1998 Acura Integra Type R tuner car- (built 2004)

The second in my series of tuner cars is this '98 Acura Integra. It's called "Tribal Terror" (inspired by it's tribal graphics). It was built using the wonderful Revell kit. This is really a nice kit and I highly recommend it. It's got a bunch of extra custom parts and reminds me of the old AMT 3-n-1 kits. I recently finished a Revell Honda Civic and enjoyed building that kit so I thought I would build another.

Although I was happy with the way the Civic turned out, I thought it looked a little too tame. For this Integra I wanted to make it a little more exciting. I started by modifying the hood. To make it look like an aftermarket carbon fiber hood, I cut open three vents in the hood and then ground down the back side of the hood to make the thickness look more realistic. The hood was then covered with a carbon fiber decal from Scale Motorsports. Lastly, it was clear coated and I added some scale mesh screen that came from a Tamiya kit.

The rear bumper was modified by using the custom rear fascia that came in the kit and cutting in a large opening to give it a more agressive look. I covered the opening with the same mesh screen I used on the hood. I also modified the stock tail light lenses to look like "Altezza" style aftermarket lights.

The rear wing was totally scratch built. I first created vector art on my computer using a program called Illustrator. I then transferred the files to a laser cutter we have where I work and used the art to cut the pieces from .030 thick styrene. After assembly, I followed the same process as the hood to get the carbon fiber look. At the same time I created the wing, I also created a front spoiler using the same techinques. The front spolier struts are made from steel guitar string.

The interior was modified by cutting out the back seat molded to the interior tub. I then filled the whole section with bondo and sculpted the surround for the sub-woofers. For the speakers themselves, I found a "DubCity" Chrysler minivan that had square Kicker subs and amps in it. I removed the subs and amps from the van and made a RTV rubber mold and cast urethane copies. I then placed them in the interior. I also added a NOS bottle from another Jada toys diecast car. The front race style seats came from my parts box. And lastly, I covered the carpeting with grey flocking for a more realistic look.

For paint I used Tamiya "brilliant orange" straight from a spray can. All the graphics and logos were again created by myself on my computer. I then had a graphics service bureau create dry transfers from the art and I applied them to the model.

The wheels are from the Revell Civic kit and I added my own hand cast urethane cross drilled Brembo brakes. For the big exhaust tip, I used an extension piece that came from a real 1"=1" scale spark plug. And as the final touch I made my own vanity plate for the rear bumper.