Ferrari 458 Speciale 1/24

Hi guys,
as my last rebuild of a R/C toy car (Ferrari FF), which isn't available otherwise in 1/24, turned out quite well, I thought I'd give it another shot. This time with a Ferrari 458 Speciale. Jamara startet their Speciale Aperta some time ago, and this is what I will be using. Unlike the FF, I will not use the whole body and build an Aperta with closed top, but the regular coupe. So I will need also the body of the regular kit.
Revell has better interiour details, Fujimi provides the nicer body with better proportions IMO. I used the Revell body for my Spider, so this time it will be the Fujimi kit, as this will be more about the outside appearance. Overall, curbside will be fine.

Let's go!

The Fujimi body and the Jamara car.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwcwa/p1110100_zps20jeccar.jpg

Naturally, the Jamara's inside isn't helpful. I will use these parts for the rebuild: front and rear of the main body, front and rear of the chassis, as they already fit the body of course, the little blades on the sides, and the rims. Other Speciale specific parts will have to be scratch built.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwcwl/p1110101_zpsgdg9hlsk.jpg

Off came the new body parts.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwcwi/p1110102_zpsiwcgeloa.jpg

The same cut on the Fujimi body. Luckily the rear is already a separate part in the Fujimi kit, so no extra cutting here.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwcww/p1110103_zpshpf5tvgu.jpg

A quick test fit. Looks good.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwigr/p1110104_zpsmr5db87p.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwiga/p1110105_zpspxrvbjec.jpg

The yellow paint has to come off. The plastic of the Jamara car is very brittle, I already broke off some small parts. There will be no extensive scratch building on these new body parts, the risk of breaking them completely is too high.
https://picload.org/image/rpapiril/p1110106.jpg

All air intakes and outlets are opened, damages repaired, and the parts are sprayed with fine grey primer to check for last flaws.
The rear end gave me some headaches. There's supposed to be a big mesh, covering the entire width of the car, including the round areas arround the taillights, same as on the regular 458. It was difficult enough to bend those single P/E pieces to the correct threedimensional shape, but cutting one single piece of mesh, that will have the correct form on both sides after bending seems impossible. So I cut out only the straight middle part and will replace it by P/E mesh. The sides under the taillights will just be painted black. The red taillights will cover most of it, hopefully.
Let's see how that will turn out later.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwigi/p1110107_zps9efnkmw1.jpg

The new parts are glued to the Fujimi body.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwigw/p1110108_zpsjbn4ludw.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwirr/p1110109_zps8ptcve0a.jpg

First I used C/A superglue to keep the parts in place, then I backed up the joints on the inside with 2K epoxy and pieces of plastic sheet.
https://picload.org/image/rpapirww/p1110110.jpg

The little incorrections at the wheel arches are corrected, and the whole body is covered in fine grey primer, ready for painting.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwiri/p1110112_zpssnqxvo0z.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwirw/p1110113_zpsgpfy0srd.jpg

I have always been a fan of Ferrari's Blu Elettrico. Zeropaints version of that color doesn't reproduce the effect in the right way, so like others before me, I have used their Candy Electric Blue, on a Very Fine Silver base, here already covered with some clear.
The color is gorgeous, even though the pictures don't really show it yet.
Btw, I plan to use lot's of dark, black and C/F accents next to the blue color.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwidr/p1110114_zpsoxkbqsva.jpg

The first accent will be Speciale stripes. Not the wide center stripe, but the two smaller ones.
As the clear is still very rough, I sanded and (coarse) polished the center areas, where the stripes will be, to have a good even base.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwidl/p1110115_zpsjzgizlvf.jpg

For the stripes, first I painted some left over white decal printing paper with TS30 silver.
https://picload.org/image/rpapidlw/p1110116.jpg

Then I masked the left and right side, leaving a stripe of about 4mm, which was painted semigloss black.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwidw/p1110118_zpslqxtlcaw.jpg

I cut it into pieces of the right length, and cut away the silver sides, leaving only about 0,5 mm of the silver color on both sides.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwiar/p1110119_zps91mbvsmw.jpg

Now I applied these stripes like regular decals, with the help of some Micro Sol. It worked quite well, the paint-decals even bent arround the edges.
https://picload.org/image/rpapidcr/p1110120.jpg

All 6 stripes are on.
The complete body is covered in more TS13 gloss clear. Now it needs to rest until the paint is really hard and dry, for sanding and polishing.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwial/p1110122_zpsc9cx1igo.jpg

On to chassis and interior...

You are my hero!!!
Love it!!!

I have 458 Fujimi conversion to Speciale in my plans too :)

...love this.

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Wow amazing work! I follow this thread

Thanks guys! :)


This is what I had in mind, only in blue, to match the body color.
https://picload.org/image/rpapilci/317.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpapilcw/318.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpapiagr/319.jpg

Fujimis main cockpit part.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwiai/p1110130_zpsftklauwx.jpg

Seats, doors, floor and center console are different in the Speciale, so they had to go. :)
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwiaw/p1110131_zpsg17gudts.jpg

First I put in some sheet to close the holes from the center console, and also a new floor.
Luckily the center console of the Speciale is very cubic without extra angles, so it's rather easy to rebuild it. I decided to make all 3 compartments in the console equaly deep, even though on the real car, they are a bit different.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwioa/p1110133_zpsadz9pxnu.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpapiaga/p1110134.jpg

The inner door panels were built out of 2 layers of plastic sheet, to recreate the 3 dimensional form. Since Fujimis proportions and forms are not really accurate in this part of the car/cockpit, the proportions of the doors are not so exact as well, but it will have to do.
https://picload.org/image/rpapiaci/p1110132.jpg

I cut in a kind of panelline to separate the Alcantara top from the C/F underneath, and painted everything black, then microballs + flat black for the upper parts and C/F for the lower parts.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwioi/p1110135_zpstnhj8iks.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpapiacw/p1110136.jpg

As the proportions on the Fujimi car are not correct, I can only determine the correct position of the compartments in relation to the seats, so first I have to figure out where exactly the seats will sit.

So we need some seats! :)

I started the seats by filling the lower parts with white resin to give them a good base to stand on, and also used putty to repair the damages on the side, that happend while cutting them out of the floor.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwilr/p1110140_zpssnmywm4c.jpg

I cut off the lower front part to create the right form. The fishbone pattern on the seat parts are filled with putty.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwila/p1110141_zpszjyjzswt.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwill/p1110142_zpsfk4gisa9.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwili/p1110143_zps5mjiy1aa.jpg

I glued a single sheet of paper towel tissue onto the plastic, to create a surface that looks like cloth.
These cushions are now painted blue. The black stripes are pieces of decal cut to size. In the end the cushions are covered with semigloss clear, and masked.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwilw/p1110144_zps9bx6vh4t.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwicr/p1110145_zpsf1zj3cfp.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwica/p1110146_zpswrha1nez.jpg

Now the seats are painted flat black, the sides and the rear are now also masked, and the remaining surfaces are painted again with flat black and micro balls for the Alcantara look.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwicl/p1110147_zpsp8orxapf.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwici/p1110148_zpszbhi2mxf.jpg

The side and rear parts are now covered in C/F.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwicw/p1110149_zpsjjupufct.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwiir/p1110150_zpsmyefciip.jpg

Now I can continue on the center console, and put on the final pieces and shaped the form. Gaps are filled with putty and sanded smooth.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwiia/p1110151_zpsud0ium2q.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwiil/p1110152_zps6lw0x0x2.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwiii/p1110153_zpsyw5va64w.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwiiw/p1110154_zpsqdbaqbyd.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwipr/p1110155_zpsiduft4bf.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwipa/p1110156_zpsppeswrn3.jpg

The cockpit is painted semigloss black. The rear got some microballs + flat black to continue the Alcantara surfaces.
In the middle there will be one of these handles with 3 buttons, the same as in the LaFerrari. As I don't have any casting equipment, and I don't want to buy an extra kit for 50 €, I will try to make it myself, from sheet and a round rod.
The sheet is cut into the right shape, and bent in one place. Then I made some cuts, and glued in pieces of the rod. The rods were cut of vertically, the gaps filled, and the whole thing glued to a base piece. Everything is covered by C/F, and some red/white + black/white decals and red/black paint added.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwipl/p1110157_zps88paypx9.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwipi/p1110158_zpshi8lwilf.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwipw/p1110159_zps3vo0osux.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwiwr/p1110160_zpskjfvnxlc.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwiwa/p1110161_zpsxeho5t4c.jpg

For the floor I used some P/E checker plate. I also added P/E rubber floor matt, foot rest and pedals. In the rear I added a big piece of coarse P/E mesh.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwiwl/p1110163_zps8dojfpii.jpg

Finally I added a blue P/E horse emblem to the seats, and some seatbelts using several different things from the scrap box, and glued the seats into the cockpit.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwiwi/p1110164_zpsmv71qfm8.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwiww/p1110165_zpssihhriku.jpg

The dashboard didn't need so much improvement. On the passenger side there's an additional cushion to protect the knees. So I cut out the cover of the glove compartment, built a new one out of sheet, and put on a big pile of white resin. Same on the side right of the compartment. The resin was filed to the correct form.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwpgr/p1110169_zpsomtf9kmp.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwpga/p1110170_zpsyjcs59fw.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwpgl/p1110172_zps0lms0cxw.jpg

I cut out all air vents to add P/E parts.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwpgi/p1110173_zpsqfu1wh3z.jpg

The dashboard is painted semi-gloss black, with micro-balls + flat black on top and on the knee cushions, C/F on the air vents and instruments, some self made decals for the instruments, and P/E parts on the air vents.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwpgw/p1110174_zpsb4ghynlm.jpg

Steering wheel is detail painted as well.
Putting everything together was quite a challenge, I had to cut off material again from dashboard and doors to make them fit.

In a lot of pictures of the Speciale interior the is a fire extinguisher in the passenger footroom. So I will try to make one of these as well.
As a base part, I chose an ECM pod from an old 1/48 F-4 Phantom kit.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwprr/p1110175_zpsyh4icqcn.jpg

I cut away the details, and used an electric drill and a file to shape the right form. I glued a small piece of wire into the tip.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwpra/p1110176_zps4jrf8tha.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwprl/p1110177_zpsuzzbltu2.jpg

Now the part is painted bright red.
The "handle thing" is made from a small piece of sheet, a small piece of decal cardboard, and a small piece of wire, all glued together and painted red and silver. The casing is made from a piece of paper, painted flat black + microballs. The straps are P/E parts from my scrap box. I think it turned out well, considering the parts it's made from. :)
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwpri/p1110178_zps7bc0iwpr.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwprw/p1110179_zpsv3fkpanl.jpg

Finally the cockpit is complete. I hope it will fit into the body without problems.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwpdr/p1110180_zpsbma3zpdl.jpg

There's not so much to show concerning the chassis. The suspention is built OOB, and the engine block is kept quite simple, as it can't really be seen in the end. The front and rear sections will be cut off later, and be replaced by Jamara parts, that match the new body parts.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwpai/p1110230_zpsojbqqsmf.jpg

I haven't checked the technical details, but the Speciale brakes look extactly like those on the LaFerrari, so I used some P/E brake discs which are bigger than 458 stock discs, and calipers I had left from a previous LaFerrari build.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwpaw/p1110231_zps3rrx2woq.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwpor/p1110232_zpsxdjdfnqp.jpg

The finished cockpit is in place, so the upper engine parts can be added.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwpoa/p1110233_zpsgrptoupu.jpg

At this stage I made a test fit of the chassis into the body, and quite some plastic had to be removed to make everything fit properly.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwpol/p1110234_zpsumofoke4.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwpoi/p1110235_zpskqycu9ih.jpg

There's no need to scratch build anything else in the engine room, the changes to the Speciale are all about optical appearance. At least what's visible from the outside. :)
All black and red surfaces are covered in C/F decals, and a white water tank, some P/E for the rear hatch latch, red center stripes, small red stripes arround the metal transfer emblems, plus some additional emblems and wires were added.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwplr/p1110239.jpg

For the new rims, these are the parts to start with, Fujimis kit parts, and Jamaras all-in-one plastic wheels.
I will use the outside of the Fujimi part, together with its kit tire, so the proportions will be kept.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwpda/p1110200_zps252uwdjl.jpg

The Fujimi parts were striped of their chrome. Then I cut out the inner 5 spoke star, keeping only the outer ring and the inner housing for the soft plastic part that connects the wheel to the suspension.
The Jamara wheels lost 90% of their plastic, keeping only the new 5 spoke star. The spokes were thinned until the hole in the center of each spoke could be cut open. The rear end is filed flat.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwpdi/p1110202_zpsvaq09fyj.jpg


Now the new star is glued into the original rim ring, and the small housing is glued in the back, so the new wheel can be attached like the original Fujimi part.

https://picload.org/image/rpdcwpdw/p1110204_zpsrx0usoge.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwpar/p1110205_zpsstol3f2s.jpg
I made some paper gauges in advance, so see how deep the small ring is sitting in the rim, and to know how much plastic to cut away, so it will sit in the new rim exactly in the same way.
https://picload.org/image/rpapcwii/p1110203_zpsbzjea9gh.jpg

The new part has been cleaned, some imperfections corrected, and primed.
I will add some T2M metal lug nuts, so I also drilled some additional holes for them.
The rims were painted with a silver base coat and Alclad Magnesium.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwpaa/p1110208_zpscts4dd0o.jpg


Painted rims, lug nuts, center emblems, air valves and kit tires are assembled, and the wheels are ready to go onto the car!
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwpal/p1110211_zpsjouyojyl.jpg

The painted body has had time to settle, now it's sanded (1200 and 3000) and polished (coarse, fine, finish). Looks already good, I think! :)
The clear has however attacked the silver stripes in some places, so I will have to do some corrections later.
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwpla/p1120142.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rpdcwpll/p1120143.jpg

That colour.... WOW!

Impressive work with the car! I was surprised how well the wheels came out, they look very good!

Well done man. Is that tamiya mica blue?

Super nice. I love this color

Thanks guys!

Well done man. Is that tamiya mica blue?

It is Zero Paints Candy Electric Blue on a base of Very Fine Silver.

To complete the main body, I still have to add the side skirts. On the Speciale, they have an extra little fin, which I took from the Jamara car. I cut it out of ist original base, cut a hole into the Fujimi skirts, glued and puttied the fins in, painted everything black and covered it in C/F decals.
https://picload.org/image/rppwcwil/p1110250.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rppwcwii/p1110252.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rppwcwiw/p1110253.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rppwcwpr/p1110254.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rppwcwpa/p1110255.jpg

The headlights got some additional details as well. I drilled out the plastic lenses and replaced them with white LEDs. Bevor I glued in the LEDs, the parts were painted black and drybrushed with silver.
https://picload.org/image/rppwcwpl/p1110260.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rppwcwpi/p1110261.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rppwcwpw/p1110262.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rppwcwwr/p1110263.jpg

Back to the main body. I painted the black accents on the front, sides and rear, put some C/F Decals on the ventilation above the front wheels, and installed the headlights.
https://picload.org/image/rppwcwwa/p1110270.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rppwcwwl/p1110271.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rppwcwwi/p1110272.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rppwcwww/p1110275.jpg

For side indicators, I used some clear plastic rod, about 1 mm in diameter, filed both ends round, and painted it with clear orange. I drilled some holes into the body in the right places before painting it, and I will cut the orange part in half later, and glue the parts into the body from the inside.
https://picload.org/image/rppwiggr/p1110276.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rppwigga/p1110277.jpg

Some more detailling for the main body. Black frames for the windows, applied with masking fluid, since I couldn't find the 458 window masks anymore. The wipers got some P/E parts. I made a small cooling fan out of some flat cooler I found in my scrap box and an old Phantom airplane wheel. It will sit in the rear, just behind the big mesh. I also glued some metal rod into the side mirrors, since they break of very easily on Fujimi cars.
https://picload.org/image/rppwiggl/p1110278.jpg

The side mirrors are covered in C/F decals.
https://picload.org/image/rppwiggi/p1110279.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rppwiggw/p1110280.jpg

Now I put different kinds of P/E mesh in all openings, and installed the windows.
https://picload.org/image/rppwigrr/p1110290.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rppwigra/p1110291.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rppwigrl/p1110292.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rppwigri/p1110293.jpg

The car is ready for final assembly. The test fitting didn't go so well, I had to take away some plastic again, to make the body fit over the chassis and cockpit. It seems I made the new doors too wide to the outside.
https://picload.org/image/rppwigrw/p1110294.jpg

The inside of the body is painted black all over, and the rear view mirror is added. Then the body was glued to the chassis. Somehow I missed taking a picture of this step.
https://picload.org/image/rppwigdr/p1110295.jpg

With chassis and body permanently fixed, I can work on the missing floor parts, and give them the correct shape, cutting plastic away where needed, and adding sheet and putty in other areas.
https://picload.org/image/rppwigda/p1110300.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rppwigdl/p1110301.jpg

On the rear part, I will drill out the exhaust and replace it with some metal tubing. I will also cut away the mesh area, which will separate the diffusor from the small remining parts that contain the small rear lights. I also sanded the surfaces to make them smoother, and the vertical fins to make them thinner and look less toy-like.
https://picload.org/image/rppwigdw/p1110305.jpg

These small parts are painted black and covered in C/F decals. The red lights were drilled away and some round clear pieces of plastic, painted clear red, added.
https://picload.org/image/rppwigar/p1110306.jpg

I had to rework the diffusor and the rear chassis till everything fitted well. Everything was painted black, and will now be coverd in C/F decals, before it will be finally installed.
https://picload.org/image/rppwigaa/p1110307.jpg
https://picload.org/image/rppwigal/p1110308.jpg

Great progress, thanks for the update.
It's a Vers fun project to watch.

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On the Speciale, the big tubes at the rear end are for show and/or protection. The real exhaust are located inside of them. So first I painted some 4 mm metal tubes flat black, then I glued 3 mm tubes into the bigger ones, and some pieces of black plastic into the far end that will be attached to the chassis. These subassemblies are now glued into the right place. Then the P/E mesh is added.
https://picload.org/image/rwdwdoil/p1110400.jpghttps://picload.org/image/rwdwdoii/p1110401.jpg https://picload.org/image/rwdwdoiw/p1110402.jpg

The diffusor is covered in C/F decals all over, and is glued in place. The remaining seems are filled as much as possible, and the last part of the original chassis, just in front of the diffusor, is also covered in C/F. The form isn't 100% correct, and the fins are too short now, but it'll have to do.

https://picload.org/image/rwdwdopr/p1110403.jpg

Finally the 3 retractable parts of the diffusor, painted in body color, are added.
The new front part of the chassis is now also glued in place. The car is now mostly complete, and I can work on the final details.
https://picload.org/image/rwdwdopa/p1110404.jpghttps://picload.org/image/rwdwdopl/p1110405.jpg

Wheels, lights, mirrors, license plate and all emblems are assembled. Now all that's left to do is check for last flaws, put on some wax, and wait for good weather to take some pictures. :)
https://picload.org/image/rwdwdopi/p1110406.jpghttps://picload.org/image/rwdwdopw/p1110407.jpg