Spottedlaurel

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.

This is the wagon as standard:

Very nice! Code on the ones i got is SRP 015 if you want to try and find some closer to home. They're supposedly 15", but to me seem more like 14". I might try them with some different tyres. The 1200 was a very endearing little thing to drive. Mine was very basic with no carpet or radio, but the little A12 engine and light weight made it fun to nip around in on the country roads.

Consider it a curbside build and use a generic Fujimi/Aoshima chassis? Maybe trim down an American interior. They were never regarded as a particularly 'dynamic' car. The finned styling was contemporary when launched in 1959 or so, but very dated when some of the models ran until 1971. They appealed to fairly traditional buyers who preferred space and solidity - my Grandad and an uncle both had one. There were also estate versions, and I think South America got pickups. I rather like this customised Morris Traveller: The 4-cyl models have 4x4.5" stud pattern, so wheels off MGB, Reliant Scimitar, bigger Triumphs and various Japanese will fit. Badge-engineered Austin and Morris versions. The latter is from 1970! For completeness: 'Sportier' MG and Riley, I think they both had twin-carb engines.

Good point about the headlights. The AMT/Aoshima does have separate buckets but they're quite shallow, I think it'd be easier to modify those in the Tamiya. This is what I'd like to recreate, my '93 which is a late Mk1 with the 15" wheels: If I was brave I could add the sunroof from the AMT/Aoshima kit (or probably find something else I have in the stash). As an extra challenge, we got foglights in the front bumper (with extra driving lights on the inner buckets) and the inner portions of the rear lights are smaller, to accommodate our longer plates. This is what the kit replicates, presumably similar to US-spec LS400?

Amongst other stuff picked up recently: Bottom right wheels are 15" Gotti by Studio Rosso, a possibility for the Tamiya Nissan 240ZG I'm just about to start. The mesh wheels were another possibility, but not really the look I want to go for. Signs are for a diorama, one day.... The Datsun is something of a Holy Grail kit for me, as I had a 2-door 1200 just like that a few years ago and by harvesting some parts from a Hasegawa Datsun Sunny Truck I have in the stash I should be able to come up with a very close replica of my old 1:1. Materials from a visit to the LHS I'm lucky to have in a nearby town. I want to up my game slightly on detailing and thought I'd try some different paints etc. Talking to the guys in the shop was really helpful, and admiring 1:25 car/truck builds that one of them had done and put on display. Don't get that from a big box store.... Nova felt like something I should have in the stash, it's chassis looks like a useful swap into something else and I could still build the remains as a curbside display piece.

Looks like it has a bit more detail than some of the other European/Japanese subjects that Monogram did at that time?

Got my new issue of the LS400 today, very pleased with it. Moulded in a pearl white, almost champagne colour! I read above that the decal sheet was improved, and comparing it with my old Celsior kit this certainly looks to be the case. I don't know if the original LS400 release had wood decals for the interior (they weren't included on the Celsior), but they're certainly there now, and the brightwork for the bumpers and waistline moulding is more slender and shaped where necessary. The remainder of the kit looks to be as it was before, so generally very nice. The door cards slightly suffer from being moulded as part of the interior tub, but the detail on them is really only lost where it's concealed by the seat bases. The wheels are plated, which is a bit bright for how we got them in the UK but may be more correct for the LHD/US-spec car which this represents. It comes only with the LHD dashboard option, not LHD/RHD like many Tamiya kits of this era. I took the opportunity to compare it with my AMT issue of the Aoshima LS400 kit, and also consider it against the 1:1 RHD LS400 I have sitting on the driveway. Tamiya is best on the body shape - the AMT/Aoshima kit doesn't seem to 'roll in' enough below the waistine, which is a feature of the 1:1. Also the top front corner of the front door windows looks more rounded on the Tamiya kit, better matching the real thing. The Tamiya kit has a separate hood (well two with the clear one) plus separate grille, whereas it's all moulded into the bodyshell on the AMT/Aoshima so there'd be some fiddly detailing there. And that wonderfully smooth V8 isn't there at all on the latter. Underneath the Tamiya has more detailed suspension and a completely separate exhaust, but it's partly moulded-in on the AMT/Aoshima. Also the box art on the latter shows an odd front wheel placement, so that might need attention. OOB the Tamiya Celsior I built sat just right (still does, just pulled it out of the cabinet). Interior-wise the AMT/Aoshima kit is perhaps better in having separate sides to the tub, with the detail extending down to the door bins which are missing on the Tamiya. Decal sheet is more limited on the AMT/Aoshima, and it has silver PE badges whereas they have the gold option on the Tamiya. From building the Celsior 30-odd years ago I know it goes together very nicely. I'm sure the AMT/Aoshima would be OK too, just it won;t be quiate as authentic or well-detailed as the Tamiya kit. One day I'd like to build a decent replica of my 1:1 LS400. The new Tamiya kit will be my best starting point, but depending on how accurate I want to get it looks like I'll need to swap some parts with the Celsior and AMT/Aoshima kit to make it reasonably accurate.

Looks fantastic! Well, it doesn't, but you know what I mean....

I used Tamiya TS-34 Camel Yellow over white primer on this Chevelle, at the time the comment was made that it looked like school bus yellow:

Very nicely done. There's nothing too obvious about what's been changed, and those similar-but-different wheels work really well.

Have now put cutter to sprue on my 240ZG, couldn't resist starting to check it out now I've got some detail parts starting to arrive: Contents of the very well-detailed kit, plus spare assembled RB engine for mock-up purposes, Hobby Design detail set and a couple of wheel choices. Also the remnants of a period Datsun colour that I had mixed-up a few years ago, and got a fresh can of it done this morning. The newer RB straight-six is of similar physical size to the long-running L-series. I need to remove the transfer case, driveshafts etc as this particular one comes from a 4wd Skyline R32, and I think I may have to swap the sump round so the pan is at the back. I will actually build-up a fresh engine and 'box from my stash. The RB swap looks to be relatively commonplace at 1:1 so I'm not attempting something too silly. If I can get the brakes to fit, and possibly find some slightly chunkier tyres, these are the wheels I'm hoping to use. They are a Gotti wheel which look good on 1:1 Zs, I'll be painting them gunmetal which should sit nicely with the Ochre bodywork (dirty yellow?!). Note the hubs with the 4-stud fixing, with alternative male/female fitments. I have seen hi-po brake kits for Zs still running small wheels, so it should be feasible to run the 15s above. The alternative wheel is a 16" cross-spoke style, might keep them for a 280ZX build. Well-stocked detail set. Not all will be of use as some of it is for the standard L24 engine, and it may be beyond my skillset and eyesight!, but I'm hoping I can add some of it to good effect. The body sits very nicely on the floorpan and I had to try it on the Gotti wheels. The arch flares will be fitted to cover their extra width. Note the separate tailgate and fuel filler flap. Also thought it would be interesting to see how the old Monogram 280Z compares - it's much more simplistic, but the basic look is still there. Sneak preview of the colour I'll be using on the RH front fender and scuttle panel....

Pleased to see that the Lexus has appeared for sale in the UK, just placed an order for one.

Some great progress already being made! Mine has got no further than planning in my head (or daydreaming, as it might more accurately be known) and rummaging through the box. However I'm determined not to start anything new untiI get one other WIP off my bench. Been looking at a couple of fantastic builds of the 240ZG here on MCM - the Tamiya kit I've chosen really deserves to be done properly, with some detailing that's a step or two beyond what I've done before. I probably wouldn't have thought about going so far if I hadn't entered this group build, in the same way that I would never have built my previous couple of CBR competitors otherwise. It'll be good to stretch myself a little bit and go slightly outside of my normal comfort zone.

Looks good so far! I built one a few years ago, also just changed the wheels and lowered it (not as much as you though). Went together really well and still looks good in the cabinet.

I didn't end up doing much more this one back in the summer, but with a bit of holiday over the last week I've managed to make some progress. Most of the interior has been painted, just needs tidying/detailing and I used some leftover woodgrain side panel decals from a Revell Chevelle Wagon kit to do the table top. Rear axle and suspension sorted and I've made a start on the tedious job of painting window trims. There's a quite a bit of detailing required on the bodywork, but doing a reasonable job on that will elevate it from something quite toylike into a presentable model. Handily I saw a really nice 1:1 Hiace in France when on holiday this summer: This one was for sale. Would love to have been in a position to have bought it, but I'll have to make do with my kit for now.

Fantastic build, well done. You have a headstart in having something that looks great at 1:1, but it still needs to be built, painted and detailed properly to do it justice and you certainly did that.

Excellent! Great to see one built.

Hopefully the same doesn't happen to me this time around....

Got this at a local toy fair yesterday: Not really a Holy Grail kit, but certainly one I have unfinished business with. One of these would have been one of my very first models that I tried to build as youngster 40+ years ago, I remember it being quite fiddly and it hasn't survived. Let's see if I can do better this time around....

I built that one back in 2020, went together really nicely. Easy to lower it. Only thing I din't quite get right on mine was the alignment of the hood trim, above the grille. Use a glue that gives you time to position it properly.

Christmas money spent yesterday: These very nice Hasegawa kits were a third off, so basically I got one for free. I got them from Hannants, the big wholesalers who are fairly local to me. As ever they had a mind-numbing range of other kits in the warehouse, but I was good and resisted temptation. The Halfords automotive paints have always worked well for me. Don't know why they still stock Purple Velvet, it's a classic mid '70s colour and I can't imagine many people walk in off the street to buy a can for their 1975 Granada or Cortina.

@Camaro lover Tamiya's recently reissued Toyota Soarer has the 7M engine, it's a proper full depth one with transmission, not just the top half on a plate. This is the older issue. By coincidence I happened to take a photo of a 1:1 example in the summer: Would be period correct for the Supra. I also have one of the very nice Hasegawa versions, reading the above has got me thinking about doing the same thing. I'll have the 7M spare as I'm looking to drop a Celsior/LS400 V8 into my Soarer. The only thing I suspect the Hasegawa kit won't have is a LHD dashboard. If you were desperate to build it that way I could let you have one from Tamiya's older Supra Mk3 kit, as that has both LHD and RHD. Might not be quite as accurate as the Hasegawa, but would be a starting point and perhaps some of the detail could be swapped over?

Any news on alternative versions of the Nissan 240ZG? It looks to have been engineered in such a way that a standard-nose Z could be offered, and there are so many race/rally cars they could do. Maybe even borrow the S20 engine from the Skyline GT-R to create a Z432R? Look how many different issues Hasegawa can get out of one subject. Also, with regard to weathering/rust, given that many of their subjects are older Japanese cars there is plenty of scope for corrosion (as the past/present owner of numerous 1:1 Datsuns, Toyotas etc I can say that!).

OK, after a bit of rummaging through the stash I'm in with the Tamiya Nissan 240ZG: I shall be fitting an RB26 straight-six out of a Skyline GT-R. Needs converting to 2wd, but doesn't look too difficult with a bit of parts box engineering and cutting/filling. Seen images of a few such transplants at 1:1 so it's clearly a feasible swap, just need to keep the appearance looking restored rather than overly modified, so I'll choose a period colour. The Tamiya kit is already very nicely detailed, but I happened to find the Hobby Design detail-up set on eBay so I'll add whatever I can from that. Kind of a shame to lose the well-detailed standard L24 engine, but I can make good use of that on something else and it makes sense to start with the best version of the Z. It's way ahead of those from anyone else, and it's still readily available if I want to build one more standard. Using the ZG gives me the aero nose, which will hopefully gain a few MPH, and arch flares to cover wider rubber. Now waiting for the start date!