Among one particular online modelling group, I have a reputation for building Japanese Four Door Sedans. And it’s true, I have built a lot of them. You may have seen a few.
It’s about time I wrote up some coupes. Redress the balance, and all that.
For today’s feature I’ll limit us to sixties and seventies Japanese coupes. I’ll leave out most of those based on sedans that we’ve looked at before, and concentrate on the sportier models. Not the likes of Toyota’s 2000GT or the Nissan Z-cars; we’ll see the proper sports cars another time. And I’ll try and keep the Skylines at bay. They’ve had their day.
So let’s start with possibly Japan’s oldest car maker, and one you may not associate with coupes.
Isuzu models are fairly few and far between. The Bellett was a 1500-1600cc small sedan with an independent rear suspension setup that worked well in racing. This led to a coupe version; this Fujimi kit represents an early 1600 GTR. As often happens, Fujimi has offered several versions – different years, stock or race versions. Then the guys at Hasegawa decided they could do a better version to more accurately capture the shape (a recurrent theme); while theirs does look more accurate, it’s very subtle to the point where I can’t figure out what’s different.
Skyline time! This “Hakosuka” GTR dates from around 1970, and shows that mighty twin cam 24 valve six. This body was a bit longer, the wheelbase a bit shorter (though the cab moved forward so this wasn’t obvious), but the width increase of 10cm made the car look much better proportioned. Not so squeezy for Westerners. This concludes our token Skyline mention.
Here’s another Isuzu coupe. The Giugiaro-designed 117 was larger than the Bellett, loosely based on the Florian sedan platform, intended as a GT range-topper. Early ones like this 1968 were hand-made off-line, which really made them a halo car for the brand. They remained in production until 1981, sort of replaced by the Piazza which was not as exclusive.
The Nissan Silvia line began here, with the CSP311 series. Based on the platform of the Fairlady roadster, which in turn was based on the Bluebird sedan. It was hand-made, and only 554 were produced, from 1965-68. Some were exported, and even made it to Australia; but honestly, who would have been looking to Nissan for a sports coupe in 1965? This old Fujimi kit doesn’t capture the look particularly well, but it’s the only one there is of this car. (Hasegawa? I wish!) Early kits from the sixties and into the seventies were often a bit off in proportions and/or details.
The Celica has been around since 1970. I loved the shape of these cars from the moment I first laid eyes on one. This 1600GT represents an early model from the A20 series, before the nose was lengthened and blunted. This one’s a Hasegawa kit.
Hasegawa came out with another body for this Liftback. Here we see the longer, blunt front of the later A20. Arguably more muscular looking, but the pointed profile of the original fenders is more distinctive.
Moving forward to the A40 generation, this next Celica was rather a shock. A radical change from the original, this seemed to set a pattern for each generation of Celica looking nothing like what had come before – how very un-Toyota of them! Very smooth, curvy and futuristic. This is an old build from about 1980; I don’t think any kits of this generation are currently available.
Toyota got the bright idea of extending the Celica’s nose to fit the M-series six from the Crown and Cressida. This is a 1/20 scale kit from Gunze, long out of production. Called the XX for Japan, but known to us as the Supra.
Mitsubishi’s Galant did come as a sedan (and wagon, and hardtop, and…) but this GTO fastback looked quite different from the other models. There was even the shortie FTO (Fresco Turismo Omologato, so they said) which was a complete reskin job, but we won’t go there…. A recent Hasegawa kit, they seem to make variations for every year of production. This one’s the (deep breath) GTO 2000 GSR ‘Late type’.
The Nissan Leopard was startling when it bowed for 1979. Okay, the front’s a bit Mustang-ish, but after all the stylistic strangeness we had been accustomed to – this was a Nissan? Very clean and modern, with a similarly distinctive four door sedan version also available. Typical Nissan RWD chassis with strut front/semi-trailing arm IRS, and engines from a 1.8 four to a 3.0 turbo V6. I don’t think this one got exported when new.
There were motorised models of the RX3 back when it was a new car, but Fujimi came out with a new kit of this Japanese classic about ten years ago. Great chassis and interior detail, but Japanese modellers feel the rear of the roofline is a bit off. I didn’t notice at first. Fujimi also does the later model (longer nose, fancier tail); I’m not sure whether these are currently in the catalog.
Back to Mitsubishi. This car of many names was sold in Japan as the Galant Lambda, as the Scorpion in Australia, and the Sapporo on many other export markets. Totally different from the Galant Sigma sedan, a kit of this car is still available from Aoshima. I think this one was by Crown (long gone).
One from when Nissan was coming back down to earth, styling-wise. This Silvia (a name we’ll be hearing again and again if you want a Part 2!) is from the S110 generation of 1979, and was called 200SX for export. It took the mechanicals of the previous generation (a car even derided by the Japanese, according to some friends), and gave it much more acceptable styling. Another older Fujimi kit which Hasegawa has done a new version of – theirs hit the shops just after I finished this one!
The Soarer was introduced in 1981, seeming a production version of 1980’s EX-8 Osaka concept car. Similar in size and concept to Nissan’s Leopard, the Soarer was a bit more formal – though perhaps it doesn’t look it in this colour! Supposedly it replaced the hardtops in the Chaser, Mark II and Crown ranges. For reference…
Here’s the Chaser hardtop, a current Aoshima kit. (Mark II used the same body)
And here’s a 1974 S90 Crown, a seventies kit from Otaki, long out of production. Very formal, very American-influenced. I don’t think a follow-up S110 hardtop model was even made, so they can’t have been very popular.
We’ll stop there for now. If you want more Japanese coupes, I’ll cover the eighties another time.
Nice! Some ot those older Japanese “made to be motorized” kits can be really clunky bur none of that shows up in your builds.
Thanks nlpnt. I totally agree that some of those older kits can be clunky, but only one of the ‘clunkers’ showed up in today’s assortment. If you weren’t familiar with the CSP311 Silvia, it wouldn’t be obvious. I was always a bit picky in those days, wanting to see the body before I would buy. And it’s amazing what some carefully applied paint and trim can do to even a mediocre model.
@Peter: A great way to start off the day with a plethora of realistic Japanese models! I’ve had the pleasure of riding in some of these, especially the RX-3 and the Celica 1600. The styles/colours/etc. make some of these appear to be REAL cars, just needing the proper background to foster the illusion. Speaking of backgrounds, I noticed several different Charger models, perhaps one day a feature on the Dodge ‘B’ bodies……Please?? 🙂
Thanks Moparman. While I’ve seen many of these on the street, my riding experiences have more usually been in their sedan brothers. I usually try to choose a more interesting shade from the colour chart, or at least something ‘plausible’ (Soarer aside), and in one instance today I built the kit to match one that Tatra found in Tokyo (the blue Chaser).
A B-body feature has been on the list for a few years now but hasn’t happened yet. Just the other day I was wondering whether there’d be enough interest… Yeah, I think we could have some fun with them, and I’ve got a ’68 Charger (kit, not a real one!) in the shed that needs building. 🙂
As a casual model builder, I was dazzled by the quality of Hasegawa and Tamiya kits. Light years ahead of what we Yanks had to put up with.
Hasegawa have really lifted their game in the past five-ten years, in an engineering sense. Tamiya kits have always been good, but have been trying harder, finding new ways to excel. Case in point, a Nissan 370Z I was working on yesterday: where the light lenses are a snap-fit, needing no glue.
In a country like Australia, where all kits are imported and subject to the same taxes, this kind of quality makes the Japanese brands a standout.
I have watched your posts for several years, and am constantly floored by not just the variety,
but the sheer volume. I built many a model car growing up, even won a few best paint awards,
and I would love to see some posts talking about the build process, what kind of paints, do you
use airbrushes, how do you paint the chrome trim etc. You must have an enormous amount of
shelf space to store all of your collection. Any rough idea of how many total car models you have?
Keep up the good work, and I love all the different color choices.
Thanks Tom. Actually I have discussed many of these things over the past two and a half years I’ve been writing about models. My model-building kind of went into hyperdrive when I had to retire early due to ill-health; at one stage I hit about 30-35 per year. Last year dipped to about 25, but that was a bad year for me health-wise. So far this year, about five.
I did write a build story on Fujimi’s Mark II/Cressida sedan from start to finish here, touching on many of the issues you raise: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/miniatures-toys/cc-in-scale-how-does-he-do-it-the-model-making-process/
And I might do another one (subject being a Charger for Moparman!), if I can think of enough things I didn’t sufficiently address last time. You mention paints and trim…
I don’t have an enormous amount of shelf space. Most are packed away in storage, with only 66 out at the moment, most of those being from the past five years or so. Rough idea of how many? Somewhere around 1200; I have photos of over a thousand. I have been at it some sixty-odd years.
A bit iof a memory lane trip today, Peter. I cn remember when some of those ’70s Japanese cars first appeared over here. Of course there were always more of the saloons than coupes but that’s the way the model kit market works. The Italian style in Japanese cars was clearly there during the ’60s: that Silvia CSP311 is very like the Lancia Fulvia coupe, indeed came out the year before! I think my favourite here is the Isuzu 117. There’s a certain delicacy of line so very absent from today’s vehicles.
Thanks for today’s colourful collection.
Thanks Bernard. Yes, while I was writing this I was mindful of a friend’s Mazda Capella 1600 he often won stop light races with because people thought “It’s not a rotary, it won’t go.” Ha!
The Silvia is very Fulvia-like if you look at the real car; the model adds a heaviness that isn’t there in real life. And yes, the 117 is achingly beautiful. There’s a certain delicacy and deftness of touch about it, an instinct for perfection (‘this line goes here – no, not there’) that makes today’s cars seem as though done by AI in comparison.
Peter, these are wonderful, and very realistic-looking, models. Not to diminish any of your previous photosets, but these particularly look like full-sized cars. Terrific!
Thank you Jeff. As I looked over the pictures again, I realised quite a few of these have been shown before. Only five of these weren’t built in the last ten years or so.
It’s beginning to get tricky to find new things to write about (says he after two and a half years!). I’d like to think the more recent ones are more realistic, but realism has always been my aim; I’m just a bit better at it now.
Thank you Peter, I went back and read that posting twice, and it answered most of my questions.
The one thing you didn’t mention is what type of glue do you use? And do you use some kind of spray booth where you can exhaust a lot of fumes. If you’re married, you must have a very
understanding wife.
Always glad to help, Tom. For glue, usually Revell Contacta Professional (out of Germany, not sure if it’s available in the US) as my go-to; Micro Krystal Klear for windows, and Loctite Super Glue when bonding weird stuff.
Spraying is done on my workbench in a large tin shed with plenty of ventilation in the back yard. Bodies only come inside when dry.
I love these, Peter! I think I had seen it in the background of one of your earlier posts, but I think the two-door Cressida was an exceptionally good-looking car. We got only the four-door here in the U.S. I also like how the 1974 Toyota S90 Crown has a greenhouse like a mid-’70s Ford Thunderbird!
Yes, I’ve shown both the green Cressida Grande (=Mark II in JDM parlance) and the blue Chaser SGS before. They are such American-looking cars, I got quite a surprise to find they didn’t export them to you. In coupe form the Cressida looks rather reminiscent of a Mustang II done right!
If you think the S90 Crown looks like a Thunderbird, have a look at this S110 (net photo, resized, format changed, etc.)
There’s no model of this one, but there is of an S110 sedan, and I have seen a conversion done by a Japanese modeller.
I like several of these very much .
I certainly do want to see the 1980’s bunch of coupes .
-Nate
Thanks Nate. Already written up!
Bit late getting here, but fab selection Peter! Love them all and I vote for a Part II story! 😉
Thanks Scott. A follow-up is in Rich’s hands, along with another half-dozen or so stories. Had a good summer for writing…