A look inside the Fujimi Ferrari 458 Italia

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

This thread has photos!

Got this kit from Hobbysearch; took 12 days to arrive via SAL. Nicely packaged.

My opinion of this kit...it's thoroughly overpriced and seems to have been rushed through. People complain about the price of the Tamiya Aston Martin, it's also 3800 yen...this kit has no photoetch, no chrome transfers, no window masks. It also has only 81 parts, and some very obvious cost-cutting to rush the kit to production. Will it result in a nice finished kit? I think so, but until mine is done, we shall see. Worst offenses are the body needs a lot of sanding to remove mold lines. It's deceptive at first, it looks quite clean and shiny, but has odd lumpiness around some of the mold lines. There are some big sink marks in the rear spoiler, small ones in the roof, and a couple of vertical ones on the separate rocker/side panels. The interior is very crude; designed without deep footwells, we have seat bottoms molded to the tub, along with simplified door panels. The seat backs are nice, and include the side hinges. Dash and steering wheel are nice.

The molded mesh for all the grilles is very faint. Get slightly heavy-handed and you'll lose it. The 2400 yen upgrade looks to be an overpriced joke. As if Fujimi wants you to spend a grand total of 6200 yen for the kit, which will still make it inferior to the 3800 yen Tamiya Aston Martin, by a good margin.

Chassis detail is simplified. Ditto for the engine. Tires are apparently sourced from the 599 GTB; you have to stretch them greatly over the 24mm wheels. The wheels look good, as do the brakes.

I'm already done painting the basic parts, almost ready to assemble. Body is painted, but I will be masking it off to paint the roof black. Look for WIP in the next day or so.

I have a feeling Revell's kit will blow this one away. It's listed at 110 parts vs. the 81 in this kit. We'll see sometime in August how Revell's compares. This kit is a bit of a disappointment. I'm happy to have a 458 to build, but feel like Fujimi punted on this one, or used the same (sarcasm hat on) crack team that did their first RX8 kit...

Okay, here are the photos:

[Entau]

thanks for the great photos

hmm, as expected, i'm really disappointed, when they first announce the 458 italia going to be 3800yen, i was thinking, wow..could it be full engine this time? well, i'm wrong and it's totally the opposite

molding looks nice, but i really hate mold in mesh like the one at the rear, this one looks even harder to be replace with pe mesh because of the curve

[91p10nizmo]

Im glad i didnt order one now. The colour they use for interior makes it look very toyish in my opinion.

[BVC500]

I agree, seems rushed. Fujimi has been pumping out the kits lately. Maybe they should relax a bit, update their Lambos, and regroup.

[indecentkikogt]

Originally Posted by BVC500

I agree, seems rushed. Fujimi has been pumping out the kits lately. Maybe they should relax a bit, update their Lambos, and regroup.

+1

i like how your painting the roof black, i think all 458s should have this

[voyageur]

Thanks for the review and the pictures, Bob. Really seems rushed and a bit toy-ish.
Could somebody please do a side-by-side with the Revell?

And... could it be that licensing costs have gone through the roof? For sure they didn't spend it on tooling or extra parts. No... wait... the numbers on the decal sheet have a white background - gotta charge extra for that, hehe

[TurboGuru]

pics!!!!! glorious pics!

Thank you

[gionc]

Well, you americans created the "be first or be food", so not complain now

Not in my area of interests now, but I see some confusion in the managing>marketing>engineering , looks like they started to engineer it in one direction (good details) and rushed up at last: I can't understand for example why those nice invisible (when built) details on calipers and cal. mounts and then the interiors casted all together...

One guy own one white here, I still like less than other Ferraris, specially the front mouth...

And still hate the name

[Veyron]

The 430 Scuderia kit is decades ahead of this one in not only content but also quality. Very disappointing.

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

Originally Posted by Veyron

The 430 Scuderia kit is decades ahead of this one in not only content but also quality. Very disappointing.

What he said.

The 458 does have a chance to look hot when finshed, but until that happens, it's just a possibility...

[das_auto]

Well, it might be "not as good as the 430 Scuderia"

But at least we have a very crisply made 458 that looks the part when finished(http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/image/10114893b/30/1), to tinker with

Inferior detailing is nothing that has deterred modelers in the past and I
don´t think it´s very much of a problem now either.

I (as weird as it sounds) prefer to have a, in some peoples opinion
"half finished" 458 than not have one at all.

I for one will try to get one A.S.A.P.

Just my (definitely not trying to start a flaming war)

Oh and thanks to Zoom Zoom for the preview and the pics, very much appreciated. I´m really looking forward to seeing your build mate!


Cheers!

Emil

[Veyron]

We've all watched Fujimi improve their kits in recent years which increases confidence in buying them...but when they release a kit such as this hotly anticipated car and the kit is below their recent standard....you can't help but feel you are a victim of 'bait and switch'.

[lovegt40]

Really curious now to see revell upcoming one. Their last ones (california closed and open top) are really nice models, and the price is great for the quality they sell (in europe 25 euros).
...if only germans will use good quality plastic and not that ecological one...thats the only think i really dont like in rev kits.

The 458 Italia is a must to have in the collection..cant wait to see the future racing versions... Imho is one of the nicest Ferrari of modern era.

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

Quick update since I built it too fast for a WIP; there will be photos of finished model coming later today (June 10). Sometimes it's nice to build a model like a kid again; rip into it as soon as it arrives and get it done now

It looks good, but it's definitely not one of Fujimi's finest. By a long shot. Thankfully you can generally hide most of the epic fails in the kit. I fully expect when Revell's kit comes out it will trounce this one in detail. Perhaps Fujimi will revisit this kit like they did w/the RX8 and some others, the interior and chassis especially are very simplified.

[Entau]

Originally Posted by Veyron

We've all watched Fujimi improve their kits in recent years which increases confidence in buying them...but when they release a kit such as this hotly anticipated car and the kit is below their recent standard....you can't help but feel you are a victim of 'bait and switch'.

exactly what i felt, feel like them, wth are they thinking?