Revell Ferrari 458

There's some pics of the 458 now up on Revell's web site (http://www.revell.de/en/products/model_kits/model_kits/products/?id=210&KGKANR=0&KGKOGP=10&KGSCHL=5&L=1&page=1&sort=0&nc=&searchactive=&q=&SWO=&ARMAS4=&PHPSESSID=8f70eecc2dadf05ab94ce621b051642f&KZSLPG=&offset=8&cmd=show&ARARTN=07141&sp=1). Click where it says 360 view :)

looks good, rim look a bit small though :smokin: wonder if the rear engine cover can be open :iceslolan

Great one i like it. i saw one of this in car show dubai. Really looks great.

Fujimi's wheels are sexier. Revell's wheels look too small, they are still nasty two-piece design, and the tires too big. Revell kits have improved dramatically, but wish it would invest in some better wheel-making technology.

I hate the brakes. I don't like the wheels and tyres much but I really hate those brakes. Revell keep doing the same crap with the unsprung parts every bloody time, and on a car like this with 5 thin spokes on the wheels and the brake discs highly visible it's just ugly.

That said, everything else looks rather positive! The mesh areas at the rear are really distinct so chances are they will be given as separate parts. From what I can see this I will have to buy the kit.

I don't know why, but Revell's kits almost always end up looking like toys to me. It's weird, they just don't seem to really look as much as cars-in-miniature as they look like miniatures of cars.

I think it's down to their generally too soft detailing.
in certain areas like body panel creases need to be extra sharp because they are scaled down but more often than not, they're too soft and rounded which, when painted only makes it worse unless you lay super thin coats of perfect paint.
It's the same for their engines.
It's a shame because in some areas, they are great kits i.e their window fit method of late, but in some, they get it so wrong.

I also think that revell needs to change up the brakes and wheels. But apart from that they have been getting a tiny bit easier to build. I really think it depends on who in the company engineers the kit. For instance the r8 is a new kit, but the engineering beind it :banghead:

Yeah, I think Revell didn't do the R8 justice. Would love to have seen a Tamiya version. I do think that with clean building and attention to detail, Revell kits do come out well. They just take more effort than a Fujimi or Tamiya.

I'm glad I bought the Fujimi one :)

It might have less parts, the seats being moulded to the floor of the interior may be annoying, but once completed it is so much better looking and realistic compared to the Revell one.


I had Revell boxes, they open to the side so you can't store parts in them whilst your building and you have to empty the whole box just to get what you want, and I hate the wheel design and the disgusting chrome they use!


I only ever buy Revell kits if that particular model isn't made by the big three (Aoshima, Tamiya, Fujimi).

What will be the US price. because I know I am not dropping 70 US dollars for the fujimi. I rather save and get the re-released fine molds millenium falcon :iceslolan

Than being said, if I build a 458 it will be this one. Unless somethimg worth the money comes before that. This would be like 5th in my current list, maybe....

I'm sorry... where are you guys getting this level of detailed criticism from? Are there sprue shots there that I haven't found yet? I can't see anything in those pictures that makes me think that this will be anything other than a good-looking model when built up. Personally, I didn't have any problems with building the R8, and I thought the California was excellent. Even if the the wheels ARE two piece and the discs and callipers moulded in one (and until I see the kit or some sprue shots, who knows?), I little bit of careful assembly and painting will solve that "problem".

I get a little bit bored with people slagging off kits or manufacturers on the basis of a few pictures on the internet. Recently, IPMS Deutschland posted some pictures of built, unpainted test shots of the new Revell 1/72 B-17 (which will sell for £17, not the £50 or so of a Hasegawa B-24) and the experts started straight in complaining about overdone panel lines etc. Now there's a properly finished, painted one on Hyperscale, and it looks just plain superb.

I've found that the "pre-production" model shots that Revell uses on its boxes often don't do full justice to what CAN be done with the kit inside - I think the guys who make them are under a lot of time pressure.

So, let's wait and see how much it costs, how well it builds, and what a good job the guys on this forum can make of it before we start writing off the kit or the company, eh?

bestest,
M.

mattbacon,

I cat speak only of myself, but my criticism of the brakes is not about the discs and calipers being cast as one part. Just look at the discs. Look at what is supposed to represent drilled holes. Do they look anything like the real car to you? They look to be basically the same as in the Revell Superamerica kit, and in that very humble opinion of mine they look horrible. Usually their calipers are much too shallow as well, but that remains to be confirmed once we have the kit in our hands. Compare what you can see from the 360 deg. view to any of the brake parts in recent Fujimi Ferrari kits (starting with the F430 where discs and calipers are also one part) and you'll see that it's hard for modellers to accept something that we know can be done much much better. Hell, Revell has actually made kits where this area is done much better.

I have bought all of the Ferrari kits that Revell has issued over the last few years and without a doubt the California is very very good. I also like the way they engineer the attachment of the clear parts. However the Revell F430 and 599 kits that I have will more than likely never get built because it's just too much hassle to try to fix things that are inaccurate or that look wrong.

Don't think i need to label which is revell and which is fujimi, it is obvious which had the better wheel and brake :lol:
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa155/Entau/MISC/Compare.jpg

Revell: £18.99; Fujimi £46.99

IF the Revell parts IN THE KIT (not in a photo of a prototype model on the internet) really bug you, then that £30 difference buys a lot of photo-etch...

bestest,
M.

so much expensive? fujimi's kit is just 3800yen, included shipping it should not be more than £38 if you order from hlj :screwy:

okay, that's still 100% more expensive :icon16:

but i still rather had 1 fujimi 458 than to had 2 revell 458 :cwm27:

so much expensive? fujimi's kit is just 3800yen, included shipping it should not be more than £38 if you order from hlj :screwy:


Sadly, unless you are lucky, you end up paying VAT (sales tax) of 17.5% (on the cost PLUS shipping charges) and perhaps import duty, PLUS the fee that the Post Office charges for paying that fee for you so that they can get your parcel out of Customs to deliver it to you (another £8). That £38 quickly turns into £52.65...

So I can have nearly THREE Revell 458s for the cost of one Fujimi, and build all the cool colour schemes I've tried out on the Ferrari configurator...

bestest,
M.

Revell: £18.99; Fujimi £46.99

IF the Revell parts IN THE KIT (not in a photo of a prototype model on the internet) really bug you, then that £30 difference buys a lot of photo-etch...

bestest,
M.

You say that as if you don't think that the usual Revell flaws will be present in the kit. Sure, there is a point that we should judge a kit only when we have it in our hands but let's be honest here about the standard Revell methods/practices.
Unfortunately, the bits that bug me about revell kits also usually end up costing more than £30 to buy.
The other more usual option is to modify the existing parts to my liking
i.e the wheels
But then what do I do about the godawful rubber that they insist on using that eventually eats away at the wheels?


Yes the revell kits are cheaper in our neck of the woods compared to imported Japanese kits but that doesn't change the fact that they do have some rather annoying flaws in them that we really shouldn't accept.

wheels
tyres
brakes
suspension/springs
very thick bodies
too soft detailing

That's also not to mention that I buy my kits from Hong Kong whenever I am there and in some cases, it costs me less to buy my Japanese kits than a Revell kit here.
Case in point, back in the day, my Ferrari 360 cost me pretty much £10 and my Enzo kit cost me £12.

That isn't to say that the Japanese kits aren't flawless as I am always less than impressed by Fujimi chassis.
Compare the bottom of a Revell Superamerica and any Fujimi 550/575 kit and you'll see what I mean... but alas, if only the Revell kit had better defined lines/detail in that chassis and that's my general feeling with Revell; "if only".

All I have to say is that if you zoom in on the photo, you can see the two piece wheels.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree, then...

I'm going to wait until I see the kit parts in the flesh, and then, if there's anything I really shouldn't accept, then I won't buy it. However, I've not yet found a kit that can't be enjoyably turned into a replica that's "good enough" for me (and as a Classic British Kits SIG member I've built more than my fair share of less than "state of the art" kits), and I have yet to find a "flawless" kit (though the Tamiya 1/32 Spitfire IX comes pretty close).

(If you want to do something about the "godawful rubber", try putting a couple of coats of Klear/Future on the wheel rims before you put the tyres on - that's the solution that's been recommended to me most often, especially for the tyres in Dragon and Ertl aircraft kits)

bestest,
M.

Have any of the Revell armchair critics actually built one of their latest models?

Have any of the same bought or built the Fujimi 458?

I've built the Fujimi 458. It's an awful kit for 3800 yen, especially compared to their far superior work on their previous F430 kits, especially the Scuderia.

The Fujimi 458 seems to be a cruel joke...one look in the box is bad enough, but some of the details are really lame, like the interior and all the sink marks.

So you've seen some professionally built Fujimi 458's and they can look very nice. But I can almost guarantee that an equally professional build of the Revell kit will be superior. Not to mention that in many parts of the world the Revell kit will be far less $$ than the Fujimi kit.

I like my built Fujimi 458, but I didn't enjoy building it at all due to the "cheese" factor of the kit. I've since built two Revell kits, a '62 Impala and Viper ACR, that both trounce the Fujimi 458 in detail, design, and the all-important fun-to-built aspect. The California looks pretty good and I've seen excellent builds of it (I don't like the car, so I won't build a model of it). My Revell Superamerica was a far better model to build and detail than the Fujimi 458.

I think the Revell 458 is going to be a pretty sweet model and can't wait to get one in my hands. I love the car, so even if it's not better than the bleh-worthy Fujimi kit, it will still be more than okay with me. Seems to me that an awful lot of people get more enjoyment from trashing models/model companies on forums than actually sitting down and building anything :wink:

Seems to me that an awful lot of people get more enjoyment from trashing models/model companies on forums than actually sitting down and building anything :wink:

isn't that the internet's for?
well, that and porn...

I just love how everybody is bashing the kit they never actually seen. Lol.

Actually, I'm bashing Revell for what I saw in the 612, Superamerica, 599 and F430.
Perhaps I should've made that bit clearer; I am not speaking against this model kit per se, more what they have done in previous kits that I have built.

Actually, I'm bashing Revell for what I saw in the 612, Superamerica, 599 and F430.
Perhaps I should've made that bit clearer; I am not speaking against this model kit per se, more what they have done in previous kits that I have built.

Revell's 360 was awful, not helped whatsoever by comparison to Tamiya's 360. The 612 is better, but it's a handful to assemble, it's no fun to wrestle the chassis into submission. Their F430 looks strange, but better than the 360...a lot better, but clearly inferior to the Fujimi F430's. The US variant of their Superamerica is pretty good, in fact I'd say better than the multi-color disaster in the Revell AG box. Mine built up quite nicely...and it's a better kit overall than Fujimi's Superamerica. Full detail and better interior, even the 2-piece wheels manage to look pretty nice on it. The California looks really good. I have a 599, it's good aside from the wheels/tires...which I'm replacing w/20" Challenge wheels. Body isn't as crisp as Fujimi's, but at less than half the price, it's more than acceptable. I've seen plenty of very nicely built Revell Enzos. It manages to look better closed up than the Tamiya kit, where the doors/engine cover are better left open since they sure don't fit very well closed.

Revell seems to improve demonstrably every time they issue a new Ferrari. There was a leap of quality from the 360 to the F430. Whereas the 360 and F430 had much better rivals from Asia, I don't think that will be the case w/the 458. If the 458 manages to avoid assembly issues, it could easily be a better kit than Fujimi's halfhearted "get it out there first at all costs" effort.

I'll make a bet now that the SLS will be very good indeed. Maybe not quite as good as it would be if made by Tamiya, but easily up to the standards of the Aoshima SL63/5 kits...

bestest,
M.

fujimi 458 is good enough to built!!!
--!!!

To me it all depends on how much one like the real car. I am not particularly in love with the 458, so therefore I would not spend $70 dollars for it, thus the reason I would buy the revell. Now when the Enzo war realesed, I ended up getting 3. So again, it depends on how much the person likes the car :)

Their F430 looks strange, but better than the 360...a lot better, but clearly inferior to the Fujimi F430's.

y'know, I actually quite like the Revell 430.
It does have its flaws on the body, mostly relating to too softly registered lines but once these are taken care of, it looks pretty good.

Not 100% there yet but this is mine with first coat of "checking" primer on it.

http://xa3.xanga.com/f35f8363d1535272094919/w217015657.jpg

http://xc6.xanga.com/62ff916311532272094917/w217015655.jpg

http://xc7.xanga.com/1baf6b6371533272094916/w217015654.jpg


http://x49.xanga.com/b74f706373730272095132/w217015848.jpg

i) little square on front bumper (light washer) needs to be filled in.
ii) front of nose had edges resharpened
iii) bottom left+right areas of front bumper/wing had to be built up and resharpened
iv) are where front bumper meets front wheel arch had to be redefined
v) crease along body that extends from redefined surfacementioned in iv) had to be built up with surface primer then again, redefined
vi) panel at bottom rear of sill had to be "seperated" (see other photos)

not shown
i) the opening/inside in the front wing in front of the front wheel arch needed to be extened inside the body work.
ii) the opening in front of the rear arch also needed to be extended inside the body work.

There's still a couple of things that need tidying up but I think the body looks ok.
Of course, it still bugs the hell out of my that there is not much suspension detail here, there are missing parts of the chassis (where the wishbones are connected... not that there are any in the kit...) and the plastic they used for the rear hatch is too soft for my liking.
I've looked at getting a Fujimi 430 but in these areas, that won't provide anything to fix it either so that's been vetoed.
In fact, I've toyed with the idea of getting a Tamiya 360 and a Fujimi 430 in order to build a 430 that I'd be happy with and that's probably how the 458 would be for me; a Revjimi bash like my still on the table 550.

Sadly, unless you are lucky, you end up paying VAT (sales tax) of 17.5% (on the cost PLUS shipping charges) and perhaps import duty, PLUS the fee that the Post Office charges for paying that fee for you so that they can get your parcel out of Customs to deliver it to you (another £8). That £38 quickly turns into £52.65...

So I can have nearly THREE Revell 458s for the cost of one Fujimi, and build all the cool colour schemes I've tried out on the Ferrari configurator...

bestest,
M.


i see, that's really unfortunate..ok, i understand why :icon16:

I just love how everybody is bashing the kit they never actually seen. Lol.
;)

I for one will buy the Fujimi 458 when the prices get down to ground and certainly will get one Revell kit of it too, even if only for the engine model, then will see how to put together the best parts from both.

I thought the Revell California was great. I used the Hobby Design detail set. I thought it turned out better than a Fujimi model could. I hope the Revell 458 is just as good as the cali. If it is forget the Fujimi toy.
Tom Tanner/Scale Designs/Ferrari Expo 2011-Chicago April 2011http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd85/F1tommy/cali001.jpg