Amuse 350z Super Leggera Conversion

[tuned.by.twenty]

Seeing as how this is my first post here, I'll start with a brief intro before I get to the model in question. After spending a lot of time on AF browsing some of the incredible projects here, I decided I should join. I've been building for a few years now, and have a couple dozen projects on the go, ranging from Ferraris to Hondas, most of which are not box-stock.
Some of you may know me already-on all of my other forums I go by the name 'Twenty' (my nickname), but it turns out it was already taken here. The screenname I picked is actually the name of my business so as to avoid having a totally unrelated alias. It's something I run in my spare time, producing model car parts and selling kits and assorted oddments. And by spare time I mean the time not spent on my models, model railroad, studying for school, or travelling with family. Busy...

Anyways, enough rambling. Seeing as how I'm making good progress on this particular project, I decided it'd be a good candidate for my first topic here. It started as a Tamiya 350z, but is being changed into this, but only on the outside:

Here are a few pictures of the scale version for now-more when my internet speeds up.
The hood has been cut up a bit,

rear lip started (artistic license used here),

exhaust changed to center-exit,

and some painting has occured as of late-this week to be specific. The interior will have three main colours, all from Tamiya rattle-cans.



In addition, the chassis has been painted white. This morning the dash and interior tub received their second colours, so when the tape comes off assembly can start.
I think this post is long enough for now, so I'll take a break from typing and finish getting my account set-up.

[rockinanko]

Firstly, welcome to AF!

i see you're mod-delor too, never appreciate out-of-the-box type..hehe!
this is a very good mod to start with i must say. subject is proposeful & wild, good mod theme!

i'm no fan of nissan or any makes but ferrari & i'm a mod lover, so you know you'll have my attention on this one.

i presume you'll be using the rims in the pic? is the roof glass type or carbon laid? you did a good move on those bonnet lourves...simply cut the whole piece out & then do the smaller vents, i'll learn this here...

keep posting whenever you have any updates, there's no such thing as 'too long' a post can be...it's your own diary of the car building that you're writing!

i ever did a tamiya 350Z before, but i really hate the front fixed pose wheels, hope you can do something about it...make it posable in all directions.

good luck & enjoy your stay!!!

[DerXL]

Nice start on an interesting subject.
I'm not really into "regular" cars (more the F1 and rally type), but find this interesting nevertheless.
Always love to see how others cope with solving mod-deler's problems.

I'll definately be following this one. And as Rockinanko said, your post can never be too long (as long as there are enough pics in it...).

Oh, and the interior parts look already very promising !

[tonioseven]

20; a cool number in my book (7 is better! ) Welcome man!! Good to see you here!

[tuned.by.twenty]

Thanks for the replies guys!
rockinanko:If I can find a scale version of the wheels I will be using them-in my eyes they are simply gorgeous. The roof is carbon fiber. Whether or not it is entirely cf, or the stock roof with an overlay is unknown to me. As for the wheels, I haven't given much thought into posing them-I'll see as I go along.

DerXL:Thanks! Tomorrow the tape comes off of the dash and tub, so pictures will be coming of them too. I still have to paint the small details like the shifter and steering wheel, but overall the interior is coming together nicely. I also hope to round up some flocking and carbon decals to further detail it.

tonioseven: Thanks! I figured it was high-time I joined.

Here are a few more pictures of the 1:1 to feast your eyes on for now, until I get some new pictures taken and loaded.

[Veyron]

Nice project...hope it goes well.

[tpliquid]

those LM-R are soo damn sexy!!1

[xpeed]

Originally Posted by tuned.by.twenty

Those Titanium Amuse exhausts are damn expensive. $4000 for just the exhaust and that's without the piping.

[Mojo_stevo]

I've never really been drawn to the 350z, but that is pretty awesome, I love white/black combo on a car, and that looks terrific. I can't wait to see how yours turns out.

[tuned.by.twenty]

Update time. After going through my various reference photos, and remembering just how good-looking the real car is, I'm changing directions. I was going to build a similar version using the Tamiya 350Z Track edition kit, but that plan has gone out the window. It looks like I'll be picking up the Nismo version kit and instead modifying that body and make an exact copy of the 1:1. Plus, I'll get the new headlights and taillights I'll need. The only possible downside is all the unneeded parts that'll be left over. (Anyone need 350Z interior and chassis parts? Seriously-there'll be a lot left over.)

But, until I get the Nismo kit, I'll be continuing with the interior and chassis, since the parts in the new kit are exactly the same.

The center console has now been painted. I have never used so much tape and paper to mask a part before... I apologize to any environmentalists here.



I couldn't resist a mock-up of the interior, to see how it'll all look once completed.



So far, so good. I'm pleased with how this is coming along. Next up the interior will be detailed, and all of the small parts that remain to be painted will be.
C & C welcome as always.

[Lownslow]

this ride is gonna be insane

[Mojo_stevo]

ROLF at the Tamiya paint label. What do juvenile modelers paint with?

This is coming along swimmingly.

[rsxse240]

Originally Posted by Mojo_stevo

ROLF at the Tamiya paint label. What do juvenile modelers paint with?

Juvenile modelers use water colors and crayons with white glue, and tape! lol

[MidMazar]

Sweet, the rims that come with the fujimi f430 se, i think they are fujimi bbs re wheels are the closest match. Just make a lip for them, or you can try scaleproduction.de bbs lm resin wheels. Keep us posted.

[tuned.by.twenty]

Thanks for the replies everyone!
MidMazar: Thanks for the tips. I'll look into those sets of wheels and see if I can find something I like.
Update time again.
I spent a good bit of time today detailing the interior, and it's coming along pretty well. I wanted to do more decalling, but the plumber was here today and our water was shut off... Oh well.
The dashboard was given a moderate smoke wash along the center console to highlight the faint panel lines, and the smaller buttons were lightly drybrushed to help them stand out. The three lower dials were painted with a toothpick and needle.

The door panels have been fitted with handles, and decalling and detailling has helped bring them alive. I also just noticed that one decal is slightly crooked. Crud. The upper silver handle on the left panel was a pain-for some reason I went OCD (look it up) and spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to get it to look good. Maybe the paint and microset fumes were getting to me at this point...

The speaker decals were also put in-microset is recommended here since the decals need to conform to a slightly convex surface.


That's all for now. Next up some of the smaller parts will be prepped for primer and paint.