Kit review: APM 1/24 Ferrari F50 GT (pic plenty)

[Helico]

I always wanted a F50 GT. The only kits I knew of were 1/24 MSM creation trans kit and 1/43 BBR. The MSM kit is a good attempt but seems lack of serious effort to me (my opinion based on the review by Alex). The BBR kit is rarely seen on eBay and always a bit pricey for its scale. So I decided to wait for other companies to give this not-so-popular but rare Ferrari a new, miniature life. When APM released the 1/24 version in Dec, I thought the wait was finally over and bought it from APM off eBay.

The kit arrived today. So how is it? Let pictures do the talking. The kit box is about the same size as Studio 27 kits with similar layout. Parts are neatly organized and bagged separately.







This is a full kit which comes with a chassis and a separate cockpit.



There is no suspension detail. Not a surprise to me.





I think the rear diffuser is wrong.





The cockpit comes with a partial roll cage. Door panel has nice detail but the seat is oddly looking in both shape and scale. It won't be hard to source a proper racing bucket from elsewhere.





Moving on to the main body. The overall quality and casting of resin are pretty good. The surface is smooth, the panel line is sharp and only a few air bubbles. Some minor filling in and sanding are needed here and there, but nothing horrifying. I'm gonna give APM a big applause for taking the initiative to fill in some (but not all) air bubbles and repair one defect in the front hood with styrene. If I am to really pick on something, I would say the roof is perfect straight, just a tiny bit tilted from let to right. Just a tiny bit.













The back of the body is not so pretty looking but it can't be seen after built.







Filled bubble vs. not-filled bubble.



There is not vinyl tires, unfortunately. The back of rims needs quite a bit of cleaning. But let me point out that APM has done the rims correctly! The front and rear rims on the real car actually have slightly different spokes.



Some other parts. The throttle/brake/clutch pedals has the same linkage. Good luck driving this thing.



Plenty of high quality PE parts.



Wind screens come in pre-trimmed acetate. Carbon decal for the dash board is included. Other things shown here are resin wheel nuts, some pins, some screws and lights casted in clear resin. The front lamp cover is also in clear resin but has been sanded (not done professionally in my opinion). I would replace these with Tamiya parts.



Conclusion: A studio27-ish quality for a studio27-ish price. This is not a perfect kit and I would rate it 85/100. It no doubt can be built quite nicely out of box with some putty and sanding. To complete the other 15%, I would need some parts from Tamiya F50, a racing bucket, vinyl tires and maybe a brake set.

My kit came with no instruction manual so that I'm not able to do a part count. I emailed APM and got a very quick response. They are mailing me a copy. Great custom service.

Would I buy it again? Definitely! Oh did I mention APM is releasing 1/24 599XX in April? Hopefully the kit is priced similarly as F50 GT.

[rx7king]

Thanks for the great review! I was so close to buying this kit at the Ferrari expo Saturday as there were two of them. I saw the instructions too which were awesome, and in color. I didnt buy it because I didnt have any money lol. Only wish it wasnt curbside but that is asking too much. I definatly hope to get my hands on one.

and its hard to believe when you say "not-so-popular" tho you may be right, I personally love it and wish I had an opportunity to see it in person

[outpost961]

Thank you for the model kit pic's and review. I've had my eye on this kit for a while now and i am grateful for this review. This is a very popular Ferrari and has been modeled many times over the years in 1/24 and other scales.
Trans kits:
1. SCALE PRODUCTIONS
2. MUSEUM COLLECTION with removable engine panel and engine top parts.
3.MSM

4. FUJIMI built up version

And now we finally get a full kit. I am glad that APM has decided to do 1/24 kits. There 1/12 and 1/18 kits are state of the art. They have also released the GEMBALLA MIG-U1 in 1/24 and this looks good as well. With the F50GT kit and a Tamiya Ferrari F50 this should build into a great model.

[rx7king]

Originally Posted by outpost961

Thank you for the model kit pic's and review. I've had my eye on this kit for a while now and i am grateful for this review. This is a very popular Ferrari and has been modeled many times over the years in 1/24 and other scales.
Trans kits:
1. SCALE PRODUCTIONS
2. MUSEUM COLLECTION with removable engine panel and engine top parts.
3.MSM

4. FUJIMI built up version

And now we finally get a full kit. I am glad that APM has decided to do 1/24 kits. There 1/12 and 1/18 kits are state of the art. They have also released the GEMBALLA MIG-U1 in 1/24 and this looks good as well. With the F50GT kit and a Tamiya Ferrari F50 this should build into a great model.

I am new to APM products and after this was inspired to search their website and i am incredibly impressed with the things I found and wished I had $1000 to spend on their exclusive models. Anyways I couldnt see anything about the 1/24th 599xx so I e-mailed them. They confirmed that it is coming in April and it will be $200 with shipping included. I tried to get information about the company like how many builders they have etc but he wouldnt answer any of those questions.

[360spider]

Thanks for the review, I've been thinking about getting the kit, but I think I will skip it now. Not that much of an improvement over MSM transkit really.

[da_ashman]

Thanks for the great review, very clear & consice! Might have to order one of these!

[Veyron]

APM is the group that saw pics of my 612GTC and made an exact copy of it in 1/18 and sold some of them before I got it stopped.

Now they are making the 1/18 P4/5 of Jim Glickenhaus without any permission at all.

These guys have no scruples whatsoever.

I didn't take any legal action...I just pleaded my case and proved my case to shop owners who had ordered the 612 and they pulled them from their shelves just on principle.

I don't what Jim is doing, if anything.

[star21]

Originally Posted by Veyron

I didn't take any legal action...I just pleaded my case and proved my case to shop owners who had ordered the 612 and they pulled them from their shelves just on principle.

I don't what Jim is doing, if anything.

Sorry to hear of them copying your work. It's always sad to see someone's hard work being ripped off. Honestly, I doubt taking legal action would do anything at all. Lately it seems like the Chinese courts don't really give a rip when it comes to copyright, reserved, or trademark laws (and not just in scale models).

[Helico]

Originally Posted by Veyron

APM is the group that saw pics of my 612GTC and made an exact copy of it in 1/18 and sold some of them before I got it stopped.

Now they are making the 1/18 P4/5 of Jim Glickenhaus without any permission at all.

These guys have no scruples whatsoever.

No wonder I'd seen a 1/18 612GT kit on eBay that looked just like your work. I actually thought you managed to make a 1/18 version for sale. Sorry to hear your work got copied without permission. Now I also doubt any of the APM models are licensed.

In case of jim Glickenhaus's P4/5, he did not get permission from Ferrari either. Nevertheless if a 1/24 P4/5 is in the pipeline, that would be really sweet for modelers.

I didn't know Scale Production and Museum Collection made F50GT kits. I would love to see them! Does anyone have pictures?

[rx7king]

I honestly dont care if small groups like APM make kits of rare cars without a license, that larger companies like Fujimi, Tamiya (especially), and other larger kit makers arent bothering making. I think it is good for the hobby from the builders perspective. Most builders have a list of cars they wish they could find a kit for (if they dont have the abilities to scratch build it themselves) and I think APM is satisfying some of the cars on these lists...Its good for the hobby, I hope they keep it coming.

[outpost961]

There's a Museum Collection F50GT1 kit sitting on Ebay for the last 7 months or more @ $1500.00US. This is the kit with the removable engine cover and engine top parts. I think
the APM or any of the other kits could be worked to achieve this effect. The Fujimi built-
up looked fabulous.

[512BB]

Thank you for your review! The one thing that caught my attention is they fixed the broken or defective parts in your model, I really wonder if they should throw away defective parts instead or be generous enough to send you a good one? Btw, do you think they have used the Tamiya F50 as base?

[Helico]

Originally Posted by 512BB

Thank you for your review! The one thing that caught my attention is they fixed the broken or defective parts in your model, I really wonder if they should throw away defective parts instead or be generous enough to send you a good one? Btw, do you think they have used the Tamiya F50 as base?

It's not easy to cast defect or bubble-free resin (at least I can't ). It all comes down to the design of the mold. I actually don't mind if my copy has been repaired. At least APM took the effort to repair it (although a better effort is needed) unlike some other manufacturers who simply ignore.

I can't comment on whether or not APM used the Tamiya as base. It's hard to tell but that's what I would do.

[360spider]

It actually looks like it is based on some kind of diecast model, but definitely not Tamiya base.

[nniemi]

I'd say it is Tamiya based. I replaced headlight covers on my kit with Tamiya F50 parts and no modification was needed.

-Niko