Potsie

Absolutely stunning! Would love tyo see this in person to soak up the details.

Very interesting project. I will be following this for sure.

A shame to hear that the Tamiya shop in Tokyo has reduced the range of spares. This was always a great source of interesting little pieces. The photos from the second-hand shops still look like an Aladdin's cave for anyone not from Japan. Interesting to hear their stock is reducing though.

The roll cage looks great. A transkit for tarmac rally or circuit racing would be very well received.

This is indeed an amazing model. I have always been tempted to try a clear colour over silver but have always been worried about getting consistent colour. Yours is flawless!

Thanks @SnøMotion and @Spiny. I admit I had not quite realised how long it was until I was building it. The box-art seems to foreshorten trailer somehow. I had hope to display it in my cabinet both with the truck and a car on the rear ramps; but I can only have one of these!

Thanks @SnøMotion, it cam out alright in the end.

And in the blink of an eye it is finished! I would be lying if I said I enjoyed my first truck build every step of the way, but I am pleased with the final result. This is one of those rare cases - for me anyway - where the finished article pretty much matches my original vision. Lots of pieces not quite fitting correctly, much more time than usual fitting and test fitting and checking again, many hours of reading the manual to interpret the at times vague instructions. But.... I found it very rewarding to see the truck come to life. The extra details in the frame chassis, engine and tanks etc over a standard 1/24 car model made the experience somehow more 'life-like' (not sure I am explaining that very well). I am still amazed there were no major catastrophes, so perhaps that is clouding my judgement. Anyway, enough waffle. This last photo before the Completed thread gives an idea of the final model. A look at my thread on the Revell Transporter will reveal how the truck will be displayed eventually.

Up to this point it appears, with the way the cab is mounted to the chassis, that a brave person might be able to tilt the cab forward to expose the engine. I am not that brave person, as the cab is held together more by good luck than glue. Step 13 adds the lower section of the front grille, which now essentially locks the cab in place. I think I made a mistake on the steps, as reference photos suggest these are usually body colour not semi-gloss black as I have done. Step 14 adds details such as the air intake behind and above the cab, and the side "aero" pieces at the back of the cab and body panel between the front and rear axles down the right-hand side of the truck. This is where fitment of pieces became very.... aspirational. Lots of masking tape to hold pieces on place overnight as glue dried. Photo below has the roof aero piece being glued in place, though this piece is supposed to go on at Step 15. Step 15 adds the remainder of the aero pieces and the body panel between the wheels on the left-hand side of the truck. Thankfully I test fit this piece prior to painting as it required significant opening of a hole to clear the exhaust. Would have been very annoying to do this after painting! This step also adds the visor over the screen and wing mirrors; all of which were hald in place with masking tape with glue dried. The light lenses on the roof add a nice touch.

Last two photos before posting in the Completed Section. First photos gives an indication of how the transporter looks fully laden; perhaps off to a hypothetical Mazda museum? Second photos gives a clue as to how the transporter will be displayed on the shelf. Eventually. Cheers, Grant.

Thanks for the replies. They turned out okay and will be a good complement to a planned Fujimi / Hasegawa / Tamiya R32 GT-R Group A build. I think this may be an interesting comparison as the Fujimi kit I have is an original issue, the Hasegawa are relatively new tooling and the Tamiya kit is rightly viewed as one of their best. At least with this build the interior tub of the Fujimi will be correct for the car! Fujimi are re-releasing various R32 GT-R Group A kits - some with Australian Touring Car Championship livery - but a quick look online at instructions makes me think the new kits have not been updated. Between the three OEM companies and various aftermarket decal manufacturers there are an amazing range of liveries to choose from.

I always find the apparent contradiction of 3-D prinitng being great for rapid prototyping and taking so long to print an interesting conundrum. Mind you, I was at a work conference during the week and saw lots on wire-arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) which is able to create amazingly detailed and large scale metal structures. Apparently there is a bridge of a canal in Amsterdam made from this method. So with the correct tools you could turn all your designs into 1:1 creations! I would love to see a Mk 1 MX-5 chasing a 911 Dakar or Huracan Sterrato along a Baja 1000 style stage....

This is fantastic work and I really appreciate you taking the time to create a little mini tutorial on this. Do you have a brass tube sitting under the rear scuttle - below the rear screen - that the 'hinge' rods are going into?

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.

@SnøMotion All the best for the print. A super gloss vs satin finish release liner will certainly make a difference. In my (limited) experience with 3-D printing the adhesion of the first layer to the substrate is critical. Needs to be strong enough to support the build without warping, but not too strong to make post-print release an issue.