Tamiya 1/24 NISSAN 300ZX Fairlady Turbo (Z32)

[360spider]

When you are on the roll, you can accomplish a lot of things. I'm on a roll right now (mostly because I'm bored) and this would be my 4th model this month. Building box stock.

IMG_1222 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

I have built this kit before - in fact, this was my first Tamiya kit I have ever bought and built back in 1999. Back then I thought it was a nice and well engineered kit, just too complicated for my skill level. Hopefully I'm up to the task now!

IMG_1223 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

The kit is old stock - original issue of 1989, with old catalogs, etc. Yellowed instructions sheet and decals. Just how I like it, lol.

IMG_1224 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

Previous one I painted in red, this one will be White Pearl!
IMG_1221 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

[potsie]

Nice choice. I love the old catalogs; I dreamed about and lusted after the Porsche 959 RC so much as a kid!

[360spider]

Originally Posted by potsie

Nice choice. I love the old catalogs; I dreamed about and lusted after the Porsche 959 RC so much as a kid!

Thanks!
Some progress on this one.

I cut the panel lines a bit deeper, which proved to be a chore, since there are a lot of them! Initially I wanted to leave the hood clear, but it had a molding defect on it, so it also got primer and ready for paint.

IMG_1232 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

IMG_1229 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

Chassis was primed with some addition of gray primer to make a bit darker than the body:

IMG_1227 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

[360spider]

Not much interest in this one it seems, but the show must go on!

I ave painted the body. Paiting model cars white is a very special skill set, which I totally lost. Last time I painted a model white was 18-20 years ago, and now I remember why I didn't do it for such a long time - you can't see the color going on the surface! So easy to overdo it or not put enough paint!

Pearl turned out magnificent, though. Can't really see on the pictures as the grain is too fine, but I mixed Tamiya White Pearl with flat white, and that made the grain just perfect for the scale.

Clear turned out just ok - I think i mixed in a bit more thinner than I usually do - got a couple of spots that need to be polished out.

DSC_0527 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

DSC_0525 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

DSC_0523 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

DSC_0519 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

DSC_0516 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

DSC_0514 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

[ulap1]

Do not worry, Alex, many forum readers follow your builds. I am very happy you are back and show us your amazing skills.
You are right, white is difficult to put on model. In my case I rather use black primer, it helps me to see if my white top color covers well or I need more coats.
You mentioned you mixed matt and pearl white. Does it mean you decanted the paints from cans, mixed them and use your airbrush?

[360spider]

Originally Posted by ulap1

Do not worry, Alex, many forum readers follow your builds. I am very happy you are back and show us your amazing skills.
You are right, white is difficult to put on model. In my case I rather use black primer, it helps me to see if my white top color covers well or I need more coats.
You mentioned you mixed matt and pearl white. Does it mean you decanted the paints from cans, mixed them and use your airbrush?

Yes, decanted, mixed, airbrushed. I have not used a paint can for forever, I don't think I would be good at painting straight from the can!

Does white color covers darker primers though? I always felt that if you want to paint lighter color, you need to use white primer.

[ulap1]

You need white/light primer when your top color is yellow, orange, red or other color which does not cover well. However, regular white covers very well and when black primer is used, you can clearly see if you need more white layers or not. But I am not sure if this apply to pearl white as well

[MPWR]

Ooooo, love it!!

Definitely a favourite of mine. And I don't know that I've ever seen this kit built up. I have one also, of course. I've just never managed to pick a colour for it. I'd been thinking pearl yellow, perhaps...? Dunno- and unfortunately I don't have any pearl yellow paint in my stash.

Looking forward to seeing how it comes out in pearl white. When I've done white bodies before, I've had good experiences spraying white over normal grey primer. But I'd fear that trying white over black would require a great big thick coat to make it opaque enough to avoid the otherwise inevitable grey tint.

Good to see that you're doing well, my friend- or at least well enough to build. I've been waiting a month for the weather here to warm up enough to do some painting. Still not there yet, but getting closer. I have Hasegawa's Lamborghini Miura Teed up soon as it gets there. Figure the WX in TX would have you painting sooner.

Meanwhile, it's saturday night in Tokyo. According to the Asahi Shinbun, the empty freeways are attracting the street racer crowd, attempting timed power laps of the city. Ever see Wangan Midnight? Yeah, it's happening. And somehow I find that inspiring. Where did I put that Skyline?

[360spider]

Originally Posted by MPWR

Ooooo, love it!!

Definitely a favourite of mine. And I don't know that I've ever seen this kit built up. I have one also, of course. I've just never managed to pick a colour for it. I'd been thinking pearl yellow, perhaps...? Dunno- and unfortunately I don't have any pearl yellow paint in my stash.

Looking forward to seeing how it comes out in pearl white. When I've done white bodies before, I've had good experiences spraying white over normal grey primer. But I'd fear that trying white over black would require a great big thick coat to make it opaque enough to avoid the otherwise inevitable grey tint.

Good to see that you're doing well, my friend- or at least well enough to build. I've been waiting a month for the weather here to warm up enough to do some painting. Still not there yet, but getting closer. I have Hasegawa's Lamborghini Miura Teed up soon as it gets there. Figure the WX in TX would have you painting sooner.

Meanwhile, it's saturday night in Tokyo. According to the Asahi Shinbun, the empty freeways are attracting the street racer crowd, attempting timed power laps of the city. Ever see Wangan Midnight? Yeah, it's happening. And somehow I find that inspiring. Where did I put that Skyline?

Haha, Andy waxing poetic...yes my friend, the weather in Texas is a balmy 91 today, and I have no problem painting - except for that stupid wind!

But hey, this is my 4th model I'm building since April 1st, and let me tell ya - its great to be back and I'm on a roll!

[360spider]

Chassis was not very complex to mask, so I did that and painted the front arches and belly pans black:





Where it got a bit tough was masking the body and all those little pieces, but in the end, it turned out fantastic:





Really like the contrast of pearl white and black!

[360spider]

Cleaned up small bits, painted in base colors:





Detail painted engine parts:



And assembled the engine. Even OOB it looks great, Tamiya did a good job on this.

[sysqo]

nice and clean, good work!

[360spider]

Originally Posted by sysqo

nice and clean, good work!

Thank you!

Another update - engine is in place:

IMG_1347 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

Painted all suspension bits:

IMG_1344 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

IMG_1343 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

Front suspension assembled:

DSC_0583 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

Rear as well:

DSC_0582 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

Completed chassis:

DSC_0588 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

DSC_0589 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

Wheels are also done:

DSC_0597 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

Wheels are a bit wobbly, but overall look fine:

DSC_0578 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

Assembled top part of the engine:

DSC_0591 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

And then the mock up to check the stance and overall fit of everything:

DSC_0558 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

DSC_0556 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

DSC_0552 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

DSC_0559 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

DSC_0562 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

DSC_0566 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

DSC_0574 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

[madonion48]

Finally some good old classic stuff.

I love this model, I hoped you'll change the wheels, as I feel that this model deserves some great rims.

Following, as I have one also to build and your builds are always so clean.

[360spider]

Originally Posted by madonion48

Finally some good old classic stuff.

I love this model, I hoped you'll change the wheels, as I feel that this model deserves some great rims.

Following, as I have one also to build and your builds are always so clean.

Thank you! I can change the rims later - but this is a build for another website box-stock competition, so has to be using all stock parts. AS with all tamiya kits, wheel swap is super easy after the model is done.