Another F430-Challenge-Not competition though-street.

Then I went on with the etch/vents:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/4-25011.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/4-25012.jpg

Last night I spent about 2 hours on the catches. The pic for these is bad, sorry.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/4-25013.jpg

Here is the cockpit with the Crazy modeler painted:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/4-25014.jpg\
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/4-25015.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/4-25014-1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/4-25015-1.jpg

After all of this, my etch pieces are growing:
\http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/4-25017.jpg

Now, the roll cage. It was primed, smoothed, and ready to go. After my references I wanted to add a cage padding.

Tamiya tape and a bit of glue worked the best:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/4-25016.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/4-25016-1.jpg
After that, I painted the pads flat red and added the bolts.:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/4-25025.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/4-25029.jpg

The tub was painted flat black, and looks great!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/4-25018.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/4-25019.jpg

Here is the template from the drivers seat:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/4-25021.jpg
Cut out:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/4-25022.jpg
The seat, and the CF ready to go:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/4-25023.jpg
Final results:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/4-25026.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/4-25027.jpg

Hope you all like the progress!!

Comments are always welcome.

I hope you all like it all. I feel that this will soon be finished. Bout damn time if you ask me. Next time the interior will be finished. After that, I polish and wax the body. I might finish this before June?!

LOL

Great progress it´s looking stunning:):sunglasse
Johan

This build is coming along just great!! I'm loving every step of the build process!!:sunglasse

Well done Jon! Looks great! You are doing great with your WIP. I appreciate your time it takes to post your work.

Cheers, Rick

Well done Jon! Looks great! You are doing great with your WIP. I appreciate your time it takes to post your work.

Cheers, Rick

Thanks Rick, I really appreciate it as it does take a lot of time to post this stuff. A lot of people never say a word, and there only seems to be a select few who will. Kind of frustrating to me as I think what I have done is pretty darn good for my 2nd model in 6 years!!!!!

What can you do. :rolleyes:

Hi Jon,

I'm one of the quietly crowd who followed you from the begining. Your wip gave me a idea of how beautyful this car looks in white with black rims.

After finding pics of the Novitec F430 http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/fotos/foto-shows/news/mpsfshw_show_501339_14093.hbs?ext_index=0&ext_show_id=mpsfshw::show::501339&backtrack=%2Fnews%2Fzubehoer_-_tuning%2Fhxcms_article_503566_14055.hbs&; (http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/fotos/foto-shows/news/mpsfshw_show_501339_14093.hbs?ext_index=0&ext_show_id=mpsfshw::show::501339&backtrack=%2Fnews%2Fzubehoer_-_tuning%2Fhxcms_article_503566_14055.hbs) I'm thinking about trying to build this one.

Thanks a lot for your descriptions of how you build your model because it will help beginners like me.

Cheers, Thomas

Damn, that is one fine Ferrari. I love what Novitec does to Ferraris. They really class them up without ruining the true beauty. I would definitely build that!

Thanks for the comments.

Somehow I missed this thread :banghead:

It's looks great, interior, rollcage, brakes... to make it short I love it :grinyes:

Really nice work you've donne on this F430!
Like it very much!

Cheers,

Jamme

Wow, I have no time for anything, especially a hobby like this. But, I will try, and try I do. Finals ended a while back, but work has been sapping me. That and the no-more-free-time I get form the woman. Life could be worse. I have been working on this off and on for a while. After 8 months and lots of crap, the body is like I want it - finally!!!! I polished it with my Micro Mark kit to 12,000 and this thing shined like I cleared and waxed it. Well, I didn't do either. I polished it and barely waxed it. Looks great, but again, the pics are at night:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-78.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-79.jpg

Rims installed and the silly nose piece added. I think this piece looks aweful in scale, especially by Fujimi. But, it belongs:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-88.jpg

Now, aside from the dash, the cockpit is completed. Here is the almost complete rolling chassis:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-87.jpg
Brakes and wheels completely installed:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-89.jpg

All of that mesh found a home and it was a PITA!! Still, I got it:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-92.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-91.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-90.jpg

Now, as it sits, here she is. I am so happy with the color and the rim color I chose. Everything is falling into place nicely, which is odd?!!?!

I decided to use Enzo turn signals in the front cause they were not just plastic lumps on the body. This was a last moment choice as I installed them after painting. I made sure I was very careful when doing this and it paid off. I am so glad I chose this! I need to add a little BMF to the backs of them and they will shine better I hope.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-83.jpg
Here are the fillers added to the body. They really payed off I think:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-84.jpg
Here is the best part--all of the rear mesh. Most was easy, but some were a pain to install. Again though, it all worked out:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-85.jpg
Kind of blurry, but it looks great!!!! The wheels look so good with the red calipers, I am so happy:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-82.jpg

And here is where she stands as of today:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-86.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-81.jpg

Tomorrow I will do the panel lines, and add the badges to it. I also painted the recovery points bright yellow to add to the badges. So, the overall theme will be white with black, and yellow to match the badges. This thing might be finished before the new year, lol.

Hope you al like it?!?!!?!? :popcorn:

White looks great. especially with black details.

Nice to see you back with this car.
Nice combination, White and Black!

Cheers

Jamme

Hi~
I have been out from AF for some time, and you build and your focus on this F430 is so impressive to me.
I am hanging out with anoter F430 at the moment and I am sure your modification is very great!
The choice of color combo is great too!
I am looking forward to your engine bay which you woudl probably be doing big mod on it~
Good Luck~!!

Stunning model. Great work on the mesh. You chose a really inspiring color combination. Keep it up and never mind the small amount of free time allowed by "the" woman... It´s mostly worth it...

Love the color combo. I'm doing an enzo in the same color combination.

Isn't there a white ferrari thread somewhere around here....

Love the color combo. I'm doing an enzo in the same color combination.

Isn't there a white ferrari thread somewhere around here....

I will admit the combo has really grown on me. The model is almost finished but I have been busy with the dam LeMans build that I couldn't complete in 24 hours, lol.

You mean a white thread in the forums, or a person's particular white Ferrari?

Thanks for all the comments guys!!! Should be finished soon.

You mean a white thread in the forums, or a person's particular white Ferrari?

A white thread in the forums. I remember seeing it a while back where a guy had 2 or 3 white cars. I thought they were Ferraris.

If I ever finish my Enzo, I'll post a pic. Not very interesting compared to this one, though. I really like that white/black/red.

Ok, this might just be the final update on this Ferrari!!!! I am so happy that this one is almost over. I have become very forgiving in the final assembly and the detail I wanted to use is being missed intentionally. Still though I am building it very well for how much I have despised this thing.

So I tried my first photo-etched harness for this beast. I used SMS's 1/24th harness kit and it was, well,........good and bad. The actual belt material was a really tacky surgical tape looking setup. Their guide was great though as it helped you cut the right size of belt. But they were white and I had to color the belts in with a red felt tipped marker. That was easy, but the whole process took about 4 hours?!

Here are some pics:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-93.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-94.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-95.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-96.jpg
Finished and installed:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-97.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-98.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-99.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-103.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-104.jpg

So, that was finally finished as I was dreading that part of the build. All of the glass was in but the rear needed to have the defroster removed as the Challenges do not have them. So, I very carefully removed the lines and polished out the window to 12,000 grit and some Tamiya fine compound. It looked absolutely great and then on the final rub, it snapped in half!!!! I really hate this Ferrari.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-100.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-101.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-102.jpg
But, I still have that other kit, so I did it again with success.

Now that the body is finished completely, and the interior is also, it was time for the engine. So I continued the SMS cf on the intake plenum:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-105.jpg
I also added the rest of the CM etch pieces:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-106.jpg
Since my airbrush is still not being used I covered the exhaust with BMF:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-107.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-108.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-109.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-112.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-113.jpg
Then I added the dash with all of the etch:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-111.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-110.jpg
Next was to weather the exhaust. I used Tamiya's new weathering kit and it worked great:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-116.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-117.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-118.jpg

Now there was some much needed wiring, but I didn't go all out. Just enough to make it look realistic:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-114.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-115.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-119.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-120.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-121.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-123.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-124.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-125.jpg

So, the engine was complete, and all I needed was to add the rear window before installing the engine bay. Well, I guess I really just wanted to break another window cause that is what I did. I guess Fujimi plastic does not bend at all!:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-126.jpg
But, I got the second one in fine:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-127.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-128.jpg

So, everything is almost ready to be final assembled on the F430. I am sure that once I get to that point I will drop it or spill CA all over it. Then it really will become the first flying F430, lol. Hope you all like the progress as it really has been a long time coming. Started this in November of last year?! Wow, time flies.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/-122.jpg

CC welcome - Jon

if it's flat "glass" then just ditch the kit part and cut a fresh one out of clear acetate and scratch up a simple frame from styrene.

if it's flat "glass" then just ditch the kit part and cut a fresh one out of clear acetate and scratch up a simple frame from styrene.

Slight curve to it on two axis. I had another so it was no big deal.

man these fujimi kits like to break on us huh? Sucks about the glass parts, but overall this one looks great, I commend you on an excellent build with good attention to the cf, and the harness work on the interior looks good too.

Look forward to seeing this one finished, hopefully the CA will not spill!

Gray

Ok, the final update to this way too long project. I can say now that after the results are in, I did well personally. I am very happy with the finished model.

Here is the finished body:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/FinF430al001.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/FinF430al002.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/FinF430al003.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/FinF430al004.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/FinF430al006.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/FinF430al008.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/FinF430al012.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/FinF430al013.jpg

And here is the finished chassis. I added the tank to the interior with my own colors. Looks great I think:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/FinF430al014.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/FinF430al015.jpg
Here is a last pic of the engine before the body goes on:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/FinF430al016.jpg

One last shot of the paint:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/bluej/FinF430al017.jpg

So, after nearly 9 months - 3 kits, and too much time, this damn Ferrari is finally through. I can say that I bit off way more than I could chew as this was my 2nd finished model in 4 years. I think OOB is a better direction but I am to detailed to do that. I hope someone out there has appreciated the build. Cause, it is finally over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The result so far is looking great. The seatbelts look fantastic. I don't think I have the patience to try one yet. The white body with black rims is killer!

Sounds like it's time to get it off the bench and on the shelf though? :grinyes:

Really nice work on this one. I want to do one similar, pretty much the same actually, some ideas there.

WOw this is amazing, great work. The resuslts I have seen are phenomenal.Im glad to see you keep on this one and work through the tough spots. Its hard to keep positive when things go wrong. Keep up the great work. I cant wait to see this all done!

Thanks Dean, it was a challenge - no pun intended. It is finished and can be seen in the completed gallery or here (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=728614).