Datsun 240z Safari Car 1/12 Tamiya
Discussion
As a teenage modeller in the 70s I'd always lusted after this model but couldn't afford it on my paper round wages.
I did eventually buy it but by then work and real cars were the thing and I never finished building it, grinding to a halt when it came to painting the body.
This version was an Ebay purchase around 15 years go, complete and unopened, and not cheap even then, I think I paid around £120 for it.
Everything still looks perfect, even the decals look OK but time will tell.
I'd always intended to build it into a garage diorama, so also acquired these at some point:
And again from Ebay, a half built - well almost complete, version that I'd intended to cannibalise for additional spare parts etc in my garage dio:
In my new found modelling enthusiasm, this week I dusted it all down and had a good look at what I'd got.
I thought I'd make a start by cleaning up the half built version as it was filthy, in a very musty smelling box, and I wanted to see how much was useable.
240z car breaking...
Turns out it is complete bar half a front strut and spring, and given that it was probably built almost 50 years ago, in pretty good condition.
Whoever built it did a good job, the moving parts all work, and everything came apart easily without lashings of adhesive everywhere.
Apart from the two figures, nothing seems to have been painted, as the parts on this kit are generally moulded in the correct colours.
This is a bonus for my plans as no old paint removal should be needed.
It all went in the sink for a good clean up, the decals disintegrated easily too, as you would expect.
Apart from a couple of easily repaired cracks the shell is in great condition.
I had planned to use the wheels and tyres, engine and a few other bits for my garage dio, and cut the front wings and rear arches off the shell to use along with the doors and bonnet as spares in the garage.
However, I'm thinking it's too good for that, it could easily be built back into a good complete model.
So my plan is evolving into building this as a newly painted bare shell to sit alongside the other car, part built with some bits fitted and the rest around it ready to go. Maybe adding some modern details such as a full roll cage, as if it were a newly built historic racer type of thing.
The brand new kit will be built pretty much OOB as a restored rally car, as it would have been in the 70s. I have found some good reference photos on the interweb to use.
I'm going to build the dismantled one first so I can use it as a test for painting etc before I start the new one.
So...it was a big project to begin with and it's suddenly got bigger, it won't be quick and might get interrupted, but I'll endeavour to post progress.
I did eventually buy it but by then work and real cars were the thing and I never finished building it, grinding to a halt when it came to painting the body.
This version was an Ebay purchase around 15 years go, complete and unopened, and not cheap even then, I think I paid around £120 for it.
Everything still looks perfect, even the decals look OK but time will tell.
I'd always intended to build it into a garage diorama, so also acquired these at some point:
And again from Ebay, a half built - well almost complete, version that I'd intended to cannibalise for additional spare parts etc in my garage dio:
In my new found modelling enthusiasm, this week I dusted it all down and had a good look at what I'd got.
I thought I'd make a start by cleaning up the half built version as it was filthy, in a very musty smelling box, and I wanted to see how much was useable.
240z car breaking...
Turns out it is complete bar half a front strut and spring, and given that it was probably built almost 50 years ago, in pretty good condition.
Whoever built it did a good job, the moving parts all work, and everything came apart easily without lashings of adhesive everywhere.
Apart from the two figures, nothing seems to have been painted, as the parts on this kit are generally moulded in the correct colours.
This is a bonus for my plans as no old paint removal should be needed.
It all went in the sink for a good clean up, the decals disintegrated easily too, as you would expect.
Apart from a couple of easily repaired cracks the shell is in great condition.
I had planned to use the wheels and tyres, engine and a few other bits for my garage dio, and cut the front wings and rear arches off the shell to use along with the doors and bonnet as spares in the garage.
However, I'm thinking it's too good for that, it could easily be built back into a good complete model.
So my plan is evolving into building this as a newly painted bare shell to sit alongside the other car, part built with some bits fitted and the rest around it ready to go. Maybe adding some modern details such as a full roll cage, as if it were a newly built historic racer type of thing.
The brand new kit will be built pretty much OOB as a restored rally car, as it would have been in the 70s. I have found some good reference photos on the interweb to use.
I'm going to build the dismantled one first so I can use it as a test for painting etc before I start the new one.
So...it was a big project to begin with and it's suddenly got bigger, it won't be quick and might get interrupted, but I'll endeavour to post progress.
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