Classic Japanese Sports GT duo

[mattbacon]

A pair of the finest Japanese sports cars -- either one you'd love to own, but only one costs the best part of a million dollars. Both excellent-looking curbside Hasegawa kits. Tamiya spray for the bodies: Racing White and Maroon (actually chestnut brown...)





They're quite hard to photograph together, since the camera likes to assume that the Toyota is white (it's actually pale cream), and exposing for both dark brown and almost white in the same image is taxing, especially in artificial light.


Wheels in Zero Paints graphite grey with bright silver highlights. The tyre tread diameter is the same, but the 240Z has much smaller wheels/deeper tyres...

The interiors are under way, but they are both a symphony in blacks... though the 2000GT has some rather cool rosewood veneer highlights...

bestest,
M.

[Tompidom]

Great pair! I like the wheels.

[derekb350z]

Nice! look forward to this build. Definitely my two favorite Japanese sports cars.

[mattbacon]

Thanks, gentlemen! My friend Duncan had a properly "breathed on" Samuri 240Z for a few years after university, and he was forever heading up to somewhere near Silverstone to get the cylinder head ported and polished, or hotter cams, or some other esoteric fine-tuning. Fantastic car, and my word, did it go quick... I wonder where it is now?

Anyway, back in the miniature world, more stuff that's not so easy to photograph...



Did I mention that there's lots of black? ;-P I'm trying to get some variety using different "shades" of black and very dark grey, and different degrees of shiny, to represent the various black leather/plastic/fabrics in the cabins. There's a lot of vinyl in the Z. In the 2000GT there's some leather and that rather nice "birds-eye maple" (so they say...). But the seat ribs are breathable fabric, hence the "NATO Black" matt finish.



Getting the decal to sit over all the switches, knobs and holes was a bit of a "wing and a prayer" job, but at least it's tough and responds well to setting solutions. The instruments were applied to some plastic card, and then punched out, so that I had something controllable to try to get into the bottom of the deep recesses. On the 240Z, I just punched them out of the decal sheet, having learned that the decals don't adhere too well to bare plastic the hard way...


Two wooden steering wheels -- Vallejo "Dark Flesh" overpainted with Tamiya Clear Orange for the (vaguely) natural wood effect.


...meanwhile, the Z is getting its distinctive body kit fitted while the 2000GT is drying in the paint shop after the black trim around the "greenhouse" has been applied.

Slow progress, but moving forward, at least!

bestest,
M.

[madonion48]

Very interesting project. I will follow this.

Please post more about the 2000GT (fitting etc) as I have this kit and I want to do it in the future.

[mattbacon]

Lots of detail work going on, so progress is rather slow...


That's the 2000GT dash complete


...and this is the Zs


And finally a bit of "compare and contrast"

It shouldn't be long now before the two interiors go together...

bestest,
M.

[mattbacon]

Slow progress is beginning to pay off, now...





That's the 2000GT chassis completed. In this one, they have you build the running gear and then the cabin on top...





...whereas the 240Z gets the cabin built first, and the running gear after that.




I couldn't resist a trial run...

The slightly wobbly edges on the black are all going to be covered by BMF, have no fear...

bestest,
M.

[mattbacon]

This is the underneath of the 240Z. I decided too use the double exhaust tailpipes instead of the single as instructed, because the reference picture I have clearly shows the double pipes.



...and this is the rather simpler 2000GT. The textures is moulded in the kit -- very nicely, I think.



Compare and contrast...




Each has its own clear "style", and era... which you may recognise from Japanese hi-fis of the period!

bestest,
M.

[mattbacon]

Here's the workbench tonight:



Both chassis are complete. The 240Z is still lacking its wheels. I'm worried about anything that might possibly get in the way of getting it into the body, since test fitting suggests that its both tricky and a "once and for all" moment. Fortunately the 2000GT is more forgiving - although of course that does result in an under nose panel that's to be added right at the end. Most of the join is under brightwork, though...




The Z is progressing, with most of the body fittings added bar the wing mirrors and wipers, which I'd almost certainly knock off.




The rest of the time has been spent BMFing and panel-lining the 2000GT. Looking at photos, I decided it really needed the lines emphasising, and I've tried various solutions. This is 50% neutral grey ink, though you wouldn't know to look at it, would you? The vents in front of the windscreen are pure black, so you can see the contrast.





...and because the body fits easily, I can do this. It IS a cool car. Time to read the article in the latest Hemmings "Sports & Exotic Car", which arrived this morning... It's also very SMALL, as you can see in comparison to the Z in the first photo.

Back to the BMF, starting on the Z tomorrow...

bestest,
M.

[mattbacon]

It feels like I'm on the home straight now...



The 2000GT is together, and the 240Z is very nearly so (I just want to give the mirror time to set solid, so it doesn't fall off irretrievably when I mate the chassis and body.... as I said, I think once it's together, it's staying together!)





It was very handy having the Hemmings Sports and Exotic magazine to read last night -- I noticed that in an excellent drive-by photo that the "grille" is only chrome on the front edge, while the rest of it is steel grey. Painting it immediately made the kit look less "toy-like". 90% of that hideous seam is going to be under the chrome bumper, and he rest will be carefully blended. I don't think it'll vanish completely, but it will be a tough spot...





The BMF on the 240Z is not so curvaceous as on the 2000GT, but I'm glad to get it over with! The decal for the rear window demister is actually very easy to work with, and rather clearer than it looks in this pic! I masked the headlight covers, ad painted the frames using Humbrol "Chrome Silver" from a rattle can -- it's good stuff!

With a bit of luck, I think these two should be finished tomorrow -- and then what? I'll give you a clue: it's going to be another "two-fer". The cars are pretty radically different in most respects, but they share a common heritage with this build...

bestest,
M.

[mattbacon]

OK...I think this is about it for the building. A bit more cleaning up to do yet (it's amazing where the fingermarks appear, even when you're wearing cotton gloves to handle the darn things), and then the decals and number plates, and they'll be done.





The "metal transfers" were a pain in the neck -- there was no glue on them that you'd notice, so a bit of careful use of tiny spots of superglue was needed to get them to stick. They all have decals to be laid over the top. The mirrors are really tricky, since there's no positive location on the fender tops at all. They're painted in "Gunship Grey", with chrome rims and metal transfer mirrors, so there's quite a bit of work in those teeny-tiny parts. Formula 560 Canopy Glue to the rescue to hold them in place.






...it's the cutting mat that's wobbly, not the suspension! This time, the metal transfers actually stuck properly, and the mirrors have tiny mounting holes drilled through the fenders for a positive location with the smallest possible amount of superglue gel.




...you do have to wonder how much use those wing mirrors would be, especially on the 240Z -- they're a very long way forward, and must have been very hard to see anything in at all, especially if they were vibrating a bit with the engine at full chat...

Time to figure out what plates to put on them -- I'm pretty sure that 2000 GT is perfectly good UK plate, but not so sure about MB Z402G... especially since it's got to go on a "squarer" plate, which will break it as MBZ 402G... Decisions, decisions...

bestest,
M.

[OWhite3]

Matt, they both look great! Nothing against your build, but the Z is begging for a bigger tire and wheel combo.

[Veyron]

Great looking duo!