Sunoco Ferrari 512 LeMans 1971

This is a Hostaro 1/43rd scale resin and white metal kit.
The mold for the white metal wheels was wearing out when they were cast.
https://i.imgur.com/Ek9HGsq.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/TaV6qKq.jpg
I machined the back sides to remove the extra material and open up the holes.
https://i.imgur.com/Br9ADqK.jpg

Once they were polished and painted I didn't think they looked acceptable (wheel at the top) so I designed a new set in CAD and printed them (center).
I milled a set of outer rims from aluminum and painted the raised silver detail. I have metal center nuts for them too.
https://i.imgur.com/smgEa0W.jpg

Getting the wheels to fit in the wells took a good amount of grinding on the inside of the body and then shimming the axles. As nice as the casting looks on the outside there's all sorts of wonkiness on the inside. (The casting is dated 12-20-1984, so it's not a big surprise from a 41 year old kit.)
https://i.imgur.com/kaI2SoU.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/g86YFBJ.jpg

FWIW... Same car, not repainted. Same camera, same settings.
My guess is the auto settings of the camera missed something the day before.
https://i.imgur.com/wmha9bx.jpg

The original goal was to use the kit provided decals, but even with two coats of clear they were cracking during application. I was able to use some of them despite that issue, but I had to make some too. I used foil instead of the silver decals for the lower edges.
https://i.imgur.com/nJD5Phw.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/MZTUsUG.jpg

Nice work on a tough kit!

I finally found the time to get back on this and I'm in the final stretch.
https://i.imgur.com/tbw0Jol.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/5BmtKKc.jpg