Nissan Skyline Group A race cars × 3

[potsie]

I have completed the rear blue portion of the Fujimi HR31. As with the red front, I masked and sprayed the stripes as well. The decals I have, and the newer ones available, require blue decals over the rear spoiler which was never an option for me; far too many complex curves. Clearly the painted stripes front and rear are not as fine or detailed as the decals, but this was my least-worst option. It will be okay on the shelf.

Masked:


Painted:


Unmasked:


Decals next, though I suspect that will take me a while.*

[potsie]

A quick comparison of all three body shells painted and ready for decals.

[potsie]

After a couple of hours tonight I completed the decals on the DR30. As stated before, these decals came from Patto's Place which specialises in decals for slot cars. They do have a great range however, especially for Australian Touring cars. The decals did not respond particularly well to application of MicroScale Decal Film, but to be fair the decals are quite old now and I think I was being a touch liberal with the Decal Film, not waiting for it to dry properly before another coat. The red/yellow stripes are the worst affected (as is clear from the photos) but they still applied okay, and some MicroSol and MicroSet got them to mostly conform around some sharps body lines. The quality of the printing was good, with clear printing for the most part and very opaque white decals; essentially no bleed through of the TS-44 blue.

The decals do not exactly match any car I could find reference photos for, but it seemed like this vehicle had subtle changes in livery in almost every race. I have applied the decals provided and opted for the Bathurst 1000 race plates. Reviewing some reference photos now, I think the roof number is incorrectly placed; photos of a car currently running in 'historics' events has the roof number as I have done, whereas photos from period suggest it was 90° clockwise to be aligned with reading from right-hans side of the car.

I am now praying to the Modelling Gods (all hail the Modelling Gods!!) that the decals will not react with MrHobby Aqueous Clear. I shall leave the model a good week now for the decals to thoroughly dry before clear coating.

[potsie]

Another couple of hours and the Gibson Motorsport HR31 has been decalled. These were perhaps the worst decals I have ever attempted to use. Almost every decal with script lettering simply fell apart, despite having been treated with decal film. I think I only managed to apply 10 decals from the RooDecal sheet. The 'Nissan' logos are from a generic sheet bought off the internet many years ago. In the end I added the 'Bridgestone' decals from the Fujimi kit sheet. They are not correct for the vehicle, but otherwise the model was starkly devoid of sponsorship. I have not been this close to simply putting a model back in the box, and putting the box in the bin, for a long time.

I think in the end this model will resemble a geniune Ginson Motorsport HR31 GTS-R from the Australian Touring Car Championship only in that it will have four wheels, the body is mostly white with some red at the front and blue at the back, and there are some Nissan logos!

[potsie]

The Hasegawa HR31 has now been decalled. The white-on-blue Calsonic livery looks great and the decals were a pleasure to work with. Conformed to the body very well with Micro Set + Sol and a little radiant heat from a halogen lamp. There are a few options in the kit for different races - I think - as there are decals for a different driver combination and some small decals not on the box-art car, but are also not called out in the instructions. Good news is I have some leftover super-cool period 'Nismo' decals.

[potsie]

Finally, a few photos of the three bodies decalled and waiting for clear. I will leave these until the weekend for the decals to dry and - hopefully - some drier and warmer weather for the clear coat application.





Now need to paint the inside of the cabin 'glass' ×3 - Hasegawa HR31 is the only one with masks - and rear light clusters where necessary. Also need to do the little pieces I often forget to the end, such as wipers, wing mirrors, etc. And the window rubbers once the clear coat is dry of course!

[potsie]

The Peter Jackson liveried DR30 is now assembled and just needs to wing mirrors and windscreen decal. I will do final photos of all three at the same time so may be a while for better photos. I think I should have used the 'low down' position for the front suspension as there is too big a gap under the wheel arches. The roll cage also looks too thin and definitely sits too low in the cabin, while the wheels and tyres are also very clearly road-spec rather than race wheels. Overall a disappointing final model given the amount of work that went into it, It will look okay buried at the back of a shelf of other models!

[potsie]

Managed to spend some time on the Fujimi HR31 as run by Gibson Motorsport in the Australian Touring Car Championship. As with the DR30, the model now just needs the wing mirrors and windscreen decal. As noted previously the RooDecals used for the livery mostly disintegrated so I hold no hope for the final decal. As for the model itself, well..... It is without doubt one of the worst kits I have built. There is a complete lack of detail to the chassis, I confirmed the 'race' interior is the same as the Fujimi R32 GT-R race kits with an HR31 dash wedged in, all the light lenses simply do not fit without extensive (fiddly) modification and now the chassis is mated to the body it is clear the front ride height is too high. If you ever have the chance to buy this kit and built it - don't. I don't know if this Fujimi kit is available anymore, but buy the Hasegawa HR31 instead. There is simply no comparison.

[potsie]

I have finished final assembly of the Hasegawa HR31 GST-R Calsonic. The last pieces of adding lights, lenses, wing mirrors etc was without fuss; a welcome change. The kit comes with excellent windows masks which is always nice. The front (especially) and rear lights are very well detailed, though only the fronts light buckets are chromed. The instructions call for the boot and rear wing to be added after the fuel filler caps are installed, the front bumper to be added after the headlight buckets and the lower front valance after the body is mated to the chassis, I, however, was able to add all these prior to painting - with only a small, invisible cut to the body under the boot - so I could paint the body as a single piece and ensure consistent colour.

All three models are now complete except to their respective windscreen decals. Hopefully these will get added tomorrow night.

[potsie]

Last update before taking individual 'completed' photos and uploading those. I added the windscreen decals to all three and the Calsonic R31 had rear wiper and bonnet/boot latches added; these will need a touch of paint once dried in place. The screen "Skyline" decal on the Gibson Motorsport HR31 thankfully only split once and straight down the middle.

Quick verdict on these three kits?

Hasegawa HR31 - An absolute pleasure to build. High level of detail with the chassis, interior and exterior. Decals are excellent. Absolutely recommend this kit to anyone.
Fujimi HR31 - The kit itself is not great. Really starting to show its age in terms of details, the interior is from the R32 GT-R Group A kit so does not really fit, the wheels are nicely detailed by clear too wide and the front ride height needs work. The RooDecals I used were terrible, though the kit-supplied decals in Calsonic livery seemed okay. If you were desperate for a Calsonic HR31 to complete a set, and could not get the Hasegawa kit, this could be made into something respectible with a bit of work.
Aoshima DR30 - This kit clearly shows its road-car origins; especially with the wheels and street tyres. Not much detail to the chassis, and althought the interior is basic it looks okay once assembled. The bonnet is a separate piece, with a clear and white molded version in the kit. No engine though, either full detail or top-half. Again, I had issues with the aftermarket decals I used but the kit supplied decals looked okay. With a bit of work this could be made into quite a nice model, and there are plenty of aftermarket options for Nissan engines.