Rust-Sun 240Z

[Intmd8r]

An older build I did about 5 years ago.  Looks like I never got around to posting the completed pics.

I remember wanting this kit bad and paying top dollar for it, just to see it rereleased a short while later for a fraction of what I paid for it.  All the bad things said about this kit were TRUE!  You could pull your hair out trying to build something decent from it, or make a Junker.  I went with the later…

[shoopdog]

Looks great Steve!

 

[JTalmage]

Great looking rust! That is exactly what I plan to do with my Datsun when I get around to it... I want to replicate the Rotsun from Roadkill

[Intmd8r]

The Rotsun would be a propper use for this kit!

[Tom Geiger]

The last episode of American Pickers had one similar to this!  It's the episode with the guy who had 8 '32 Fords... a 240Z was sitting in the yard and Mike Wolf got into the drivers seat remarking that he had one just like it around 1980.

[Intmd8r]

Funny thing - when I was building this, I chose colors that were available on the 240Z when new and went with it.  Totally fictional build.

Since then, I've had at least 6 people tell me that they say the 1:1 in person or on TV, or as far back as 30yrs ago.

To me, that's cool!

[vintagercr]

Nice work.

[Zarana-X]

Nice work. Old Revell castings/kits are a nightmare to build shiny, nice and perfect. 

[Perspect Scale Modelworks]

Boy that car looks awful, which is good. I love the flat tires, something usually overlooked by those who build junkers. Nice job.

[espo]

That is one of the most realistic rusting I have seen in a long time. You even got the windshield markings done right. Poor owner must have lived at the beach and didn't have a garage to park in. That salt air can be worse than salted roads. The fog gets into every nook and cranny.   

[Rider]

Cool build Steve, I dig it. 

[Jonathan]

Probably a lot of old Z's look this way now.  Very realistic.  This is the Revell kit?

[Jon Cole]

Just the right amount of rust through! Not overdone. Great build!

 

[DumpyDan]

Very good looking car, looks Canadian to me.........Rusty and Crusty

[NYLIBUD]

Very cool build.Great job on the rust and weathering..

[Zoom]

Well done, looks great

[ChrisR]

Looks great!

[Intmd8r]

This is the Revell kit?

Yes it is - this is the issue I started with:

Hope the later BRE issue had some of its issues fixed....

Very good looking car, looks Canadian to me.........Rusty and Crusty

That's what I was going for lol.  Can't recall the last time I saw a driveable 240Z out in the wild.....

Thanks everyone for the feedback!

[Mike C]

Nice build! But with that rust perhaps you should put on plates from snow belt states instead of CA.

[Intmd8r]

Nice build! But with that rust perhaps you should put on plates from snow belt states instead of CA.

Agreed, although I did find some reference pics of 240Zs out in the desert regions in similar condition.  Sort of proves my theory that early Datsuns were already rusting when they were delivered from the dealership show rooms.  The plate is kit stock. I just used what I had on hand at the time.

Planning on entering this in a show in March - will be tweaking/improving it before then.  We’ll see if I can’t get the kit stock wheels to look more realistic.

[RestoModGuy]

so cool, nice work

[#1 model citizen]

 One might reconsider buying a California car after seeing this one... Very nice job!

[zak78]

This is really well-done; that L24 engine bay looks exactly like the 1:1s I looked at before the car in my avatar started living in the garage space. 

How did you do the windshield? 

[Intmd8r]

Thanks for the feedback.

For the windshield, I laid down some masking tape. Then I put it in the body to get a sense where the wipers would be. Drew freehand the path I thought they would travel across the windshield. Took a sharp blade and cut the tape-this is the hardest part because I've broken a few windshields in the past by pressing too hard. When done, I misted Testors dullcote from a distance. That's it! 

[Mike C]

Agreed, although I did find some reference pics of 240Zs out in the desert regions in similar condition.  Sort of proves my theory that early Datsuns were already rusting when they were delivered from the dealership show rooms.  The plate is kit stock. I just used what I had on hand at the time.

 

 

Planning on entering this in a show in March - will be tweaking/improving it before then.  We’ll see if I can’t get the kit stock wheels to look more realistic.

 

 

My first new car out of college was a '77 Datsun 280Z. I lived on Long Island, NY. I managed to keep it pretty rust free compared to most of them but I still got some body rot on the rocker panels. In fact I put those panels on the bottom to cover it up after I repaired it.