WIP- Begginer first model - Ferrari F40 Competizione - Monte Shell

As above this is my first real model build and i am LOVING it so far :grinyes:
Please give me some hints and tips if you have any or any advise or constructive critscism.
Right just started the engine etc (i wish i had sandaded the mold lines on some parts)
First is a pic of my work room
http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/3209/dsc000083lw.jpg
some engine pics
http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/5786/dsc000118rq.jpg
http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/894/dsc000109um.jpg
http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/910/dsc000091ri.jpg
http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/8967/dsc000133ht.jpg
Had a bit of a cock up with the ferrari embelm on the head due to being a bit heavy with the airbrush (live and learn and all that) also painted it red but them looked at some pics on the engine and in real life it is silver so re painted it again.
http://img70.imageshack.us/img70/4043/dsc000121ei.jpg
Also the box says to paint the pipes next to the ferrari emblem above black but they are silver on the real thing.
more to come soon......

Looks like a great start. Glad you're enjoying it! Your engine is nicely done. Looks like it might benefit from a wash, though. (I have a How-to on washes here (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=441493).) You can also pick out the bolt heads on the valve covers the same way you did the ones on the oil pan and transmission.

Keep it up!

Ah, finally we get to see something. Looks to be nicely built so far, nice and clean. Nice kitset as well. Keep us posted.

Looks like a great start. Glad you're enjoying it! Your engine is nicely done. Looks like it might benefit from a wash, though. (I have a How-to on washes here (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=441493).) You can also pick out the bolt heads on the valve covers the same way you did the ones on the oil pan and transmission.

Keep it up!
thats my next plan i have it printed off as we speak :-)

next update on this project
finishing the engine and weathering it
http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/7803/dsc000158or.jpg
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/7449/dsc000169js.jpg
http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/5341/dsc000177rr.jpg
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/8857/dsc000192zo.jpg
sorry about the rubbish pics but the weatering looks alot better in real life (cheers MPWR thet was a class how to)
any comments would be nice you know :grinyes: :grinyes:
also i am going on to the exhaust now so some hints and tips would be nice

Looking very well for a first model! Keep it up!

cheers willimo

keep it coming :-)

Nice work so far. Looks better now that it has had a wash. Good choice of model; looking forward to seeing the progress.

After a wash, dry-brushing is good to pick out the highlights

Some of the photos are a little out of focus... perhaps take them further away, perhaps use the close-up mode (usually a tulip button!).

All the best,
BillyPee

good to see your having fun, looks like your catching right on ;)

Nice work so far. Looks better now that it has had a wash. Good choice of model; looking forward to seeing the progress.

After a wash, dry-brushing is good to pick out the highlights

Some of the photos are a little out of focus... perhaps take them further away, perhaps use the close-up mode (usually a tulip button!).

All the best,
BillyPee
cheers BillyPee but what do you mean by drybrushing? (see i told you i was a begginner:uhoh: :uhoh:

also i was using the macro but must have been to close will try to sort them out for the next update tommorow.

Hi Wilo,

It's actually quite difficult to explain yet quite simple to do. You load a bristle brush full of paint, and then wipe it on a cloth until its dry. The brush will feel dry but if you brush it over a part, it will leave behind a bit of paint on the high points of the part. It is best to use a large brush and an old brush as you will not be treating it very kindly.

For example, if you want to add depth to an aluminum item, you would first spray aluminium, then wash with a black/brown ink, then dry-brush with XF-16 Flat Aluminium, then finally dry brush with X-11 Chrome Silver. The general rule here is to press heavier with darker dry brushes and very lightly with highlighting dry brushes.

The same technque can be done with solid colours where you add progressively more white to the base colour for dry-brushing, whilst at the same time applying less and less pressure.

Take a look at the engine on my 312T3 for an idea of what the technique can do even when you are as clumbsy as me!

All the best,
BillyPee

Another update finished the rear chassis with engine brakes etc, any comments would be nice,
http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/7001/dsc000217oj.jpg
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/8779/dsc000223fu.jpg
http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/7893/dsc000234wx.jpg
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/92/dsc000245nf.jpg
http://img82.imageshack.us/img82/1315/dsc000251ah.jpg
sorry about the bad pics i am using the macro (tulip) but still am taking bad pics i must just not be any good :banghead:
also some of the chassis primed
http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/6548/dsc000260hh.jpg
would you spray the whole chassis yellow them mask and spay the black or mask before spraying the yellow?
and some of the front end
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/5870/dsc000273lb.jpg
any comments/hint etc would be nice :-)

It's looking good. Don't know why you are having problems with the camera now that you are in "tulip" mode :-) If you have an optical and digital zoom camera, you might be going past the optical zoom into the digital zoom region (it is usually indicated on screen but you can tell as the lens stops moving). I dont recomment using digital zoom as it just detracts from the image quality and you can digital zoom in your photo editor once you have it on your computer.

Another tip is... rather than using blu-tack on sticks to hold your parts, drill a 0.4mm hole somewhere discrete, attach some copper wire (perhaps with CA glue) and hey-presto you have a much smaller attachment giving you much less touching up headache. You might need larger wire for larger objects.

Did the dry-brushing explanation make sense?

Hope that helps,
BillyPee

... sorry forgot...

You can avoid camera wobble by using the timer button. That way you eliminate any wobble induced by the pressing of the button. If you still have the jitters, you can get little desktop tripods quite cheaply.

Thanks,
BillyPee

... and forgot another thing.

When you have your parts on wires, you can stick them into florists foam (sometimes called Oasis). You get it in blocks from Hobby shops for less than 1 GBP.

cheers billypee i was thinking that is what might be the problem with the wobbel i will try the timer, i will also try the copper wire and CA glue do you just get the copper wire from like B&Q?

You’re making good progress, but do you use Windows XP? As if you go to www.microsoft.com they have a little power toy you can get to resize your pictures, to something like 800 x 600 or 640 x 480 really easy.

It’s getting hard to see this correctly, as my browser is not showing the full picture. I have to keep scrolling back and forth. If you like I can see if I’ve got the tool still and email you it. PM me.

Keep up the good work.

sorry mickbench i am resizing them at the moment but i will make sure i use the 800 x 600 in the future

Hey Wilo-

Good progress, looks like it's coming along nicely.

Your problem with your pics is light- specifically, not enough of it. You're shooting in full auto macro mode, which is good, but to capture the image, the camera is adjusting itself to shoot in a 'low light' environment. This means it opens the shutter for a long time (a significant fraction of a second)- and if the camera is moved at all during that time (as it ineviably will be if it's being hand held), the result is trailing/streaking. Your pics will come out fine, as soon as you put a bit more light on the subject you're shooting. The camera will recognize the additional light, and shoot quick enough exposures that you can handhold the camera. Using the timer will make no difference, unless you mount the camera on a tripod, to keep it still. Make sense?

As for the chassis, paint the whole thing yellow, then do the black. Tamiya laquer is very thin paint, and there's really no advantage to masking for your initial color.

cheers MPWR i will look at the lighting befor taking the next progress pics and cheers for the info on the chassis i will be painting it later today :-)

Wilo,

I use blu tac to stick parts to toothpicks like you are doing, or find a suitable hole in the part and jam a toothpick into this, and I’ve never had much issue doing it this way. Each to their own, but using toothpicks you can use car sponges to hold the parts. .50p car sponge from Tesco, does just fine.

As for camera wobble, I have the same problem, just lean over a chair back or something to steady yourself, and take your picture. Check you white balance settings, and on my camera I can increase or reduce the lens aparture. Lets in more, or less light. I've only got a cheapo c460 camera, no fancy pants DSLR or some fancy 10mp nikon etc...

I also use white card as a background, this helps, as does white paper underneath, oddly...

Hi Wilo,

i will also try the copper wire and CA glue do you just get the copper wire from like B&Q?


If you are in the UK then I suggest you go to Hobbycraft, assuming you have one near you? B&Q tends to have 'things' that you want but they are invariably too big.

In terms of wire/florists foam versus toothpicks/sponges then there is an element of personal preference and I certainly don't want to hijack your thread to discuss the relative merits :-). However, I think that the wire option is much better in most situations and in some its almost essential. Only yesterday I was priming the rear wing on my Jordan 191 with its multiple elements. These are very thin, and you could not use a toothpick on its own (no hole to wedge into), or a toothpick and blu-tac (blu-tac would spill onto the wing section) for that matter. However, it was no problem to drill a 0.4mm hole in the side of each element and now I can handle them with gay-abandon. All I can say is, give it a go and make your own mind up.

Thanks,
BillyPee

Right here we go with another update after the nigtmare with the chassis just waiting for some more TS16 as i used a full can on the chassis :banghead: :banghead:
http://img102.imageshack.us/img102/9969/dsc000294iy.jpg
was going to do some C/F on the interior and chassis but as a few people have said its a wee bit over my head for my first model:screwy:
http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/3055/dsc000315tr.jpg
http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/2011/dsc000328cw.jpg
http://img159.imageshack.us/img159/5217/dsc000344wk.jpg
http://img239.imageshack.us/img239/9972/dsc000363sa.jpg
http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/3715/dsc000374am.jpg
More to come soon any feedback would be nice.
used some crazy modeller ferrari logos around the interior nice decals and easy to use.

Wilo,

So pleased to see you’ve not given up. I thought you might have got a bit discouraged with the chassis nightmare, but good to see this isn’t so.

I think this is now shaping up nicely. The Dash is nicely detailed. As for CF decals, I didn’t start using them until I’d built about 10 kits. I will admit, they weren’t as bad as I thought they’d be. They are tricky, but microset and microsol does make the difference between a failed CF job, and a success.

Keep it up, you’re doing just fine.

I agree with Mickbench, this is looking very nice indeed. The matt black on the seats looks very nice as does the dash. And your photos are a big improvement.

All the best,
BillyPee

Disgression is the better part of valor, mate. The kit is too stunning thus far to ruin with a bad CF job, in my opinion. Keep up the good work!