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Speedy's F103GT Nissan GTR LM Nismo Build Thread

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I'm starting to put some thought into the shell. I have no real experience with fabricating things from styrene sheet, but I really want to capture some of the aero features of the real car in more detail. I know the body set is coming available in August, so I could always get a replacement if I mess it up...

I want the front grill, bonnet ducts, rear view mirrors, exhaust pipes, fender cutouts, and rear aero on this shell...

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Nissan-GT-R-LM-NISMO-LMP1-by-Marshall-Pr

gt-r-lm-1.jpeg

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Brilliant thread! I love the work you are doing to highlight the build of an oft-overlooked chassis making a glorious return!

You may find this interesting - a website run by a (former?) race car aerodynamicist/engineer analyzes the new Nissan on its debut in this news archive: http://www.mulsannescorner.com/newsjan15.html It really is quite an interesting racer...

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The exhausts should be doable with one of the many aftermarket parts designed for F1 cars. The square cutouts above the wheels should be easy (although will create a weak point obviously) but the rear diffuser is going to be tough!

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I started working on the body tonight.

It's a polycarbonate shell, which sometimes isn't the best for detail, but is definitely lighter than a styrene or ABS body...

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First I reamed the body post holes. These were easy; there are dimples on the body to mark the locations. The only adjustment I made was raising the front body supports a few hole positions compared to the body set instructions...

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I tentatively started cutting the vents near the front body post holes; it's not in the instructions to cut these out. I'm doing this to make the shell more accurately represent the real car. I used a sharp Xacto knife to score the body on the outside, then used a body reamer to make a small hole in the middle of the vent. I used the knife to cut all the way to the corners of the vent. I was able to push the resulting triangles towards the interior of the body and snap the bits off. A little work with some files and a little more work with the knife, and I'm reasonably happy with how they turned out...

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Then I turned my attention to the exhaust ports and did the same procedure -- score, ream, segment, snap, file, and trim. I had to look at a few photos of the exhaust ports on the real car to figure out an appropiate cut line. These also turned out reasonably well. Any small issues will be hidden by decals later.

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These modifications are pretty small and don't affect the shell's structure. Tomorrow I hope to cut the large vents over the tires and maybe work on the front grill. There's no going back; I'm committed now!

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Last night I cut the large areas above the tires. These were easy to do as they were either square or mostly rectangular.

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Tonight I worked on the front grill. After I took this picture I worked on the splitter and nose just a little more to tighten up the edges. As I look at the photos of the real car and consider this shell, I think I'll have to make a concession and move the grill slats closer to the opening. I don't think I can make a styrene extension to the nose and get it to blend in well, so moving the slats forward will take up some of the gap.

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I also worked on the rear aero tonight. I left a little bit of a lip around the shell to hide the edge of the outermost styrene I plan to use. I left the gurney attachment lip intact and kept the tail lights. I'm hoping to attach the styrene to the shell with two small screws on each side and attach it to the tail lights with tape.

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Tomorrow I might trim the rest of the shell except for the rear tail light section; that cross piece will help keep the shell's form while I work on the styrene next.

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Pretty much finished trimming the lexan yesterday. The rear of the shell still has some extra to keep the shape intact for now.

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All the wing parts are cut out now, too.

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I started working on the styrene for the front grill...

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My first attempt at the front grill didn't turn out as well I wanted, so I'll have to redo it. Making more careful measurements and test fitting with templates will be required.

Color scheme time... I was thinking 1990's Nissan livery, but I've seen some alternatives to consider as well. What do you think?

Current stock color scheme:

Nissan-GT-R-LM-Nismo-28.jpg

Raw carbon fiber; would probably be painted as gunmetal:

Nissan-GT-R-LM-NISMO-5.jpg

Nostalgic livery:

Nissan-GT-R-LM-Nismo-at-Le-Mans-2015.jpg

Maybe even stray from known examples and do something Calsonic-inspired?

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Food for thought...

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Looking great! I am sure however you finish it, the end result will be a stunner!

As for how to finish it - I propose, from one Nismo GT-R LM to another, the following:

Nissan_Nismo_GT-R_LM_(BCNR33)_front.jpg

The #23 car that year had pink stripes, if you want a little more visual impact ;)

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I took a step back from the front grill and worked on some exhaust pipes tonight. Most of the reference photos I could find always show the larger pipe closer to the side of the body and the smaller pipe closer to the engine.

I just cut a generic base to accept some servo tape, then cut an angled piece and butted it against the base. I used some small bits of pipe to reinforce the angled piece, then cut and attached larger and smaller pipes to mimic the exhausts. I used a body reamer to thin out the pipe walls to make them a little more realistic; the original thickness was too much.

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Test fit. I'll want to slide the pipes inboard a little more and maybe trim the base to hide the leading edge just a little bit. Eventually I'll paint these assemblies black and use a silver marker to highlight the lips of the pipes.

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I have some leftover mirrors from a HPI Datsun 510 parts tree that have the right general shape, but they feel a little too small to be used with this shell. If I can find some mirrors later I'll add them.

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This week I was experimenting with styrene some more, and I ordered some paint to finish the shell. Since I had to pay shipping for the paint anyhow, I thought I would look for some black wheel nuts to make the appearance a little more accurate to the real vehicle. I was also browsing the F103 and F104 parts and discovered a pretty cool counterweight that goes on the rear axle to improve rear pod balance.

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On the topic of wheel nuts, I was looking at photos of the real car and realized the only bit of silver you can see is the axle itself; the rest is completely black. The kit wheel nuts are silver and don't look quite right when compared to the real car. I'm not criticizing Tamiya on this point; anodized wheel nuts are typically a premium. Anyhow, take a look at real car photos above and the silver wheel nut below...

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The description on the wheel nuts I ordered was "black," but what I really received was more like a titanium finish. I do like serrated wheel nuts vs. nylon lock nuts as they bite into the wheel and won't loosen on their own, but the finish on these wasn't quite what I hoped for...

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My wife wanted to go out and run some errands, so we stopped by the local hobby shop and I asked for some Axial or Durango wheel nuts, which are black. They didn't have any from Axial or Durango, but they did have a pack of Losi serrated black wheel nuts. They looked good at the store, so I brought them home to try.

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I guess it's a minor point, but the wheel nuts don't bother me any more. I think they look pretty good!

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When I was weighing the chassis on the scales earlier I mentioned adding some foam to the right battery cup to bias the battery to the left side of the chassis. I found my weather strip tape today and cut a piece; I just traced the outline of the battery cup on tape liner, cut it to shape, and installed it.

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The battery is now where I want it...

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The rear axle counterweight is a pretty slick piece; per the description this was exclusive to the F104X1 originally, but is now offered separately. It replaces the 8x16 mm collar on the rear axle, and rides on a pair of bearings. This is pretty cool because it added weight to the left rear tire, but since it rides on bearings it doesn't add any rotational inertia to the axle itself.

Original spacer installed on the axle...

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Counterweight installed; per the description this adds 19.7 grams...

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Between the battery placement and the counterweight, the readings on the scales are much closer to "perfect."

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Cross weight at 50%, and an extra 21 grams of mass (counterweight and foam tape added)...

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I wasn't 100% satisfied with my earlier test fit of styrene exhaust pipes, so I made a second set this week. The main difference between the first set and the second set is the smaller pipes are higher so they center in the shell holes better.

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I painted the pipes today. I debated about painting them silver or black, but in the end I had a miniscule amount of gunmetal lying around and thought it would be great to use up the can. Once the paint dried I used a Testor's silver paint marker to accent the lips of the pipes.

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I mentioned earlier I don't have any past experience fabricating parts from scratch in styrene, so I learned a few hard lessons this past week. Bottom line, I'm measuring, cutting, notching, setting angles, gluing, and handling things much more carefully now. A razor saw and a set of picture frame clamps have been big helps setting angles and getting strips of material to stay in alignment while the glue is drying. Below is the front grill; it's still a work in progress. I'm hoping to make more progress tomorrow...

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More to come...

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I totally get where you are coming from with the wheel nuts. Almost all my models run coloured wheel nuts, either to tie in with the body colour, or to match the full size car. The black ones look great on yours!

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Made a little more progress today... I want to spray the main body shell so badly, but it's so convenient to leave it clear while working on the custom bits. Anyhow, I went through the half dozen minor lexan parts and sprayed them in preparation for assembly later.

The wing is supposed to be sprayed completely black, but I masked the sides of the wing and left them clear so the white decals on the side pieces show through properly. Reference the rear photo of the real car above -- there aren't any big black blobs on the inside of the side wings.

The rear flap is also supposed to be sprayed completely black, but part of that flap is attached to the main body shell with double sided tape. Again, referencing the rear photo of the real car, I sprayed the upper part of the flap black and the lower part of the flap red to match the corresponding part of the main body shell.

The two halves that make up the center fin are supposed to be sprayed completely white, and later red decals cover some of the white right next to the roof of the main body shell. Also, the parts of the fins that mate with the rear wing are supposed to be covered with black decals. I chose to mask the fins and spray the different sections their appropriate colors. I may not need the red or black decals later for a good match.

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For the longest time I've been using a combination of Testors masking tape and 3M blue painter's tape. I found the Testor's tape kind of frustrating. Even though it is flexible while applying it, when the paint hits the shell and starts to dry it causes the tape to lift a little around corners. Pressing it back down only lasts a short moment, and if you're not careful then the next coat of paint leaks underneath and the sharp line is spoiled. 3M's blue painter's tape does a better job of not lifting, but it's not as flexible as the Testors tape. Over time I started to give up on the Testors tape and simply used blue tape everywhere, trimming with an Xacto blade to the shape I need.

Well, I tried a new tape today and I think I really like it. Great Planes E-Z Mask tape is actually more flexible than the Testors tape, and it has a better adhesive on it as well. I found it could follow contours more easily, and it didn't lift when I applied the paint. I still used the blue tape for larger areas, but for getting a nice curved line I think I have a new favorite tape.

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"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans..."

During the past few weeks a lot has happened at work, with the family, and with friends. Most of the time I had my styrene and tools piled at my place at the kitchen table, but I just couldn't find the energy to keep plugging away. Today I opted to leave work early and just do something for myself to get it all out of my head, and I decided it was time to paint the main body shell. The front grill frame is complete; I need to install the slats and then paint it. The rear fins aren't done, but some ideas have come to me and I feel optimistic about it again.

Originally I was going to paint this shell in the same scheme as the older R91CP, but after sleeping on it awhile I decided this model deserved its own look, and box art isn't a bad thing to do especially with the extra details I'm putting in. I started with a few coats of PS60 Mica Red, backed it with PS41 Bright Silver, and then removed my masking and backed that with PS1 Black. Finally, the window masks came off and I did a coat of PS31 Smoke to tint the windows. I went in reverse order (red to black instead of black to red) because I wanted the entire inside of the shell to be dark, but I didn't want to darken the red. The bright silver acts as a barrier between the red and the black and works better than white.

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It makes me feel better to see some color on this shell and encourages me to finish the front and rear styrene. The fender holes, front vents, and exhaust ports look better now. I'll give it a few days to dry thoroughly before handling it some more.

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Looks fantastic buddy, keep up the good work.

Will you be adding (and sorry if I've already asked this) a Group-C style cockpit? or at least a driver helmet?

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Looks fantastic buddy, keep up the good work.

Will you be adding (and sorry if I've already asked this) a Group-C style cockpit? or at least a driver helmet?

Thanks. It looks like the damper bracket and antenna tube interfere with any potential cockpit, but maybe there is a way to mount a helmet to the damper bracket... Do you have any helmet sprue part numbers I should consider?

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I just realized there are only about 6-7 weeks of good painting weather left based on past weather history here. I have a half dozen other shells that need painting so decals can be applied this winter. I'm going to temporarily lay this project aside to paint the other shells, then come back to this as the weather cools since aero details and decals can be pursued regardless of weather.

Bear with me as I pause this thread for a few weeks...

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Hmm I feel your pain. I moved a small heater into my brick shed / outbuilding so I can heat it and paint in the autumn here in the UK.

As for the helmet, I have a couple of full-face helmets I would gladly send you if they were of any use? They are from touring car cockpit sets - they provide you with an open-face helmet and a full-face - the latter I haven't used...

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Great thread, really tempted to go for a kit myself. Wish the images were still working though, I want to see the details you've wrote about!

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looks great!

I am planning to build one of these too.. once i test fit the body on a yokomo FF

:D

I'd like to see that! I'm thinking an FF03 with IFS. Idk about the rear shock tower fitting... but where there's a will...

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Photo hosting has been restored. I fixed the links in this thread. Also, here's the state of the car as it stands currently. I need to 3D print the front grill and rear aero ducts. It'll happen eventually, I promise.

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