[MOC] '99 Opel Frontera B

[SpaceHopper]

Hi there!

It's been a while since my last (and first) post here, feels good to be back with something again. Somehow after posting the previous MOC things quickly rolled back into routine, although I do hoped to join more actively. So yeah, first of all thanks for every comment on that Toyota - necroposting right now would be a bit rude, but also as rude as leaving all these warm welcome words without mention:)

We all have guilty pleasures. Mine was once a desire to build a proper rust bucket which real life version would turn people's heads the other way rather than attract looks. After all, these cars also deserve some attention and can be surprisingly challenging to build due to their almost but not completely brick-looking exterior. Apart from the fact that our neighbours had a 2nd gen Frontera in dark turquoise I had no reasons to opt for this exact car, but it alone was enough.

The choice of colour fell for dark blue because I would have gone broke getting all the dark turquoise wanted to go with some 90s-like colour, while avoiding the neutral ones like white or gray. Things started getting quite tricky at first, but then 42154 saw the light and provided a great amount of new useful small parts to refine the look.

 

Due to a lot of system used throughout the whole model, its total of over 2 kilos would make motorisation relativelty useless, so from the beginning I went the way of detalising as much as possible, aiming for a full interior, openable doors and a bunch of small details here and there. However, the technical side still includes a 4WD, working independent suspension and steering, which costed me couple of nerve cells in attempts to be done with a proper steering wheel incline and a realistic amount of turnarounds instead of a 90 degrees to each side.

 

As for interior, there was no way to ignore my favourite triangle tiles, which turned out to be a lucky decision not only in making a TRD stripes on a stadium truck, but also in recreating the iconic coloured patterns of car seats common for that time, where every single patch was a shade of dirty gray at some point.

 

I wouldn't say being 100% happy about the result, as there are still some parts here and there looking slightly off despite multiple changes, but that's still been a nice journey with a rather pleasant outcome. After all, the resemblance to original can be also with an Isuzu Rodeo, or, given your eyes are squinted enough, with pretty much every nostalgic junk from the 90s. And, having a piece of a yellow car brand while living pretty close to their factory is somewhat symbolical as well.

 

Thank you a lot and I hope to be back with something new soon - or at least not in a year again!

[Aurorasaurus]

Wow! It looks stunning, especially those seats, I love them. Do you think you could add photos of the underside? Im curious to see the 4x4 in this model, given the high weight.

[damian_kane_iv]

Exterior is quality, what does the engine look like?

[Milan]

Frontpaged.
Love all the angles.

[MinusAndy]

Immediately recognisable! I think this is one of the more successful system/technic mixes. Nice work.

[allanp]

This looks fantastic! I'd also like to see an underside shot. 

[ILoveSeatron]

That moc looks great! I really like how you did the dash. 

[bruh]

I really like the angles you created for the windows. Really well done!

[1gor]

Looks very well proportioned. My favorite was shorter (Sport) version

[Alex Ilea]

Talk about details in a model, stunning!

[Thebrickfig]

Great use of parts! I like the use of the spoon for the blinker switch.

[m00se]

We see enough super cars etc. This is really original. Love the seats.

[bruh]

4 hours ago, m00se said:

We see enough super cars etc. 

Yes! I like the suvs! And buses.

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

My dad had one in 2003, the short wheelbase one with two doors.

This model is well made and immediately recognizable!

[langko]

The seat details are incredible! (Maybe not so much the front leg room)
But this is a great looking model! You’ve blended the system elements and the technic ones together very well.

[_Electro_]

I can see many details, it's a big plus for this model, looks incredible!

[2ndgen]

This looks great, love the interior very very 90s lol. 

Is this the same thing as a Blazer, or Sonoma we got in Canada and the US?