Is the Nitto 1/20 BMW 3.5 CSL body accurate shapewise?

[robdebie]

This model was handed down to me via two fellow modelers many years ago. The chassis was mostly built, but the body and glass were mostly untouched. There was no box, and not all decals were there.

I worked a bit on the body, and noticed that it started to look really nice. However, older Japanese car models can be hit and miss accuracy-wise. Therefore I made the following six photos of the body.

If there's anyone with a good eye for BMWs, can you please comment on the body's shape and accuracy? Many thanks in advance!

Rob

 

 

 

 

 

[Italianhorses]

Replied to your other topic on AF.

[Rider]

I have no idea if this shell is correct or not but is sure looks like a fun kit.  That roof is begging to be chopped. I always thought the stock version of these cars look cartoonish with their short narrow body and tall roof line. This shell has soooo much potential for a custom pro touring  street car. 

 

Edited October 10, 2018 by Rider

[Italianhorses]

3 hours ago, Rider said:

I have no idea if this shell is correct or not but is sure looks like a fun kit.  That roof is begging to be chopped. I always thought the stock version of these cars look cartoonish with their short narrow body and tall roof line. This shell has soooo much potential for a custom pro touring  street car. 

 

While I think this is sacrilege, the roof line is not quite correct on this kit - the A-pillars are too long/tall, making the roof slope up in the front, which is wrong.

[robdebie]

7 hours ago, Italianhorses said:

While I think this is sacrilege, the roof line is not quite correct on this kit - the A-pillars are too long/tall, making the roof slope up in the front, which is wrong.

Thanks for your interesting comment on the tilted roofline! But could it be the C-pillar is too short instead? That's what I see when I compare the following two photos.

Rob

 

[Italianhorses]

The photo you comparing it to is distorted.

[robdebie]

15 minutes ago, Italianhorses said:

The photo you comparing it to is distorted.

Yep, it looks strange. I will try to find a better photo.

Rob

[Rider]

3 hours ago, robdebie said:

Yep, it looks strange. I will try to find a better photo.

Rob

I found this. 

From this photo the c-pillar transition area looks smaller on the kit, also the door looks shorter.  The rear side pod also looks shorter, the wheel openings are a different shape too. The more you look at the two pics the more you can find. Although as with many race cars teams often did their own tweaking for one reason of another. Most of the differences seen here can be changed and or tweaked. 

Regardless it's still a cool model worth building.

Edited October 11, 2018 by Rider

[kitbash1]

Here are a few more for you to look at .

[ZTony8]

The third of the four photos is of a 320i, not a 3.0 CSL.

[Italianhorses]

1 hour ago, ZTony8 said:

The third of the four photos is of a 320i, not a 3.0 CSL.

Correct. Plus some of the others are 3.5 CSLs, which had different bodywork.

[espo]

I think the body looks fine and I would just build it, your way. From the pictures you can see that there were many different configurations as far as the body goes. As mentioned some of this may be dependent on the different race teams and some may be because of the race sanctioning bodies rules. I wouldn't mess with the roof at all. I would look at as many pictures of this model BMW as you can find on the internet and use what ever ideas you see that you like and incorporate those ideas into your build. 

[robdebie]

On 10/11/2018 at 12:55 AM, Rider said:

I found this. 

From this photo the c-pillar transition area looks smaller on the kit, also the door looks shorter.  The rear side pod also looks shorter, the wheel openings are a different shape too. The more you look at the two pics the more you can find. Although as with many race cars teams often did their own tweaking for one reason of another. Most of the differences seen here can be changed and or tweaked. 

Regardless it's still a cool model worth building.

Thanks for the photo comparison! I still haven't figured out how many body styles there were. The green one is a 1976 version I think, with a different air dam, rear wing and louvers in the rear fender. But the doors should be identical as you suggest.

Rob

[robdebie]

On 10/11/2018 at 5:03 PM, espo said:

I think the body looks fine and I would just build it, your way. From the pictures you can see that there were many different configurations as far as the body goes. As mentioned some of this may be dependent on the different race teams and some may be because of the race sanctioning bodies rules. I wouldn't mess with the roof at all. I would look at as many pictures of this model BMW as you can find on the internet and use what ever ideas you see that you like and incorporate those ideas into your build. 

The roof modification could be tricky indeed. Especially since the rear window and rear 3/4 windows will not fit anymore. Here's a summary of what is not correct. I can add that the wheel openings are too circular, and the trim line should be removed.

Maybe my 'problem' is that I like to tweak a model, to make it really mine :-) For example, I've been fiddling for years with a Monogram 83-85 T-bird to make a speedway version with reduced wheel track. The front model is the original, the rear one my modified body. It's still not ready, there's more to change :-)

Rob

 

[robdebie]

While searching for  more information I  made an amazing discovery: the photo that inspired the box art! I found it in the 4th 1976 issue of 'Autozeitung' on Ebay. AFAIK the car was not raced in this set of markings.

Rob