Tamiya 1/24 Nissan 350Z By Tommy Van Ness

Introduction

The Nissan 350Z is a popular sports car and is in its fifth production series. The Z series started back in 1969 as the Datsun 240Z, which has since evolved into the 350Z. The 2007 350Z has a 3.5 liter V6 that produces 306bhp and 268 ft-lb of torque. It seems a little heavy, with a 3200 lbs curb weight. The 350Z looks like a fun car to drive and they always look very sharp driving down the road.

The Kit

There are several kits available of the 350Z from the Fairlady 350Z to the new NISMO edition, but the kit I completed was the first edition Tamiya 350Z. I believe it was released in 2006.

The directions are very clear with a great paint guide. Assembly of this kit was easy and fun. With typical Tamiya quality, you know your model is going to look good. Unfortunately, the kit doesn’t include any engine detail. I would have really liked to see this kit with an engine and a hood that would open for display. But, even with the hood shut and the doors closed, it still looks pretty good.

Tamiya goes the extra mile in their work. There are never any warped parts, and everything fits perfectly. This kit came with photo-etched decals for the emblems and pre-cut pieces of tape for masking the windows.

I painted this model with Tamiya TS aerosol paints. The body was painted with TS-50 Mica Blue. I sealed that with a few coats of TS-13 clear. I think it looks great, and both paints went on very smoothly. Undercarriage, floor, and trunk area were done with matt black TS-6. To go for the leather seats look, I used TS-46, which is a light sand color.

Alone, the 350Z looks great by itself. But I wanted a little something different. The stock wheels are kind of plain and clearly lack style points. So, I picked up a set of Aoshima’s Blitz Techno Speed Wheels (Aoshima also makes great car kits).

Because the 350Z is a curbside kit (i.e., no engine and simplified chassis detail) its axles are simple steel rods. Rubber stoppers are to be placed at the end of these rods, to which the wheels are mounted. When opening the Blitz wheels package, I was happy to find that the attachment method was the same and that they fit as if they were supposed to come with the kit. Not only that, the size worked out great, no lowering!

Conclusion

I enjoyed this kit a lot. With no engine detail, this kit was very simple, without a whole bunch of tiny parts that are easy to lose. Again, it looks great in the display case and the wheels make it stand out. I will say that this is one of my better models. Usually when I build a kit, there is always one glaring problem, whether it is fingerprints on the inside of the windows, or fitment problems, and the finished product just doesn’t look right. I was lucky with this one and I enjoyed it a lot.