1990 Nissan 300-ZX GTP Busby/BFG

[Scale-Master]

The first 300-ZX GTP to be campaigned by a team other than Nissan.
1990 issue by Starter. Resin/multi-media 1/43rd scale kit.
These are the "full instructions".

The paint scheme is done entirely with decals.

First step was to clean up the casting lines and while most of them were relatively fine the ones in the inner front fenders were huge, about 0.060 on one side and 0.080 on the other. Some of the panel lines were weak so they were rescribed, and then most of the others were done to match. Some of the scoop openings were filled in so they were carved out.

The PE brass rear fins didn't fit well so I made a tool out of the brass fret the parts came on and cut a couple grooves into the body.

It looks pretty ratty now, but a few light coats of primer should remedy that.

[freakray]

nice start. interesting little kit of a rarely seen car.

[Scale-Master]

Some parts look like an easy fit, but actually can take a couple hours of trimming to fit properly. Plus if I installed this brass rear panel in the groove as shown in the "instructions", it would have made the rear tires impossible to install. A good amount of the rear inner body had to be carefully trimmed away. All part of the fun of these old cottage industry kits.

[Scale-Master]

The side skirts are PE brass but oversized. Instead of cutting the height down I channeled the body. I also notched and reshaped the leading edges and shortened the rear.

[malscar]

I build quite a number of the Starter kits. I suggest you test the decals as they do shatter a lot. Maybe put the Starter logo in water first to see what it does.

[Scale-Master]

Good advice for sure Malscar.
That is unfortunately par for the course with these. I've built a couple hundred of them and still have well over a hundred kits. Surprisingly most have had useable decals. The fluorescent ones seem to be the most troublesome.

Luckily (I hope) I do have a back up set of decals for this and some others, but no worries if they are bad too.
I run and am the artist for Scale-Master Decals. I'll just make replacements if need be.

[Scale-Master]

The rear main wing was warped pretty badly. I use a lighter to heat it up and straighten it out. (I know, I should have taken a before shot.) It's not perfect but it will do. Since most of the warp was on one end I cut that end off to make the wing the correct width and moved the recessed center mounting point on the underside to compensate.


It doesn't look too bad once installed. I also added the little flanges to the smaller wing element were it meets the fins; more for strength on the model, but it's on the real one too.

[Scale-Master]

A few light coats of Tamiya Pure White were shot yesterday and it's time to start decaling.

[Scale-Master]

T/A Radials? Oh well, the letter style is off too… At least the brass wheels build up nicely.

[Scale-Master]

The interior is typical of these kits; simple one piece affair with a steering wheel.

[Scale-Master]

I got a few of the decals on it. Some are better to be cut into a few pieces to ward off potential cracking. At least that way you can control the breaks. I also installed the headlights and covers.

[Scale-Master]

All of the decals have been applied… Only needed a little bit of touching up.

[Scale-Master]

A nice coat of clear evens everything out…

[Nissanmotorsport]

Looks good so far