1/12 Testors Lamborghini Countach

[taliesen]

Starting off with this one today, this will likely be a long term build. The plan is to go 'enhanced box stock' - I'll be trying my novice hand at some scratch build improvements to existing parts, without really building anything new.

Here's the box shot:


And here we have the first issue - despite the box description, this is definitely not an LP500S. Note the shape of the front wheel flares, and the way it blends (or more precisely, doesn't blend) into the front air dam. From the LP400S models on, the flare was a rounded square instead of a smooth arc - and it was blended into the air dam smoothly. The wheel style, too, disappeared during the LP400S run, to be replaced by the smoother dished ones. Also, some of the engine details point towards the kit's true roots as an LP400. At best, this is modeled after the Walter Wolf LP400S prototype. I'm not going to quibble over the details, I'm going to build this as is and say it was built at the same time as the Wolf prototype

Second issue is the horrid gold chrome in the kit - very splotchy and uneven.




This will be stripped, and anything meant to remain gold (mainly the wheels) will be resprayed with Alclad pale gold.

Finally, just because I can't stand not seeing it, here's the dry fit of the body. Lots of finessing will be needed to make this sit right in the end . . .


I'm open to suggestions for changes from those who know the kit - but I plan to post updates real-time, and they may be a bit slow from time to time, so I don't expect to see it finished for a while. However, I can use the encouragement to complete it!!!

Thanks for viewing.

[Ferrari TR]

Hardly see Countachs built anymore, much less large ones. Good luck with your build.

[racer917]

A beauty of a kit. I started the Doyusha a few months ago but had to put it down, won't get back to it for a while. Got as far as cleaning engine parts and putting some together. The tires are the best I have seen. Maybe now I'll be motivated to get back to mine.

[TightDA8]

Nice Kit...Is this one of those old Testor's Kits that were really Fujimi but reboxed as Testor's? I'm working on one too but its a Fujimi 1/16 scale version...I too can't wait till its finished...It wont be super detailed but look great.

[taliesen]

It's actually the Doyusha kit, and it looks a lot like the pics I've seen of the Otaki one as well, but I'm not sure of that . . . .

Progress is being made - first up, though, the goodies arrived! Acu-Stion, so they were pricey, but lots of options. Biggest disappointment is that the scripted logos (5th row) are 4 mm too wide to use on the valve covers - but most of my reference material shows they were painted anyway, so I'll leave the kit ones.




The hood logo is smaller than the kit pieces, too - looks more accurate to me. Other advantage is the chrome on the kit pieces is way too thick, so there's no detail - even stripped, the detail isn't great. These should look nicer if my painting hand does them justice. Same for the wheel inserts - the top row fits them perfectly, and the same size works for the steering wheel as well, which the kit doesn't supply anyway.






And the logos for the rear - kind of an odd trade-off here - the PE Lamborghini has a capital L instead of lower case as on the 1:1 and kit, but the "t" in Countach looks better on the PE.



Finally, proof that I'm doing more than messing with the shiny bits - the beginnings of my 'mass painting' process. Means slow progress in the beginning, but I don't have to clean the airbrush as much if I do the colors in groups (and use less thinners, too!).

[countach79]

good work so far!!

i have a huge supply of countach's from 1/43rd to 1/24 1/16 and 1/12 my most fav car in the world!!

watchin this one like a hawk!opcorn:

[racer917]

Yes taliesen,
The Otaki and Doyusha kits are identical. I actually half built the Otaki +25 yrs ago. Didn't know better so everything (engine, suspension) was brush painted. I never finished it but I still have it. The body, interior, and wheels I did not touched. Couple of years ago I got the Doyusha. They are identical. That means I have two bodies, set of wheels, tires and interior. If I really wanted I could still restore the horrible painting I did on the engine and suspension but too much work. For now I'll just do the new one. One of my top five kits of all time. Light years ahead of it's time. The only negative I've heard is that it's a tight fit fitting the body. Since I never got that far I don't know how bad/tight it is.

[racer917]

taliesen, forgot to ask about the PE sheet. Where did you get it and what part is it? Do you have link?

[taliesen]

I got it from Media Mix - took about a week, week and a half from Singapore to Texas.

http://www.mediamixhobby.com.sg/cata...sort=2a&page=1

[taliesen]

Made a lot of progress on getting ready to paint, but most of it doesn't show well . . . . here's MOST of what I've got done now:


Made the scripts gold, since the car will be black - the emblems are gold too, but still need the black added, and the clear:



Modded the rear mesh screen between the exhausts - the kit part has a 'solid' mesh:


Cut that out and replaced with an aluminum mesh for sculpting:


Got a start on the interior as well - it's molded with a texture everywhere it is supposed to be leather, but looks more like carpet. I'll have to sand this away - but the speaker grills will get lost in that process.

So, I'm drilling them out - taking a while, and I've already busted a couple of #78 bits . . .


That's all for now . . . . hope to get some painting done this week, but it's looking like I'll be busy with 'real' life, so it may take a while . . . .

Thanks for looking!

[Captain Mark]

Fantastic project - I'll be keeping an eye on this build.

[brando590]

Damn. That speaker work is incredible. Ever consider being a microsurgeon? I never would have thought of that.

[taliesen]

Minor updates this time around . . . .

Finished the cleanup of the interior - did the seats too, they had the same texture issue. Drilling the speakers took longer than I thought - final cost was 6 - 8 #80 drill bits broken, and one bit through my finger tip (from closing the bit container, if you can believe that). Worth the bits, not sure about the finger . . . .




Also had to add some clearance to allow the gearbox to fit in the tunnel correctly - dremel to the rescue!


Finished up the emblems - very thin black enamel paint applied in the open areas, and it wicked right into all the little gaps. Took a bunch of applications, but came out pretty good. Finished with some Future. I couldn't get good pics of the wheel caps, but here's the hood emblem.


And some more goodies arrived!


I'm currently spending time on unwarping some of the body parts - the engine cover in particular isn't sitting right. Too boring to show pics of . . . .

Next update may be a while - hopefully it will include some paint and actual assembly!

[Martin S]

This build sure is inspiration for me since I have the fujimi 1/16 countach next in my to-do pile.

[CrateCruncher]

Nice start Taliesen! I too built this model about three years ago. The fit and finish was generally pretty good on the P400 version (Michelin XWX's and no wheel arch fairings) as I recall. I think the engine is beautiful. I added some braided line and wire to top of the engine and found some ignition wire that was a litle closer to scale. I also scratch built some ribbed fresh air ducts to the air cleaners. My only disapointment was that after working so long on the engine one could hardly see any of it through the tiny body opening. If I were to do another I would give some thought to leaving the engine out displayed next to the car or something.