Simil'R Ford Focus WRC

[Kaj45rpm]

I've seen a couple of builds of this kit which has highlighted some of the short falls, but as a new manufacturer making 1/24 sports cars I think they should be welcomed with open arms. I saw these Focus kits on sale for half price so buying 2 was a bargain to start with!

I hope I can make some improvements to the kit build, mainly addressing the glaring gaps that exist because of minimum chassis. Every single part takes a good amount of cleaning up and I started by filling all the sink marks in the chassis.

I made rear internal rear quarter panels from plastic credit cards as shown:



The rear part of the cage needs some rework as the two diagonal bars that go down to the strut tops are too short to reach it! These were replaced with Evergreen plastic rods of the same diameter as the kit.

I also added some extra bars in the front footwell area up to the front bulkhead.
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I was fortunate to visit M-Sport recently and they have this Focus in their small museam so I managed to get a good set of detail photos.

There is a elec control box mounted integral as part of the pedal box so I built this from scratch using parts from the Renaissance photo-etch kit. There is a carbon fibre guard that sits adjacent to the tunnel so this was incorporated to this part.

This next picture shows this in situ.


I've also made wheel arch liners that will fill the voids on the standard kit.

[Kaj45rpm]

The chassis is nearly completed and all these parts fit with no problem.




The inner wheel arch liners are black.

[Kaj45rpm]

Still undecided about open or closed doors??

[spede]

Nice progress there, and great reference photos from the actual car! Many thanks of these! Happened to take any shots from the backseat area? Here is a nice 360° photo inside Focus.

http://www.mtv3.fi/ralli/nesteoilralli.shtml?panoraama

I would recommend to build this as doors closed if you're not going to make functional hinges. As doors open, the model would be more fragile and possible dust will get inside the cabin, where it's hard to remove.
Of course if you put the finished model to a safety, closed cabinet and won't carry the model anywhere, there's no problem. One choice is to find/build an own showcase for the model.

As you might have noticed, I'm also building Focus here. And doors opened, but with working hinges, so I can close the doors when carrying the model. Of course, there is now some extra work to make the doors fit nicely.

Are you going to use those decals included with the kit or some aftermarket decals?

[Kaj45rpm]

Hi Mate, yes I've looked at your Focus build, very brave move but it's coming along nicely! Your wheels are very impressive. You should make molds for these.
Here are some photos of the rear area.

[spede]

Damn, very good photos, many thanks of these!

I already did the molds of the rims, because it wouldn't make any sense to machine four rims. Also molded the bolts, tyres (soft rubber) and smaller brakes. I will try making PE parts, so will add correct brake discs on that sheet. The cooling hole pattern should be different at the brakes of Focus.

[Kaj45rpm]

Spede, those gravel rims are fantastic! Could I buy a set from you to convert my 2nd Focus kit into a gravel version?




I will use the OOB decals for this version I'm building and I have the Zero green and blue paint for the bodyshell. Build progress is slow as I'm working on full size cars in the garage and making the most of our 'summer' weather! Daylight lasted till 11pm last night.

[wolla]

i will be watching this as i have just got one of these kits, great build, and those photos are brilliant, thanks for sharing

[spede]

Originally Posted by Kaj45rpm

Spede, those gravel rims are fantastic! Could I buy a set from you to convert my 2nd Focus kit into a gravel version?

Yeah, of course. I've been asking 18 euros of one gravel transkit. I'm just currently on a small holiday, so it takes two weeks that I'm again able to make those rims and tyres. I already put some Focus gravel transkits for sale at our Finnish modelling forums, but I sold quickly all the transkits which I had made.

Just send PM/email if you're interested.

[Kaj45rpm]

Some progress with the Focus kit:-








missing 'A' pillar detail added.

lower sills added

[Kaj45rpm]

Update on progress. Chassis nearly complete. Dash flocked, seats paint with Tenco fabric spray although not easy to see from photos. must get some Macro shots taken outside.

Bodyshell painting started - Zero paints, front spoiler painted with Tamiya X28 - Park Green.

[lovegt40]

despite the quality of this model is not nice as expected to be (but we all are otimist for the future kits..), u are making a great build up.

[Kaj45rpm]

Some more progress on the Focus body.
My home built spraying booth, works very well and the wife let's me use it in the kitchen!!



Cartograf decals are excellent and there is no shortage of decals on this kit. Every panel is covered.







A few still to add, then doors off for completion and applying the Zero 2K clear coat.
My Belkits Fiesta has been started so I need to complete this one.

[WRCfan]

Love the progress! Keep up the awesome work on this one!

[denilsonvm]

Great job!