Honda Civic Type-R FL5 Spoon Building Guide — Part 2: Unboxing & Preparation

Alpha Model AM02-0071 · Build by Break Wong

Every resin build lives or dies in the first evening. Before any paint is mixed, take the kit apart in your head — inspect every casting, understand the photo-etched parts, and wash the release agent off. Rush this stage and you will be repairing fish-eyes in a perfect yellow paint job three weeks later.

Unboxing and Inventory Check

Open the box and lay everything out on your cutting mat. This is a full-detail resin kit, so the first job is a careful damage inspection — resin parts are cast from fragile polyurethane and the thin, delicate pieces are the ones that break in transit.

• The body shell and A-pillars — check the roof pillars, window frames and spoiler mounting points for hairline cracks.
• The brake calipers and small fittings — these tiny castings are the easiest to snap; count them against the instructions.
• The wheels — inspect each of the four wheels for bent spokes or chipped rims.
• All other small parts — mirrors, wipers, exhaust tips, interior details; verify nothing is missing from the casting blocks.

Next, check the photo-etched (PE) frets. PE parts arrive flat on their metal frets and must be bent to shape during the build — folded seatbelt buckles, the mesh grille, drilled brake discs and the wiper arms all start life as flat stainless steel. Make sure no part is already bent or torn from its fret. Also inspect the decal sheet for stains, yellowing or damaged markings before you commit to the build.

A nice touch in this kit: the photo-etched fret includes a finished "HONDA SPOON CIVIC TYPE-R (FL5)" nameplate. You can paint it and mount it on a base to display alongside the finished car — well worth setting aside from the start.

Kit Quality and Expectations

Alpha Model's tooling for this release is impressively crisp — the panel lines are finely recessed, the castings are clean, and the fit is engineered to be friendly. It is a resin kit that even relatively new builders can take on with confidence, as long as the basics of washing, priming and painting are respected.

Study the Instructions — and the Real Car

Before cutting anything, read the instruction manual through from page one to the end. Resin kit instructions are more like a guidebook than a step-by-step injection-kit manual, so understanding the assembly order now saves dry-fitting disasters later.

Because this is a racing livery with many small colored details, it helps to keep reference photos of the real Spoon FL5 open while you work. Break's trick is to mark the paint colors directly onto the instruction pages with a pen as he studies the real car — so when he reaches a part weeks later, the color choice is already decided and nothing gets painted the wrong shade.

Tools and Materials to Have Ready

• Panel lining pen — for accenting recessed lines after painting.
• Sandpaper — a range of grits for removing casting blocks and shaping resin.
• Foam sanding pad — for soft, even sanding over curved body surfaces.
• Instant adhesive (cyanoacrylate) — for bonding resin and photo-etched metal.
• Tweezers — for handling PE parts and decals.
• Panel line scriber — for deepening soft or shallow panel lines.
• Hobby knife — for trimming parts and cutting masking tape.
• Photo-etch bending pliers — for making clean, sharp folds in the PE frets.

Washing Off the Release Agent

Resin parts come out of their molds coated with a thin layer of mold-release agent. If you paint over it, the paint cannot bite into the surface — you risk fisheyes (tiny craters in the finish) and, worse, paint simply flaking off weeks after the model is finished.

Wash every resin part in warm water with a little dishwashing detergent (or a dedicated degreaser), using a soft brush to get into every recess. Rinse thoroughly and leave the parts to air-dry completely — do not handle the clean surfaces with bare fingers afterwards, as skin grease causes the exact same problem. Handle parts by their casting blocks or with tweezers from this point on.

Next article: Bodywork & Panel Lines

Honda Civic Type-R FL5 Spoon Building Guide — Part 3: Bodywork & Panel Lines

Alpha Model AM02-0071 · Build by Break Wong

On a glossy yellow race car, every flaw in the surface is magnified ten times. This stage is about making the resin body perfectly smooth and the panel lines perfectly crisp — slow, quiet work that decides whether the final paint looks like a toy or like a real car.

Leveling the Side Skirts and Seams

Start the bodywork by dry-fitting the shell and examining it from every angle in raking light. On this kit the lower edge of the side skirts can come out slightly uneven from the casting, so the first job is to sand that bottom edge flat and level, so the car will sit evenly on its wheels later. Check the mating surfaces of all major parts at the same time and sand any high spots so joints will close cleanly.

Scribing Panel Lines with a 0.15 mm Scriber

Resin kits often have panel lines that are soft, shallow, or partially filled by the casting process. Break re-scribes them with a 0.15 mm panel line scriber to make every door shut-line, hood seam and bumper joint read sharply under the final gloss coat.

The technique is all in the pressure control:

• Start light, finish firm. On the first pass, barely touch the surface — this establishes the groove and stops the blade wandering. Then gradually increase pressure over repeated passes until the line reaches a consistent depth.
• Follow the existing recess. Never try to invent a new line; the scriber should ride in the line the mold already provides, simply making it deeper and cleaner.
• For curved lines, use a bent-tip scriber. Around arches and along the curving door cut-lines, a curved (elbow) blade lets you follow the arc without the handle clashing with the body.
• Watch the blade angle. Keep the scriber upright and consistent; tilting it cuts a lopsided groove that catches light unevenly. Pull the blade toward you in short, controlled strokes rather than one long drag.

A deep, clean scribe line does two jobs: it makes the body look real on its own, and later it gives the wash and panel-liner a place to settle, so the shut-lines pop under the clear coat.

Sanding the Whole Body

After scribing, sand the entire shell to remove casting texture, seam lines and any small bumps. Work through the grits — start with a coarser paper to knock down the obvious imperfections, then step progressively finer. Sand wet where possible, using silicon-carbide wet-or-dry paper; it cuts faster, clogs less, and leaves fewer deep scratches to deal with later.

Keep your backing flat on broad surfaces (hood, roof, doors) and use fingertips alone on curves so you do not sand through the character lines. The inner edges of the shell — where the parts were removed from their casting blocks — also need a quick clean-up so nothing interferes with assembly later.

Primer as a Flaw Finder

This is the modeler's oldest trick, and it works every time: once you think the body is perfect, spray a coat of gray primer. The matte gray surface reveals every scratch, every low spot and every fiber of leftover sanding dust that was invisible on the shiny resin. Mark or fix what shows, sand it smooth, and prime again. Repeat until a primer coat comes back perfectly clean — only then is the body ready for color.

Polishing with High-Grit Foam Sandpaper

Between primer coats, and again as a final step before color, use a high-grit foam-backed sanding pad for several passes. The foam backing conforms to the body's curves and distributes pressure evenly, so it polishes out the fine scratches left by regular paper without cutting through edges. Two or three gentle passes with a fresh pad leave the surface feeling like glass under your finger — exactly the foundation a bright chrome yellow needs.

Next article: Painting & Color Separation

Honda Civic Type-R FL5 Spoon Building Guide — Part 4: Painting & Color Separation

Alpha Model AM02-0071 · Build by Break Wong

Chrome yellow is one of the most unforgiving colors in modeling — it is almost transparent, it shows every fingerprint, and it goes on streaky if you rush it. Patience and thin coats are the whole secret.

The Paint Plan

The finished car wears Spoon's signature blue nose and chrome-yellow body. Break builds up the yellow main color in three stages, which is the standard procedure for any light, low-coverage bright color:

• Gray primer — already applied during body prep, this unifies the resin surface and shows up flaws.
• White primer / surfacer — a white under-base makes the yellow read bright and warm instead of dull and muddy. Yellows have very poor covering power, so spraying them straight over gray gives a sickly, greenish result. The white base is what makes the final color pop.
• Tamiya TS-47 Chrome Yellow — the main body color. Because both the white base and TS-47 itself have low covering power, spray it in thin, light, even mist coats, letting each coat flash off before the next. Build the opacity gradually rather than trying to cover in one wet pass; a single heavy coat will run, sag, and streak.
  

  

   

Pre-Shading and Color Separation by Masking

Once the yellow is fully cured, the body needs its black color separation before the decals and clear go on. On a real car, everything inside the window frames, the wheel arches, the door shuts and the interior tub is dark — if you leave these areas yellow, the model looks like a plastic toy the moment the glass goes in.

The process is simple but demands care:

• Mask the exterior yellow panels with masking tape and/or masking film, pressing the edges down firmly so no paint can creep underneath.
• Run a hobby knife along the body contours to trim the tape exactly to the window frames, door openings and arch edges — cut lightly, you are trimming tape, not the yellow paint beneath.
• Spray the exposed areas — window frames, interior of the body, wheel arches and recesses — with black.
• Remove the masking while the black is still slightly fresh, pulling the tape back on itself at a shallow angle so it does not lift the yellow edge.

Take your time laying the masking tape around the window frames. A sharp, clean black border around every glass panel is one of the biggest single upgrades in the finished look — and a bleed of black onto the yellow means touching up a perfect paint job.

Color Code Table

The instructions provide the following paint reference list for the whole kit (Tamiya color codes as printed in the manual):

• Ⓐ C-1 — Glossy black
• Ⓑ C-33 — Matte black
• Ⓒ C-47 — Glossy transparent red (tail lamps)
• Ⓓ TS-47 — Light yellow / Chrome Yellow (vehicle body)
• Ⓔ C-92 — Semi-gloss black
• Ⓕ 666 — Varnish (clear coat, Glasurit/BASF Clearcoat 666)
• Ⓙ C-189 — Matte clear (matte transparent finish)
• Ⓚ Silver — interpreted broadly: chrome silver, fine silver, or C-8, whichever the builder prefers for the metal parts
• Ⓜ C-33 : 10 + C-62 : 1 — Interior color (matte black mixed 10:1 with C-62 flat white for a subtle dark gray interior tone)

Use the matte blacks (C-33, C-92) for interior tubs, seats and trim where a satin or flat finish is realistic; reserve gloss black (C-1) for exterior trim, grilles and glossy details. The matte clear (C-189) is useful for knocking the shine off carbon-fiber decals and harness parts where a satin texture reads better than full gloss.

Next article: Decals & Clear Coat

Honda Civic Type-R FL5 Spoon Building Guide — Part 5: Decals & Clear Coat

Alpha Model AM02-0071 · Build by Break Wong

This is where the yellow body becomes a Spoon race car. The livery is dense — big blue sections, SPOON SPORTS side graphics, the #95 plates, sponsor logos — so decal placement is slow, deliberate work, and the clear coat afterwards is what makes all of it look painted on rather than stuck on.

Applying the Waterslide Decals

The decal sheet carries the whole Spoon livery: the blue nose sections, the large SPOON SPORTS side panels, the #95 number plates, MOTUL and Rigid Collar logos, and all the small supporting markings. Work through them in order from the largest to the smallest.

• Cut out each decal close to the printed edge with a hobby knife or scissors.
• Soak the decal in clean water for about 20 seconds — just long enough for the carrier film to release; do not leave it floating until the decal curls off the paper.
• Transfer with tweezers: slide the decal off its backing paper directly onto the painted surface, positioning it while a film of water still lets it float into place.
• Squeeze out the water with a damp cotton swab, rolling gently from the center outward to press the decal flat and expel water and air bubbles from underneath.
• Soften with a heat gun (held at a distance): a brief pass of warm air softens the film so it can conform over curves and panel lines. Use setting solution if you have it — it helps the decal snuggle down over recesses.
• Press down again with the cotton swab after softening, dabbing away any remaining moisture, and leave it fully dry before moving to the next one.

The big blue nose and side panels are the hardest: they cover compound curves and cross panel lines. Apply them over plenty of water, nudge them into position with the swab, then use the heat gun and setting solution in stages so the film stretches and settles without tearing or silvering.

Clear Coating with Glasurit (BASF) Clearcoat 666

Once every decal is dry and burnished down, the whole body is sealed under a high-gloss automotive clear — Break uses Glasurit (BASF) Clearcoat 666, the same premium two-component clear used on real cars. It flows out to a deep, durable, fuel-proof gloss that completely buries the decal edges.

Because this livery carries a lot of decal film — including the large blue sections — you need a thicker clear build than usual to level over all the edges and give something to sand and polish later. Break applies four wet coats, with proper flash time between each so the solvents can gas out and the film can build without sagging.

• First coat: a medium "tack" coat to lock everything down.
• Coats two to four: progressively wetter, flowing coats that merge into one another and level the surface.
• Watch for runs on the lower sills and around the spoiler mounts; rotate the shell so the clear always lands on a near-horizontal surface.

Curing, Then Sanding and Polishing

Do not — under any circumstances — touch the clear for a few days. Two-component automotive clear needs 3 to 5 days to fully cure and harden before it can be safely sanded. If you wet-sand too early you will gum the paper and tear the soft film.

Once fully hard, wet-sand the entire body with very fine grit paper (working up through the high grits) to flatten orange peel and any decal-edge texture, then machine- or hand-polish with cutting compound followed by finishing compound. The result is a glass-smooth, deep gloss in which the blue and yellow look like they were painted in the factory — decal edges completely invisible.

Next article: Interior & Details

Honda Civic Type-R FL5 Spoon Building Guide — Part 6: Interior & Details

Alpha Model AM02-0071 · Build by Break Wong

With the body finished and polishing, attention turns to everything that lives inside and on top of it — the photo-etched mesh grille, the transparent-red tail lamps, and a full race interior crowned by red woven TAKATA harnesses. These small assemblies are the parts people lean in to look at.

Exterior Details: Grille, Lamps and Badges

While the clear coat cures, fit the exterior detail parts. The front grille uses a photo-etched metal mesh part from fret A, which is CA-glued behind the bumper opening — it gives a far deeper, more realistic look than a molded grille and disappears into shadow behind the blue nose. The headlamp lenses come from the clear parts tree, fitted and polished so they sit flush.

At the rear, the tail lamps are molded in transparent red (the manual calls for C-47 glossy clear red over the clear parts); they are installed after the body is polished, taking care not to scuff the surrounding gloss. The Honda emblem, the SPOON badge and the www.SpoonUSA.com lettering are all reproduced as decals over the finished paint.

Bucket Seats and the Woven Harnesses

The interior is a stripped race setup: two black bucket seats with deep side bolsters. Break finishes them in matte/semi-gloss black (C-33 / C-92), and the seat backs carry a molded carbon-fiber weave texture that he brings out with a dark wash and a light dry-brush.

The highlight is the four-point racing harness. The straps are not painted — they are reproduced with PE50 red woven-style seatbelt material, threaded through photo-etched metal buckles:

• First, the small PE belt brackets and receivers are cut from the fret and bent to shape with PE pliers.
• The red woven strap is then threaded through the PE buckle in the correct sequence (the manual shows the routing in steps ② and ③), folded back on itself and glued with instant adhesive.
• The four straps from each seat converge on a central rotary buckle, which Break paints black for contrast against the red straps — the finished assembly shows a clear before/after difference once the buckle is painted.
• The completed harnesses are fitted into the seats with the lap and shoulder straps draped naturally over the bolsters.

The Interior Tub, Dashboard and Door Cards

The seats drop into the full interior tub, which also includes the rear seat structure and the center console with its gear lever. The tub is finished in the manual's interior tone (the Ⓜ mix of C-33 matte black with a touch of C-62 white) so the cabin reads as a dark, purposeful race interior rather than pure black.

On the dashboard, the center screen receives a small navigation-display decal showing a map screen — a lovely scale detail that is visible through the windscreen — alongside the molded instrument cluster. The steering wheel, column and switchgear are picked out in the various blacks and silvers from the color table, with silver used sparingly on stalks and trim.

The door cards are detailed with photo-etched speaker grilles and separate door handles, applied to the molded inner door panels before the tub is sealed into the body. The PE mesh catches light exactly like a real speaker grille.

Next: Wheels, Brakes & Final Assembly

Honda Civic Type-R FL5 Spoon Building Guide — Part 7: Wheels, Brakes & Final Assembly

Alpha Model AM02-0071 · Build by Break Wong

The last stretch: drilled brake discs made from photo-etch, black five-spoke wheels with white tire lettering, the carbon-fiber rear wing, and the fiddly little PE wipers. Then everything — glass, interior, chassis, wheels — comes together into the finished car.

Photo-Etched Drilled Brake Discs

The brakes are one of this kit's star details. Rather than a molded smooth disc, each brake rotor is built up from a photo-etched detail plate that reproduces the drilled surface pattern of a racing disc, layered onto the resin disc:

• The PE drilled-disc plate is cut from fret A and CA-glued onto the resin brake disc, aligned concentrically.
• The metal hub and axle parts are assembled and fitted through the center.
• The whole disc is then brush-painted black by hand (C-1 gloss / C-92 semi-gloss), with the faces of the drilled PE rings left to catch a metallic highlight — the drilled holes read as deep black dots, exactly like a vented race rotor.
• The brake calipers are fitted and painted to match, completing each corner. All four discs are built up as a matched set before the wheels go on.
  

  

  

   

Wheels and Tire Lettering

The four wheels are finished in gloss black five-spoke style. The tires get their identity from decals: white YOKOHAMA / ADVAN tire-lettering decals are applied around the sidewalls, and Break adds small yellow wheel-weight markings on the rims for that authentic track-car touch. Once the wheels are mounted on their axles with the brake discs behind them, the drilled rotors remain visible through the spokes — a detail that is impossible to miss in the finished photos.

The Carbon-Fiber Rear Wing

The Spoon racer's tall rear wing is reproduced in carbon-fiber finish: the wing blade and end plates carry a carbon-weave decal (or pre-textured carbon surface), sealed with a satin/matte clear — the manual's C-189 matte clear is ideal here, since real dry carbon has a soft sheen rather than a full gloss. The wing mounts to the trunk via photo-etched metal support brackets from fret B, which are bent square and CA-glued so the wing sits rigid and level.

Photo-Etched Windshield Wipers

The wipers are pure photo-etch work and reward patience. The wiper arms and blades come as tiny flat PE parts that must be bent and folded one piece at a time with the PE bending pliers — the arm gets its characteristic kink, the blade gets its folded channel section, and the two are joined with a dot of instant adhesive at the pivot. Build them over the kit's bend diagram, keep the folds square, and handle them only with tweezers. Mounted at the base of the windscreen they add a surprisingly large amount of realism for their size.

Final Assembly

With every sub-assembly finished, the car comes together in the usual order: the interior tub is fixed into the painted body, the windscreen and window glass are glued in with their frames masked to avoid stray adhesive, the completed wipers are fitted, the rear wing and its brackets are mounted, and the chassis pan, exhaust (the signature triple-exit with its center outlet) and the four wheel/brake assemblies are attached. Take everything slowly with CA — fit each part dry first, then commit, and keep glue away from the polished paint and clear glazing.

Next: Completed Showcase

Honda Civic Type-R FL5 Spoon Building Guide — Part 8: Completed Showcase

Alpha Model AM02-0071 · Build by Break Wong

Eight posts, one finished Spoon FL5. This last chapter is just the car itself — every angle, every detail that the earlier stages built toward.

The Finished Car

All the work converges here: the chrome-yellow body with its blue Spoon nose, the deep Glasurit gloss, the dense waterslide livery, the red-harnessed interior visible through the glass, the drilled brakes behind black spokes, and the carbon wing standing tall over the triple exhaust. Set on a clean background in raking light, the finished model reads less like a kit and more like a piece of the pit lane shrunk down to 1/24.

Displaying the Nameplate

Remember the photo-etched "HONDA SPOON CIVIC TYPE-R (FL5)" nameplate from the unboxing? Painted and mounted on a simple display base in front of the car, it turns a finished model into a proper exhibit — a small detail that makes a big difference on a shelf or at a show.

Closing Words from the Builder

Thank you for following this build all the way from the box to the finished car. The Alpha Model AM02-0071 FL5 Spoon is a genuinely rewarding kit — the Spoon livery is a classic for a reason, and watching the blue and yellow come together under the clear coat never gets old.

If you enjoyed the build, follow me on my social accounts for more completed works, work-in-progress shots, and future projects. Happy building, everyone — see you in the next one!

— Break Wong

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