In Progress: Tamiya Ferrari F50

[Ferrari TR]

Oh man!
I'm with you, I bought the S27 set mostly for the grill.
I guess I'll paint the kit part and see how I feel about it before cutting it up.
I was going to buy another set for my 'full-view' kit. Not now though!
Well, you've saved me a few bucks if not a few headakes!

[DrYzOne]

I just went through the last 11 pages as I also have this kit. I must say, this is a super build. Excellent attention to detail. pity about the PE set but you've done great work and I'm sure it will come out great in the end.

[soul-theef]

that looks insane, awesome detail too i can't wait for it to be done.

[MPWR]

Now hold still, this won't hurt a bit....



Sure. Still can't believe I took a Dremel tool with a diamond grinder to a nearly finished model to make some small 'adjustments'....


But the results, I think, were worth it!



Here, finally, is the rear grille completed, with tail lights. Took some verrry careful grinding to both sides of each opening, but I widened them each just enough to take the kit tail light part. I'ts a close enough fit that the mesh holds the taillight pods in place (I reinforced with glue to be safe). Then, I went back and retouched all the paint that flaked off the mesh in the pocess of grinding. The chrome pony (O.K., Cavalino) was added from the S27 set. I didn't use the one Tamiya included, as the self adhesive wouldn't have anything to stick to, because the mesh is curved inwards. I had to stick it on with a bit of crystal cleer.




Even the rear deck lid seems to fit OK- something I worried alot about while installing with the mesh. I guess it can be done.




Yes, even the taillight pods got CF- and finally I'm done with the CF decalling on this kit! I used almost en entire sheet of SMS carbon kevlar. Granted, I had to redo several areas (and I learned alot along the way- this is the first kit i've used CF decals on!), but I only have enough left now to maybe redo the doors.




Fortunately, I don't have to. The cockpit with doors, seats, and pedals installed. Seatbelt anchors were added to the seats. I used thin styrene strip wrapped with a small piece of masking tape, painted it black, and painted the release button orange. Seatbelts themselves will be added after the bodywork is in place.




So, just about ready for final assembly....

[rx7king]

the detail is immaculate*, you did an awesome job with the carbon fiber too, one hell of a ferrari

[360spider]

Looks great!

[agamo]

Awesome Job!

Can't wait to see more progress, the tones and shades given to the engine are great! it simply looks so real! and the carbon fiber job is also excellent, how did you managed to get it so shiny?
Which clearcoat did you used? polished?

Congrats!

[klutz_100]

sooooooooooooo awsome!!!
This has become one of my favourite serials
A question if I may, how do you remove decals if you have to? I tried last week and totally screwed it up and made a real mess of my model Seen oodles of "how tos" on applying etc but nothing on removing.
stevenski

[MPWR]

Thanks, everyone!

agamo- the CF decals are all covered with Tamiya scrylic smoke- it helps tone them down a bit (I think left alone, they're too bright), and gives it a good, 'fiber composite' looking shine. I rubbed out and polished only areas that really needed, like if dust was stuck in the smoke, but most of it is left unpolished.

klutz_100- for removing messed up CF decals, I usually just soak the whole part in CSC/Purple Power, Windex, alcohol or the like. They're not hard to soak off, but usually the paint comes up too. I undercoat CF with gloss black, so I simply respray. If you're trying to remove decals and still save the paint underneith, soaking the offending marking with micro set will usually soften the decal enough that it can be peeled up, or rubbed off with a polishing stick.

[druid_99]

Originally Posted by MPWR

druid_99- I kinda doubt you'll find one in a hardware store. I had to hunt for mine, and found it in a hobby shop that specializes in RC aircraft. They can, however, be found online.
saw
blades

Haven't ever ordered from these people before (and so I don't know about international shipping- but with the value of the US$ these days, it could be reasonable!), but this is the beast in question. I'm sure it can be found elsewhere, also. These blades match the dimensions on mine. This is definately the only way I'd go about trying to saw up the kit grille. It's going to shatter on you sooner or later, but if you manage to remove all the mesh and get the frame shaped how you want it before it falls apart, you'll have a much better chance of getting it back together. You're currently building your F50? Good luck with it. Post some pics if you can, I'd love to see how it's coming. (And if/when you take a stab at the rear mesh, let me know how it goes!)

Thanks for the link. I really appreciate it. I've been building my F50 for quite some time now but never manage to get things moving yet. I just manage to paint the body, assemble the engine and prime it. I've been trying to work with the rear mesh but having problem with cutting the clear mesh (that's why I ask about the jewellers saw). Maybe if I manage to continue the F50 I'll post the WIP photos.

agamo - thanks for the link, I'll look into it.

[klutz_100]

thanks for the tip.
it's the getting them off without ruining the paint and leaving adhesive gunk marks that gets me .... but I don't want to clutter your thread with my frustrations anymore ) thanks again
stevenski

[geist_casper]

WOW WOW perfecly JOB Man......Respekt the Carbon Decals!!!!!!! and the Metall colours on the Exaust system!!!!!!!! and the Motor......WOW super Work,,,,,,Real,Had up.........
Daniel

[chaos]

Man, I don't understand how I missed this. Absolutely fantastic!!

[MPWR]

So, nearly everything is done, and ithe F50 is just about ready for final assembly. But there's still one last thing to add to the engine bay: the oil cooler and air conditioner radiators. Unfortunately, these (along with the front radiators) are one of the few places Tamiya really made a major shortcut on this kit. The fans are one piece, solid domes with the fan cages represented with raised ridges. They look pretty lame.



I painted one up and stuck it in place to see if it would do OK- that is, if it was adequately hidden back behind the wheel hump. Unfortunately, it can be seen back there. So, I had to do something. I've gotten away with doing very little scratchbuilding thus far on this kit, but I guess I'm not going to get away that easily. This is what I came up with:



Bit of an improvement, I think. Here's how I went about doing it (lots of small pics, 'cause there small parts. Good thing, as my AF account is just about full....)

First off, I removed the offending dome with a dremel tool, and then smoothed out the inside edges of the hole with needle files. Then, a disc of styrene was cut to fit the whole, and a bit of nylon mesh was cut to cover the styrene circle.




The mesh was glued to the disc and trimmed, and the styrene disk was then mounted in the hole, 0.060" down from the top of the edge (digital calipers are nice for making these measurements). Then, a short (0.045") length of sprue was cut, and glued on to the center of the disc.




Now for the fan itself. A disc of paper sized to fit the hole was drawn with a compass, cut out, and folded in half twice. (Notice the other 0.045" piece of sprue, which will go on top of the fan).




The paper disc is then folded up, a symetrical fan blade is drawn on it, and it's cut to shape. For those of you who may remember making paper snowflakes as a kid, it's a similar process- just alot smaller!




The paper fan, ready to install. Doesn't have to be perfect, just has to look something like fan blades.




The mesh is painted metallic, and given a wash of thinned black to bring out its texture. Then the fan is installed, and the second piece of sprue is glued on. The plastic cement soaks through the paper fan well enough that the two sprue dics are glued to each other. This column is now about 0.090" tall, and protrudes above the edge of the hole by 0.030" (I took all these measurements on the kit part before I cut it apart).




The fan blades are painted dark grey, and a small disc of styrene is added to the top of the sprue column, to act as a spacer for building the fan cage. The fan cage is made out of thin stretched sprue, melted and stretched above a candle.




Lengths of sprue are cut a little oversized, so they will be trimmed after they're in place. Here, four spokes are in place. The dividers are used to measure them to an aproximate lenth, so they're not too short to use. Also, before I started the cage, I twisted the blades each a bit with tweezers, to look more like a fan.




Here, all twelve radial spokes are in place, and ready to b trimmed.




The ends are trimmed, and a center hub is added using discs of styrene. The only difference between the oil cooler fan and the air conditioner fan is that the air conditioner has a couple of concentric rings together with the radial spokes. To make them, I wrapped a length of stretched sprue around some pieces of tubing, taped it in place, and dunked it in a cup of boiling water for a minute or so. Then, I cut the rings apart individually, and selected a couple to use, and glued them in place.




And here are the final results, all painted up.



Now, the F50 is ready for final assembly....

[klutz_100]

MPWR my jaw's down on the floor again!!
If I ever need delicate brain surgery, I want you tro do it, OK?
stevenski