The Godzirra - R32 Skyline GTR (Fujimi)

R

Ryko

Guest
Hey guys! Long time lurker here.

Quick intro - from Croatia, 27, did some model planes back in my elementary school days, F-14's and F-117's, got that from my father who build some ships in his day, and my grandpa who built the ship in a bottle while he was sailing.

But that didn't hold me too long so I dropped it. Fast forward to the winter of 2011, I was looking at some stuff on eBay, and somehow stumbled upon this guy who sold 1/24 scale cars. I thought about it for a second, saw what cars he offered and decided to give it a go.

I chose the R32 GTR because I want to build all the cars I always wanted to own. I didn't know difference from die cast and resin...still don't and so I order the Tamiya model.

When I ordered the car, I saw the option to order the wheels. BBS LM 18" seemed like a nice fit for this car. Before I even bought the car, I knew what kind of look I want, color, wheels etc.

I was surprised by the big brakes I got - but I was disappointed by the lack of lip on the wheel. I don't know how to change the offset on them I don't dare cutting the center of the wheel, I don't see how I can make it perfectly round with my knife. So I'll settle with this look.

Now, when I got the car I didn't have any cement, tools, nothing. I didn't know what tools I need. So I went and trial-assembled it with some sticky tape

The BBS's were ridiculously huge out of the box...and made the car look dumb. I didn't know what to do so I just put the car away until I get more info on tools and all that...because without tools, this is the best I could make the car look

So, last week I went to the shop and got some basic stuff. Tamiya cement, super-thin cement, flat black and metal gray color. I didn't buy thinners. So - this week I decided to assemble the chassis.

The regular wheels fit nice, but the car looks plain...so the decision was made - make the BBS big wheels fit under (or as close to as possible) the fenders.

This is how it looks with BBS's out of the box. Ridiculous.

Removing the spacers

Grinding the struts (the hood of the car falls on this part, so grinding it down makes the front of the car sit a bit lower)

Much better.

Satisfied. To make these big wheels fit inside the fenders I sacrificed few things...the "spacers" were cut down and I cut off the tie rod on the steering knuckle. So, the car won't have steering. But I have no problems with that.

Next stop - get some thinner and detail the interior. I'll paint the car in my friends garage with a "real" compressor and I'll use actual car paint. I know the color I want, but I'm still thinking should I go with metallic / flake or not. I don't like how the big flakes look on 1/24 car.

Love this hobby. Already thinking about the next build.
 
T

treyzx10r

Guest
Nice fix on the rims! Love the GTR wish they imported them here to the States. Looking forward to seeing more updates!
 
R

Ryko

Guest
Since I can't work on the car (didn't buy all the equipment necessary) I'll ask some basic questions. The next stop in my supercar adventures :D is the interior. I have a couple of questions, just to know what should I buy next time I go to the hoby shop (which is almost 2 hours away so I need to get everything, I wouldn't like to forget something and drive again :smiling3: )

- how should I glue the decals on the interior (and exterior after I get the painjob done).

- could I use "regular" brushes, because the brushes in the hobby shop are pretty expensive, $5 for a piece...

- what thinner can i use for Tamiya acrylic? Any alternative (household item maybe?) to Tamiya brand?

- using spray paint for the interior, any good? Do I need to primer the interior?

and finally

- how to color the tail lights? brush or air?
 
C

Curtis

Guest
Looking good so far mate, love the choice of kit, I wouldn't mind getting hold of one myself, although I'm not quite that good at modelling yet to be making modifications! I think you can get just everyday paint thinners from your hardware store to thin enamels, you get more for less cost.

Nice wheels too, and love the brembo brakes.
 
R

Ryko

Guest
Brakes will be used on another car, but not on this one. I grinded them to max, but these wheels cant accept an inch of offset, I want the car to look good and my personal opinion (taken from my own full scale car experience :D ) - color and stance are the most important. I can't have tyres sticking out :D And the BBS is a pretty "dense" design, so basically the brakes would be unnoticeable. I'll save them for some big wheel 5 spoke thing :D
 
R

Ryko

Guest
Spent some time on the net lookin for different techniques and build threads...saw people painting tail lights with shapries. Took the sharpies I had at home, tried, nothing. Barely leaves any color on the plastic and can be wiped off with a finger.

Then I tried this - a piece of red paper (cardboard, from some pencil box) behind the clear plastic. It looks flat, but I think it could work if I made the paper mask according to the actual tail lights (amber where amber needs to be, clear and red).

Im looking for another scale car I would build underneath this one. :D
 
C

Curtis

Guest
The paper idea is a good one - looks good and very neat to me.

I use Tamiya clear red/orange enamels for the lights on my projects.
 
R

Ryko

Guest
Thanks!

Question about colors - I decided to give my first go with Tamiya spray paint. Now, they have a selection of colors - but can I mix them to achieve some different effect?

For instance can I take purple color for base and spray clear white pearl over it?
 
R

Ryko

Guest
didn't have much time lately...but I did my first upholstery today :D one random carton box and a sharpie knife, pinch of grinded pencil dust, hair spray and black pencil...
 
C

Curtis

Guest
Brilliant idea, looks very realistic!

Some of these models really do show me up haha!
 
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