Tamiya Nissan Skyline Z-Tune

[lghtngyello03]

Hey guys!  I’ve been MIA for a year or so, lol. Having to work 7 days a week and then a project  1:1 car on  the side had consumed my life. I couldn’t wait to get back to the bench, as it is like a therapy. 

 

I’ve had this kit for about 10 years now, and I decided it was time for a quick build with not too many details or scratch built stuff since my last builds were super detailed. 

Paint is going to be Gravity Colors Z-Tune Skyline Silver, with their clear as well. This kit also has some pretty harsh mold lines which had to be taken care of.  

I promise I’ll start back being as detailed as my posts used to be.  

 

Here are some pics of where I’m at now. These were all I had on my phone right now. 

 

 

 

I sprayed the red with a Flat Clear to knock down some of the shine to make it more realistic.

 

 

 

Body primed and ready for color.

 

 

 

Color laid down (with no clear yet) going to let it sit for a day or so. I have to put the carbon decals on the front spoiler and other decals before I shoot some Clear.  This is my first time using Gravity Colors and their paint is awesome! I hope the clear is just as good.

Edited August 19, 2019 by lghtngyello03

[DiscoRover007]

Looking great so far. Thats a great silver. I do think those roof lines go edge to edge though. I've got this kit and I've been checking reference photos. The MK4 Supra has the same sort of detail. It's frustrating trying to figure out where to sand the mold line without erasing the detail.

[lghtngyello03]

8 minutes ago, DiscoRover007 said:

Looking great so far. Thats a great silver. I do think those roof lines go edge to edge though. I've got this kit and I've been checking reference photos. The MK4 Supra has the same sort of detail. It's frustrating trying to figure out where to sand the mold line without erasing the detail.

Oh well, lol.  Little late now. It's hard to find some good roof shots of the Skyline as most are from the side front or back.

 

I have done the supra and it wasn't that bad, here is a link to my build on it.

 

[Modlbldr]

 Looks like you're doing great on it. I can't wait to see what it turns out like.

I love this kit and built mine earlier this year.

http://

Later-

 

 

[lghtngyello03]

19 hours ago, Modlbldr said:

 Looks like you're doing great on it. I can't wait to see what it turns out like.

I love this kit and built mine earlier this year.

http://

Later-

 

 

Thanks man, your build looks great. Very different color,  I’ve researched the z-tune for a while before I started my build. I found on gtr registery that 20 were produced, and all but 1 were painted the special Z-Tune Silver. 

These cars were purchased with little to no miles and the 1 that was a different color was Midnight Purple (close to the color of your build) which was the original production color of the car.  The owner of this car did not want the color silver and convinced the Nismo factory to leave the car the factory Midnight Purple  color.  Sorry for the boring facts lol.  Figured it’d be interesting to know a little about it.

 

Thanks again man. 

Edited August 20, 2019 by lghtngyello03

[Modlbldr]

Interesting info. Not boring at all. I didn't know anything about these cars when I built mine. Just had the purple nail polish and thought it went well with the wheels. 

A funny thing was my box called it an S-Tune although it was the same pic on the box as the Z- Tune kit. I couldn't find any other pics of my box on the net. I bought it years ago and finally got to it to build it this year.

http://

Later-

[lghtngyello03]

I didn’t get much done tonight due to cutting grass and cooking dinner. 

i managed to get some carbon fiber decals laid down before clear coat on the chassis. The Z-Tune cars had carbon fiber floors, drive shafts, small areas at the front of the rockers, and strut towers up front (which I didn’t do because they can’t be seen.)

This is my first time cutting decals for stuff like this so it’s the best I could get.

I also got the wheels completed. They are sprayed in Tamiya X-19 Semi Gloss Black.

I have attached some pictures of the real car floor panels from my research. 

The decals are Tamiya Carbon Fiber Extra Fine Weave. 

 

 

Edited August 20, 2019 by lghtngyello03

[matthijsgrit]

Great decalwork!

How do you get the carbon to fit so well? It's the perfect size and follows the shape very nicely...

[lghtngyello03]

1 hour ago, matthijsgrit said:

Great decalwork!

How do you get the carbon to fit so well? It's the perfect size and follows the shape very nicely...

Thank you! This is a first for me with the small, make your own shape decals, lol. Just took a good bit of time to carefully do it and not waste a lot of decal paper. I've used the Scale Motorsport Carbon Decals in the past and the Tamiya Carbon  Decals lay down much easier and the material is thicker and sturdier.

I used this method to do this...check the video out below, if It weren't for this I'd probably  be scratching my head still.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Mvv-ZPz0KQ

 

Also the Mico Sol, and Micro Set, a lot of Q-Tips and a Hairdryer is your friend.

Edited August 20, 2019 by lghtngyello03

[matthijsgrit]

Just now, lghtngyello03 said:

Thank you! This is a first for me with the small, make your own shape decals, lol. Just took a good bit of time to carefully do it and not waste a lot of decal paper. I've used the Scale Motorsport Carbon Decals in the past and the Tamiya Carbon  Decals lay down much easier and the material is thicker and sturdier.

I used this method to do this...check the video out below, if It weren't for this I'd probably  be scratching my head still.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Mvv-ZPz0KQ

 

Also the Mico Sol, and Micro Set, a lot of Q-Tips and a Hairdryer is your friend.

 

 

 

 

Great info, thank you!!!

[89AKurt]

Looking great so far, will watch this build.

[lghtngyello03]

19 minutes ago, 89AKurt said:

Looking great so far, will watch this build.

Thank you! I hope to get a little more carbon work done this evening.

[Italianhorses]

Looks great!

[lghtngyello03]

So I managed to get the front spoiler done tonight as well as the decals on the body that need to go under The clear coat. Man, the front spoiler was a pain!  I did use a larger Tamiya Carbon weave

I also got the rear suspension painted and decided to go a different, larger weave of carbon on the driveshaft. It’s Scale Motorsports.

Edited August 21, 2019 by lghtngyello03

[lghtngyello03]

I got some more carbon fiber work done this evening. I also had to repaint my wing due to some trash that had to be sanded out.  

Not much progress, but I’m going to try to lay some clear coat down tomorrow. 

[lghtngyello03]

Got the body cleared today. I have to say the Gravity Colors clear is awesome.  This is the first time I’ve actually mixed paint and it was simple.  

I laid down 2 mist coats, then 2 more moderately heavy coats, and finally 2 heavy wet coats. I have to say after 3 hrs in the dehydrator, it has leveled out almost perfect.

 

 

[Dann Tier]

Welcome back!....looking SICK!!!!

[Kemszi]

Very nice!
I really like the carbon parts?

[lghtngyello03]

13 hours ago, Dann Tier said:

Welcome back!....looking SICK!!!!

Thanks Dann, I wish my builds could be as good as yours. 

5 hours ago, Kemszi said:

Very nice!
I really like the carbon parts?

Thank you!

Edited August 26, 2019 by lghtngyello03

[lghtngyello03]

I managed to get a good bit accomplished today since I had a full day dedicated to modeling. 

I got the complete body wet sanded and polished out which is always time consuming. I also got the trim on the body sprayed, along with the parts of the chassis that needed to be semi-gloss black completed. 

 The last thing I worked on, to feel like I had actually did a good bit of work for the day today, was the interior. I got the Tamiya Photo-etch detail up set for this kit and it is awesome. I had no clue that it included floor mats along with the pedals as well.

Edited August 26, 2019 by lghtngyello03

[DiscoRover007]

Looking amazing!

[lghtngyello03]

39 minutes ago, DiscoRover007 said:

Looking amazing!

Thank you James! I'm anxious to get this one buttoned up and under glass to start on the next project.  I just haven't decided what to build next.

[lghtngyello03]

I haven’t  gotten too much done as of lately. The wife and I took a trip to Indiana to visit my sister-in-law and our niece and nephew, as well as a trip to Don Schumacher Racing for their open house. 

I did manage to get the exhaust and front mount Intercooler sprayed in Tamiya Gloss Black in preparation for some Spaz Stix Chrome. Going to try my hand at some new exhaust heat staining methods that I’ve been checking out on YouTube with some Alcad paints.  I also got the rotors primed to spray the calipers in body color tomorrow,  the struts/suspension painted, bare metal foiled the rear heat shield for the exhaust, the tail lights painted and installed, and the rear suspension all assembled and mounted on the chassis.

 

 

 

Edited September 4, 2019 by lghtngyello03

[Modlbldr]

Nice work! I've got to pick me up another one of these. I'd like to do one in either something like a Mica Blue or a Mica Red.

Later-

[lghtngyello03]

7 hours ago, Modlbldr said:

Nice work! I've got to pick me up another one of these. I'd like to do one in either something like a Mica Blue or a Mica Red.

Later-

Thanks man, It would look good in a Mica Red. I built a V-Spec R34 years ago in Mica Blue.  Very close to the actual Bayside Blue color.