Ferrari F430 GT Krohn Racing

[sam01contact]

Hello everyone!

At long last, I am doing my first Ferrari! I have chosen the Krohn Racing F430 GT racecar.



I will do the #83 car of the 2008 24 hours of LeMans:



I will use the Studio 27 kit as a base, taking some pieces form Fujimi´s Ferrari Challenge.

I have built some multimedia kits, but this was an special occasion for me, because this was my "first time" with a Studio 27 kit. Sadly, when the kit arrived, I found the detail was just awful. The body is acceptable, but the chassis, engine and interior are extremely simplified and even wrong for the GT version of the F430, as you can see in the next pictures:







Before I start, I want to tell you that I found a GREAT book about the F430. It covers all versions of the car, from the street car, to the F430 GT version. The book is in Japanese, but it has a lot of great photos, including shots of the chassis and interiors. He´re´s the link:

http://www.hlj.com/product/NKP00789



After checking closely my reference photos, I see the kit chassis has almost no room to adapt a complete engine, So I will try a different solution that I find very interesting. First, I sanded off the engine "detail" of the Studio 27 kit and added carbon fiber and heat resistant surfaces:







As you can see, the engine compartment floor is still too high, so, my idea is to detail as much as I can ONLY THE TOP of the engine. Just the parts you can see though the engine cover window. I have seen a lot of photos, and I think it is possible to create the illussion of a full engine.

Before I begin with the engine, I will show you the work I did to the interior area to make it more accurate for a GT car. The engine bay also shows more work:





Back to the engine! According to my references, I see the Modena engine is very close to the F430 engine, so I "slice" the top of the engine block and I take the details I need to represent the F430 GT engine:





As you can see, I will use Modena and Ferrari Challenge parts to complete the GT engine. For example, the induction chambers of the GT are very different from the Challenge version:



Studio 27 did a very poor job copying the Fujimi kit parts and modifying them to represent GT parts. This is the original Studio 27 part:



And this is Fujimi´s part:



I will combine the 2 parts and use some aluminum tubing, photoetched parts and carbon fiber decals. This is the final result:



Next step...check the fitting of all the parts:



So far, so good! I painted all the parts and put them in position. I added wiring and plumbing:









I put the body in position to check if everything looks good through the engine window:





With the engine finished, I turn my attention to the front of the chassis:



The GT interior is very similar to the Challenge version. The only noticeable differences are in the dash and the cage. After checking my references, I see I have to modify the control panels and make more air vents. Of course, the Studio 27 part is useless:



The best option is modify the Challenge part:



Here´s the finished dash. The control panel is detailed and I add the yellow stripes the team add to identify the use of each knob and switch. To represent the dash screen, I used a photoetched rectangle and some negative film. I used photoetched pieces for the air vents:



The steering wheel is also a combination of Studio 27 and Fujimi parts. I also used some aluminum tube. I added the electronic conexion cable:





Here´s the dash with the steering wheel in place:



To finish my first post, here´s the work I did in the seat. I used the Studio 27part. I added carbon fiber in the back:



In the front, to achieve the right texture of the seat, I used Tamiya Primer spraying the paint from a long distance. To reinforce the texture and give the seat it´s right color, I apply next Tamiya´s Rubber Black and Flat Black:



This is it for now! Of course mi cat is supervising this build with great interest

Take care!

[kans0002]

wow, that is an awesome start. I cant wait to see how you tackle the livery. Does the s27 kit come with the decals for the Krone? Are you going to use Zero paints? I am also most curious to see how you paint the headlamp covers yellow so I can pirate your technique. =)

Stuart

[AutomediaJoe]

Incredible! The detail and dedication you put into making this model are impressive. How long have you been making models?

[NissanSkylineGTR98]

Excellent start! Looking forward to seeing how this will turn out

[F1Tommy]

Looks great so far. This is a simple kit when you consider it costs almost $200.00 now!!

Tom Tanner/Scale Designs/Ferrari Expo 2011-Chicago March 19th 2011

[countach79]

aside from the body that really does look like a crappy kit!

but i'm absolutely sure you and your supervisor will turn this into a master piece!!

your off to an excellent start ! good luck to u both!

[gtziaf]

Great job, and nice start...
I'm looking closely to your wip.
Good luck until the end...

[racer1]

ATTENTION with cats.
My cat loves resin.
Wheels and other parts disappear,where???

Beautiful car.

[kingkai]

awesome start!
Studio27 interior simplicity is getting out of hand... Been agitated by this for some years now. Got this F430 GT kit to but want to use the Fujimi parts to when I'll order it next time.
The S27 Supra JGTC kit had nice interior but the S27 550 and C6-R where getting to simple and wrong on some parts. Wished BBR or Technomodel would do justice to this model...
GT (apart from some LMP's but not enough sportscars racing model to my liking) are being made in kits quite fewer with the day... and even if one appears in a kit it is hastly turned into one... Wished Tamiya would do one.. What was the last one apart from the SuperGT's?.. The CLK-GTR?..
(If they'd made the DBR-9 back in 2006 they would have sold out in no time! What are you guys waiting for? For the recession to end?...)

Getting back on topic:
Waiting patiently to see more progress pics on your effort!

kai

[sam01contact]

Thanks for your support!! I´ll try to get this model finished in a reasonable time

Does the s27 kit come with the decals for the Krone? Are you going to use Zero paints? I am also most curious to see how you paint the headlamp covers yellow so I can pirate your technique.

Yes, the S27 kit come with the Krohn Racing decals. I am using a mix of Fluorescent green and Fluorescent yellow from Zero Paints.

About the headlamp covers, I found some clear yellow thin styrene, so I will try to do them using heat and a mold.

How long have you been making models?

I did some models when I was a kid, and I got my "second wind" about 15 years ago. This is a GREAT hobby!!

ATTENTION with cats.
My cat loves resin.
Wheels and other parts disappear,where???

Fortunately, my cat just HATE when I sand the pieces. He shows up only when I am assembling everything.

[rallymaster]

Hi Sam,

Waow, first posts and already great details !!!
I love your work, maybe I'm under influence since the 405 GR...!

Are the additional yellow lights parts of the tK or did you scratchbuild them ? they look perfect (but maybe still not adjusted, they seem to be more in the middle of the bumper, isn't it ?)

Will follow this build, I will find some details inspiration for sure !

[da_ashman]

Great Start!!!

[sam01contact]

Are the additional yellow lights parts of the tK or did you scratchbuild them ? they look perfect (but maybe still not adjusted, they seem to be more in the middle of the bumper, isn't it ?)

Hey Phil!
The car has a second set of yellow lights behind the grilles. Here´s how they look with the body in place:



The parts are GREIF lenses, and they are just great! This is where I got them:

http://www.spruebrothers.com/Nextern...4-pcs-205c.htm

Take care!

[rallymaster]

Thanks for your answer, Sam, the second pair of yellow lights wasn't visible in your first pic at the start of the thread that's why I asked that.
Thanks for the link, too, nice items, those lights will for sure be a valuable addition to your build.

[klutz_100]

Cool to see more of your work again, Sam!

I am sure this is going to be interesting and educational to follow. I'm tuned