From the Editor
Hi Club members
I hope all is well, we are now into the 3rd month of 2026, it’s been bit of a pickle, weatherwise. We have had some pretty bad weather around the country, but also some good weather. Jeanette and I holidayed in Hasting with family over the Christmas and New Year, we picked the best spot to be in, while different parts of NZ had bad weather and storms, we had only one day of rain, and great sunny hot weather. Luck of the draw, I guess.
I am still taking care with my arm and tendon repair, but it is getting a lot better. I am back off to the doctor and hoping I will get an all clear so that I can finish the work on my 260Z, but in the meantime I have been busy with my little Zeds. I have been making up 240Z models. I have completed the first two, there’s bit of a learning curve to making these, my first one (red) was okay but not great, the second one (orange) is much better, and I think I am getting the hang of it. It is very intricate work with these being 1/24th scale. They are about 10cm long, so small parts are really small.
Working on real cars was not cheap, neither are these models. These require special tools for the assembly, very fine paint brushes, very small drills, which can measure in points of a mil, air brush etc. Then you have the expendables, paints, glues 4 different types, cleaning agents, sanding sticks and sanding sponges, files etc. I think I spent more on the model supplies than I spent on the actual models.
But I really enjoy it and the finished product gives me a lot of satisfaction.
The red car was the first one, big learning curve, the second car, orange one was a lot better, these two are Fujimi models my third one is a Tamyia, and this one is a high-quality model, much more detail, and I am really enjoying making this one. After these I have a Tamyia 1/12 scale Datsun 240Z Safari car to make up. This one is the ala-cart of the Datsun models. Over twice the size of the other models and much, much better detailed.
From the Committee
We are still meeting once every two months, and although it brings its challenges it seems to be working.
Stuart has completed the new constitution, and this has been submitted to the Corporate Society government body, they have recognised that we have sent it. We have heard nothing back, so we assume take that they are happy. With regard to the Corporate Society government body, this body gives us the Act and requirements. They have told us that they do not check it but hold us responsible in accordance with the act. We have heard from some organisations that they have handed it lawyers to do, and they have ended up with 21 pages. We recognise that this is an outcome we want to avoid, so we have taken steps to minimise it as much as possible. Our goal has been to limit the occurrence to the lowest level we can achieve, ensuring that any potential negative impact is kept to a minimum. We now have 6 single sided pages. This will be put up on the website soon, as it needs to be available to all club members.
Club Branding and Event Procedures
We are pleased to announce that our club is now utilising a new logo, reflecting our updated branding efforts. Alongside this, we are actively working on producing a club “hand out card,” which will serve as a convenient resource for sharing club information during events. In addition, we are in the process of creating a couple of new flags to further enhance our presence at various club activities and gatherings.
Another important update is the reinstatement of the signing-in sheet for club events. While this practice was previously in place, the introduction of our new constitution has made it necessary to reintroduce the sign-in process. This measure is designed to ensure that the club is protected from potential litigation, providing an added layer of security for all members. Please be prepared to sign in at upcoming events as part of these procedural changes.
The committee is doing a little work around Club records; we have purchased a hard drive which will exclusively be used for the recording of all club information. I have been tasked with writing a club process manual, which I have done and should be ratified at the next committee meeting, I will also be doing a stock take on the club assets, most of which I have stored at my place.
Past Events
Our Club has for many years supported the Ellerslie Classic car Show and Concourse. February 2026 was no different than last year, except we were in a different spot.
The weather for the day was fine with a little sprinkle of rain in the morning and hot and sunny for the rest of the day. I didn’t have my car in the show as it is still undergoing some maintenance, so it was with great pleasure that at the end of the day, I could climb into my daily, turn the aircon up, and absorb myself with cold air. I left with some sunburn and a great experience.
We had 8 cars on display; I would like to say a big thanks to those who bought their cars along for this event, especially for those that drove up from the Waikato for the day. We had quite a bit of interest and had quite a few people come and chat about the Zeds. With the 8 cars we had a good mix, with the nearly the complete range of models on display, we were missing a 280ZX. We even had one of the new 400Z NISMO cars.
The show consisted of about 80 car clubs, starting from the early 1900’s up till today. The very early cars really amaze me, these 100 plus year old cars are immaculate and still fully drivable. Giltrap’s as always had a good exotic display of new cars. Cars we can only dream of. Everything on display was in very good condition, the Mustang club must have had 40 cars at the event. There were the usual Porsches, Ferrari’s and other exotics. Along with the older Holdens, Fords, Valiant Chargers, and the usual British contingent. MG, Austin Heally, Lotus etc.
The Europeans were also in abundance, a good display from the Mercedes crew, along with BMW, Audi, VW, etc. There were even a couple very old NSU’s. In the main hall we had an immaculate Delorean and a very rare Bugatti which was immaculate and worth at least six figures. There was a sprinkling of older American cars. The Japanese were also well represented, with The Mazda MX5 Club stand getting into the event theme and a good display and line up. The Mitsubishi Evo club were well represented, along with Mitsubishi GTO, Toyota MR2 and of course our stand of Zeds.
I have to feature this one car (yellow Treka) as it was my first company vehicle.
That’s the New Zealand made Treka in the featured pic. For the younger contingent, these were made in NZ and had Skoda 1100 suspension motor and gearbox. In the seventies they were quite popular, they were cheap and proved to be reasonable work horses.
There were also stands with merchandise, Meguiar’s had their usual stand. They were well stocked and selling plenty of product. Inside the main hall a Webber carburettor stand along with other supplies. The main hall featured a food hall, and they had plenty of food trucks around the venue. We were certainly well catered for. The Ice cream truck was as expected very busy.
If you have never been to this show, you must visit it at least once. I would recommend it.
Apparel:
I still have quite a few caps in stock, and the tees and polos are just a matter of placing an order. Orders must be placed through our web page, remember to make your payment as you order, our bank details are on the web order page. https://zclub.nz/apparel/
Many thanks for your commitment to the Club.
Bernie Kant
Club President.
