The Nissan (or Datsun back when it was introduced) 240Z revolutionized the sports car market in the early 1970s. It looked great, was affordable, and was highly competitive on the track.
Hasegawa has released its’ third version of Nissan’s venerable “Z” car as a police version that was given to the Kanagawa highway patrol (Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan).
It is a curbside kit molded in white, black, chrome, and clear — basically, Hasegawa’s stock ZG kit with an extra pair of parts trees and different decals for the patrol car. A beautiful set of metal transfers is also included for all the emblems and mirror faces.
Assembly starts with the interior. The floor is the topside of the chassis pan and has quite a few ejector-pin marks. Most will get covered, but there are a few in the footwells that will be visible. Side panels are separate pieces and have decent relief detail and separate armrests. Other parts include foot pedals, center console, shift lever, hand-brake lever, and seats. The dash is the only area that differentiates the police version from stock, with the glove compartment lid replaced by an in-dash radar unit and what appears to be a small radio handset. Decals are provided for the instruments, radar unit and horn button. They are very thin, so use a milder setting solution if needed.
The underside of the chassis has good detail, and only the lower bits of the engine need be picked out with semigloss black paint. Individual parts handle all other chassis details. The independent rear suspension is well represented by six components with: separate springs/struts; drum brakes; lower control arms; and differential/driveshaft/half shafts. Molded detail is crisp on all parts, and fit is very good.
The front suspension is built up from seven components and features posable steering. Mounting holes at the top of the front wheel wells for the struts seem a little too big, so the steering is a little sloppy — but not real bad. A separate transmission and cross member connect the engine to the rest of the drive train. Two more pieces are used for the main parts of the exhaust with a chrome-plated tip on the end. The engine skid plate completes the underside detail.
Most of the body shell is molded in one piece, with just the nose being separate to allow for the standard and G versions. Molding is clean, and Hasegawa appears to have captured the lines of the 240Z perfectly. Panel lines are crisp, requiring only minor cleanup. The fit of the nose is not quite perfect; I had to drill out the bumper mounting holes slightly, as they were a bit too small.
The windshield and side windows are molded in one piece and are reasonably thin and clear, though there was a slight scuff in my rear window.
Nearly all the body details are handled in separate pieces. Besides the different nose treatment, the G also had tack-on wheel flares. The kit parts fit well, but look a little unnecessary with the really skinny stock tires. Taillights and side markers/turn signals are molded in clear so they will need to be painted with your favorite red and orange tints. The police lights will also need the same treatment. The metal transfer emblems worked perfectly and look spectacular. There are also decals for backup, just in case. The police markings are minimal and go on without issue, although they do have a slightly dull finish. I deviated from the instructed paint scheme just slightly to make masking a little easier.
Overall, I’m very pleased with the results. It’s maybe a little out of my comfort zone of subject matter, but I enjoyed the build every step of the way. It will certainly be unique in my collection. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone of almost any skill level.