Wow, I don't know what I just got myself into.

[kitefighter]

Speaking as someone who collects diecasts because I neither have the skills, time of patience for kit building (though that hasn't stopped me buying kits that I hope to build one day) I have a diecast model of the Nissan Skyline R33 GT-R by AutoArt. (Actually, I have diecasts of all Nissan Skyline GT-Rs in 1/18 scale).

Buying a diecast is not the solution if you want a Nismo 400R since:
1. Nobody makes one that's a high end model in scale 1/18. (1/43 is available by Ebbro but rare and expensive and tiny compared to a 1/24).
2. AutoArt's 1/18 R33 GT-R is a fantastic model but it is around four to five times more expensive than the plastic kit you have.
3. You've already started so you may as well finish. I have a lot of kits that I haven't started so well done for getting down to it. I've seen modellers on this forum build a kit in a weekend, so of course you can build it before June 22nd.

[blubaja]

Your 1st model will never turn out well. Attitude or not. But you have determination. But you need more patience than anything else. As everyone is saying, it takes many, many years to learn how to not f up a model. And still, to this day, very skilled people can run into a glitch. You'll learn more 1st hand from building many models over time. Not, by someone holding your hand through every step. And you WILL appreciate diecasts one day man lol.
Also, are the Nissan Leafs rated in KiloWatts in the US? That would make some sense...

[blubaja]

Originally Posted by kitefighter

2. AutoArt's 1/18 R33 GT-R is a fantastic model but it is around four to five times more expensive than the plastic kit you have.

Considering all the supplies you need, it might equal out lol.
OP, if this girl cares about you, she should be happy with you buying her anything. And if you want the model to turn out great for her, just take your time to learn and not do it rushed in a few weeks. Good luck man, look forward to your progress.

[La Bomba]

Thanks heaps for all the advice you guys have provided. I am looking at buying some supplies over the next few days and just telling the girl i will need a couple of months to give her the present.

I have compiled a shopping list of what I am going to buy
-Acrylic Paints (Tamiya) for the small details
-Metallic Black Tamiya Spray Paint and Gray Tamiya Primer
-Tamiya fine brush set
-Tamiya Fine sandpaper ( 2 x #400, 1x #600, 2x #1000). Hopefully these are the correct ones?
-I have a university assignment due on the 11th so I most likely wont start until after I have finished that.
-My first step will be to sand the body to remove those mold lines and apply two coats of primer which I will let set for 3 days.
-Then I will spray can the two mist coats of metallic black onto the chassis (going for a mean agressive skyline look) followed by a wet coat (4-6 inches away from the surface). and I will show my results.

[potsie]

Hey mate, your shopping list seems about right. Not sure if you know, but you will not be able to get the spray paints mailed to you as Australia Post will not ship flammables. So you might need a trip to a hobby store after all. Try Hobbyco, either at QVB or Rhodes.

One more tip - I would primer everything, not just the body.

[Big fat fatty]

nobody seems to have noticed that the kit you have isn't a 400R, if it is then the box art is wrong, the whole bodykit on the 400R is completely different, so it'll take even more work than you expected to get it to look right. Good luck with the build though dude, let us know how you get on.

the real thing:
400r.jpg

[hirofkd]

You'll also need another set of Tamiya sand paper (1200, 1500 and 2000)
in order to get rid of scratches, or they will most likely show up after
applying the base coat.

I also recommend that you get a can of semi-gloss or mat black (TS-29 or
TS-6) for chassis, suspension and even some of the interior parts. You
can paint many parts while they are are still on the tree to save time.
Also, you'll probably need gloss clear (TS-13) to seal the metallic
black before polishing and waxing.

I don't know your experience with spray cans, but just in case, scroll
down and locate the first MPEG video in here:
http://www.tamiyausa.com/articles/fe...article-id=289
Watch the amount of paint and the speed of hand motion. A car body has
several sides (like left, right, front/rear bumpers, hood, roof and
trunk), so keep switching sides, so the paint won't run.

But before anything, the fundamental question is...is your girl-friend a
gear-head? Does she own a Skyline? Will she really appreciate a model
car? Generally, girls like to have the "experience" of having a nice
dinner, or receiving pretty jewelries, bags and shoes etc. Your
"effort" won't really be important if you give something "you" want
to give, instead of what "she" would like to have (your mindset must be
she-centric, not me-centric).

If you still need to show your effort, you also have to give her a
bouquet of flowers. (It's a must!) Of course, that won't be necessary if
she's one of those who hate gender stereotypes, allergic to flowers, or
a gear-head who would rather drool over a set shiny tools, instead of
pretty bags and shoes.

Good luck!

[rsxse240]

You guys need to watch out for those crazy Austrailian Nissan tuners. They do some crazy stuff now!

As for building a model, if you know how to build an engine, you can build a model. after all, an engine is nothing but a diecast model, correct? But it is by far much more involved if you want your model to be outstanding.

You can use one kind of glue starting out, Prime everything lightly, it helps with the final finish of your paint job. You don't have to sand anything if you don't want, but it helps.

Test fit everything. remember that the part is going to have paint which will alter the way things fit. after it's painted remember to lightly scrape the paint for fitment and adhesion (this usually isn't a problem until you get into custom stuff.)

That should be enough to get you started. Just keep browsing the faq section and watching other's build threads. If you have a question of how someone did something, be sure to PM that person (personal conversations go better this way) instead of cluttering up their build thread or digging up old threads.

[La Bomba]

thanks heaps hirofkd and rsxse240...much appreciated. Well the story is is that I told her I was buying some model cars, and she was like ohhhh I wishh you could build something for my birthday =)! And I played dumb and was like oh sorry no I won't be doing that...and she got all disappointed. So my plan is to suprise her. I'm 19, shes 18 btw and anyway all her friends etc would be buying her make up, jewlerry, clothes so I thought I would be different so that what I give her will stand out and she will be more grateful...and being able to see the evident effort I have put in. And yeah whenever I am cruising with her in my car she always points out Skylines, or Supra's, or RX7's (theyre more common here in Australia than the USA) so I thought hmmm, why not build a mean metallic black skyline for her. =P and yes she loves flowers so I am thinking of a rose neatly put in the model box set . Although looks like I will be delivering her present late haha.

[Wishmaster]

Maybe just give her the kit, with the promiss you will take your time to build it as good as you can with all the help you can get here .

I'm still tying to build a Volkswagen bus (the hippy kind ) for my best friend. Luckily she is patient and I actually did buy her a diecast for now as a placeholder.

If she really likes you and the car, she would want a nicely build one instead from you of a rushed ruined one, right?

[La Bomba]

Yes I told her my present would take a couple of months to deliver. BTW just realised its actually a Nismo Skyline GTR S-Tune R33