Kit: Fujimi NR-8
Extras: MFH Carpets, Modeler's windshield wipers
Scale: 1/24
Model finished: 04/2006
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Kit: Fujimi NR-8 |
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First finished model of 2006! Once again quite a straight forward project using a Fujimi kit as basis. The base kit is Fujimi's Nostalgic Racer version of Fairlady 240ZG (240Z with an aerodynamic nose). I got inspired to this project when I saw pictures of John Jeffery's beautiful gunmetal 240ZG in the net. You can see pics of John's car here and here. More Datsun pictures are available at http://www.datsunrestore.com/datsun_gallery.html . The kit includes both stock and Watanabe style wheels and I chose to use the Watanabes for a more racey look. The rims of the wheels were painted in Alclad chrome and the centers are almost flat black with just a hint of shine. The suspension was slightly lowered to give the model a more aggressive stance. The body color is the same gunmetal metallic I used with the Porsche 928S4 I built earlier. The window frames are painted in Alclad chrome, the front bumper and wheel arch extensions are in gloss black and the rest of the black areas are painted with satin black instead of the gloss metallic gray suggested in the instructions. I opened the air intake below the front bumper and put a piece of black metal mesh to cover the intake. The exhaust tip was replaced with a piece of polished aluminium tube. The radio antenna is a piece of thin metal wire with a ball on the tip made from thick gel type cyanoacrylate glue. I left the headlight covers off because I think the car looks better without them. The interior is finished in satin and flat black with some details in silver. I used Model Factory Hiro's excellent black carpet material for interior floors but otherwise the interior is built straight from the box. The kit has an engine but the bonnet isn't open. I decided not to cut the bonnet open and just to build the engine out of the box without any special detailing. Part of it can be seen from the underside but there is not really much you can see. At the final stages of the project I made an idiotic mistake while drilling holes for the lowered front suspension. I managed to drill through the underbody and straight through the driver's side of the bonnet. I had to plug the hole with a piece of plastic rod and cover the damaged area with diagonal racing stripes I cut from black decal. Fortunately the mistake is well hidden under the decal now and not too obvious. Click thumbnails for bigger images:
4.4.2006 |
