3rd Generation Infiniti Q45

[Peter Lombardo]

The Infiniti Q45 was sold in the USA from 1989 until 2006.  During that time, they had 3 distinctly different body styles.  The first generation was based on the Nissan President and was the largest of the 3 designs.  This 1^st version is absolutely my favorite having driven it extensively and a number of times on the race track, full out, where it really showed off its amazing ability for being such a large car (the Q45a version had an “Active Suspension” package that used computer controlled shocks to exert a force to counter any body lean or wheel dip, rather advanced for 1989 era sedans.)  The second and third generations were based on the slightly smaller Nissan Cima platform.  Here is an Aoshima kit of the Nissan Cima, the 3^rd generation vehicle badged as an Infiniti Q45 model in the USA, but as sold in Japan as a Cima and this kit has the upgraded aftermarket “Parfume” customization package.  On top of that I have made substantial changes to the kit.

The Cima was only sold as a 4 door sedan and I prefer 2 door coupes whenever possible.  So, I needed to make a few changes.  First I removed the roof and replaced it with a roof from the Revell Ferrari 612 Scaglietti.  Then converted the car into a 2 door by resizing the doors and then opened and hinged the doors and added a sunroof to the car along with a set of hood louvers cut into the hood and finished with black mesh screening on the bottom side.

The kit is designed as a curb-side model, but with separate hood and trunk pieces, which I found a bit odd, but useful nonetheless.  Because of this, I felt that I needed to hinge both.  The trunk was easy to finish off, but the hood was another matter altogether.  The hood, I decided to hinge in the reverse order so that it opens from the front.  One of the interesting points of the “under the hood” detail of the real car is that it has panels and shields so the compartment looks very finished and “smooth” looking down at it.  That point made the construction of the engine much easier since you can’t see the engine block and any of the lower compartment detail, only the top panels.  So building out the engine bay turned out to be much simpler that I originally feared.

The car has a two-tone paint of Testers One-coat lacquer Pure Gold on top, and Tamiya Metallic Black on the lower portion with a top coat of Tamiya clear and I lowered down the car as low as I could make it.  The wheels and tires came from the kit but I added a ring of Tamiya clear orange around the outer section. 

If nothing else, it is a one of a kind build and not your average Infiniti.

[Chuck Most]

I love it! I've built the first-gen Q in a quasi bosozoku style, and I have two others I haven't touched yet. Might need to try something like this with one of them. 

[carmad1957]

No sir- definitely not a typical Infiniti! And thank goodness for that! Very nice

[ChrisR]

Cool conversion!

[o-man]

Great custom