The Group 5 “silhouette” formula racing series ran from 1976 through 1982. The cars could be modified but had to retain the stock hood, roof, doors, and rear window. The Porsche 935 was the most successful, but Lancia, BMW, Ferrari, and a few others proved to be stiff competition. The Toyota Team Europe and Schnitzer, who had worked on their rally car program, developed the Toyota Celica LB Turbo. Fast on the track but prone to reliability problems, it competed in the series in 1977 and 1978 with minor success.
It’s been some time since we’ve seen the Tamiya 1/20 scale Toyota Celica LB Turbo Gr.5 plastic model kit on the shelves. Only reissued once since its initial release in 1978, the kit is part of Tamiya’s 1/20 Grand Prix series and features full-engine and drivetrain details and a removable front clip. A few of the parts show their age, but for the most part, everything remains crisp and flash-free. A beautiful new decal sheet printed by Cartograf includes two marking options. Unfortunately, the red version of the car from the original releases is not included.
Starting with the chassis, the first challenge is cleaning up the several ejector-pin marks on the interior floor. Thankfully, most are above the surface, so it’s just a matter of shaving and sanding to get them flush.
After that, I jumped ahead to attach parts B26, B27, and B30 to the chassis. I painted this assembly to make sure they wouldn’t interfere with anything later in the build. While at it, I completed the front and rear suspension. Everything fits well, and I only made modifications to remove the tab on Part B32 that ratchets the front tie rod (a holdover from its motorized roots) and slightly tapered the pins for the front wheels to make them easier to insert.
Because I left the driver figure out of my build, I built the roll cage and painted it as a unit. If you don’t plan on using the driver, you will need to source your own seat belts, as none are provided. Decals provide the gauges for the dash, center console, and fire extinguisher.
Seventeen parts comprised the nicely detailed, inline, four-cylinder, turbo engine. The kit also supplied wire for the spark plugs and fuel injection lines. I either stripped chrome-plated parts or coated them with a flat clear to tone down the shininess. I varied the colors slightly from the instructions to add more visual interest.
The main body section has a mold seam that runs through the C-pillar and over the top of the fenders. Though not too bad, it required some effort to clean up. I glued the rear wing supports in place before painting. In hindsight, it may have been better to leave them off because they made fitting the rear wing a struggle.
After a few coats of paint and polishing out the inevitable dust bunnies, the car was ready to decal. The decals went on beautifully! They fit perfectly and the colors were appropriately opaque. I finished with 2K clear to seal and give it that final shine before installing the glass and mirror parts.
The main body clips to the chassis in the back and uses a poly cap to secure it in the front, which works really well. The front clip mounts in a similar fashion.
I must admit, I’m pleasantly surprised with this kit for the level of detail and general fit and finish. Knowing its age and motorized roots, I wasn’t expecting much. It was hard to find good references, so I can’t attest to its scale accuracy, but the finished model certainly looks the part. If you’ve ever wanted to add the Tamiya 1/20 scale Toyota Celica LB Turbo Gr.5 plastic model kit to your collection, don’t wait! You never know when or if this kit will be back on shelves.