Spottedlaurel

These came last week: Both cars I like a lot at 1:1, and I already have different versions but I can think of varous ways of building them.

Fairly simple curbside but nicely porportioned and detailed kit by Fujimi of the Isuzu 117 Coupe: Painted Tamiya Titanium Silver and clearcoated but not yet polished. Period-looking Dunlop wheels and tyres are from the Tamiya Lotus Europa Special.

Finished result looks amazing Steve, brilliantly done!

There seems to be a theme here: I appreciate that these aren't their latest releases, but Hasegawa are turning out some great stuff right now. Still 'need' to get the RWD Starlet KP61 and Silvia S110 kits, and who knows what they've got in the pipeline.....

I put this together as an attempt to do a quick, simple build over Christmas - just about managed to complete it before I started back at work a few days ago so mission accomplished. There's a fair degree of nostalgia in this kit as I first built one in the very early 1980s, probably aged about 11-12. I left the yellow bodyshell but did a bit of matt black 'detail' painting. Sadly only the wheels, tyres and a few decal offcuts survive, and I had to spend a bit to eventually get hold of another one. Modest parts count! After two weeks: Essentially OOB, but with wheels from the 1980s MPC Dodge Daytona and tyres from an Aoshima kit. Grey primer then Tamiya TS-35 Park Green which is pretty close to the original Java Green (see photos of 1:1 car at the end). That was applied straight from the can with no clear, polished with Micromesh 3600-12000 then Zero Paints fine compound and finally Auto-Glym resin polish. Windscreen trim done with BMF, vinyl roof Revell #9 and rest of the bumpers, trim etc their SM302, all brush-painted following some tedious masking. Rear bumper fitment is somewhat reliant on a generous amount of superglue. The rest of it fits together well, almost on the verge of being a snap-fit as little glue is required. I don't know if I realised that in my younger days! The top of the door is a bit flatter this side. Otherwise I think it's a pretty decent rendition of the TR7 and its distinctive, very period looks. Exhaust tip was drilled out and tailpipe painted with Gundam chromemarker. I could only use the registration plate decals, the rest at 45+ years old were no use. No decals for the gauges so I detailed them as best I could. The 1:1 I looked at had a fairly sombre black cloth/nylon and vinyl interior, so I didn't have to think about the tartan that some later models had. Reference car, a UK-spec RHD example so some differences to Monogram's interpretation: As I've found with others in this Exotics series they're an enjoyable build, giving the option of either quickly putting them together (as I went for here!) or paying a bit of attention to detail and coming up with something beyond what was probably originally intended with them. Thanks for looking.

I like that, very nicely done. It has a low parts count but I think this is a really good kit. I built one a while back and with a little thought and TLC as you've done here it makes for a good-looking replica.

Great to see one of these built so cleanly, it looks fantastic. You overcame the problems very well.

Thank you Brian, so it has a decent basic engine already included? That makes life easier! It has the added bonus for me of being a birth year build, picking up on a previous CBR theme which I never managed to complete (or really start). Not yet decided, will see what else takes my fancy over the next few days.....

Still pondering my entry for this one, all three of my completed CBR entries have been Japanese and I'd like to use this as an excuse to build something American this time around. As a base vehicle I'm favouring the AMT '70 Ford sedan, but wondering about a suitably hi-po period engine option. It'd have to be from the Ford stable as I don't like mixing makes, and presumably a big block? I have only a limited choice in my stash, the '69 Cougar CJ428 comes to mind, maybe with a different intake/filter set-up? While I'm off work for the next few days I'll have a play then declare my entry. Could end up being something entirely different.....

That's a really nice kit, I enjoyed putting one together a few years ago. As I recall getting the assembled chassis and interior into the bodyshell was a bit tight but it looks great once complete.

Very nice, great to see it finished and such care taken in putting it together. I would like to get one of these someday, to sit alongside the Princess and Alpine A310 that I've already built. Definitely some challenges with them, but they look good once completed and are a nice way of filling up small gaps in the cabinet.

1975 and earlier sounds good to me, got plenty here in the stash to choose from whether it's American or Japanese.

I've also missed this one, it's fantastic Steve! Great ideas, and so well-executed. Look forward to seeing further progress and the finished result.

Phew, just got mine done and photos posted.

#5 1970-ish Nissan Fairlady 240ZG with RB26 engine swap. The ZG is basically a 240Z with a longer nose for aerodynamics. As standard it had the twin-carb L24 engine, and the bodywork tweaks gained it a few MPH. Seemed like a good basis for the RB engine transplant, something which is done at 1:1. I used Tamiya's very nicely detailed kit, painted with a period Datsun/Nissan ochre colour. Wheels are aftermarket Gotti copies, otherwise the body is standard ZG complete wirh arch flares. No clues externally as to what's under the bonnet.... The RB26 was taken from a Tamiya Skyline GT-R kit, it fitted really nicely. A big intercooler was slotted-in up front. Suspension is lowered all round. The RB engine needed to be converted from 4wd to RWD and the sump was reversed. Most of the exhaust system came from the recently released 240Z Street Custom kit, with front pipes from the Skyline. I added slotted disc brakes at the front end and rear discs from a Honda NSX. Inside I added aftermarket seats plus a basic roll cage taken from an Italeri/Esci Ford Escort Mk2. This kit also donated a couple of fire extinguishers. This remains my favourite view of the Z. Thanks for looking.

No photos, but body and floorpan are permanently united on my 240ZG and the engine has been fitted. Now for the fddly bits that can make or break it....

This was where I was when I started earlier today: With exhaust and some other bits elsewhere. Lots of little bits done since , should be good for final assembly tomorrow.....

Hoping to get mine finished, even if it's going to mean a busy couple of days on it this weekend.....

Stunning! The super-clean finished look gives no clue as to how much work you did to create this, amazing.

Well done to those of you who already have their CBR entries on the start line! I think I should make it with mine. With more of a quiet Sunday at home to come today, then fingers crossed a free weekend on the 23rd-24th, I'm hoping that gives me enough time..... Finally got the RB26 to 240ZG engine mounts sorted. It sits a bit differently in a Skyline GT-R so I had to concoct this arrangement with a couple of pieces of angle styrene. This is how it sits. Quite a bit of room on the LH side, but that's where the turbos etc sit so I need to keep plenty of space there. Wheels are not fully fitted at this point, I just wanted to see roughly how it sits. Dashboard is installed. On the interior I still have to fix the seats, paint the steering wheel just robbed from a Skyline GT-R race car, re-do the rear loadbay carpet and hopefully find time to make up a basic cage and seatbelt installation. Ex-Honda NSX rear brake dics now fitted. Aftermarket wheels are rather neat, with a separate casting for the male fitment required to suit a typical Tamiya kit. This has 4 studs protruding through the wheel, making for easy detailing (just need to clean up a bit of the wheel paint here). Ignore the tyres, they will either be replaced or given a little more attention. Can't wait to properly unite the floorpan and bodyshell. Have also been making progress on the latter, with the headlights fitted and some of the detailing done on the windcsreen scuttle panel. A few things of note at the back end, just to demonstrate the level of detail in this kit. The tailgate is separate to the bodyshell, and the spoiler and lock are both individual pieces. The fuel filler flap is also separate, again with its own lock that pushes through from behind. The rear bumper has six separate parts (it's not properly fitted here). The panel around the rear lights is another piece, then the lenses are split either side of the central chrome trim as below: That gives a really crispline between the indicator and reverse light. FInally there's a metal transfer to go around the light to replicate the chrome trim surround.

Like @stitchdup I use Humbrol too, both red and orange. Mine is in little plastic pots I must have had for around 30 years now. Got loads left and it still works really well. I hadn't really thought about the shade suiting older cars, as mentioned by Les, but it certainly looks right on the 1990s and earlier builds I do. It usually requires 2-3 coats and I find it does tend to run into the corners, so needs applying thinly and brushing out. Mostly I'm painting it on the back of clear parts, but for moulded-in markers and indicators then I lay a piece of BMF down and go over that. I did a quick refresh of an old built-up kit recently which had solid orange painted indicators. Out of laziness I just quickly applied the orange clear over the top of the original paint and even then it gave a more realistic look. For yellow I use Tamiya X-24 and then Revell #752 enamel for blue, although this came out a little darker than I expected recently and perhaps needs thinning a little.

Very nicely done, looks really good. This is a nicely detailed older kit with some delicate parts. I built one a few years ago and was surpised about the detail compared to some other Fujimi kits of the time, but I think it started life with Nitto.

Had a quieter day than expected so being mindful of the forthcoming CBR deadline I managed to get quite a bit done: Today's main tasks were polishing the bodywork and getting the engine ready for installation, plus picking off a few odds and ends. Brakes were fitted onto the struts, the disc faces and radiator given a wash, and the undertray painted and mocked-up here to see how it fits. All good so far. Cam cover was painted body colour a few weeks ago and then detailed and fitted today. Sump reversal and conversion was finished with styrene sheet and filler. Need to attach some angle to the engine mounts so it sits correctly on the ZG's chassis rails, but I seem to have got the length right and it joins up to the standard length propshaft. Comparison with an original RB26 complete with its 4wd equipment shows how much I had to change and remove. I avoided clearcoat over the solid 1:1 automotive paint to maintain the period look. Polishing was done Micromesh (3600 down to 12000) then Zero fine polishing compound and finally Autoglym resin polish. The latter will probably need doing again after I've handled it over the remainder of the build, but I wanted to see how it looked. First time of trial-fitting the floorpan complete with most of the engine bay installed under the freshly-polished bodyshell - it fits! Before today I was mildly concerned as to whether I would get to the startline in time, but now I think I should be OK....

Had a weekend away and managed to visit a couple of physical LHSs, one I knew about beforehand but the other was a pleasant surprise find. Great to get the 240Z. I may end up robbing/swapping some of the hi-po bits off it for my current CBR group build entry, which is the 240ZG kit Tamiya brought out a while back. Paints and materials always come in handy, the Plastruct angle is also needed for something on that CBR project.

Most of the guys doing Youtube videos of UK racing do a bit of a pit walk beforehand,so that should give some ideas on what to use. Would love to see your paintwork skills applied to something in the style of how some of them prepare their cars. The paintjobs they do for big meetings like the world final is amazing. Here in the UK (and Belgium/Holland) the favoured choices in the Unlmited class are big saloons and estates like Mercedes E-Class, Ford Scorpio and Granada Mk1/2, Jaguar XJ and various larger Volvos and Japanese saloons and coupes. Nowadays a lot of the racers fit a Ford 4-cyl engine, which rev's nicely and is very compact in a large engine bay so the car can take a lot of damage and still run, but it doesn't sound like the V6s or straight sixes from the days when they had to run the original engine. Of things I can think of in kit form that I've seen raced there is the Italeri Volvo 740, Hasegawa Jaguar XJ-S, Tamiya Jaguar Mk2, various large Mercedes saloons and coupes from Tamiya and Italeri, Toyota Supra Mk3 from Tamiya or Hasegawa (a surprisingly effective and strong banger - look out for a guy called Tye Williams (639), who can race and wreck them with great skill), and quite a range of big Japanese saloons like Lexus IS200 and LS400, Nissan Cedric, Toyota Mark II etc. A big race meeting will also attract random American stuff, have a look at some of the things that were raced at the King's Lynn Stadium Halloween Carnival last weekend..... Some of those kits aren't cheap, but it could give a new lease of life to a gluebomb or incomplete/damaged kit.