The first Skyline GT-R, known by the internal Nissan designation PGC10, was released on 4 February 1969, and was exclusive to Japanese Nissan dealership network called Nissan Prince Store when the Prince company was integrated into Nissan operations in 1966. It was available originally as a four-door sedan after a public debut at the October 1968 Tokyo Motor Show. It was advertised alongside the Nissan R380 racecar to showcase the Skyline's racing heraldry. It was equipped with the 2.0 L DOHC S20 Inline-six engine producing 119 kW (160 bhp; 162 PS) at 7,000 rpm and 176 N⋅m (130 lb⋅ft) at 5,600 rpm. Power was delivered to the rear wheels by a 5-speed manual transmission. The first Skyline GT-R rode on a semi-trailing arm strut suspension. It was available as a coupe in March 1971 with the chassis code KPGC10.

A popular name for the PGC and KPGC10 Skyline GT-R was "Hakosuka," which combines the Japanese word for box ("hako" or ハコ) and the pronounced abbreviation of skyline ("Suka" or スカ as in スカイライン or "sukairain").

A total of 1,945 PGC and KPGC10 Skyline GT-Rs were produced.

THE KIT

This is another of Arii's nice and fairly basic 1/32 car kits and this time it is a racer of sorts. I say that as the car has mufflers or resonators on the exhaust. Perhaps these are required for racing in Japan. Also a bit different is that there are actual suspension and drive train pieces instead of simply slotting the axles through holes in the pan. The kit also has flash on some parts, but nothing really horrible.

The rest is pretty standard stuff. The seats fit on the other side of the chassis pan with separate door panels and an instrument panel with steering. Right hand drive, of course. The stub axles on the suspension are where the wheels attach and these have separate rubber tires.

The body has a single clear piece for all the windows and you are provided the usual windscreen wipers, mirrors and tail lights. Since this is a racer you are provided with front fender flares, a rear wing and a different front end that has no headlights or bumper. This means you cannot build it as a street car. For that, you want kit #25 instead of this one (#29).

Instructions are single folded sheet with a parts diagram, and eight easy to decipher construction steps. The other side is a full listing of all the kits in the series. Everything written is in Japanese aside from the usual warnings.

CONCLUSIONS

A nice kit and one that I can tell you will not be a pain to build. Some of the small parts may make this not suitable for the very young, but if you like something different, this would be a good option.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Skyline_GT-R

October 2018

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