In Progress: Tamiya Ferrari Mythos

Well, you're in luck- it's still in progress! If you're patient, sooner or later you may catch me updating it. :rolleyes: (Or the F40. Or the 360....)

the 360? another Freudian lapsus? ah ah :naughty::naughty::naughty:

the 360? another Freudian lapsus? ah ah :naughty::naughty::naughty:
:rofl: :rofl:
And I wasn't go to say anything! :naughty:

the 360? another Freudian lapsus? ah ah :naughty::naughty::naughty:

360? Did I say 360? I don't know what I was thinking, I'm sure! :shakehead :licka:

Just dicoverde your wip now.
Beautifuel job on your engine.

:grinyes: :grinyes:

Jamme

re: Mythos: oohh, fantastic. Shiny, deep and clean finish. I saw this beast at Venice (yes, strange but in Venice, they done a transportation by water :screwy: ) during a design show, when I come in they're moving from the canal boat, the noise from exaust was simply music (strange: pretty different from the testarossa noise to me, it should have a custom exaust system).Mine is red.

re: Cobra: do someone sell those stuff overseas? (from your site seem not due to hazard transportations)

Ferrari Nero Daytona is available from:

www.modelcolourworx.co.uk

Cheers,

Paul

And now, finally, the intake system!

I've been stuck on this for years- literally. As I mentioned when I started this thread, waaaaay back when I initially started this kit, I painted the intake plenums, didn't like the results, stripped them in something I shouldn't have, ruined them, and shelved the kit. Yes, I suppose that at any point, I could have called up Tamiya USA and had them send me a set of replacement parts (Tamiya USA had just recently come into being, to give some of you a time reference on on when I first started this kit)- but for some reason, I never did. :dunno: Eventually I got to thinking that when I did get back to this one, I wanted to do something a bit different with it. A new set of plenums would do nicely.

It turns out I'm really not very keen on the tuned, modified or (gasp) "kustom" :uhoh: look- at least not where Ferrari's are concerned. Sure there are some cars it looks good on, but I've always considered a "kustomized" Ferrari to be a detrimental tampering with perfection. So, whatever I came up with to replace the plenums, I wanted them to look like they actually could have been made by the Maranello factory- perhaps not as production parts, but at least something that could have been made at Ferrari for a one-off show car or the like. Anything aftermarket looking just wasn't going to do. :disappoin So, what could I do to modify the appearence of the engine, yet keep it with a reasonably factory original look? This is one I pondered for quite some time.

I decided on machining some replacements. My original though was to make a set of CF plenums. It kind of kept with the theme of the Mythos as a concept demonstration for CF bodywork, just carying the theme to the engine bay as well. It's certainly a direction Ferrari has gone in- the F50 and Enzo both have CF airboxes. So I milled up a couple of blocks out of acrylic (acrylic machines incredibly easily, once you get tool speeds figured out), to be covered with CF decals.

http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/7752/mythos0503ru.jpg

And so I covered them with CF. I tried several different patterns- stripes and dots of various colors. I couldn't find anything I was happy with. I turned a dozen aluminum rods to mount them on, and trial fit them on the engine, but found nothing I liked.

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9656/mythos0513sh.jpg

Here they are with some dot pattern or other. Either way, they didn't look right. I decided to try for something that at least would echo the look of the Testarossa plenums that they would replace.

http://www.brcorvetteclub.com/events/Italian_Car_Show/Testarossa_engine_2.JPG

So, back to the mill.

I started with aluminum this time. I made up two rectangular blocks, that I drilled out in a pattern to match the inlet ports on the engine.

http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/2295/mythos0525ga.jpg

Next, I wanted to cut some parallel fins into the tops. I used a slitting saw and a creative setup on the mill.

http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/2688/mythos0531db.jpg

Notice the homemade slitting saw holder? I made it on the lathe. I love having machine tools!!

The results:

http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/7523/mythos0540ek.jpg

If I ever need to make an amplifier for a 1/24 car stereo, this is how I'll do it!

Next, more milling. I used a tiny little end mill to remove the outer fins, and make cut ins on either end of the plenums.

http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/7158/mythos0556jr.jpg

Getting there! Just need to round the corners a bit, and they're done.

http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/5216/mythos0562wr.jpg

I wanted these to look like cast parts, coming straight out of Ferrari's own foundry. So, I dipped them in degreaser, and coated them in primer. Cobracolors Moon Mud, used without any additional thinner. It builds up a nice textured appearence quickly and easily.

http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/7122/mythos0574vl.jpg

Next, paint them with something agreeably flat and grainy, to give a cast alloy look. Tamiya flat aluminum.

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/9616/mythos0589lh.jpg

A little bit of detailing and they'll be there.

The S27 PE set I got for the F50 had plenty of leftovers. Among them were two miniature Ferrari logos, intended for the F50's valve covers. The kit didn't need them (like so much else on this set), but it would be a shame to let them go to waste, right? :rolleyes: I blackened them with Blacken-It, and then gently sanded the tops of the logos until they were bare metal again.

http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/3559/mythos0594mb.jpg

Meanwhile, the slots between the fins on the plenums were handpainted in black, and the top edges of the fins were sanded off. With the photoetch logos added, I think they look the part.

http://img63.imageshack.us/img63/254/mythos0603oz.jpg

http://img365.imageshack.us/img365/4681/mythos0615nv.jpg

Now, to actually put them on the engine....

omg that was some great work! :D

You just raised the bar so high ... it's unbelievable.

Wow! This is great motivation for a unexperienced modeler like me to just keep on practicing and one day to become as skilled as you! Beautiful work man, keep it up!

wow love the machining work!

fantastic! Glad to see some progress on this build!

Holy bloody crap!

Well, in terms of "alternator" therapy that should be just the ticket! :D

Really brilliant stuff and I sure hope you took some resin casts on those before you painted 'em up?!?!? ;) Wanna trade for some daytona carbs? :rofl:

Wow, you're an artist, man! Great work once again.

Thanks everyone!

Now that I had decided what the plenums would actually look like, I had to come up with some way to mount them and connect them to the cylinder inlet ports. I've had a number of different ideas as I've considered it. Originally, the CF plenums would have been supported with CF tubes, either curved like on the Testarossa or straight. I then came up with staight turned aluminum tubes, and figured they'd look pretty good- like a bunch of straight intake trumpets. But I quickly noticed that if they were going to be straight, something had to be done about the fuel injection system. In the Testarossa, the curved intake tubes hide the fuel injectors pretty well (at least in 1/24), but if they were straight, it was going to be pretty obvious if they weren't there. I thought for a while and tried to come up with an injector rail, but again nothing looked right. I seriously considered skipping the whole fuel injection system all together, and instead mounting the plenums atop a half dozen Weber carbs. I even found carbs to fit- the ones in Tamiya's Lotus 7 were perfect. But as I thought about it more, it didn't seem right not to model the fuel injetcion system. The Bosch Jetronic system was a major design feature of the Testarossa, and so should be on the Mythos, too. So I decided to go with the straight aluminum trumpet style tubes, but to put an injector port on the inside of each one. Back to the mill!

This is what I finally came up with.

http://img349.imageshack.us/img349/2770/mythos0626ay.jpg

I turned a dozen straight tubes, and then I milled a slot in each to take an additional tube for an injector. In the center are the tubes with the slots milled in them, and on the right are the tubes with injector tubes installed. I decided to leave them in a bare, brushed aluminum finish. On the left are some of the mounting flanges to be fitted to the top of the inlet ports on the engine.

Here are the mounting flanges on the engine. As the tubes would be bare aluminum, I figured the flanges should be, too.

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/1125/mythos0634tc.jpg

Each flange gets two PE bolt heads, to hold them in place. Here, just the first two are in place.

http://img349.imageshack.us/img349/2610/mythos0648ay.jpg

And now to show what a back and forth process designing all of this has been, I decided that the plenums were missing vacuum ports. So, I machined some disks for where the ports would go, and stripped the plenums to mount them (fortunately, aluminum strips easily- didn't ruin them this time! :rolleyes:). The two larger parts are for the cold start injectors- they will get fitted to the holes already drilled in the sides of the plenums.

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/4052/mythos0655to.jpg

The vacuum ports in place, one on each end. Now, finally they can be repainted and assembled.

http://img349.imageshack.us/img349/3677/mythos0668uv.jpg

And here they are fully assembled. Including the cold start injectors not jet installed, there are a total of 44 individual machined parts between the two plenum assemblies. Whew.... (Now why didn't I just reorder the replacement parts from Tamiya to start with...?)

http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/9007/mythos0670pu.jpg

And this is what they will look like in place!

http://img349.imageshack.us/img349/1756/mythos0687oa.jpg

http://img409.imageshack.us/img409/1171/mythos0697lc.jpg

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/2002/mythos0704od.jpg

I think I'm happy with that! (finally....) Next, I get to plumb the fuel system- and for those of you unfamiliar with the Bosch Jetronic system, that's no small task....:uhoh:

Stunning work...I'm speachless!

this is where i pack up all of my started models, put them in the loft and go join a monestry......

MPWR,
Your work is that of a true craftsman. I am very impressed with your skills, hard to believe its 1/24-1/25 scale. I am familiar with the Bosch Jetronic system, it is on my car, although a different type. 1:1 is difficult to get correct. Best of luck to you.

Trevor

Really, Andy, now I can't imagine where you'll arrive with your skills: speachless. Very very nice and pro job.

Gets better everytime i see this project... trully ispirational stuff!

Wow! :worshippy

Wow. :worshippy I'm thinking about a Tamiya F40 Competizione and this will be an excellent tutorial. :thumbsup:

omg, the latest update was great!

OMG, That is beautiful. Would blend in nicely in the Louvre next to the Mona Lisa.

i like the mythos and have made the revell kit but you make my effort look shameful

the engine work you have done so far is amazing ... how you make your own parts blows my mind .. where can i find some of those tools like the rotary wheel though

matt mack

Another smallish update.

Before I can hook up the fuel system, I have to have to do something about the fuel distributors. (That's the problem with detail work like this- if you upgrade one thing, it seems like you have to upgrade everything....:uhoh:)

This is what the kit part looks like-

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/1125/mythos0634tc.jpg

Twin Bosch K Jetronic airflow meters and fuel distibutors. Not bad looking- but difficult to wire. The fuel lines have to come out of the ports horizontally, not vertically. So, faced with a 'minor' issue like that, it's time to machine up a replacement.

First, cut off the original distributor heads.

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/7646/mythos0710wb.jpg

Love those Crazy Modeler saws.

Now for the replacements-

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/9950/mythos0728qh.jpg

Another 18 individually machined parts. Why couldn't I have done this on a 4 cyl Porsche 944 or 5 cyl Audi Quattro instead? I'm getting tired of having to do everything a dozen times!

The fuel ports are definitely the smallest things I've yet machined. See the tiny hole drilled into each? The grid is a one inch square.

http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/7562/mythos0734yv.jpg

And here are the recapitated distributors. 12 ports, one for each cylinder, and two ports for the cold start injectors. Each fuel port will get capped with a PE bolt head. Ready for paint and installation. 62 parts and counting....

matt mack- I use Sherline machine tools (http://www.sherline.com/). You can find out all about them on their website. If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me. There is also a machining forum in the works for AF, but it's not yet getting much traffic.

wow...that's great detail! :D

Looks nice ;)

Fantastic work !!!

Whoa! love the details on the distributor, i always look forward for your updates. Keep up the good work.

mmm the distributors look amazing. Such little detail just adds that much more to a model. Impressive and keep the progress posted up.

Wow, that detail is amazing. I've built a few of these engines for my Testarossa models and I wanted to detail it as well. But I thought that those lines were waaay to small for my myopic eyes to fool with.

Omg...

speechless......the effort you put in to built this beauty really make me guilty. I'm currently building this kit too but really way off your standard..
keep us posted on the progress...

Well MPWR as the great wayne cambell once said in waynes world " WE'RE NOT WORTHY!! :worshippy WE'RE NOT WORTHY!!!!:worshippy .....WE SUCK!?!?!?!!!:shakehead

Thats brilliant. The detail is mind blowing....

This thread rocks! You are the model-building GOD!

Truly shocking.:eek:

I've built the Tamiya Mythos myself and I must admit I was very satisfied with my OOB build. Until I found this thread.
There's some unbelievable stuff shown here.

I'd like to say very inspiring, but I don't think I'll ever have the skill, the patience or the hardware to pull off something like this.:disappoin
But I'll nevertheless enjoy this build very much ! :worshippy

why won't you do a post o this. i just found the thread today after ages of searching for it. great job.

OK, this model is pretty much--INSANE!!! I love looking at your work, but at the same time, I'm not really inspired--I'm saddened that I will never be able to do this kind of thing. For now, I carve on sprue and Evergreen...

Wow, I certainly didn't mean to make anyone sad by building this one. :uhoh:

This build has been going now for long enough that my skills have dramaticly improved since I've started it. I wouldn't have guessed I'd be able to do with it what I have back when I began. It's good to know that I'm still learning. (And that's really the best advice I can give- I get better at building by building. :))

Unfortunately, I have too many projects going right now (I know this now :grinyes:- hopefully I can learn to come to a happy medium on my number of ongoing builds! :rolleyes:). Lately the 360 and the Seven are getting most of my attention- but this is definately not a dead project (the F40 too! :p). I will definately finish them both, and post progess here as I do.

But meanwhile I certainly appreciate everyone's continued interest.

slow is good.
means we can catch up..... or not....

Your attention to details and your skill are literally embarassing...

Roberto :)

I'm at a loss for words, I have never seen so much artisan level work applied to a humble tamiya kit before. Fantastic!

Look Good

It seems that the man has a job--and a bunch of other models. Chill out.

It seems that the man has a job--and a bunch of other models. Chill out.

LOL Damn, I thought there was more to be seen.

Doesn't MPWR have about 24 or so concurrent projects of which 98% have custom machining?! It will come in time.

Thanks for the interest, guys.

It so happens that in the last couple of days, I've unearthed the Mythos (and the F40), and both are now getting some work- all because the thread got bumped. :wink: I don't have anything to show quite yet, but it's coming. Hopefully in a few days I'll be able to put together an update. With all the 60th anniv builds going on, it would be a good time to finish these up. :rolleyes:

Yes, embarrassing to the rest of us Roberto. I must say, he even trumps Alex Kustov...Sorry Alex.

No problem. I don't really give a flying f...k. That is one of the reason I don't really post on this forum cause a lot of people are so competitive that the only thing they think about is who builds better models. Same reason I don't participate in model contests. I build for myself and my own pleasure.

Having said that, Andy builds some awesome models and I admire his work and learned a lot from him. His models are the golden standard of creativity and build quality. Keep up excellent work Andy, and sorry to post this in your thread. I felt the noob needed a proper hazing :-)

hurry up and post on this. i just uncovered it again and am getting angry about no progress. what do you think whip or cat o' nine tails to get you to work?

Typical 14 year old comment there noob!

How's about you show us your work instead of uncovering these already discovered treasures....NOOB!

No problem. I don't really give a flying f...k. That is one of the reason I don't really post on this forum cause a lot of people are so competitive that the only thing they think about is who builds better models. Same reason I don't participate in model contests. I build for myself and my own pleasure.

Having said that, Andy builds some awesome models and I admire his work and learned a lot from him. His models are the golden standard of creativity and build quality. Keep up excellent work Andy, and sorry to post this in your thread. I felt the noob needed a proper hazing :-)
Alex, you have my support for this statement as it needed to be said.:sunglasse :sunglasse :sunglasse

No problem. I don't really give a flying f...k. That is one of the reason I don't really post on this forum cause a lot of people are so competitive that the only thing they think about is who builds better models. Same reason I don't participate in model contests. I build for myself and my own pleasure.

Now I see why my question in your thread went unanswered. I understand, and those comments are ridiculous. Who cares which person is the best here. We all try our best, and we all love seeing everyone else's works. There should never be a "the best" comment. Sorry to put this in here Andy.

I build for myself and my own pleasure.

:thumbsup:

having said that, to get the thread back on track --

Andy, it's another inspiring work. the fuel distributor alone... :eek:

Wow, it's been a while....

It's been a long, cold spring here. So I've been confined to projects that I can work on without having to paint much- at least until the weather improves. I blew the dust off this one a month or so ago and started looking at it again- to see if I could think of what I was thinking of the last time I thought of it (always a good trick, that).

The last time I seriously put any work into it (maybe two years ago- or was it three?), I was attempting to plumb the fuel distributor to the intake injectors. And it just sucked. I cut small lengths of brass wire for the fuel lines and tried to get them in place- but the more I did, the worse it looked. A big mess of brass spaghetti. So, I put it aside again. I had no idea how (or if) I could get it to work- I just knew I wasn't going to do it then. So, it sat. Again.

But sometimes it really does help to come back with a fresh mind. Happily, I'm making progress again. We'll see how far I get this time. :rolleyes:

I'm still working the fuel system- so for now, some "simple, fun stuff" that I did to get back into this build. Fortunately, I can machine even when the weather here is crap. :tongue:

The Testarossa suspension system (and therefore the Mythos) has six coil over Koni dampers- two in the front and six in the back. The kit parts are decent enough- but that's rarely stopped be before. :grinno:

I don't really like to make identical parts when I'm machining. One is often great fun, and a matched pair is fine- but more than three of anything can get tedious fast. (It's really the reason I don't sell machined parts- that and I'm terrible at customer service! :grinyes:) Obviously, I needed six of these things. But why stop there? My research indicated that the dampers were nearly identical to the dampers on the F40- and I seem to think I've got one of those lying around in progress somewhere, also :uhoh:. So I gritted my teeth and came up with a way I could repeat the process of making dampers again and again and again as simply as possible. Tedious it was, but they came out nicely.

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb112/andrejmiller/Mythos-074.jpg

The dampers were cut out of .125" aluminum rod. First I drilled and cut ten top ends. Then I turned them around, and cut the bottom ends.

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb112/andrejmiller/Mythos-075.jpg

The bottom ends were then individually shaped, and the mounting points were added.

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb112/andrejmiller/Mythos-076.jpg

Pretty good so far. Here they are compared to the kit parts.

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb112/andrejmiller/Mythos-077.jpg

And in place for a test fit.

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb112/andrejmiller/Mythos-078.jpg

They're kinda cool looking in polished aluminum. Almost a shame to paint them all red (much like Ferraris themselves :rolleyes:). But I like the stock look for the suspension system on this one, so red they are.

Mounted.

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb112/andrejmiller/Mythos-079.jpg

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb112/andrejmiller/Mythos-080.jpg

It was a bit of work, but I'm happy with them. :sunglasse

I also did a set of fuel filters. The filters on the Testarossa are rather prominently mounted. Since I'm already putting so much effort into the fuel system and they will be easily visible, they seemed like a good thing to include.

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb112/andrejmiller/Mythos-081.jpg

Just small bits of turned center drilled aluminum rod, side drilled for mounting pins. On the full size car, the filters are held in place with metal straps wrapped around rubber strips for padding. I did the padding strips with strips of paper painted black, and the mounting straps are thin strips of BMF.

Here's what they will look like in place.

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb112/andrejmiller/Mythos-082.jpg

The coolant reservoir cap is another part machined from brass.

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb112/andrejmiller/Mythos-083.jpg

The filters will get plumbed to the fuel pressure accumulators, and to the distributors- when everything is in place.

More to come soon- hopefully. :rolleyes:

Mighty fine machining work there Andy, great to finally see an update on this one. Shocks and filters look great.

You're crazy man... You're crazy... :D

I think the filters itself worth the three years wait.

Wow! How did you attach the mounting points, is it just CA?

Those machined shocks are great. Nice to see this build coming to life again.

Thanks guys!

Wow! How did you attach the mounting points, is it just CA?

Yeah, just CA. It doesn't hold aluminum very well, but this is a no-stress installation so it doen't need to here. I would use epoxy if it needed more strength (but I hate using epoxy, and only use it where nothing else will work). Solder doesn't work for aluminum, and I'm not quite up to welding in 1/24. :grinno:

I've made some progress on that fuel system now- hopefully I'll get the chance to do another update again soon.

Thanks for watchin'!