Model: Kyosho Nismo 400R
Line: Nismo GT-R Set
Where to get it: eBay
Why it is in the collection:
To an outsider peering into my garage for the first time, it may seem there is a lack of cohesiveness to my collection. But look a little longer and underlying themes begin to emerge. The Nismo 400R falls into the Gran Turismo-generation genre; cars I distinctly remember from my digitally formative years have once again found their way into my life in the form of 1:64 diecast cars.
Without copying and pasting the Wikipedia article, the 400R was a limited release of the R33 Skyline that had been blessed by the gods at Nissan Motorsport as a sort of participation trophy to itself for past efforts at Le Mans. Under the GT-R LM-style carbon fiber hood lies a hand-built 2.8L straight six. That motor, the RB-X GT2, earned its stripes at Le Mans and is more than capable of powering a road car. The 3-piece wheels are similar to those found on the GT-R LM race car. I’ve included an image of the one of one road car below for reference. Mild fender extensions do their best to contain the wider rollers and almost go unnoticed if you’re not paying attention. Sadly, after just 44 were built, the R33 ceased production and that was that.
For most of us without the means to make our full-size fantasies a reality, we often turn to smaller scales to satiate our automotive desires.
This 400R is part of a larger group of Nismo GT-Rs, released as a box set by Kyosho a few years back. I vividly recall seeing them previewed here on the Lamley Blog, with a link that might as well have clicked itself. Before I knew it, a PayPal payment had been sent to JapanBooster and the wait was on.
Upon arrival, the cars were nothing less than spectacular. Beyond the 400R in yellow, it was released in red, along with a blue and silver R34 Z-Tune, a white and red R35 N-Attack, and a black and white R35 GT3. As wonderful as they were, for some reason they took up residence in my garage instead of being released into the wild. The miniature car equivalent of being castrated I’d imagine.
I’ve been slowly organizing my garage over the last, well, let’s not quantify it. Every time I placed something on a shelf, the Nismos caught my eye before I looked away in shame. Like The Claw from Toy Story, I plucked one from its plastic prison and let it strut its stuff on the painted (albeit peeling) runway. Something I should have done a long time ago.
Now about those other seven…
I just noticed that Kyosho makes their 400R, as well as Carnel64 (which appears to be a Kyosho production). The Carnel is number @ 999 pieces whereas Kyosho doesn’t number theirs. Any difference between the two? I’ll assume they were made of the same castings, same facilities, paintshops, assemblies, etc. Fron what I can see, the Kyosho-branded 400Rs were available in red, yellow and black, whereas the Carnel64-branded 400Rs were available in Silver and Midnight Purple.
Both look stunning. I just don’t know anything about Carnel64 and just learned about them recently. Do they even produce their own diecast pieces?
Hi James! Thanks for commenting.
The Kyosho/Carnel relationship is one I’ve been trying to decipher for some time now. They are clearly the same castings, but whether Carnel (or Car-nel) is a continuation of Kyosho – or they just bought the molds – who knows. I am thankful for Car-nel’s additional colors as the midnight purple might just top this yellow as best color.
If you find anything out, please let me know!
Cheers!