Nissan 240ZG: Track Toy

[Danny Lectro]

I wanted to have a second car kit to bring to NNL East later this month. If I wait until my '48 Ford is finished, I'll never get around to working on a second project, so I will try working on this concurrently.

The stock 240ZG body required the wheel openings to be radiused to fit the over-fenders. This being my first time doing such work on a car model, I knew I would probably not get away with clean cuts, so i just went for it. I will be leaving any gashes and scrapes left behind by the body work, to replicate the sloppy custom work sometimes seen on cars intended for track / drift use. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Paint will be flat black primer, with a red and black interior.

Apologies for the fuzzy photos, I used my phone camera for quick documentation of my progress.

This kit comes with an engine, but the hood is molded closed, and the chassis provides zero under hood detail, not even enough to just make it look like the car's builder shaved the engine bay and tucked the wires. I mean, just flat surfaces. I am debating whether to include the engine so there is something there when the model is picked up, or to just leave it out and save it for another project. Does "curbside" mean a model should have chassis detail, but no under hood detail, or does it refer to a model that will not be viewed from beneath? I know it won't qualify as a "slammer", as there will be interior detail visible.

[1930fordpickup]

I have been told curbside was just what you see on a car sitting by the curb. No underhood or underside detail needed. It just depends upon the show.

[slusher]

Curb side would focus on the body and interior, is my understanding...

[horsepower]

Yep, nothing under hood, or chassis details needed, but has always been a pet peeve of mine that they will allow you to open the doors and whatever to show off the interior details.

Love what you're doing, should look like a little steam roller cruising along, hope you have some super fat low profile tires that will have the sidewall hanging out of the flares slightly. Maybe black and gold carbon for the top surfaces, and a rich Inca gold for the sides. So from the front it looks like a carbon fiber stealth racer coming at you.

[Danny Lectro]

Thanks for the advice, folks.

Del: Thanks! I'm building this kit:

Which comes with a set of super wide Watanabe-type wheels.

I'm thinking about gashing up the overfenders and using some brightly colored thread to represent plastic zip-ties holding things together, like what the drift racers do to hold their cars together until the competition is over.

[Danny Lectro]

I have a bit of progress to show.

The interior and chassis have been assembled, minus the exhaust system, which will be getting hit with Testors steel Metallizer.

I'm not happy with the really soft detail of the interior, so I think I will be tinting the windows with some Tamiya clear smoke. I do know about the ejector pin marks in the trunk area, but I plan to use the custom rear window insert, which will cover up the marks.

I cut up the overfenders in a couple places, and drilled some holes. I will be using some bright orange thread to represent plastic zip-ties holding the overfenders together after a collision during a race.

Here is the body after a coat of red-oxide primer:

I'm planning to do some salt-masking before I add the black primer.

Bumpers will be painted with Alclad black chrome lacquer, and the trim with be covered with Bare Metal black chrome foil.

I hope to have more to show soon...

[slusher]

Looking really good Danny, hang in there...

[Danny Lectro]

Looking really good Danny, hang in there...

Thank you, Carl.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Like it, lots. Looks like the fender extensions on the actual kit are more exaggerated than the box-art would lead you to believe.

Is the kit engine the single-cam or the DOHC ?

[Danny Lectro]

Like it, lots. Looks like the fender extensions on the actual kit are more exaggerated than the box-art would lead you to believe.

Is the kit engine the single-cam or the DOHC ?

Thank you, Bill. The kit comes with the single-cam engine. I'll be saving it for another project, but I don't know what yet.

I think you're right about the overfenders. It's not the only discrepancy between the box art and the model. Where the box art shows door mounted mirrors, the kit only offers fender mounted mirrors.

[Zarana-X]

Looking good so far!

[Danny Lectro]

Looking good so far!

Thank you!

[Danny Lectro]

I'd like a bit of input from you kind folks.

I've been applying some salt masking before the next stage of paint:

...and I think I may have painted myself into a corner by attaching the fender flares and air dam prior to painting.

I think the salt chipping shouldn't be done on the aero bits, considering they would most likely be made of GRP or FRP instead of steel. I expect they would weather differently than the steel, or more likely the driver would have attached the aero to an already-weathered bodyshell. However, if the aero was attached to an already-weathered body shell, it likely wouldn't be the same color as the bodyshell. don't think I can properly mask off the aero, with all of it's compound curves, and I doubt brush-painting it with another color will come out looking even enough (unless I go all out with making this look like a car put together by a nitwit with more money than sense or style, who just brush-painted the aero in his garage). Final clear-coat might even it out, but I don't know if I want to rely on it.

So, my questions are: Do I apply the salt masking to the aero for consistency, or do I try brush-painting the aero with some properly thinned semi-gloss black to look like added on parts? How would painted FRP body panels weather if they were exposed to the elements at the same rate as the steel?

I'm kind of invested in the idea of doing a weathered car at this point, so I'd rather not give up on it, but I also want to make it look believable.

Thanks in advance!

[BTK]

Well, I think the salt could be brushed on in certain spots to act as paint chips or rock chips in the fender flares or air dam. But the red primer underneath wouldn't really look right. I don't know if you could paint the fenders and dam a different color and then apply salt to look like rock chips? That or paint them black like you said too look like later add-on parts.

[Bill Eh?]

Will be a well done and muscular-looking 240 ZG. I'm on board for this ride.

[vintagercr]

Looking good!

[Zarana-X]

The ZG nose and aero bits would be fiberglass, most likely. paint the chips in those ghost grey acrylic, and wipe away the excess for weathered fiberglass.

[Danny Lectro]

The ZG nose and aero bits would be fiberglass, most likely. paint the chips in those ghost grey acrylic, and wipe away the excess for weathered fiberglass.

I

I like this idea! Thank you for the suggestion.

And thank you all for your input. I have applied salt to the rest of the car, aero included, and I've decided to paint the car all in purple. After the color coat dries, I will use a stencil to apply a flaming skull graphic to the hood. Then I will knock off the salt, paint the chips in the aero grey, and scuff up the paint with some fine grit sandpaper.

I will post photos when I make some more progress.

[SCI-FI]

Looking forward to a demonstration of the salt technique. Lotsa pictures, please.

[Danny Lectro]

Looking forward to a demonstration of the salt technique. Lotsa pictures, please.

Hi Charles,

Sorry, but I have come to realize that the salt chipping technique is not going to work with this build. I really should have waited until the body was painted before adding the aero.

But to briefly describe the technique: After doing your base coat, you spritz your model with some kind of fluid (some people use water, some people use hairspray, I was using water with a bit of dish detergent added), then you sprinkle on some salt and let it set. Spray on your color coat(s) and let it dry. Knock off the salt with a stiff brush and a toothpick for any stubborn spots. You will be left with what should look like natural chips in the paint.

There are multiple videos available on YouTube if you want a visual demonstration. Search for "Salt chipping technique", you'll find plenty of people who can explain it way better than I can, including our own Dr. Cranky.

[SCI-FI]

Hi Charles,

Sorry, but I have come to realize that the salt chipping technique is not going to work with this build. I really should have waited until the body was painted before adding the aero.

[...]

There are multiple videos available on YouTube if you want a visual demonstration. Search for "Salt chipping technique", you'll find plenty of people who can explain it way better than I can, including our own Dr. Cranky.

Ok, thanks. I'll look for DrCranky's take on the subject.

Good luck with the rest of the build.

Best-

Edited June 27, 2015 by SCI-FI

[Danny Lectro]

Good luck with the rest of the build.

Best-

Thank you!

[Jeremy Jon]

Neat project Danny, lots of cool detail, Nice!

[Danny Lectro]

I think this build will be getting put away for a while.  

I had decided on painting the car in a very non-descript shade of brown, mimicking a current trend among Japanese car customizers of painting wild street and track builds in boring colors like beige or solid grey.  I ended up with a finish decent enough to represent something achieved in a private garage without aid of professional equipment.  Things seemed to be going well with the build.

Then, while dealing with one of the tiny "Z" badges that go on the hood and C pillars, the part popped out of my tweezers and went flying across my work room.  I have no idea where it went, and I have little hope of recovering it.

The kit's body has small holes molded into it for placement of the badges. Now, even if I still use the two remaining badges on the C pillars, the hole on the hood would need to be filled.

The body is now soaking in a bucket of Purple Power.  When the existing paint has been removed, I will eventually will fill in all three placement holes, and start from the beginning on paint.

When the project will return to my bench, I can't say at this point.

[Danny Lectro]

It's been a bit warm lately, warm enough for airbrushing, so I'm getting back in the saddle.First, let me show you where I was at before the last time I stripped the body.

Here is the brown color I mentioned in my previous post:

Here it is after being stripped, with the mounting holes for the badges filled it, and a base coat of Tamiya semi-gloss black:

Here it is with a color coat of Tamiya bronze, which dried with a matte finish instead of the gloss I was expecting.  I masked off the hood to keep it in semi-gloss black.

I spent some time contemplating whether I should lay down a gloss over the bronze, and consulted with my daughter, who has a rather good eye for these things. On her advice, I decided to stick with the matte finish.  Here it is with the masking tape removed.

https://scontent-iad3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpl1/t31.0-8/12028890_10206949059543042_3450861858394837543_o.jpg

I need to touch up the black panel on the rear fascia before moving on to next steps.  Trim will be foiled with black-out chrome, cracked and drilled over-fenders will be tied up with black thread to represent zip-ties, and I will be using some AMMO of Mig Jimenez and Tamiya products to add chips and weathering throughout.

Please let me know if my photos don't show up, I inserted them a little differently this time.

Edited March 13, 2016 by Danny Lectro