Nissan Skyline/GT-R kit advice

[dbostream]

I am in the "Nissan Skyline/GT-R" phase of my life and is looking to add a few kits to my stash. My favorites are the R32, R34 and R35, I already own the old Tamiya R32.

I want to get an R34 and R35 too but I am not sure which kits are the best and thought you guys could help me. For the R34 I have found kits from Tamiya, Aoshima and Fujimi. Neither seem to have an engine but I am planning to get another Tamiya R32 (they are so cheap) and take the engine from that kit. As for the R35 also here there are kits from the same three manufacturers.

Anyone here have these kits if so which ones do you prefer? I guess I could go the standard route and buy the Tamiya kits but I wanted to hear your opinions first.

 

[stitchdup]

One of either hasegawa or fujimi's r32 will be in two versions soon, there is a thread about a new tool version coming out somewhere on the site. The aoshima r35 is available as a liberty walk body kit curbside as well as stock versions and there are also some race versions. The r33 i believe is only available from tamiya (i'm probably wrong on that but its the only r33 I've seen. I think the tamiya r35 could be described as curbside plus since it has and engine plate rather than a full engine but there is an aftermarket  engine available from hobby design. I think fujimi also do a 4 door r34 and a stagea (basicly a skyline wagon). If you're not worried about having full detail I dont think you can go wrong with any of these 3 manufacturers but if it was me I'd go tamiya first choice. A look on 1999.co.jp or hlj.com will let you see what the kits include as well as the instructions as some japanese kits have very poor interiors as I'm sure you know already. There are also kits of the skyline exuctive cars (think mercedes type cars) and the classics available from the first gtr in the early 70's til now, and a fujimi kit of an earlier one. 

[youpey]

i have built the tamiya r34, and i cut the half engine out of it and put in the engine from the r32 kit. basically if you cut the engine out, and leave the transmission in place on the chassis and glue the engine to it. then you need to cut the hood out and build a firewall and the engine compartment. there is an engine compartment kit, i think by aoshima, but it doesnt fit the tamiya kit. the tamiya is that much better that its worth the extra effort. by far the tamiya is the best in detail. if you try to take the engine and transmssion from the r32, it doesnt fit right and you have to cut the chassis and it looks bad. 

the one i built was done about 13 or 14 years ago or so. i can take pictures of it if you are interested. i also put the z-tune bumpers and side skirts on it. it took a ton of cutting since a lot of the stuff was molded in on the body on the z-tune.

it looks pretty good, but certainly not perfect. it took me about 1 year to build doing it for about 1 hour or so per day, nearly every day.  The biggest issue with all of it is the cutting of the hood. one slip and you essentially need to start over with a new body. i think it took me 2 or 3 tries. 

 

 

also, the r35 engine is not the same as the r34. i built the r35 kit from tamiya. it was ok, but very basic

Edited December 29, 2020 by youpey

[dbostream]

Thanks for the replies.

In the Aoshima R34 kit the hood is already a separate part so it would save me the trouble of cutting it out. But if it is lacking in detail in other areas perhaps it is better to go with the Tamiya anyway. @youpey If you are able to share a photo please do.

Checking 1999.co.jp there looks to be a quite detailed engine available on Fujimi's R35 kit and a less detailed one on the Aoshima kit.

Edited December 29, 2020 by dbostream

[youpey]

On 12/29/2020 at 9:52 AM, dbostream said:

Thanks for the replies.

In the Aoshima R34 kit the hood is already a separate part so it would save me the trouble of cutting it out. But if it is lacking in detail in other areas perhaps it is better to go with the Tamiya anyway. @youpey If you are able to share a photo please do.

Checking 1999.co.jp there looks to be a quite detailed engine available on Fujimi's R35 kit and a less detailed one on the Aoshima kit.

here are the pictures. i didnt dust off the model because last time i tried to dust a model that was put together so long ago, pieces started to fall off. 

the paint is nissan millenium jade, i bought from england. it also has the nismo photoetch set from tamiya. if i remember correctly, it had a very thin pre-cut carpet to be used. was very nice.  as i mentioned above, the bumpers and side skirts are from the z-tune kit, which took a lot of cutting. over all it was 3 kits, the r32, r34 ztune, and r34 vpec2 kit, plus the photoetch set. it was also my very first time with an airbrush

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/tamiya-12604-nismo-r34-gt-r-z-tune-photo-etched-parts-set--132902

 

Edited December 30, 2020 by youpey

[dbostream]

Thank you it looks good.