Background:

That a model kit exists of one of Nissan's late 80s "pike cars" is quite an unusal thing. Once I discovered it existed, I had to have one once I could find one at a reasonable price - the combination of unusual kit and 80's JDM is hard to resist. It's one of Bandai's very few forays into car models, and it's a shame they didn't do more at the time. The kit is from 1987 so it's been waiting nearly 40 years for someone to assemble it. Not being a fan of yellow paint (the "standard" colour for the Be-1), it seemed the ideal opportunity to try out some of Tamiya's aircraft spray paint, in a Nissan Figaro-esque shade.

Kit review:

Pros:

It's easy to assemble and all fits together well. The body has a good shape and it's pretty robust - thicker than the usual Japanese model kit. The roof can be made open or closed - and there's a good deep moulded scribing line on the inside of the roof making opening it up easy. The panel lines are all good and deep. The seats recline! Pointless but interesting. The indicator and brake light lenses are all moulded in orange/red plastic.

Cons:

The main transparent part for the windows is too thick and causes some unrealistic distortion when looked through, especially around the edges. The chassis is super simplified and there is no engine. The instruction manual and therefore also the painting instructions are only in Japanese.

Verdict:

It's a simple fun kit of a simple fun car, but builds into a nicely realistic model.

Build notes:

Built over 8 days in March 2025. The exterior is painted in Tamiya AS29 Grey-Green IJN (Imperial Japanese Navy) and clear coated in Mr Hobby Super Gloss. I've added some JDM number plates and some seatbelts on the rear seats, plus some card to make the body-colour interior of the B and C posts. Everything else was part of the kit, including that cute backpack.

---