Progress: Porsche 959 1/16 Fujimi

Hello.
Ive started this, a bit unusual, kit of the amazing 80's icon, the Porsche
959. Scale is 1/16 so it's quite big and the detail level is amazing on
this enthusiast kit..
This is the "Blackstar" version but is is mostly the same as the normal
one. You can choose to build the "comfort" or the "sport" version.
(except for some errors in the kit).

Unfortunatley the kit has some fitment issues. The engine looks
beautifully cast, but the body.. At least the proportions are right..
I will show in detail what I had to do to get the body straight and solve
the fitment issues. Might be interesting if you plan to build one some
day, otherwise bare with me and all the pics.. :)

There is a lot of flash lines and sink marks on the body and the panels
need to be sanded a lot to get it straight.
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03688sm.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03689sm.jpg

The kit has opening doors. Sad memories from my 1/16 Fujimi
Testarossa made me really testfit a lot. The door frames are
ridiculously ill-fitting on the 959 as well. A fujimi 1/16 tradition.
Have they ever tried to build one at the fujimi factory ??

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03678sm.jpg

The driver side door is also 2,5 mm too short for some reason. The
passenger door fits perfectly (except for the window frame..)
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03680sm.jpg

To solve this I glued on styrene strips to extend the door:
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03695sm.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03696sm.jpg

There is also a low spot where the fender meets the left door, by the
A-pillar. It had to be filled up with styrene and putty:
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03708sm.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03733sm.jpg

Finally with the doors on the hinges and the quarter window in place
(guess what, that didn't fit either..) I could align and glue the window
frames. Will probably not be easy to fit the door window but that is a
later problem.
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03734sm.jpg

Pheew! Next update I will attack the mysteries of the engine hatch...

Please note that this is not a "real-time" build, this body work was done a
few weeks ago. I wanted to get a bit ahead before starting the
progress thread so I wouldn't just start it up and then put it away for
6 months..

Nice progress, will be watching.

I will stay with you and wish you good luck, I know how bad this things are.
Good start thou ;)

Cool, I've been waiting to see this one from you.

Disappointed to hear about the fit problems- but not surprised. I have this one in my stack also- looking at the engine, brakes, and suspension detail, it's probably the very best Fujimi kit I've seen. What a shame it takes a fight to get it all together. Even at its best, it seems Fujimi is never as good as it should be.:disappoin

Still, it looks like you have a great start on it. Good luck with it, I will be enthusiasticly watching as it comes along.

I've been waiting this for a long time! Wanted to build one , but those fitting issues leaves me wondering if it's worth it? I guess I'll have to wait and see how this one turns up! Great work by the way!

Nice 959!

haha... fitment problems suck, but you seemed to handle them well!

Next problem area on the body was the engine hatch.
It didn't line up withe body since it was too narrow. When it sat in
place the left side was ok, but the right side looked like this

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03712sm.jpg

I decided to cut the hatch in 2 parts and make it wider. At first I thought of
Just cutting it in the middle, but then the vent grille would not fit anymore.
I looked at the hatch and realized that it is almost completely flat along this
line marked with tape, so I could easily put a strip of styrene there. It will
not be exactly symmetrical but no one will notice I think.

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03713sm.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03714sm.jpg

After the hatch was placed on the body again you could easily see how much it
needed to be widened:

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03719sm.jpg

The gap was filled with a styrene strip:

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03721sm.jpg

The wing was beacuse of the widening a bit to short but I placed it in the center
and blended in the edges with putty since it would be difficult to get a seemless looking
joint if I extended it in the middle:

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03740sm.jpg

After some priming the next problem of the hatch was visible. It didn't line up with
the rear window frame:

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03752sm.jpg

I decided to build up the window frame to meet the hatch.
Started bu glueing on a thin styrene strip and then put on two wider strips Until I got
the right height. The strips were then blended in to the C-pillar with putty.

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03754sm.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03760sm.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03776sm.jpg

After a lot of work the body finally started to feel ready for painting.
Here is a little teaser shot of the freshly painted doors and the choise of colour, and also a pile of all the used up 400 grit paper... :naughty:

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03778sm.jpg

Next time The body gets some paint !

Niiiiiceee, some serious choping but turned out great.

Looks like a challenge. Nice problem-solving so far!

Murray

This reminds me of a russian motorcycle; when u buy it U'll have to tear the engine to pieces before starting it the first time (there might be some leftoverparts inside the cylinder (a collector of russian motorcycles told me). :icon16:

Thanks guys.
Well it's not really finished when it comes from fujimi, but It has potential.. It is still quite fun to build despite the problems.
later on you will see the engine wich fits like a gloooove compared to the body :)

As I said this kit needs a lot of test fitting and here is a pic of the interior and chassis
test fitted to the primered body.
Seemed to fit well exept for the area under the rear window wich needs a small adjustment.

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03751sm.jpg

After this the body finally had some paint !
It's some standard silver color I found down at the paint store. It seemed to have
pretty small grains so it would not look too out of scale. I hate when you put on a metallic
especially on a 1/24 model and it looks like a flake paint with huge metallic grains.
It was hard to decide between the two most classic 959 colors white and silver but I think silver
will enhance the curvature of the "swollen" 959 body better.
The clear need some polishing but I will let it harden for a few weeks or so.

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03908sm.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03910sm.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03912sm.jpg

Oh, I almost forgot..
I tested a new trick when I painted the body.
I found these Takrag's at the paint shop. It's like a slightly sticky cloth that you wipe the body with before painting to remove any dust.
Worked really well I must say!
One bag of takrag cost like 1 EUR and there is plenty of rag in it so It will last for several models I think. Just close the bag carefully so the sticky stuff doesn't get to dry out.

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03913sm.jpg

That sliver paintwork looks seriously splendid! Great work also on the styrene and putty work needed to make everything sit right. Very impressive.

That sliver paintwork looks seriously splendid! Great work also on the styrene and putty work needed to make everything sit right. Very impressive.
:iagree:

Now some pics of the best part of this fujimi kit, the engine.
Really difficult to find good ref. photos of the 959 engine. Most of it is not visible once it
gets mounted in the car, so I had to improvise a bit.

The fan housing/air duct on the 959 engine is at least orange/red.
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03795sm.jpg

The kit comes with red ignition wires, but they are not red on the real car so they were painted.
A real struggle to get these cables routed properly. I might have the wrong firing order but I have no
photos to verify it.
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03812sm.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03831sm.jpg

The 959 has a twin turbo setup, where the wastegate of the left turbo is led via a small square muffler
and a separate exhaust. The right side turbo has the wastegate located after the turbine (!) and the exhausts
are then led to the big muffler. Here are some of the parts of the complicated exhaust system with partly finished
paint and heat stain.
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03815sm.jpg

The turbos themselves are very well detailed in the kit. Just check out the fins on the compressor housing casting !
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03845sm.jpg

The gearbox is black with a metal finished side cover on the only ref. photo I have. There are some hydraulic
hoses and I scratchbuilt one of them. Not quite sure if the routing of the hose is correct.
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03861sm.jpg

The finished engine (exept the right side wastegate.
Pretty pleased with the result if I may say so myself so I will torture you with a few pics :)
Too bad it has to go in under body and be very difficult to see once the model is finished.
There is a display stand to put the engine on beside the car, but I think the car deserves an engine under the hood..
The turbos are supported by a separate bracket as you can see.
What looks like two extra turbo compressors in the front end of the cam covers are actually the waterpumps for the watercooled heads of the
959 engine. The cylinders were still aircooled though...

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03898sm.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03900sm.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03902sm.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03903sm.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03896sm.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03892sm.jpg

wow! beautiful engine, to say the very least! Intersting combination of water/aircooling...

Wow, the whole engine looks great! Hoping for more progress!

You were right engine is flawless (but 80% is in builder anyway :D)

That´s one hel of an engine build up. Sadly enough, a lot won´t be visible, when the model is completed. Can´t you set it aside onto an engine stand and leave outside of the model???

hi,

nice progress so far, engine looks very good

looks awesome man! I like it alot and al the work you have puted in to it!! Keep it up!

Wow, nice job. You should buy another model so you can display one engine out of the car, that would look awesome!!

Engine looks great, can't wait to see more :sunglasse

OMG! That engine looks nice! Keep up the good work, oh and thnx for the tip using the tagrag!! I cannot wait to see this one finished!!

Great work!
Oh the joys of working with crappy fitiing Fujimi kits!!!

Terrific looking work- both the body and engine look great- and nice exhausts!

One idea that's occured to me regarding the engine on this kit, is to get a replacement engine. Whatever else you may say about Fujimi (and I say plenty!), they were thoughful enough to put all the engine parts for this kit on one sprue- order that one sprue from HLJ or Rainbow Ten, and you have an engine you can display beside the car, and one you can install. For whatever reason, I just haven't done it yet....

DAMN NICE ENGINE!! :sunglasse looks as if it was remade by porsche! :lol2:

:eek2: that looks amazing allways did love the 959

Oh, I almost forgot..
I tested a new trick when I painted the body.
I found these Takrag's at the paint shop. It's like a slightly sticky cloth that you wipe the body with before painting to remove any dust.
Worked really well I must say!
One bag of takrag cost like 1 EUR and there is plenty of rag in it so It will last for several models I think. Just close the bag carefully so the sticky stuff doesn't get to dry out.

http://plexxi.c-sam.nu/959/bilder/DSC03913sm.jpg

that's so useful. i might try to get one of this...

Time to revisit the old 80's icon..
Hope you haven't forgotten about it.

First I'd like to show you how I made the muffler more realistic.
After painting the box stock item I decided that It looked dull compared to the nice engine.
A few ref photos suggested that there was a small lip of sheetmetal around the edges.
to replicate this I cut some thin strips of styrene:

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03820sm.jpg

To get the strip on the end of the muffler I put the strip on some masking tape and applied
glue around the edge of the muffler and simply wrapped the tape around the muffler:

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03824sm.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03825sm.jpg

This allows the strip to be aligned smoothly to the very edge of the muffler.

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03829sm.jpg

After some putty, sanding and primer:

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03848sm.jpg

After some coats of paint. Took like five or six tries to get it decent with realistic heat stain wich doesn't show in the light in this picture. Hope for some good outdoor photos tomorrow.

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC04076sm.jpg

Now it could finally be assembled on the engine:


http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC04093sm.jpg

And test fitted in the body and chassis:

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC04088sm.jpg


Hope to give you more updates soon!

Awesome! So beautiful!

Olivier

WOW, Great Job :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Grtzzzzzzz Nissanmotorsport :sunglasse

Great progress! You've done a very good job with the exhaust!

wow, great detailing!

Have carried on with the interior.
There were some not very tasteful colour combinations in the 959's since they were built in the eighties.
I tried to keep it clean.
For the interior I chose the comfort version. That means standard seats and some other details like electrical windows etc.


http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC04016sm.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC04022sm.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC04023sm.jpg

Have also started to complete the exterior with lights etc.

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03919sm.jpg

The shielding plates under the engine hood were slightly gold coloured so I painted them Tamiya titanium gold.

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC03920sm.jpg

Impressive work!!! Seems to be going together rather smoothly!!

Looks like it's really coming along great- a spectacular build! The yellow in the interior is a bit odd, though. You're right about the, uh, questionable interior schemes that the 959 was availibe in- I always though the brown was particularly bad!

Definately looking forward to lots of pics when it's done.

thanks!
What looks like yellow is actually a bright leatherish colour. Guess it didn't get along with my camera in flourescent lighting hehe

thanks!
What looks like yellow is actually a bright leatherish colour. Guess it didn't get along with my camera in flourescent lighting hehe
should be better for sure than yellow
awesome build, wonderful silver shining finish

How much did this model cost? I might want to get one, since I already have it in 1/24th and I love the car.

I bought it from HLJ.com for about 46 USD:
http://www.hlj.com/product/FUJ10159

It says "out of stock" but if you place an order they will order it for you. It only took about a week before they sent it to me.

Update!

Time for the intercoolers..

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC04104sm.jpg

Installed in the chassis. Unfortunatley Fujimi has left out some of the piping (from ICs to the intake)
and other details that will be hidden by the bodywork. For example the other side of the ICs are just
open, no detail. Still it will be a shame to hide it all under the body.

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC04109sm.jpg

Mmm looking good...

that twin turbo setup looks sick, keep us posted.

Awesome build man! And nice progress and details! Keep it up!

This is a very detailed build!! The quality of your work is awesome! I look forward to its completion. :sunglasse

Last week I have been working on the suspension and the brakes.
The rear suspension was not easy to get sorted out. After assembly the rear wheels did not line up with the
the fenders. The wheels sat to far forward and the camber was positive so I had to remove the hubs again and
put some styrene pieces between the upright and the brake/hub to get the wheels aligned properly.
The front suspension was perfect from the box. But you can't see very much of it after asssembly so I did not
put any energy into it.

The rear brakes:

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC04129sm.jpg

Detailed the brake calipers with some brake lines. The front brakes:

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC04141sm.jpg

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC04139sm.jpg

http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk77/plexxi/959/DSC04143sm.jpg

Interesting build progress!! How is this project going?

I had started my Fujimi 1/16 Porsche Sport and I had to say that some minor mods had to be done to this kit. I followed your suggestion mods along my build and it sure helped me alot!

Keep up the good work!

This scale is very good for detail, I am accompanying congratulations! :naughty: :iceslolan

Thanks !
I had almost forgotten this thread. Must make sure to finish it some day..