Detail stuff for Tamiya Enzo?

[MikeWz]

Did a search and came up with the SMS detail set for Tamiya's Enzo, which I went ahead and purchased. Are there any details missing that are found elsewhere, other than things that have to be done by hand (Plumbing, firewall etc...)

[ScaleCentral]

You will have to make your own CF templates for the monocoque and also the fans for the radiators up front could use improvement. I do believe there was something else, but I can't quite remember.
Nic

[Amazon]

There is a company called Acu stion and another called Sakatsu. Both make detailparts for the Enzo.
You can usually find them at hlj.com and grandprixmodels.com ( i think).

[MikeWz]

Do you happen to know how I'd go about making the fans look better? I've done a search on here and didn't come up with anything.
What exactly is the Monocoque? I'm definitely not quite skilled enough to make this yet, so it's going to be sitting for awhile, I just want to get everything together now, so I don't have to go looking everywhere when I finally decide to start it

[Amazon]

monocouqe is the basic structure than "everything else" i bolted to. In escence, the cockpit on the Enzo,you know, floor/rear firewall,frontwall..

[MikeWz]

Okay awesome, thanks. I don't think I'll need CF for the firewall though, because on the Enzo, yes it's probably made of CF, but it's coated in that aluminum sheeting for heat protection. The CF won't be seen when covered with that.

Also, where can I get the seat belt straps and stuff. I've seen a bunch of people with pictures of Enzos with them in there, but no info on where they got them.

[Amazon]

seatbeltmaterial is available from ( among others)Detailmaster . The buckles and hardware can be found from Grandprix models and model car Garage . This is just a few names from the top of my head. There are other manufacturers too.

[MPWR]

Don't bother with the radiator fans unless you're planning to open the hood- they're invisible otherwise. Put a bit of black mesh over the nostril opening (it's there on the real car), and they really can't be seen.

There's nothing missing on this kit, and damn little that a PE set really adds. I'd say it really needs a set of rear shocks, but these can easily be scratch built (or purchased from Acu Stion). Do that, CF decalling if you want to, and paint it, and it will come out stunning. The SMS detail set is certainly nice, but really the best thing SMS makes for this kit is the photo CD for $15.

[MikeWz]

MPWR - I was kinda hoping that you'd answer this thread...after reading about/drooling over your F50. I did already buy the SMS detail set, which comes with a front "boot", so it will be opening at some point. So, taking that into consideration, the fans will be seen. Any idea on how to make/improve them. I don't have access to any machinery other than a dremel, really

[MPWR]

Originally Posted by MikeWz

MPWR - I was kinda hoping that you'd answer this thread...after reading about/drooling over your F50. I did already buy the SMS detail set, which comes with a front "boot", so it will be opening at some point. So, taking that into consideration, the fans will be seen. Any idea on how to make/improve them. I don't have access to any machinery other than a dremel, really

Funny you should ask this right now. I've just spent the last half hour cutting the back out of the oil cooler fan on the F50 to detail it- the kit part for it (along with the air conditioner and the front radiator fans) is one of the only real shortcuts Tamiya took with this kit. They look pretty lame.

The Enzo radiator fans are much, much better. Honestly, the kit parts are excellent. What these fans really need to look terrific is a good paint job.

Here's how I would go about doing it:
First, spray them with 'light black'. For most parts on a kit to be painted black (everywhere Tamiya calls for X-18, except where they mean for the component to be carbon fibre), I spray flat acrylic black that I've lightened a touch with gray. I think straight black is usually too dark, and so looks out of scale- except to use for really dark areas- shadows and the like.

Then, make up a thin wash of straight black, and apply it to the engraved areas of the fan housing- between all the grilles. Ideally, the wash should settle in the flat areas below the fan blades.

After the wash has dried, dry brush the top edges of the fan grilles with dark grey. All these colors together (dark grey, 'light black' and straight black) will still make the fan assembly look black, but it will make the detail visible to the eye- something that just painting it one color of black won't do.

Now that I've looked at some pics of the front boot/bonnet area (what the hell do you call that on a mid engine car? ), it turns out that even by opening the lid, you still won't see the fans any better- the only view of them is down the 'nostrils' (they aren't vented at all into the luggage area). I was incorrect, there is no mesh at the bottom of the nostril ducts like there is on the F50- but the view of the fans is still very limited by the shape of these ducts. A good paint job is really all they need. Like I said, though, I really do recommend that CD.

Hope this helps! (And thanks for the nice words about the F50!)

[MikeWz]

Hey thanks a lot. Also, I'm going to be building up two enzos. One in Rossso Corsa, and one Giallo Modena. I'm planning to pain the Corsa one up like it's brand-new, and the Giallo like it's been used. Would you recommend spraying over the SMS carbon fiber decals with Tamiya's Smoke for both the models, or only the Giallo one? Thanks again for all your help. Looking forward to seeing the F50 all finished.

[MPWR]

I'd overcoat all the CF on both with smoke- it's not really a weathering detail. Real carbon fibre parts are made by immersing CF cloth in clear resin, like fiberglass. If left unpainted, the clear resin gives any CF components a high gloss finish. The bare CF decals themselves don't have that gloss finish, so they need to be overcoated with something. I like clear smoke because I find SMS's patterns to be too vivid. Very bright stripes or dots on CF components is only realistic if the component is receiving direct, intense light- like from a photographic flash or from direct sunlight (because of flashes, many pictures of CF will make it look different than it actually appears in real life to the eye). So, consider the lighting conditions whatevery you're covering in CF would be seen in. For the F50 engine bay, that engine is never going to be seen without the engine lid raised over it. The lid will always block alot of otherwise availibe light from the engine, so bright stripes and dots wouldn't necissarily be accurate.

If you were 10-15 feet away from the open engine of an F50 or Enzo (a reasonable distance for simulating the detail level you'd see on a 1/24 kit), how much of the CF cloth pattern would you see? Not alot, probably. Really, this is a case of one's own 'artistic judgement', but if you see a vivid pattern of dots and stripes on a model that you wouldn't really see on the real car, the CF on the model is going to look out of scale, no matter how well the decals are applied.

How are you planning to weather the Giallo one?

[MikeWz]

Well, for "weathering" the Giallo...I'm not 100% sure yet. I've got a few ideas from reading your posts and some others.

1.) Getting rid of the very faking looking Tamiya "Chrome" covering on the exhaust system, which tends to show yellow when you file stuff away. Gonna paint over that with some clear orange/Chrome Silver mix to give it the look like it's been pushed hard. Then I'm going to steal youre black sharpie idea to get the weld points .

2.) I run R/C cars and such, so I'm going to rub some of the burn fuel from around my exhaust pipe onto the "heat shielding" (from which I'm also going to use your idea of backing the aluminum with some kind of "beehive" like material). That should give the engine a kind of 'grimey' look. And if it doesn't work, it's not overly difficult to remove. Will probably be doing that on some of the "plumbing" too, or at least scuffing them up to look a little burnt in some way.

Any other suggestions you can make? I'm trying to find some way to make the CF look a little scuffed on the bottom to make it look like it was on the track a bit, but it's hard to do that without loosing the pattern too much (taking it off). I kinda have this thing with details....which is kinda annoying because it makes models take FOREVER!!! I'm actually only working on my first model now, but I've been painting/detailing up R/C car bodies for a bit, and I'm just a wee bit retentive when it comes to that. If it can't be mistaken for the real thing in the picture, it's just not worth it

[MPWR]

Originally Posted by MikeWz

If it can't be mistaken for the real thing in the picture, it's just not worth it

I hear ya!

For the exhaust painting, try clear orange mixed with gunmetal- I think orange and silver look too bright.

Hmmm, weathering an Enzo. Well for starters, of course no Enzo is likely to ever get really beat up. For $650,000, they're probably each going to be treated as investments, and insured and cared for as such. However, that's not to say that some of them won't get 'enthusiastically' tracked, as you mentioned. So, if I was doing it....

Tracked Ferrari's (if left stock) usually show it in two ways- they can get dirty, and they tend to be absolutely plagued by stone chips on the front end. For the engine, a bit of grime dusted on would look right, but not too much- the engine bay is completely sealed top and bottom, so not alot of dirt will ever get in there. I do dirt like this with pastel chalks (from any decent art supply store). Get a few colors- black, medium grey, brown, and maybe tan. Grind them a bit on sandpaper, mix the colors 'til you're happy, and then apply the dust to whatever with an old brush. This will give you more color options than R/C exhaust, but you can adjust it like you said above. Do brake dust (lots of brake dust for a tracked car) with black and a little bit of grey pastel dust. The wheels should be distinctly dirty! For scuffing up CF on the underside, clearcoat it first, then rub the clearcoat with some steel wool, front to back. This will look like the clear resin the CF is embeded in is scuffed up, which happens before the fibres themeselves are damaged. Road dirt can be dusted on the underside, and on lower body panels with pastels, too. Grey and brown are great for this.

As far as stone chips, if I were to track an Enzo (or any road Ferrari, for that matter), I'd invest in a 'bra' for the front end. You can put one on a model with tissue paper (kleenex or the like). After the body is painted, take two or three layers of tissue, wet them in 1:1 mix of white glue and water, and apply to the areas to be covered. Try to make it look like a custom sewn fit. After it dries, clean up any glue residue with a damp cloth. Cut out the intake holes for the radiator inlets, place some mesh over them, and tuck the edges of the mesh under the tissue edges. Paint the bra dark grey or black. Could look really cool on an Enzo....

Again, it's all a matter of your own artistic judgement- but if any of these ideas sound good, feel free to use them.

[MikeWz]

Wow. Awesome tips, thanks! Will definitely look into those. I may grind up some of those pastels and throw them into the R/C oil. It's already that brownish oil color and usually has a lot of dirt and stuff in it because it's an off-road truck, but I'l throw some of that in there to bring some more of the "track" colors in there.
Need to find a way to get some "nicks" in the front guard. From the picturesm, that's not CF. May be aluminum or some kind of plastic/resin material. Anyway to use sand or something to get some nice nicks on there? That car is awefully low so I can't imagine them looking perfect.