Spottedlaurel

I've ended up with several members of the Datsun/Nissan Z family from different kit makers and as an extension of my plan to do one of them for this year's CBR community build I want to have some fun with the others too. Current stash, with a second Tamiya 240ZG having arrived since. A quick comparison and review before I start on one of them.... Red primered one is by Fujimi (was moulded in white), Monogram in red styrene, Hasegawa version with alternative nosecones from my different issues for Z and ZG, and finally the Tamiya kit with separate hood and tailgate plus the various parts which make the longer ZG nose. You can see how they are separated on the tree, I just wish they'd offer the standard Z - more of that later..... All look like the 1:1. Predictably the Monogram is least accurate, but I'm still quite fond of it. With its separate rear panel as well as the panels already mentioned the Tamiya kit is going to be the easiest to build and detail. Monogram's offering suffers most at the back of the rear quarters, where it's rather square. I managed to get a bit more shape into that on a previous build: This shot emphasises it's slightly 'peaked' roof. It still has something to offer however, and both the road and race versions come with great wheels and tyres which I've used to good effect on other projects. I'm looking forward to building the red one someday, perhaps as the 'finished' version of this part-restored Z. Of the ones I have, I'd rank them as Tamiya > Hasegawa > Fujimi > Monogram in terms of parts count and level of detail/accuracy. I know Revell offer a 1/25 kit with engine detail, and Aoshima do a curbside. I've had a look at the latter online, the suspension detail looks basic but I can't say how the body compares. Tamiya is the only one to offer an opening hood and fully detailed engine. Fujimi has an engine (or even two in some versions), but the the hood is moulded shut and the engine bay detailing is minimal. So, enough waffling - what am I doing/going to do with them?..... Build #1 Fujimi kit as a quick, simple OOB-ish build. See post below for more on that one, as I've already started it. Build #2 Tamiya kit as my CBR entry. This is the one that started me going with them this year, and it's going to be the most detailed. Will keep it standard-looking as a restomod, just lowered on different wheels, probably Gotti 15". Under the hood the L24 'six' will be removed in favour of an ex-R32 Skyline GT-R RB26DETT, converted from 4wd to RWD. The RB25/26 seems to be a reasonably common swap at 1:1, and physically the basic engine is of similar size. Build #3 Monogram kit to match the one I've already done, but as the completed project in a single colour. Build #4 Hasegawa ZG, opening up the hood, adding a bit of engine bay detail and installing a Fujimi L24 engine. Can also use some of the leftover Tamiya parts and a Hobby Design detail set that I recently bought. Build #5 2nd Tamiya kit, but converted to Z432 spec. As I discovered when messing about with them over Christmas, and @Matt Bacon also found recently, it seems that the Hasegawa nosecone will fit the Tamiya bodyshell with just trimming of the fitment tabs. The Z432 has a different fuel tank and spare wheel arrangement which need swapping across, and the other big thing to do is fit an S20 engine. This is the hi-po straight-6 which was fitted to the Skyline GT-R of the time. There are two options, either that offered by Fujimi in various kits and a parts set, or taking one from the Tamiya C10 Skyline GT-R. I'm going to do the latter, as I have the Street Custom version in the stash. @lghtngyello03 did the same thing here in his wonderful ZG: https://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/170576-tamiya-nissan-240zg-wvolk-te37v-and-s20-gtr-engine/ BTW, the Z432 gets its name from having 4 valves per cylinder, triple carb's and twin OHC. There's also a lightweight 'R' version. Build #6 Do something with the leftovers! This will eventually include using the redundant Tamiya L24 engines in other Datsuns, like replica/tribute builds of my current 1980 Laurel and previous 240K Skyline.

Thanks guys! It would be interesting to see with your weathering applied to it.... Ha ha, yes - I need to work harder on my desert/beach setting next time! I prefer taking outdoor shots of completed builds, but the garden of where I am now is more enclosed than my old place and I haven't found a good location yet.

I'm posting this one here in the hope that it might inspire me to get on with it! AMT Courier which I was planning to fit with the V6 from (I think) a Revell '90 Thunderbird. I still like my plans for it, just need to get over working with the soft styrene and decide whether I'm going to get the bed sitting at a more accurate level relative to the cab.

Not really sure why it took me so long but I finally got this one finished today: WIP thread here: Fairly basic kit with some accessories. I trimmed the front spoiler, painted it Austin-Rover sandalwood beige (an early '80s colour) from a Halfords automotive aerosol and fitted the Aoshima wheels. Also added some extra seats, cushions and drink cans from a Fujimi accessory pack and the rubber dinghy from an AMT Hilux. Surfboard decal came from the side panel of a Revell Chevelle wagon. I used offcuts of it for the tabletop too. I ditched the kit-supplied sidepipe and fitted this muffler and tailpipe for another Fujimi accessory pack. Bumpers came with chrome finish and used BMF on the lower body trims. Window trims were not fun to paint.... I could have gone a lot further wth the interior. I thought this Sunny Truck made for a good companion to it. I know it's not one of my better efforts and the kit itself is fairly basic, as it was intended to be motorized, but once I'd removed the spoiler I think it nicely captures the feel of the 1:1. Thanks for looking.

Nicely done, and good to see an unusual kit like this get built. As the 1:1 is quite small 1/20 scale probably makes it a nice size for display.

Looks pretty much identical to mine. I found the background looked better if taped back to the white box, and the LED lights eventually lost their adhesion so I tied them up with thin fuse wire.

Thanks, and good to know someone else has one! I have the Urvan/Caravan E20 too, but I'd love to get the Vanette as well - there was one on eBay here, but it was something like £150.... Final shots before I plan to get it finished at the weekend: Rear door isn't properly fitted yet. Dots in the glass are from where it should have a chrome porthole surround. I added the accessories that came with it and added some deckchairs, cushions and drink cans from a Fujimi parts pack plus the dinghy from an AMT Hilux.

I thought of this thread today when I saw a 2023 Mercedes CLA wagon/tourer, not normally something that would interest me but it was a bright, almost turquoise, metallic blue - just looked online and it's Hyper Blue. Definitely one to consider on a future build...

Only other thing on the lights might be to apply BMF to the non-red areas, then paint them with amber clear or leave as-is for the reverse light portion? Obviously not going to look as good as the red tinted area, I'd be inclined not to do anything....

Nice work Enzo. For ease of detailing, and flexibility on male/female fitment, could you do the studs/lugs as separate pieces like on the Gottis I got for my CBR project? There's a set of four for each option.

Great to see that you persevered, it was worthwhile as the finished result looks really good.

Chang, so glad I can get in early so I can use words that will be repeated several times over. That is amazing! Everything just looks 'right' about it, and it's so cleanly built.

Very nicely done, must have been a lot of fun to build something you had happy memories of at 1:1.

Looks really good - the colour suits it well and you certainly got around any issues.

Thanks Matt. I can't remember if you'd said something along these lines in your recent Samuri build thread, but I reached the same conclusion over Christmas. Just some nibs that need trimming. I'm thinking of doing a Tamiya-based Z432R too, as that's the Hasegawa kit I have, but with the Tamiya Skyline 2000 GT-R's S20 engine. @lghtngyello03 did a stunning build with one fitted here:

It seems to me like the resin wheels are a rather small 15" (what they're sold as) and Fujimi 14" tyres fit onto them very nicely.

Today's arrival: Already have one of the 240ZG kit, but I'm just about to start building it for this year's CBR and I've realised just how nicely it would build up in other ways so I thought I'd get another, along with the very well-stocked Hobby Design detail set. The smaller detail sets are for Hasegawa kits. And one from last week: Couldn't resist the newly-reissued version. My 1: 1 LS400 is taking a rest at present, it remains to be seen whether I get it back on the road before building the kit....

Nice! I imagine they'll include the really wide Cragar S/S wheels that I had in a later Cedric/Gloria kit - they worked very nicely on a Monogram '65 Corvette I built a while back.

Excellent work, great to see it in 1/24 scale.

I really like what you're doing with this one, it looks just like a well-used example. I've looked at my older version of this kit and never been quite sure what to do with it. Sadly I don't have the weathering skills to do something along the lines of yours.

Thanks Bob. Just doing a quick search, seen a few different boxed versions with alternative graphics but so far I can only find one other built example!

Made good progress on this one today, keen to get it finished so I can start another new build (or two, or more....). Partway through detailing the wheels. They're Hoshine Impul D-01, although the box calls them Silhouette which is an updated version with extra bolts around the rim. I've since done them all and tidied them up a bit. I'm now at the point where most parts are off the sprues, painted and ready to fit, or at least in progress. Suspension is fairly basic due to it being a kit that could motorized, but it's fine for a curbside. At this point I had to see if everything fitted together - I was nervous about the sliding door and that tall bulkhead. A little bit of final detailing and tidying required, but it went together OK and it certainly looks like a Hiace. I opted to apply BMF to the lower body trim, as it matches the chrome bumpers and I couldn't face more 'black' painting (actually Revell Anthracite #9).

Great to see this built in the original style, you've done a great job on it.

Looks like they're there, along with another set of wheels: Black set appear to be ubiquitous Watanabes. I don't really want another G-nose Z, otherwise I'd have been tempted to get this one as a source of those wheels.

I did. It looks like this Aoshima kit has something similar, although I'm not sure if they'd be as nicely detailed: https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10736540 I found that a set of 14" tyres from a Fujimi kit fitted them nicely - they had a slightly taller profile and less of a stretched look.