In Progress: Tamiya Ferrari F50

Working on the Tamiya 1/24 Ferrari F50. Pretty much straight out of the box here, except for adding the ignition wires. I used fine enameled wire, painted with red acrylic ink (I'm too lazy to buy the detailmaster stuff). Black would have been a bit more authentic, but there will be little enough color in the engine bay when everything is finished- so a little bit of licence. The firewall insulation is bare metal foil applied over a fine nylon mesh glued to the plastic firewall part. It gives a decent looking texture (similar to cigarette pack foil), but is kinda hard to photograph. Maybe I can change the lighting around to show it off better. I stripped off the chrome from the exhausts and repainted them. I tend to think chromed pipes look goofy- they're great for an engine that's never been fired up, but any engine that's been used will have heat discoloring on the exhaust manifolds. Besides, maybe it's just me, but much of the time, Tamiya's chromed parts look really toylike. It seems OK for headlight reflectors, but for wheels and exhausts, I think it always looks out of scale. Anyway, enjoy!
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=502/67954101_0185.jpg
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Any comments are welcome!

that engine is super-sexy... great work!

I agree with you concerning chrome parts!...
And your own painted exhausts look very nice!

That engine-bay looks spectacular !
I love the exhaust system, especially the rear part looks very realistic.

I must say that your idea of gluing a piece of mesh before the BMF is really a Colombo's Egg :screwy: Why hasn't any of us ever thought of that? Really, thanks for sharing it.
Now on to the rest: it's quite amazing, very clean and crisp looking. I particularly enjoyed the exhaust colour. It's very realistic. Hope you can keep showing us more of this beautifull work.

One question, though: do you airbrush all your parts? the painting looks so even..

Thanks,
Pedro.

CLEAN BUILDING STYLE!!! Just what I like to see!!! Great work so far!

Great Engine Bay, great works on all these different metals :smile:

Plz keep us updated.

I must say that your idea of gluing a piece of mesh before the BMF is really a Colombo's Egg :screwy: Why hasn't any of us ever thought of that? Really, thanks for sharing it.
Now on to the rest: it's quite amazing, very clean and crisp looking. I particularly enjoyed the exhaust colour. It's very realistic. Hope you can keep showing us more of this beautifull work.

One question, though: do you airbrush all your parts? the painting looks so even..



Thank you!

Yeah, just about everything is airbrushed, with the exception of the flat black tubes and frames- brushpainted, because it would be kinda tedious to mask everything. Tamiya molds these, along with the entire top of the engine and intake tubes, as one single part.

The exhaust system is painted Tamiya metallic grey, with a touch of smoke to darken it. Then sharp bends then have a mix of clear blue with a touch of clear red and smoke added- these bends are where the tubes get the hottest, and have the most heat discoloration. Other hot, but not as hot spots are then sprayed with clear orange. And then weld seams are picked out with a dark brown colored pencil.

More will be coming....

That engine looks great! Can't wait for the rest of the car. Is it going to be Rosso Corsa?

How do you get that effect on the piping?
It looks so awesome!
Is it done with washes or is it a straight up paint colour?
The engine bay looks so realistic, good job.

ive been waiting for some1 to do a top quailty build of this kit!

how did u paint the exahust and what colours did u use?

great so far

I have no idea what a "columbo's egg" is, but I have to agree with the others in that the idea is totally a why-didnt-I-think-of-that idea AND a pretty neat one too!

Thanks for the idea and keep up the good work! I esp. like the exhausts...

Bill

Got some nice looking work going on here.
Nice idea with the firewall !!

Thanks for the comments, everyone! I mentioned the colors I used for the exhausts above. I'd be happy to give a bit more detail of my technique if anyone wants. I'll likely cover this in more detail in the near future, as I have a Ferrari Mythos that I need to paint the exhausts for- I can do a play by play to show the steps then.

That engine looks great! Can't wait for the rest of the car. Is it going to be Rosso Corsa?

No! I debated for a while about the color choice for this one. I never really liked either Rosso Corsa or Giallo Modena (FLY) on the F50. The bodywork of this car is so, well..., weird looking, that I think bright primaries make it look, well..., like a plastic toy. I thought for a while of doing Scuderia Marlboro Rossa, but instead I settled on metallic grey, a shade or so darker than Argento Nurburgring (certainly not in honor of the travesty of a race that occured earlier today!! Whatever happened to racing in F1??!! And whatever happened to McLaren and Williams??) The Scuderia Marlboro Rossa will be saved for my Enzo- I read somewhere that Schumi's Enzo is this color. (Say- I wonder what an Enzo in Scuderia Marlboro Rossa with Vodafone and Shell logos would look like....) Watch this space for coming attractions.

Next will come the rear suspension!

this is awesome. the F50 is one of my favorite ferrari's, it is simply a gorgeous car in my eyes. superb job on the coloring of that exhaust. i would love to see a play by play with the exhaust on the other ferarri

the pipes look really good....along with everything else, why dont we see more of this kit around here? :screwy:

Discoloring on the exhaust manifolds looks so realistic. :eek:

As promised the suspension, specifically the rear dampers, are next. I had meant to leave this build as close to box stock as possible- however the kit part of the rear shock absorbers is pretty unspectacular. So, time to scratch build an alternative:
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=502/67954101_0189.jpg
This is the kind of thing you can do if you manage to convince your wife that what you really need is a lathe for you birthday. The components are turned out of aluminum rod, and the coils are enameled wire wound around a length of brass tubing. Note the uninspiring hunk of kit plastic.


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My lathe (thanks, love!)


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The coils are painted black using India ink, and the turned parts are slid together on a thin diameter aluminum rod. Now, the original dampers get removed from the kit part, and the new ones get mouted in place.

Bloodly hell !!!...now thats some stunning work !!

OMG! You really know how to detail up your modedl. Absolutely great work! Keep it up!

Stunning work! It's nice to see new ideas, especially when they come out so nicely!

this is absolutely fabulous, lots of great work going on in the engine bay, I m going to keep an eye on this thread as it is already more then promising.

Olivier

damn man alot of detail so far, looks really really nice. Keep up the good work.

Box stock, hey?...

With those wonderfuly painted exhaust, sure the engine room will captivate the eye!

I wonder if it's not too much for such a not-so-beautifull F50... :lol: You'll manage to make us forget the body to see its inner beauty!...

The details are amazing I can't wait to see how this stallion turns out.

I'd love to see an F-40 build with this much detail too.

beautiful machine work!! :thumbsup:

Mmmm Ferrari F50 ahhh so nice...

Now that's what I'm talkin' about being LAZZY :D
Love you work, brother!

Schweet!

Hopefully I'll be inspired to get back to my long stalled F50 project car.

Note: for those without machine tools, you can buy shocks for your F50.

:p

Thanks everyone!

Box stock, hey?...

With those wonderfuly painted exhaust, sure the engine room will captivate the eye!

I wonder if it's not too much for such a not-so-beautifull F50... :lol: You'll manage to make us forget the body to see its inner beauty!...

Yeah, I tried to leave it box stock. Just didn't work out that way- couldn't stop myself. An addiction, I fear. :headshake

The F50 is definately all about inner beauty.:iceslolan Legend has that Enzo himself is supposed to have said that Ferrari builds engines- the cars are merely containers for the magnificent powerplants. Maybe the F50 is the Ferrari that this is truest for. Needless to say, this one will reside in my display case with the engine lid open!

The suspension transplant surgery is almost done, I should have more pics in a couple of days.

CADguy- the F40 is coming! It'll be my next full engine build, soon as the F50 is done. It will be Rosso Corsa.

Transplant surgery finished, this is what it looks like with the new dampers installed. (Hey, this camera really does have a macro!)

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=502/67954101_0192-med.jpg


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Wow! So professional! Keep up the good work!

Looks amazing!!

Wow! So professional!

That's the word! :iceslolan
Blessed are Tamiya's opening engine hoods!
...And blessed are your magic fingers! :smokin:
Going that way, the finished pics (and model) would only miss sound! :rofl:

if it wasnt for the cutting mat in the background you would swear that was the real thing....so many questions I dont know where to start. May I make a suggestion, you kinda laready mentioned it. But maybe a detailed tutorial on how to build engines to make them look so realistic. Colours used and techniques, that kinda thing

Ok, time for an update.

After perusing more reference material, I came to the conclusion that the heat shielding in the engine compartment does not have a grid pattern like on the Enzo- instead, it has a generally wrinkly apearence, like the shielding in an F1 engine compartment (speaking of which, anyone see Montreal? It almost looked like a race there for a little bit....). To simulate this, I'm using plain household aluminum foil, with Microscale foil adhesive to stick it down. I would have used BMF, but it tends to like to go on without wrinkles- instead, I just wrinkle up a piece of plain foil, smooth it down a bit, smear the foil glue on the back and wait for it to dry a bit, then stick it down and trim to shape. Yes, I even re-did the section on the firewall- ah, well, better to decide to do it now than after the engine is installed in the bodywork. So much for my clever idea of applying BMF over mesh....

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=503/67954101_0195.jpg

Afterwards, I applied some ground pastel chalk onto the shielding, to cut the shine a touch, and to simulate dirt- anything that underlies an engine like this is gonna collect a fair bit of grime.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=503/67954101_0196.jpg

Also note the addition of brakes, drive shafts, damper push rods, and a bit of plumbing.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=503/67954101_0197-med.jpg

I cheated a bit, and am using the Studio 27 PE set. I got it because after alot of thinking, it seemed the best way to accurately do the mesh rear grille (the clear molded kit part just will NOT do!)- and since i have it, I may as well use the other parts also. I considered turning a set of brakes, but replicating the drill pattern was more than I felt like taking on (still, so much for out-of-the-box). I sanded the PE brake parts a bit with 2000 grit sandpaper, again to knock down the shine- brakes that have seen any use do not have a mirror shine!

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=503/67954101_0198.jpg

I added some oil lines (or whatever those are- I'm still yet to figure out the plumbing of this engine!) using Detail master braided line. Nasty stuff to work with in my opinion, but it does look pretty good- if you can get it positioned where you want it. Just about ready for instalation into the body....

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=503/67954101_0199.jpg

...soon as I have the body ready for it. Still working on polishing and the like. Also installing heat sheilding here, around the exhaust exits. A view of things to come! (Yes, the body was originally yellow.)

wow looks beautiful, cant believe i missed this topic. Nice shine and detailing u got there. :)

Amazing detail. Looks like somebody actually drove it.

Mmmm so sexy.... O sorry...

Nice work going on here.

The weathering/painting is just amazing :eek: Thumbs up! I'm waiting to see how you'll attach the S27 mesh for rear screen. It looks that it'll be very fiddly to get it into right shape because the mesh needs to be round in two directions (horizontally and vertically).

-Mikko

Looks very good, and great to see it in silver instead of red.

:iagree: with the previous posts. Nothing to add, I'm :eek: ...

Just waiting now to see how the PE rear grid will look like...

Looks good for an out-of-box buildup...

Wohhaa, amazing job so far. i can't wait :thumbsup:

Man, where have I been, this is the first I have seen this thread. Dude your attention to realism is rediculous. WOOW

It keeps getting better and better.
Silver looks awesome on this car.

Nice work! What is that color for the pipe? Light gold?

wow thats awesome!

Amazing build all around. Great attention to detail. One day, I will also build a superdetail F50. Maybe even clear body to show that powerplant!

Man, where have I been, this is the first I have seen this thread. Dude your attention to realism is rediculous. WOOW


This is my big brother's work!! I can't help but brag... My whole life, all I can remember is being dragged to airshows with him to get pictures of the "real thing". He's never happy unless it's authentic... weathering, dirt and realistic. I've always been impressed with his attention to detail!

Not to mention working with such small little pieces of plastic. Amazing! Big brother, when I get out of med school, will you do all my eye surgeries for me?

It's good to see your work again. Thank goodness for the internet, or I'd never see them anymore!

xo,
lil sis

the nice thing about keeping the stock chrome is that you can use transparent blue and yellow along with the same colors you using. try that next time.

try keeping the stock chrome?? I dont know if you have ever seen a car before...but if its been run before NOTHING is chrome under the hood anymore. The only parts that remain chrome are exterior parts.

Really nice work!

damn! that is what i call a sence fore details!
i cant belive that you´have made own dampers and stuf! it is truky amazing and the best part is that the car looks like the real one and it looks like it is in metal:P even though the real car is in carbon:P

keep up the good work!

no using the stock chrome to paint over.it enhances the effect of heat coloring

Wow

Ok, time for an update. Been a busy couple of weeks for me, but I did manage to finish the engine! (Until I find something else I need to do on it....) First, the intake manifold airbox/air filters assembly:

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http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=502/67954102_0201.JPG

Maybe the most work I've ever done on one single kit part! (Ok, if you include the filler cap, it really is two parts....) The Airbox and filters are covered with SMS carbon kevlar, then sprayed over with Tamiya smoke to tone the color down a bit. I'll go over my technique for applying it as I do the cockpit, but I'm using the kit CF decals as a pattern for cutting out the SMS stuff- it works surprizingly well! I don't know that the pattern is quite accurate, but I think the effect is close to right. Zoomed in with the macro, though, it does just look like a bunch of gold spots....

The ingition electronics control boxes (mounted on the intake filter boxes) were detailed with a bit of styrene strip. The connector hoses are small strips of notebook paper rolled up around the (whatever kind of line that is feeding into the airbox), stuck in place with some acrylic clear, and then painted flat black. The hose clamps are thin strips of Bare Metal Foil matte aluminum, stuck in place with clear flat- this is a terrificly difficult way in which to use BMF, but I think it looks pretty good. The chrome pony and F50 emblem on the air box are of course the little metal stickers Tamiya thoughtfully includes with the kit.

Now, the whole thing put together-

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=502/67954102_0202.JPG

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A black background to imitate Ferrari studio art shots. I'll let you all decide if it's real or not!

The exhaust tips are aluminium tubing polished with Tamiya rubbing compound, and sprayed again with smoke, to make it look more like stainless steel. Each tip has a smaller peice of tubing inside, with beveled edges, painted flat black- you can kind of see them in the first pic- can't ever get enough little details!

Next will come the cockpit- watch this space for coming attractions!

the nice thing about keeping the stock chrome is that you can use transparent blue and yellow along with the same colors you using. try that next time.

Even if I did like the stock Tamiya chrome (I find it to look really toylike), it would get scraped off anyways when I removed the molding seams that run the length of each pipe. I guess it's really a matter of personal preferance, but as Macdaddy4738 pointed out, exhausts almost never look chromed if the engine has been run.

Holy crap!!!