Solar Direct Ferrari FXX

I made a Ferrari FXX motorcycle at the end of last year. When I was at my hobby shop, they had a buy two get one model free sale, so I picked up the FXX as a good excuse to steal the decal from the set for the bike... and a great excuse to have the car to build later!

So here we are. I always want to do something a little different have decided to make this the Solar Direct FXX.

http://images32.fotki.com/v1102/photos/1/1044538/5964772/213-vi.jpg

Purists:
I must warn some traditionalists and purists, this is going to built the way I want to build it and not 100% like the Solar Direct Ferrari.
- For example, the Solar Direct car has been covered with vinyl to make it orange; it has not been painted. Mine will be painted and shiny as heck.
- Parts of the Solar Direct car have the original red paint visible where it was not covered with the vinyl decal. Inside the door jams and the mirrors are an example. That will not be the case with this one.
- Wiring will be added although may not exaclty as one would see on the real FXX.

Here we go!

The engine has been painted with the Testors Metal Master Aluminum and polished and then washed with a thinned Tamiya Flat Black. The bolts, rivets, etc. were attached with the Testors silver laquer.

A little Model Factory Hiro heat shield material has been used on the valve covers.

http://images33.fotki.com/v1118/photos/1/1044538/5964772/FXX016aLarge-vi.jpg

The exhasut is a combination of a lot of different Alclad laquers. I have drilled holes for some RBMotion spark plug wires which will be in the exhast serving as what I think are O2 sensors based on reference pictures.

The engine will not be fully wired, but will have a lot of wiring detail.

http://images17.fotki.com/v308/photos/1/1044538/5964772/FXX01_21_08009Large-vi.jpg

The interior has been CF'd with KA Models decales which I think are the best I have used in terms of appearance. The gloss is courtesy of a Transtar two part eurethane clear from a car a painted years ago.

http://images34.fotki.com/v1123/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC05415Large-vi.jpg


http://images34.fotki.com/v1149/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC05413Large-vi.jpg


Look at this underside. Those KA decals look awesome!

http://images34.fotki.com/v1126/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC05425aLarge-vi.jpg

I am going to fully CF the body. Here are the decal templates being made.

You may notice I cut the front tray off that hols the battery. I did this to be able to put the decals on better and allow better access to the master cylinder for paint.
It will be glued back on later. I drilled pilot holes before I cut it off to ensure proper alignment when it is reattached.

http://images32.fotki.com/v1102/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC05432aLarge-vi.jpg

http://images36.fotki.com/v1152/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC05440aLarge-vi.jpg

http://images31.fotki.com/v1101/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC05453aLarge-vi.jpg

Interesting choice of FXX :thumbsup: (but not surprising from someone who comes up with the idea for an FXX motorbike ;) )

Holy smoke - The engine is looking just awesome - first class job!

Very much looking forward to seeing what's coming next

Body is now CG'd and master cylder painted with Alclad Pale Gold and Testors Silver Laquer. I finished the clear off with a flat clear laquer. I decided against the gloss clear for some reason. I am not sure why.

http://images35.fotki.com/v1131/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC05513-vi.jpg


The rear got hit with some Alclad magneseum and PE bolts and the MFHiro heat shield.

http://images32.fotki.com/v1103/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC05519-vi.jpg

The interior is glossy and will be glossy. I have brushed with the gloss laquer clear from Testors' Model Master line.




http://images35.fotki.com/v1131/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC05534-vi.jpg


I like the look of the flat carbon fiber!

http://images35.fotki.com/v1129/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC05535-vi.jpg

I like the look of flat on the cf too but only for the chassis. Seems more realistic (my opinion anyway). Kinda why I think the interior looks too glossy...but then you know a hell of a lot more thna I do :icon16: . Will never forget your FXX motorcycle. Wish my engines could look half as decent as yours does :) .

thats a heck of a good vinyl job thats some great engine detail

KevHw,

I agree with you: shiny, thanks for the compliments.
Look at this picture in the bottom left, very shiny.
Between the seats, not so shiny.
Thanks to your comments, I am going to adress this a little.
http://images110.fotki.com/v1114/photos/1/1044538/5622029/1755199c2zw4ol-vi.jpg

What a great start! I like the progress so far! Will keep my eyes on this build for sure.

I'm not sure if i caught this, but did you buy the dexter models transkit for this livery? They call it a transkit but its more of a decal set with a few resin parts.

NSX Fan: Yes, Dexter decals and 2 mirrors.

Thanks for the great words.

Andy

This is an interesting built. I had 3 FXX sitting in my stach and waiting for someone like you do have a detail WIP as I would need help and reference to built mine. Thanks I will be checking on your progress. Keep up the good work!

Oh yeah, this is great. Home made decal templates. I really like that effort and they look awesome - no wrinkles and no reworking. How did you get them to lay down that nicely?? Oh - almost forgot - the engine is bravo.

Hi,

interesting project, great work so far !!

Godfather... carbon fiber decals... my trick is using a flat paint bursh to cover the decals with decal setting solution and a hairdryer and a little technique.

I think it all starts with good shapes from the yellow tape.

The flat brush not only applies, but helps work the decal flat and into crevices. The hairdryer heat helps decals conform, almost like shrink wrap.

I go through three rounds max on parts that really need to settle into shape:
1. decal set... let sit for 20 seconds or so
2. hit it with heat until it appears dry
3. now it is getting ready to be manipulated a little bit
4. a little more decal set, this time helping it conform
5. heat... now it really wants to take shape
6. one last round of light decal set, still pusing it into final place
7. heat one last time
8. let it dry completely
9. if there are still spots that are not sitting in the crevices or corners, cut along a line to give decal freedom to set into the corner
10. hit with one last light coat of decal set for final encouragement and let dry

That's it!

It helps to think about the dimensions and how the decal is going to want to sit and not sit.

See the picure below: motorcycle capilers: this is three pieces, one for each side: front, back and top.

Does that help?

http://images26.fotki.com/v885/photos/1/1044538/5085749/DSC03697-vi.jpg

http://images26.fotki.com/v892/photos/1/1044538/5085749/DSC03694-vi.jpg

Orange supercars + black rims = hotness :grinyes:

Great build so far. I appreciate how unapologetic you are for wanting to build the model your way. That's what it's all about!

Looking forward to more updates.

Wow, that decal job on those calipers is absolutley amazing.

Nice build..I'll be watching this for sure!

Thank you for explanation. I have a rather good working application pattern for decals myself. I´m just always curious whether it can be improved. Thanks again.

Thank you for explanation. I have a rather good working application pattern for decals myself. I´m just always curious whether it can be improved. Thanks again.

I think the part that has helped me the most is 8,9,10 above. I used to think they were done at step 7, but the decal set and final cuts to help settle has been a great help in getting the decal into those hard to reach areas.

Thanks again for the all the comments!
Andy

It's an artwork! Those KA CF is awesome indeed.

I love the KA Models Carbon Fiber decals. You see below there is a subtle shine/reflection like you see on the real thing. These are the only decals I have seen so far that have that effect. I have used many different patterns from Studio 27, Model Factory Hiro, SMS (all manufacturers are great), but these are the only ones that have that. I will still use the others for their own applications as the variety of patters and depth is key for me, but the KA are great for parts that will be seen up close.

http://images32.fotki.com/v1105/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC05557-vi.jpg

I took a Crazy Modeler horse and painted it red and stuck it on the seat. Dave T used this on his FXX. I had these left over from the FXX motorcycle; it was this horse that was used to emboss the seat on the bike. Spray paint was sprayed at a distance to create the texture for the seat.


http://images35.fotki.com/v1129/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC05564-vi.jpg

Nice carbon work on them brakes ;)

The engine is in. In Dave T's Model Cars article, he noted how the engine and pieces surrounding fit neatly together like a puzzle, but this was not the case for me. I am thinking some of the wires I added interefered with something.
A little coaxing was required and some additional glue. I have a bad feeling this means I will find something else is out of line later in this build.

http://images35.fotki.com/v1131/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC05752Large-vi.jpg

http://images36.fotki.com/v1155/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC05753Large-vi.jpg

http://images31.fotki.com/v1093/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC05755Large-vi.jpg



The front end is reattached and the battery is wired. I made up the way I wanted the wires to go. I liked the uniform look. Heatshrink tubing adds depth to the wires, the connections are from the leftovers of the PE shock assembly set from another car. I added lines coming out of the master cylinder as well.


http://images35.fotki.com/v1132/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC05757Large-vi.jpg

http://images33.fotki.com/v1139/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC05733Large-vi.jpg

http://images30.fotki.com/v484/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC05730Large-vi.jpg

Most excellent job :thumbsup:

A thread to learn from :worshippy

A thread to learn from :worshippy

So true.

Everything looks well thought of and nicely executed!

Robert

Alright, work has been kicking my butt lately and golf wather is here in Georgia, so making progress on this has been slow although inspiration has not slowed.

A lot of work has been done, but what you see in results is not as much progress.

I have the seats in and belts done. I used some medical tape colored with a black sharpie for the seatbelts combined with the Tamita PE set. As I said in the beginning, I am building this the way I want to, not exacltly like the car; I have black seatbelts.

I appreciate how unapologetic you are for wanting to build the model your way. That's what it's all about!


jmwallac - I loved this comment, thank you!



http://images31.fotki.com/v1100/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC05860-vi.jpg


The dash is done and the sterring wheel is in progress. I used heat shrink material for the padding. I stole DaveT's PE pieces on the dash idea.

http://images35.fotki.com/v1132/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC05869-vi.jpg



Here is the total piece, starting to look more like a car.
I am dreading the front disks and the front springs, but I do not think I can move forward until I get those done.

I am debating the RB Motion springs for this car.

Thanks to mrawl and his open 360, I have decided to open the trunk on this one to show off the battery and wiring. The fans will be up there too so more details can be seen.

http://images35.fotki.com/v1127/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC05870-vi.jpg


Maybe I can add more details to the engine bay as a way to delay the rotors and springs....

Andy

Most excellent job :thumbsup:

A thread to learn from :worshippy

Yesssss ! And what a fine photos...

Robi :)

I am loving your FXX.

OMG!!!!! The details you put in it is totally amazing! It will a great eample for the fellow modellers who wants to build these car with similier details. Keep it coming. :ylsuper:

jmwallac - I loved this comment, thank you!

No problem! Great updates!

Thanks to mrawl and his open 360, I have decided to open the trunk on this one to show off the battery and wiring. The fans will be up there too so more details can be seen.

Can't wait to see this. Take a bunch of step by step photos as I'm sure many of us will want to see how its done. The lessons continue... :grinyes:

Andy, this looks great so far, and I like your to the point "this is how I will do it" approach to the purists....thats the way model building should be, build it your way..thats how i'm building my Ferraris. I'll be keeping an eye on this one for sure, btw can you let me know the issue number of model cars that has Dave T's article? I'd like to pick that up for reference material when building my own FXX in the next year or so.

Oh yeah and congrats on getting recognized on autoblog for your FXX bike..great build too!
http://www.autoblog.com/2008/03/25/a-ferrari-motorcycle-only-in-our-1-12-scale-dreams/

Gray

Gray,

I will definitely know the issue number of Dave's article of the FXX. I have it at home. I think I seriously have read that article more than 50 times from beginning to end!

Thanks for your great comments and noticing the autoblog. I did not know that was there!

I did get this one on windingroad:
http://news.windingroad.com/etc/ferrari-fxx-motorcycle-is-awesome-but-little-more-than-scale-dreams/



Thanks again for the great comments and interest.
Andy

Gray,

I will definitely know the issue number of Dave's article of the FXX. I have it at home. I think I seriously have read that article more than 50 times from beginning to end!

Model Cars
Issue #124 July 2007
Mark Jones Blue Super 7 on the cover, Dave's FXX upper right cover.

So I have made a little more progress.

I have finished the air intake with the same process I did on the seats, this time a little more feax suede paint than before though. I knew there was no way I was going to be able to paint the red stripes and have them look good, so I took an exacto and cut some small lines from another decal sheet that had red stripes (thank you Jimmy Johnson). The metal PE Ferrari cover is from the Crazy Modeler sheet, the Ferrari badges are from the kit. I tried to use Bare Metal Foil for the silver tied downs with no success and ended up brushing a nice sliver line of testors lacquer.

http://images34.fotki.com/v1144/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC05932-vi.jpg



The dash is also done and steering wheel. The screen is silver lacquer with a hint of transparent Tamiya green. I saw that from someone on these forums; thank you for the idea. Apologies for not remembering who it was.
I have gotten into painting with a toothpick lately and did that for the silver surround on the red button in the lower middle portion.

http://images36.fotki.com/v1159/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC05921-vi.jpg


Here is what it looks like with the cover on and some added engine details.

http://images33.fotki.com/v1116/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC05946-vi.jpg


I think now I am really going to have to attack those front rotors that I have been stalling on. You can see above how the rear ones look bad. Fortunately, that will not be visible with the wheels on in the end.


Thank you for looking!
Andy

Outstandingly clean work. Excellent.

Maybe this (http://www.onetwentyfour.net/2007/10/08/1191867180000.html) will be of use to you? David developed an interesting technique IMO.

Speechless... What a beeeeeeeeauty! :)

Superb effort on this build, and perfect execution too. :licka:

excellent work on the car! love the CF details. :)

I am back to the bench after time off with a new baby and many other things going on.

The Solar Direct has to be finished!
Dave T inspired this one and was to take it to Atlanta in November had I finished it, which I did not.
Think of this build as a tribute to Dave as he and Clay inspired me to get serious with modeling three years ago.


Carbon Fiber undercarriage.

http://images45.fotki.com/v1421/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC07644Medium-vi.jpg


Body has been painted, has decals, and needs clear coat.
My 2 part clear activator dried up during the hiatus, so I will be out getting some more this week.
As I said in the beginning of this, the real FXX was full decal/vinyl, and as a result not very shiny.
I am taking the liberty to make this one super duper shiny.

http://images43.fotki.com/v1383/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC07647Medium-vi.jpg

Wow!!!! Amazing build!!!

So, thanks to Dave's kick ass inspiration, I got some done on the Solar Direct FXX.

I made a giant rookie mistake:
- in my time off, the activator for my 2 part clear dried up
- I laid down some Model Master clear laquer in its place and did not like the results
- I got more activator and laid down 2 part clear over this laquer

The results:
- fisheye like you cannot imagine
- terrible 2 part clear adhesion to the car

I tried to overcome the fisheye problem with multiple layers of clear and sanding.
There is still some evidence of the problem, although not as bad as it started, but you can still see it.

http://images48.fotki.com/v1409/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC07716-vi.jpg


You can see where the clear pulled away from the car at the top of the door (where the white stripe is).
This happened on the other door as well, both where I taped to spray the black window seal.

http://images43.fotki.com/v1386/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC07718-vi.jpg



Wheels have RBMotion valve stems.
Yes, that is wax that I did not clean up.

http://images42.fotki.com/v1434/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC07724-vi.jpg


I am considering getting another FXX to paint the body again from scratch with new decals.
There are some things to do differently like mold doors together before paint to remove some lines.
Also, the decals seemed to yellow a little while they sat dormant.
This has too much work in it for me to not get the paint perfect.

Moral of the story: you guys have the set the bar pretty high; I am not there!!!

Great paint work! Your carbon work is stunning! I love all the detail inside and in the engine bay. And it's great to see an FXX is anything other than black or red.

Great paint work! ... it's great to see an FXX is anything other than black or red.
:iagree:
Looks like a good recovery to me :thumbsup:

Awesome work.

A+
/Joel

Okay, so there are a few small updates on this one...
(I am really fighting my camera as you can see from the inconsistent pictures)

I had to get a new body for this; too much work to have the paint ruined.
I think to be the most important make or break aspect.
The new body assembled primed and ready to get its new orange paint.

Coats of paint and the number of coats is really important!
One thing I never worried about and later found to be an issue is the number of coats on different pieces.
When I put all the pieces together on the original body, there were about 20 shades of orange. I never thought about the number of coats of paint making that much of a difference.... it did.

This is smooth for the most part, but has to be spared:


http://images46.fotki.com/v1432/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC07770Large-vi.jpg


Here are some hood pins from the Crazy Modeler kit.
They will make a nice addition.
Pieces are held together with future floor wax.
I like this better than super glue as much as possible; nice fast drying.
http://images46.fotki.com/v1433/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC07743Large-vi.jpg


Replacement support rods (I dont know what these really are) have been made from brass rod and RB Motion joints.
I CF'd the rod to make it a nice looking carbon piece. The rods are so small though, picking up the CF pattern is a little difficult.

http://images47.fotki.com/v1402/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC07761Large-vi.jpg


Next are up are pics of the RBMotion shocks, mounted and ready to go!

Sweet work :thumbsup:

If you replaced the body (?!), then yuo also had to replace the decals? :(

wooohhh pure and fine detailing fxx!

If you replaced the body (?!), then yuo also had to replace the decals? :(

Yes, body replaced and decals replaced too. It stinks, but I have spent so much time on this, that i cannot look at it knowing that I left something on the table that could have been fixed. This was a costly mistake, but will not be a mistake I make again.

I have the new body painted and I think I am going to clear it first and then decal it. Thoughts?

Last night i got:
- RBMotion rear shocks mounted and detailed.
- Front PE windshield wiper done.

Since the hood is opened, I need to add more details under the trunk area. Again, fair warning as I said in the beginning, I am taking the liberty to make up some wiring as I wish to make things look good to me. This may not be how the FXX is in real life!!!

Thank you for the comments on the car!
Andy

Okay, while the body is being repainted, I am working on some of the small details.
My rookie mistakes have been a good lesson in not rushing. I read in a magazine once where Clay Kemp said, if the part is not exactly right, he does it again.
I am going to be taking on the same ideology and slowing down a little bit.
(DaveT is not human, his pace need not be replicated or attempted).


Here are some shots of the engine bay with some RBMotion shocks added and other small pieces of the Crazy Modeler detail sheet.
The shocks are being held in place with some Scale Hardware pieces.

http://images46.fotki.com/v1445/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC07826copy-vi.jpg

http://images43.fotki.com/v1438/photos/1/1044538/5964772/DSC07839copy-vi.jpg

Once the paint is done, there are some small wired that will be added to the engine bay and the trunk and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Andy

super detail...i got nothing to say!