Progress: Porsche 959 1/16 Fujimi

[Martin S]

Hello.
Ive started this, a bit unusual, kit of the amazing 80's icon, the Porsche
959. Scale is 1/16 so it's quite big and the detail level is amazing on
this enthusiast kit..
This is the "Blackstar" version but is is mostly the same as the normal
one. You can choose to build the "comfort" or the "sport" version.
(except for some errors in the kit).

Unfortunatley the kit has some fitment issues. The engine looks
beautifully cast, but the body.. At least the proportions are right..
I will show in detail what I had to do to get the body straight and solve
the fitment issues. Might be interesting if you plan to build one some
day, otherwise bare with me and all the pics..

There is a lot of flash lines and sink marks on the body and the panels
need to be sanded a lot to get it straight.



The kit has opening doors. Sad memories from my 1/16 Fujimi
Testarossa made me really testfit a lot. The door frames are
ridiculously ill-fitting on the 959 as well. A fujimi 1/16 tradition.
Have they ever tried to build one at the fujimi factory ??



The driver side door is also 2,5 mm too short for some reason. The
passenger door fits perfectly (except for the window frame..)


To solve this I glued on styrene strips to extend the door:



There is also a low spot where the fender meets the left door, by the
A-pillar. It had to be filled up with styrene and putty:



Finally with the doors on the hinges and the quarter window in place
(guess what, that didn't fit either..) I could align and glue the window
frames. Will probably not be easy to fit the door window but that is a
later problem.


Pheew! Next update I will attack the mysteries of the engine hatch...

Please note that this is not a "real-time" build, this body work was done a
few weeks ago. I wanted to get a bit ahead before starting the
progress thread so I wouldn't just start it up and then put it away for
6 months..

[Veyron]

Nice progress, will be watching.

[sjelic]

I will stay with you and wish you good luck, I know how bad this things are.
Good start thou

[MPWR]

Cool, I've been waiting to see this one from you.

Disappointed to hear about the fit problems- but not surprised. I have this one in my stack also- looking at the engine, brakes, and suspension detail, it's probably the very best Fujimi kit I've seen. What a shame it takes a fight to get it all together. Even at its best, it seems Fujimi is never as good as it should be.

Still, it looks like you have a great start on it. Good luck with it, I will be enthusiasticly watching as it comes along.

[Uninen]

I've been waiting this for a long time! Wanted to build one , but those fitting issues leaves me wondering if it's worth it? I guess I'll have to wait and see how this one turns up! Great work by the way!

[D_LaMz]

Nice 959!

[g00eY]

haha... fitment problems suck, but you seemed to handle them well!

[Martin S]

Next problem area on the body was the engine hatch.
It didn't line up withe body since it was too narrow. When it sat in
place the left side was ok, but the right side looked like this



I decided to cut the hatch in 2 parts and make it wider. At first I thought of
Just cutting it in the middle, but then the vent grille would not fit anymore.
I looked at the hatch and realized that it is almost completely flat along this
line marked with tape, so I could easily put a strip of styrene there. It will
not be exactly symmetrical but no one will notice I think.




After the hatch was placed on the body again you could easily see how much it
needed to be widened:



The gap was filled with a styrene strip:



The wing was beacuse of the widening a bit to short but I placed it in the center
and blended in the edges with putty since it would be difficult to get a seemless looking
joint if I extended it in the middle:



After some priming the next problem of the hatch was visible. It didn't line up with
the rear window frame:



I decided to build up the window frame to meet the hatch.
Started bu glueing on a thin styrene strip and then put on two wider strips Until I got
the right height. The strips were then blended in to the C-pillar with putty.





After a lot of work the body finally started to feel ready for painting.
Here is a little teaser shot of the freshly painted doors and the choise of colour, and also a pile of all the used up 400 grit paper...



Next time The body gets some paint !

[sjelic]

Niiiiiceee, some serious choping but turned out great.

[Murray Kish]

Looks like a challenge. Nice problem-solving so far!

Murray

[Uninen]

This reminds me of a russian motorcycle; when u buy it U'll have to tear the engine to pieces before starting it the first time (there might be some leftoverparts inside the cylinder (a collector of russian motorcycles told me).

[Martin S]

Thanks guys.
Well it's not really finished when it comes from fujimi, but It has potential.. It is still quite fun to build despite the problems.
later on you will see the engine wich fits like a gloooove compared to the body

[Martin S]

As I said this kit needs a lot of test fitting and here is a pic of the interior and chassis
test fitted to the primered body.
Seemed to fit well exept for the area under the rear window wich needs a small adjustment.



After this the body finally had some paint !
It's some standard silver color I found down at the paint store. It seemed to have
pretty small grains so it would not look too out of scale. I hate when you put on a metallic
especially on a 1/24 model and it looks like a flake paint with huge metallic grains.
It was hard to decide between the two most classic 959 colors white and silver but I think silver
will enhance the curvature of the "swollen" 959 body better.
The clear need some polishing but I will let it harden for a few weeks or so.

[Martin S]

Oh, I almost forgot..
I tested a new trick when I painted the body.
I found these Takrag's at the paint shop. It's like a slightly sticky cloth that you wipe the body with before painting to remove any dust.
Worked really well I must say!
One bag of takrag cost like 1 EUR and there is plenty of rag in it so It will last for several models I think. Just close the bag carefully so the sticky stuff doesn't get to dry out.

[RallyRaider]

That sliver paintwork looks seriously splendid! Great work also on the styrene and putty work needed to make everything sit right. Very impressive.