Fujimi 250 GTO instructions on Hobby Search Site

Heading out the door to a meeting, so if someone has already posted, my apologies. The kit is released. Here's the link to the detail...

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10070252

189 parts on my first sweep.

Maybe the first truly accurate plastic 250GTO body in history.

Unprecedented engine bay details.

Rotors designed to spin within separate calipers.

Only things separating this from a true EM-series kit are a 50-piece engine and three-piece Daytona-style Borannis; we get one-piece wheels (comparable to Hasegawa 250 TR pieces) and a fairly simplified engine (also like Hasegawa's).

But in this day and age, it's as close to a new Enthusiast kit as we're gonna get. And it looks SWEET.

So THANK YOU, EB, no matter how many times this might be posted elsewhere. :thumbsup:

It looks fantastic to me and I can't wait to get my hands on one!!

don't know whether it will get much better result than the old protar/revell kit

don't know whether it will get much better result than the old protar/revell kit

From what I've seen I'd say there's no comparison.

This looks almost too good to be true. Kit has so many parts that other kit makers have omitted: Oil tank, complete Watt's linkage, engineroom details, the frame itself looks like it is the best 250 series Ferrari Chassis in 1/24 scale ever...

Only problems that i see are the engine (not bad, but not on the level of other parts) and quite awful front hubs. If the tires are the same as on photos on Fujimi website they have to be replaced with the wheels.

Does anybody want to buy 5 Gunze/Airfix High Tech GTO:s :crying:

-Niko

Does anybody want to buy 5 Gunze/Airfix High Tech GTO:s :crying:

I don't mind buying some old GTOs from you niko...if the kits contain engine parts & the price is right!!

marc:biggrin:
SGP

don't know whether it will get much better result than the old protar/revell kit

It depends on what you mean by "getting results".

If you mean in terms of sales, well yeah, who knows.

If you mean kit quality, forget it. The only 1/24 GTO to withstand comparison comes in resin and metal from MFH. All the other plastic ones are no longer relevant.

If you mean kit quality, forget it. The only 1/24 GTO to withstand comparison comes in resin and metal from MFH. All the other plastic ones are no longer relevant.


yeah...at a price!:2cents:

marc
SGP

If you mean kit quality, forget it. The only 1/24 GTO to withstand comparison comes in resin and metal from MFH. All the other plastic ones are no longer relevant.

I'm assuming you mean kits that are in production because the old italeri and gunze kits aren't exactly shoddy.

That's also not to mention that Fujimi has a way of making parts that little bit too heavy or that little bit too flat, even in their newer kits.
Looking in the back of one of their Ferrari 365/512 kits or even at the brakes from any of their kits and you'll see what I mean.
Parts counts aren't the be all and end all of model kits.
Parts count don't automatically equate to accuracy or quality.

While it's nice that they've gone that extra bit further, I'll do the sensible thing and wait until I have a kit in my hands to make any sort of real judgement.

I'm very familiar with both the Gunze and Italeri GTO's (and Fujimi's 512BB). And thanks for the lesson on evaluating kits. I took NOTES, bein' so NEW to kit reviews, 'n all. :thumbsup:

The BODY alone in this kit blows every other plastic offering clean into the weeds; Italeri's looks good till you start to see its slab sides, and Gunze's mighta been right on the money if it weren't for those funky-ass rear wheel openings (tellya what, if anyone can show me a matching 1:1, I'll re-evaluate my position on that - but it's gonna hafta MATCH, none of this Protar-Violati apologist stuff).

So based on that, and how this kit will be on top even if it only lives up to around 80% of what it promises, I'm doing the UNsensible thing and making the pronouncement right now.

All sensible all the time gets a bit drab, anyway. :icon16:

Just received my kit.

Upon first look through the box I'd bet every 250 GTO fan will be happy with the kit.

The body looks great...nothing jumps out at me as looking 'wrong'...definitely the best plastic GTO to date.

I was most skeptical about the wire rims...but I honestly think for those do not opt for P/E ones they could look plenty good if stripped of the factory plating and painted properly. They are narrow width which are mostly seen on the front of GTO's that have wider rears. Some GTO's have same width rims at all four corners and seem to be wider the the kit ones IMO.

Overall if the frame parts aren't warped etc. it should be a joy to build and make a fine example of the real legendary car.

KILLER! Thanks for the preview (I knew I shoulda taken bets...:evillol: ).

The bits I'm wondering about the most are the rear axle and the engine parts in general.

I should have mine fairly soon, but since you mentioned it, I'm wondering if you have any observations about those...

Didn't have much time to give the kit a full anal exam last eve due to working late etc.

Took a couple pics comparing the Fujimi body(far right) with the Italeri, Gunze and Protar. All bodies have the same wheelbase but that's where the similarities end pretty much. The Italeri body is closest to the Fuji in proportion but the Fuji body has the subtle shapes that the Italeri is missing.

The Fuji body is more narrow at the rear wheel opening center line than the rest of the bodies but it's a bit wider at the front than the Italeri. The Gunze body is largest in all it's dimensions.

Not much more I can add about the body...in my view the Fuji is the best one of all. Anyone who likes the Italeri kit will love the Fuji which is better in every way.

Took a couple of tree shots...as you can see the parts are nice and delicate...nothing heavy handed in this kit. I clipped the tube frame from the tree and the interior floor and installed it in the body....it fit perfect, no warp effect.

Pic link:

http://gallery.filefront.com/DinoScuderia/

Looks great. I agree, Fujimi body looks the most accurate of all.

No contest at all.

Thanks, Veyron! It's cool. I got enough rubber gloves to see how it coughs when I get mine.

:werd:

Oh, and by the way - still don't know if I'd go to the Protar kit, but good eye on the engine, Exotics Builder.

And now that I have the kit in my hands, any inclination to say "I told you so" is tempered by the sheer obviousness, the utter absence of challenge, in my initial premise. We FINALLY have something that looks like a 250 GTO.

We certainly didn't get a great likeness from Aurora. And much as I admire the passion and dedication that they so clearly put into theirs, Protar didn't really fill the bill either. I almost wish they marketed it as a generic Italian GT, because once you get past how far off the mark it is as a GTO, it's a neat little piece of kit design.

Italeri had the best mean representation of the various 250 GTO's, although its flatness of sectional curvature was problematic from anything other than a pure profile view. Gunze Sangyo may have had the closest representation of a specific car - from the doors forward it was certainly the best in plastic - but good luck finding a 1:1 match for those rear quarters.

All of which builds a roundabout case for this kit as the first truly worthy plastic representation. It has the convenient one-piece body design of the Gunze kit; but the rear wheel arches, the restrained mass of the haunches, the profile of the B-pillars and backlight, and especially the front end's gentle swelling over the wheels and exquisitely rounded prow, all capture subtleties never seen before in a plastic GTO. I'm sure there's something to nit-pick with dial calipers, measuring tape, and Nick Mason's kind indulgence; but no plastic GTO body has ever been this close.

That alone might have secured Fujimi's dominance on this subject, but they've sweetened the deal with other details you've never seen in any of its predecessors. Like that complete Watts linkage for the rear axle, the oval cutouts in the exhaust tips, the oil tank, and the spinning rotors all mentioned previously. Delicate tow hooks for the front and rear end. What looks like a separate carb-priming handle for the dash, and another little lever just for the passenger side of the firewall - because it's evidently visible through the 1:1 car's vents on that side. A complete fuel tank with upper and lower surface detail. The most comprehensively represented 250 chassis from any plastic kit.

One thing they omit that everyone else includes, though, is a chrome plastic or photo-etched prancing cavallino for the grille. All Fujimi provides is a decal, and a grille screen with an overscale mesh pattern and no platform to accept the graphic.

And while we're listing demerits, the rear axle has a blocky look, and the front hub carriers and tie rod were designed with positional steering as a distinct priority over correctness of appearance. Fujimi's decision to engrave inner skins and release cables as part of the interior door panels may twitch some eyebrows. And if anything's a letdown in this kit, it's the engine, which may present decently when finished, but looks decidedly unimpressive and under-detailed on the trees - to such a degree that the accessory drive is molded with a webbed-over belt. Hasegawa's 3-liter 250 TR V12 manages a distinctly more satisfying effect with only a few more parts.

But as impressive as the plastic wheels were in that kit, Fujimi decisively one-ups Hasegawa with its satin-plated one-piece Borranis, capturing the subtle spoke bends and fearsome see-through complexity better than perhaps any other one-piece model wheel in history, straight down to tiny valve stems. Fujimi really went for broke on the wheels and unleashed a potentially serious annoyance for themselves in the tires.

These crisp, freshly-tooled Avons have side markings that would indicate they're not period-correct; nonetheless, they hew slavishly to the dimensional differences between the fronts and rears, and therein lies the annoyance: 215/70's up front, and 225/60's in the rear, a difference so subtle that you might find yourself with three of one size and one of the other, as I did. I'll report back on how Fujimi handles this problem; otherwise, this kit also has the distinction of being the first plastic GTO in history not to scream for new rolling stock.

And a quick mock-up of the interior components and chassis shows a particularly sweet interface between those parts. If that's any indication, the Fujimi GTO promises to be the best to build, as well.

In this new kit's sparsely sprinkled imperfections, Fujimi may have given the Replicas and Miniatures resin GTO engine a whole new lease on life. But make no mistake: this kit is just as mandatory for the Ferrari Faithful as anything else in recent history. There was no plastic 250 TR before Hasegawa's; there might as well have been no plastic 250 GTO before this one. It’s that good.

this is going to sound odd but the thing that makes me the happiest, is the inclusion of the covers for the vents on the nose.

this is going to sound odd but the thing that makes me the happiest, is the inclusion of the covers for the vents on the nose.

The flip side to that is if you don't use them you have three lips to feel where the covers fit.

The flip side to that is if you don't use them you have three lips to feel where the covers fit.

I don't wanna give you any lip, but when did you take up Spanish? :biggrin:

And if you do fill them, don't fill them entirely - there are 1:1 cars with those same little "steps" between the outer nose surface and the scoop area, to accept those covers.

Molding considerations certainly forced them out of scale for the kit body, but it is a feature present in a few full-size GTO's, at least.

I don't wanna give you any lip, but when did you take up Spanish? :biggrin:

:rofl: Sheesh.:shakehead

Took this pic at the Ferrari Challenge race at Road Atlanta 2008.

http://static3.filefront.com/images/personal/d/DinoScuderia/142013/qwcjinxewr.jpg

Took this pic at the Ferrari Challenge race at Road Atlanta 2008.

http://static3.filefront.com/images/personal/d/DinoScuderia/142013/qwcjinxewr.jpg

Ese 250 GTO son hermosos. ¿Puede usted sentir el labio? ¿Usted tiene una foto de las muescas? :evillol:

If GTO's vary as much as Testa Rossas, there's no telling how many variables one can find.

and how "original" those variations are.

Indeed. That's why I was careful to say it was a feature on "a few at least", rather than all GTO's.

There's a recent "60 years of Ferrari Supercars" maxi-mag, by the publishers of Evo and Octane, that shows a GTO restoration. Those vent "lips" are clearly present not only on the finished product, but also in shots of the battered bare metal before restoration.

Now of course, I should perhaps modify my original point. If you're trying to model a specific car like the one pictured, then absolutely, you'll want to fill in those lips. All I meant was that you shouldn't assume it's the rule for all 250 GTO's.

Well, now we can see why Fujimi took it easy on things like radiator core detail and the grille mesh:

http://www.hlj.com/images/fuj/fuj11159.jpg

Whether this pic appears or not seems to vary from browser to browser. If ya cain't make it out, here's a link:

http://www.hlj.com/images/fuj/fuj11159.jpg

And if you ARE seeing it, then let me also take careful pains to acknowledge that this particular image comes from HobbyLink Japan™.

Guess they mean to have this out by the end of August.

Curious about what you guys think, particularly if one o' y'all have a KA set or something like it for comparison...

Well, now we can see why Fujimi took it easy on things like radiator core detail and the grille mesh:

http://www.hlj.com/images/fuj/fuj11159.jpg

Guess they mean to have this out by the end of August.

Curious about what you guys think, particularly if one o' y'all have a KA set or something like it for comparison...

The picture doesn't show up but I assume it's the very pricey P/E set.

Used to be Fujimi would do a "grade up" kit with the P/E for a pretty good package deal; less than $10 or so to get the kit and the P/E. I assume this new way of marketing is a cash grab for guys who think that they must have P/E at any cost, and of course the dream in a box w/P/E rarely even gets built. I'm sure a lot of those lured by overpriced shiny metal pieces also have a stockpile of Enzyte, are convinced their life would be worthless without it, and that it really works :uhoh: :evillol:

Hi guys!
Images below are from Japanese BBS

http://mokei.net/up/img/img20080720144404.jpg (http://mokei.net/up/img/img20080720144404.jpg)
http://mokei.net/up/img/img20080720144439.jpg (http://mokei.net/up/img/img20080720144439.jpg)
http://mokei.net/up/img/img20080720144625.jpg (http://mokei.net/up/img/img20080720144625.jpg)
http://mokei.net/up/img/img20080720144647.jpg (http://mokei.net/up/img/img20080720144647.jpg)
http://mokei.net/up/img/img20080720144711.jpg (http://mokei.net/up/img/img20080720144711.jpg)
http://mokei.net/up/img/img20080722235339.jpg (http://mokei.net/up/img/img20080722235339.jpg)
http://mokei.net/up/img/img20080722235417.jpg (http://mokei.net/up/img/img20080722235417.jpg)

#54 Fujimi 250GTO / Nurburgring 1000km 1963 "SCUDERIA FILIPINETTI" 3909GT
#19　HIRO CLIMAX 250GTO / LeMans 24h 1962 "Pierre Noblet" 3705GT


:wink: :wink:

:eek2: Wow!
Impressive builds, both look great!

:eek2: Wow!
Impressive builds, both look great!


:smile: :smile:
Thank you for reply!!

About Fujimi 250GTO
I only changed tires to that of Academy 250LM,
but tires in the kit (AVON) are also suitable.
Decals are handmaid(by printer).
(Does anyone have real photo of this GTO in the Nur 1000km 1963?
I only found one :frown: )
I think its very nice kit and easy to build.

In japan, FUJIMI Nissan GT-R realesed on last weekend.
Its amazing and may be the best in the 3 GT-R kits(Tamiya, Aoshima, Fujimi)

TeoTeo. Dude.

They're not just exquisitely built. They're beautifully shot.

You coulda had me believing they were real...

And Bob - "Enzyte"?

I had to google that shit just to get the joke. :smokin:

TeoTeo - if you happen to swing back 'round, I've just spent some more quality time slobbering over your photos, and I have a question:

The Fujimi kit actually molds open snap-in bosses for those chrome loops at the rear of the bonnet. And yet, in one of the pictures, it looks as if you actually went to the trouble to close them off and bridge the gaps in the flanges inside.

If I'm right about this, how the hell did you do that?

:wink: And Bob - "Enzyte"?

I had to google that shit just to get the joke. :smokin:

TeoTeo - if you happen to swing back 'round, I've just spent some more quality time slobbering over your photos, and I have a question:

The Fujimi kit actually molds open snap-in bosses for those chrome loops at the rear of the bonnet. And yet, in one of the pictures, it looks as if you actually went to the trouble to close them off and bridge the gaps in the flanges inside.

If I'm right about this, how the hell did you do that?

Thank you for comment :wink:

Yes, I closed the notches on the flange using putty.
Fujimi GTO is very nice kit, but some details are not so real
for the purpose of easy-making(far far more easy than HIRO kit).

Bonnet pin(chrome loops) base is one of them.
In addition
・Hole to set leather belt on bonnet
・Clear parts are slightly thick, especially side window detail.
・Engine&other equipments etc.

And also each parts are accurate but delicate.
Its similar to famous "Enthusiast series" from FUJIMI

But anyway, I hope you enjoy this woderful kit:)

ps: I heard a rumor that Hasegawa will release another Ferrari kit.

:wink:

ps: I heard a rumor that Hasegawa will release another Ferrari kit.

Let's hope you are right! :D

ok, after reading the whole posts on the GTO issues...i'm left with a hitch.

i have an intention to build a couple of GTOs in various specs & forms but from what i gather here, the 3 makers' body do have some significant differences in body shapes.

and if i were to build them all (a few gunzes, protar, italeri & this fujimi) & display all in the same cabinet...i wonder if a sharp-eye ferrari nut can spot the differences, or better still spot & tell which is from which maker!?

now the thing is, i've already spent a bomb collecting all my current GTO collection, would it be stupid for me to change all into the same maker...ie, sell them again & buy all the same again!?

i will be building them in different colors & configurations...so will this be able to distinguish them far apart enough, so that there won't be any comparison of the body shapes alone!?

is modeling skill a major factor here?

what are your thoughts?

ok, after reading the whole posts on the GTO issues...i'm left with a hitch.

i have an intention to build a couple of GTOs in various specs & forms but from what i gather here, the 3 makers' body do have some significant differences in body shapes.

and if i were to build them all (a few gunzes, protar, italeri & this fujimi) & display all in the same cabinet...i wonder if a sharp-eye ferrari nut can spot the differences, or better still spot & tell which is from which maker!?

now the thing is, i've already spent a bomb collecting all my current GTO collection, would it be stupid for me to change all into the same maker...ie, sell them again & buy all the same again!?

i will be building them in different colors & configurations...so will this be able to distinguish them far apart enough, so that there won't be any comparison of the body shapes alone!?

is modeling skill a major factor here?

what are your thoughts?

In the 250 GTO reference info I have, all the cars (being handmade) have differences. For example, I've seen photos of some originals without an integrated rear spoiler.

The only really bad bodies are the Revell/Monogram, ex-Aurora and the Protar/RoG where the rear end is bogus because it was supposedly based on a rebuild.

My view is, do what you want with the kits. Most people would not be able to discern the differences and if the model looks like a 250 GTO, it is. If you're doing one for a contest or event where accuracy can be judged, then the one you display should reflect that.

Exactly. No point wasting all the resources you've collected so far.

Some 1:1 cars have rear fender flares, some don't. Some have little perimeter indentations for those three front vent flaps, and some don't. While the Fujimi is far and away the best overall representation, you may still find individual aspects in the older kits that are better suited to the specific cars you want to model. So don't toss all the old stuff just yet.

Let's hope you are right! :D

Yeeeah, Hasegawa! Pick that gauntlet back up and smack Fujimi with it!

How 'bout a closed-fender 250TR this time?

Hell. Just about any 250, ya cain't go wrong. Ain't mentioned it much, but I'd freak out over a Lusso just as hard as anyone else...

>>rockinanko

Fujimi's nose looks too pointy, but only Fujimi's rear window is correctly curled to the side of the body, so display the back side, and you'll be set.

Italeri's nose seems more accurate than Fujimi's, but the doors are almost perpendicular to the ground, which is very wrong (it should be slanted, like Fujimi and Gunze). You can put your Italeri model between Fujimi and Gunze to hide the doors.

Gunze's nose looks ok, but the tires are horrible, and the rear wheel arch is misshaped, too.

Protar's body requires major surgery because the nose and the bottom part of the tail panel look really bad. But the multi-peace plastic wheel is one of best, so you can use the Protar wheels on the Fujimi or Italeri, and Protar tires on the Gunze.

"Confused? You won't be, after the next episode of...GTO Soap (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap_(TV_series))" :D ;)

"Confused? You won't be, after the next episode of...GTO Soap (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soap_%28TV_series%29)" :D ;)

Don't be so mean! :( :p:

>>rockinanko

Fujimi's nose looks too pointy, but only Fujimi's rear window is correctly curled to the side of the body, so display the back side, and you'll be set.

Italeri's nose seems more accurate than Fujimi's, but the doors are almost perpendicular to the ground, which is very wrong (it should be slanted, like Fujimi and Gunze). You can put your Italeri model between Fujimi and Gunze to hide the doors.

Gunze's nose looks ok, but the tires are horrible, and the rear wheel arch is misshaped, too.

Protar's body requires major surgery because the nose and the bottom part of the tail panel look really bad. But the multi-peace plastic wheel is one of best, so you can use the Protar wheels on the Fujimi or Italeri, and Protar tires on the Gunze.

thankx for the detail points on which GTO to display where.

i'll tell you what bro...i'll do a GTO transformer style by fusing all the cars into 1! yes, a machine GTO with all the right parts at the right places!!!

hehe...

Exactly. No point wasting all the resources you've collected so far.

Some 1:1 cars have rear fender flares, some don't. Some have little perimeter indentations for those three front vent flaps, and some don't.

In addition to those "major" differences, each GTO has "minor" shape variance between each other. This was caused by restoration process, of course that each car entered many races and suffered lots of serious damages on its history.

For example, shape of front nose and oval intake is unique in each GTO. Clear example is 3505GT. Its nose has very round shape and oval intake is less flat than others. 3589GT is also similer to this.
On the other hand, 4293GT has pointy nose in comparision with 3505GT.This GTO is well known as its original body condition, because it never suffered serious damage in its racing history.(In my opinion, nose shape of Fujimi GTO resembles to this one).
These are comprehensible differneces but all the other GTO has same slight differences in many part(shape of air intakes,wheel arch etc..). Even the same serial GTO vary accross the ages in its shape.

So I want to say that there is no "correct shape" or "correct kit" in case of classic racing car such as 250GTO.
And may be "as it used be" or "as it should be" isn't so important in such a case. Just enjoy yourself on making GTO kit "as you want" :wink:

I knew there was a 1:1 car with a nose like Fujimi's, and I think you may have just listed it.

Maybe my point should be refined a bit further. Naturally, no two of these cars were exactly alike; but when you see picture after picture of the individual cars, a sort of composite mental image of a GTO starts to take root. Fujimi's is far and away the closest match to mine. It also varies least from the pictures of each individual car I compare it to.

I'd argue that the Fujimi nose truly falls under the umbrella of car-to-car variation, while Italeri's slab sides and pretty much the whole of the Protar body do not.

Still not totally decided about the Gunze car; haven't seen the 1:1 match, but I can't help but wonder how they got everything ahead of the rear quarters down so nicely and then botched the rear wheel arches so bad, unless there was one car - maybe a 330, actually - that matched.

Till I see that match, though, it's absolutely Fujimi all the way for me - overall.

But again, the older models will be closer in certain specific aspects. And they're certainly good enough that they shouldn't be disposed of.