As you know from my previously posted California Sunshine Update 1, MPC’s take on the wildly modified Datsun pickup is not an easy kit to make work. It isn’t what it says it is, and it doesn’t really want to be anything else. So, is the kit a total disaster?
Honestly, no, it isn’t. Well, not any more so than any other MPC kit. While that may be damning with faint praise, it’s a judgement that anyone who’s worked on either an original, or a Round 2 reissue, is going to be familiar with. MPC never made the best kits; there were always warpage and fit issues, but they did make a decently detailed kit, and for that reason, you all know that I prize MPC car kits over pretty much all others from their era.
One thing that MPC had going for them was internals. For the most part, MPC put more work and detail into their chassis and suspension systems than other makers, and their engines and engine bays had a lot more surface detail and better definition than Revell, Monogram or AMT. Their engine accessories were always better, and moulded separately, and generally their engine bays didn’t suffer from “bottle melt”, as seen on Monogram’s 1987 GTA. Also, MPC put more texturing into their carpets and dashboards than other companies, and their seats were usually better too. (This is where I should insert a crack at Tamiya about MPC’s seats having backs. However, that might seem petty, so I’ll let it go this time. That’s your one freebie, Tamiya!)
The Power to Go:
The Datsun 610 wasn’t a real rocket. With a 110hp, 2.0L engine from the mid-‘70s, that’s not a surprise. However, given the truck’s light weight, it was adequate. The MPC rendition of this engine is very nice, with the trademark “texture” on the block, separate oil filter, starter, alternator and valve covers, not to mention fan and fan belt.
The original MPC kit came with a choice of two intake setups, either a stock carburetor/air cleaner or a pair of side-draft carbs. It didn’t make sense to me to use anything but the highest performance setup on a custom truck like this, so I decided I’d go with the side-drafters. It’s also cool, since there are four “branches” to this, and this matches the four aerials/lasers on a VF-1S’ head. Yes, that’s how deep the Valkyrie metaphor was being carried here!
I painted the bock in Gundam Blue (a slightly altered GM Engine block blue) with the transmission in steel, and the top end of the engine in aluminum. This was as close as I could come to the few shots I found on the internet, and it looked good to me. I gave the entire engine a light wash in both Devlan Mud and Nuln Oil washes from Citadel, to give the engine a bit of a patina, but not make it a rusty, dirty blob. Thanks to the texturing on the engine and especially the transmission, this little bit of wash really brings the engine to life.
I did have a problem with the “breathing end” of things. Firstly, the exhaust manifold didn’t want to fit up right. The locating tabs seemed just slightly off, so I decided just to cut them off and glue the darned thing in place. Of course, by this point the engine was painted and the manifold was already aged Jet Exhaust, so there was some paint scraping to do. Worse, though, was the carbs. They just looked crappy.
The reason was that the ends were moulded solid! Not sure how airflow was going to work there, but I busted out the pin-vise and drilled some breather holes in the ends of the carbs. I simply filled them with a bit of black paint and the result was both instantaneous and amazing. They went from looking like pop-cans to carburetors in the blink of an eye!
It’s a Frame-Job, I Tells Ya!
The frame and chassis on the Datsun 620 are pretty basic. Like the real truck, it’s a simple frame to carry the cab and box. MPC does a decent job of it, and the whole thing doesn’t take much work. Except, that is, for the fact that they tried to make the wheels steerable. This is a laudable goal, as very few North American car kits incorporate this feature. However, just like how the G8 has a BMW’s suspension on a GM budget, this thing has big-kit steering on a small-scale MPC budget.
The end result is that the steering doesn’t work that well. The components that have to be not-glued are far from precise enough, and the tie-rod is too thin and fragile to survive any kind of adjustment. Heck, just cleaning the seam lines and flash off of these parts puts most of them in grave danger! I found that, when I dry assembled the system that it wasn’t going to work too well. Add in some Aircraft Interior Black (AIB) and Steel for the components, and it shouldn’t be a surprise things didn’t go well. The tie rod broke immediately upon my trying to pivot the front spindles, and that was all for the steering front wheels. I figured it was easiest to put the wheels straight, since I didn’t know if I’d end up with a “display side” (there’s always one side that looks better…) or not.
Most of the frame was done in AIB, with the driveshaft, differential case and springs in various metal shades, highlighted again by Devlan Mud and Nuln Oil. Overall, the chassis goes together pretty easily, and it looks decent when finished. Like most MPCs, there’s nothing really detailed like brakes or the like, but since most people don’t look under a car kit for long anyway, this setup will do fine. Unlike most cars, where there’s a chassis pan, the Datsun 620 just has the frame; the underside of the interior bucket and the bed make up the rest during final assembly.
When I went to put the engine in, I encountered something… odd. The transmission was too short! Well, that’s not really the case, as it turns out; I cut it too short! On the rack, there was some blobby-looking plastic at the end of the transmission so I just trimmed and sanded it off. Turns out it was supposed to be there. However, it’s often better to be lucky than good, and this proves it! The missing piece of the driveline is directly over a crossmember in the frame, so it doesn’t show when looked at from below. Just be aware of this on any version of the Datsun 620 so you don’t make the same mistake I did!
The engine fits in the frame very well, and the radiator fits nicely as well. There’s a top rad hose, but not a bottom one. I’m always surprised by this; I mean, if you’re going to do the one, why not do both? There are two mounting points for the engine, but the tendency for it to rock is minimized by the wider brace under the oil pan. I used CA to hold it in place, because I have a feeling that there’s going to a struggle during final assembly. It IS an MPC after all!
Colourful Cockpit:
The cab of the Datsun 620 is nothing if not relatively basic, but the California Sunshine really kicks it up a notch. With a central column shift and sporty split bench with a central arm rest (I think) and bucket-like contours the Sunshine lets you know it’s a custom. While there were decals for the real California Sunshine’s amazingly loud custom interior, I went with something more thematic for my Valkyrie Truck. Since I was painting it like Skull One (i.e. yellow and black stripes), I thought it made sense to carry that over to the seats. Thus, I did white bolsters with yellow and black alternating upholstery in the middle. The rather poorly-defined division between these two surfaces made the job a bit harder than I thought it would, but the end effect was exactly what I was looking for.
To spice up the rather boring black dashboard, what could be more appropriate than a “Disco Dash”? Just like Faust, I wanted to give the impression of an engine-turned dashboard. I used chrome tape for heating ducting, rather than Bare Metal Foil for this job. Why? Firstly, I wanted to see how it worked, and secondly, I’ve found the sheet of BMF I have isn’t very sticky, and it’s very prone to fragmenting. The ducting tape is a bit thicker, and not appropriate for everything (it’d be too thick for trim), but it worked great on the dash!
MPCs usually have excellent carpeting texture on the floor of their interior buckets, and the Datsun is no exception. I painted it Virsago Black first, then applied a white pencil crayon to highlight the raised bits. I then went over this with a yellow pencil crayon to give the impression of black and yellow shag. (When growing up, we had two-tone green shag in our living room. It was awesome for playing GI Joe! However, the neighbour had Black and Orange, which was… questionable. I figured black and yellow wasn’t outside the realm of possibility!) It looked really good, but since almost none of it showed, it was something of a pointless exercise. I finished off the interior by painting the mats gloss black and the door panels flat white. I highlighted some of the stitching with grey pastel, too, to add some visual interest to that area.
Next Time:
With the guts and frame all done, the only thing left now is the body work and custom exhaust pipes. This is where it all comes together, or, maybe, falls apart… it is an MPC, so who knows!
The Sprue Lagoon 
What kind of truck is it? I cannot tell by the interior or engine!
If you can believe it, that’s a humble Datsun 620. You put in a custom interior and some side-draft carbs, and all of a sudden “everyday” becomes a bit more, eh?
I have a question? How many of us are Ship modificators
I’m sure there are some out there, although ship modelling is a more specialized type of modelling than most. On that note, there are so many variations that it would almost seem necessary that there would be some who modify their ships.
I received-For Free- the Revell models, “Mission Capistrano, Randall, the Buckley, and the C-3 freighter . I am going to Convert the Capistrano to a Sangamon Class carrier.The others will be the Randall, (Hospital Ship.)And the C-3 as an upgraded passenger type ship.The Buckley will become an A.P.D. The models, although not painted beyond the original kit specs were built well and are surprisingly missing No parts, Well, except the Buckley/s Mast!
Nice! Can’t argue with that as a freebie!
Sounds like a cool plan for them, too! Good luck!
I did consider taking the Randall and converting it to the Glomar Explorer which sat in the mothball fleet in Suisun bay while I lived there.
Nice! Love to see these builds. Takes me way back.
Randy
If only MPC could have made a decently-fitting kit… Oh well, gotta love ’em!
Hope all is well, my friend!
all is well. I guess they were always this way somewhat. Just hard to remember it. I do remember the “working” metal coil springs in the Corvette kits. That was not the best choice for a kid’s first kit. Lol
take care friend