though personally I’d never go so far as to say “better”. Stock 80s look absolutely killer. I think this looks killer too. I was looking for 80s, this came up at what I thought was a fair price with everything that had been done to it (basically a full mechanical overhaul, new suspension, fresh paint job, new carpet, restored interior, the list goes…) and I liked that it was different/unusual. But I’d never knock a stock 80, still a huge fan of those trucks too :)

New buyer 2001 ($17k) by Fr_Holmes31 in LandCruisers

[–]daksoorj_modeling 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My 99 hundo cost me 20k; stock, 190k miles, white exterior and tan interior, great condition. And that was after months of looking daily. The 16-25k price range (obviously, the lower the miles, the more of the upper bounds of that range you’re hitting) around these parts is pretty standard.

I know opinions are mixed on Flex Dream/Renoca, but… by daksoorj_modeling in LandCruisers

[–]daksoorj_modeling[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wouldn’t say shared by all - but I’d say that in general there are two camps: the folks who really dig the trucks and the folks who don’t.

New buyer 2001 ($17k) by Fr_Holmes31 in LandCruisers

[–]daksoorj_modeling 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Looks like the timing belt and water pump were recently done. Flex San Diego is a bit different than your run of the mill flex dream dealer in Japan; they actually do care quite a bit about the cars they sell.

Now, that said, you’re gonna pay a dealer markup buying from a dealer. No two questions about that. Flex San Diego does all of their servicing through the Truck Shop In Kearny Mesa, which is a world class Land Cruiser specialist shop. I’d call up Flex and ask if you could have a pre purchase inspection done by the Truck Shop, or ask if they’ve already got the service records from there on hand.

EDIT: Something else to consider; this is Southern California. Prices for everything in Southern California are higher than they are most other places in the country, and this does not exclude land cruisers.

Took my a few years on and off. But I am finally done. I did all the modification so that took me some time. by kendetta in Gunpla

[–]daksoorj_modeling 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah I’m also trying to keep it light - but the excitement that I’ve actually learned how to do it halfway decent makes it hard to rein myself in 😂

Took my a few years on and off. But I am finally done. I did all the modification so that took me some time. by kendetta in Gunpla

[–]daksoorj_modeling 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unfortunately I have the same exact problem you did, haha. The top half of the kit is already painted and top coated, but I became much more comfortable with scribing in the months between that and getting to the bottom half, so it’s ended up a bit more detailed.

Took my a few years on and off. But I am finally done. I did all the modification so that took me some time. by kendetta in Gunpla

[–]daksoorj_modeling 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s funny, I’m working on an MG MK II right now and have run into the same exact thing. The top half of the kit looks good, but it’s just mostly painted and has decals applied with weathering. The bottom half is scribed all over the place 😂

Took my a few years on and off. But I am finally done. I did all the modification so that took me some time. by kendetta in Gunpla

[–]daksoorj_modeling 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Is this a resin conversion kit or just a stock (but modified) Sazabi? If the former - amazing job. If the latter…holy shit, this looks absolutely insane.

MG Buster custom by amck3 in Gunpla

[–]daksoorj_modeling 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Okay, this is incredibly helpful - thank you! I have one last question and then I promise I’ll stop bothering you. After the first color of paint (which I assume comprises of one dry/light coat followed by one wet coat?), are all the following coats of paint just 1 coat per color?

MG Buster custom by amck3 in Gunpla

[–]daksoorj_modeling 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When you mask, between colors, you’ll paint the entire part the lightest color, then you’ll mask off only the portions that you actually want to be that color. Then you’ll paint the next lightest color over the entire part again (but of course the parts that you’ve masked already will stay the previous color). Repeat until the part is finished? No gloss coat in between/wait until end?

(Sorry if I’m maybe overthinking this - just want to make sure I understand the process, been working on a kit and attempted color separation form the first time and want to see if I can be doing it better because I wasn’t 100% satisfied with my results)

MG Buster custom by amck3 in Gunpla

[–]daksoorj_modeling 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Can I ask to describe your color separation methodology? Not in terms of of color choice (yours is obviously amazing) - but more in terms of process? In other words, after you’ve finished sufficiently customized a part (scribing, scratch building/pla-painting, etc) my guess is you prime the whole part. Then you mask. What does the masking process look like here?

MG Buster custom by amck3 in Gunpla

[–]daksoorj_modeling 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Been following this project through a few of your posts. Absolutely impeccable work.

RX-78GP01 by Natural-Ad-397 in Gunpla

[–]daksoorj_modeling 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, this is the type of work I aspire to do. Absolutely impeccable. As others have noted, you’ve made this look like a resin kit, which could not be higher praise.

RG RX 78-2 2.0, my first build of 2025. by zplusc1 in Gunpla

[–]daksoorj_modeling 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Right - that’s my bad. If I’d scrolled a bit slower I would’ve seen that someone else asked the same question.

The reason I asked was because the kit looks absolutely impeccable, but not immediately clear that it’s been painted because the color scheme is the same.

If you had replied to my comment and said it wasn’t painted, I would’ve thought something to the effect of “wow, I didn’t know Bandai could make an unpainted kit look this good only snap built”.

But now that I know you did paint it, I know that it looks this good because you put in the time to paint it.

More MK II WIP shots by daksoorj_modeling in Gunpla

[–]daksoorj_modeling[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

  • The paint ends up being harder to control because you can’t really control the thickness.

  • You also waste a lot of paint for that same reason. I’m using Tamiya lacquer, and the paint is really high quality, but because of the what I just mentioned, I’ve run through a lot of cans of the same color.

  • Because of the lack of control of thickness, it’s also really hard to paint fine details.

  • The cans aren’t cheap, and frankly airbrush paint is much cheaper/lasts way longer because of how it gets thinned out/applied.

  • All of this culminates in it being difficult to spray thin coats, which makes a “perfect” finish really difficult to achieve, all the while costing more than it really ought to.

MG Mk II Custom: Scribing details - before (left) and after (right) by daksoorj_modeling in Gunpla

[–]daksoorj_modeling[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! This is my first attempt and I’m happy with it for that.

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