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Painting - finishing and then driving the Nissan 350z model car
Getting the car finished and test driven - the best bit!!
The shell all painted up waiting for it's decals.
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The model car after a run on a deserted parking lot.
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The kit details a red & silver colour scheme based on the Nissan 350z racing concept car. I decided however to use a simple colour scheme on my example of the model car, bright red was chosen. The outside of the bodyshell can then be painted up at a later date.
The whole of the bodyshell's underside was given four light coats of polycarbonate spray paint (including the windows). The decals included with the kit contain a full set of darkened window transfers.
This isn't the most realistic way to do the job but it looks reasonably OK. A better option would be to mask the windows before painting, then either leave them clear or tint them. If doing this car's shell again I would take the masking route.
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This car looks good standing still - but even better when sliding around some tarmac.
A big one of these would be very nice. I think I will write a letter to Father Christmas about what a good little boy I've been this year and widen the chimney about 7 feet. There's alway possibilities!
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Decals are including in the model's box for the lights, door handles, indicators, grill, etc. These were applied to the model car fairly easily, The decals for the lights go over compound curves but can be stretched in place and firmly rubbed down.
All finished and time for business - driving the model car.
I took the finished machine to my favourite square of nearby deserted tarmac. The surface is not perfect for a 1/10 touring car but with the Nissan body set up with plenty of ground clearance there should be no problem. The tarmac was also damp for this test.
I swapped out the mechanical speed controller for an electronic device other than this and a set of ballraces the model is stock.
With the stock 540 motor and a 1700mah 7.2 volt pack supplying the power the car was surprisingly fast. When constructing the car's chassis I reckoned on the drive train being good and efficient, seems I was right as it is definitely faster then a standard TL-01 chassis with the same power.
Handling of the car is very good even with stock friction dampers. The car can be power slid around corners with a fair degree of ease - great fun. I was able to use full power from the standard 540 while sliding the car with opposite lock, this was possible even with the standard bouncy friction dampers supplied with the kit.
Accelleration with the kit pinion is also very good. The car pulls away under full power in a straight line without trying to squirrel around and swap ends like a rear driven car would. Despite being such a stable chassis, the car is also nimble and agile. On the test drive I was able to slalom the car around some debris on the tarmac surface, kicking the back out and power sliding it around left and right - great stuff!
OK time for more power!
I decided to fit an Orion 13 turn triple wound motor to this car to see how the chassis would handle the extra power, still with the stock pogo dampers - hee hee ;-).
The same standard kit pinion was fitted to the motor shaft, and the same battery pack used. I did fit a beefier forward only electronic speed controller however to take the extra amps.
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To the same piece of tarmac used previously to see what this little pocket rocket would do this time. Blimy, what a difference!! It went good before, but now it goes like Schumacher in a Foxbat (now thats fast).
This time though all this power and speed was really showing up those bouncy shock absorbers. Trying to keep the thing pointed straight on anything vaguely loose became quite challenging. So time to back off the power a bit and drive within the car's (and my) abilities. Drifting turns can be done but it only takes a blip of too much throttle to spin out. Conversely if power is backed of too much in the turn the model car will also spin out.
With the four wheel drive the power needs to be used smoothly feedin it in an out to keep a fast turn going which take a lot of practice to do right, but it's great when you do get it right.
When approaching a turn from the straight, if you back off too abruptly the car swaps ends as you enter the turn. If you back off to much in the turn and start to loose the back of the car then applying some power can make the front end of the car noticeably straighten up. Everything happens very quickly though with a 1/10 scale model car with heaps of power.
There is a heck of a difference in handling technique between a 4wd car like this and a rear wheel drive car.
The TT01 chassis used on this car is a very good piece of model engineering. Both fast and with good handling it makes an ideal car for any beginner or the more experienced modeller who can upgrade it with a hot wind motor, oil shocks, adjustable track rod, foam tyre inserts etc. I feel sure the chassis could be turned into a serious challenge at the race track if prepared by an expert.
I've heard stories of the plastic prop shaft flexing when used with powerful motors, but I have not noticed this on my example even with the Orion 13t motor. This TT01 is ballraced which always makes the mechanical components run more truely. An upgraded aluminium prop shaft is available quite cheaply anyhow should a problem arise in this area.
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In conclusion I can firmly say that I like this car a lot, and would recommend it to anyone interested in model cars.
Well done Tamiya!!
Good points;
Great looking bodyshell
Great handling even from stock
Comparatively fast and efficient drive train
Cheap to buy
Plenty of upgrades available
Easy and fun to build
Foam front bumper
Not good points;
Flex of prop shaft when used with low-wind motors causing it to bang on the chassis.
This requires an aftermarket alloy shaft to fix. This problem manifests itself at higher speeds.
Friction -pogo stick- dampers which would need replacing with oil filled units if raced.
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The Nissan 350z is one cool set of wheels.
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Nissan 350z model car page 1
Nissan 350z model car page 2
Nissan 350z model car page 3
Nissan 350z model car page 4
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