In Progress: Tamiya Ferrari F40

[MPWR]

And now, for my next trick: Tamiya's 1/24 F40.





V8 Ferraris have long been a passion of mine, and the F40 is probably my very favorite Ferrari of all (with the possible exception of the F355 GTS). This kit, coincidentally, is also an old favorite of mine (I built one when it first came out, for the front window of the hobby shop I worked for at the time- unfortunately, I never did get it back). It was copywritten in 1988, and is perhaps getting a bit long in the tooth when placed next to Tamiya's more recent releases, such as the Enzo, or even the F50. However, it is still an excellent kit, and is a terrific start for a super detail build. It has some shortcomings, such as the headlights and turbos, but I'll call these out as I get to them, and post lots of pics as I deal with them. I'm planning to build and post this one in at least as much detail as I did for my F50 build. The F50 though, I tried to keep as out-of-the-box as possible. I make no such promises for this one....

First off, the bodywork. Yes, it will be Rosso Corsa. Tamiya seems to have gotten alot of milage out of the molds for this kit. Best as I can tell, it's been in production continuously since the kit was introduced. As a result, some of the parts are not quite as sharp, or have a bit more flash, than they once did. The bodywork in particular has alot of surface irregularities. So, everything gets ground flat with sanding sticks. No more shiney spots!




Not very exciting, really.

Next, however, it's time to deal with the headlights. This is one of the major shortcuts Tamiya took with this kit. All that the kit includes for the driving lights and turn signals are flat clear plastic 'lenses' with posts in the center, intended to be glued in place against a flat area painted silver. Not very convincing. I've long thought that decent headlights are a rather importaint feature on a model. If done wrong, they tend to catch the eye, and they always remind you that you're looking at a just model and not the real thing, So, something has to be done- and, as it will require some body modifications, best do it now before painting.




Here, I've put the kit parts in place, and have traced around them with a scriber (I use a sewing needle in a pin vise). Then, I filed away everything inside the scribed rectangles with jeweler's files.

Now for the reflectors. I'm planning to make good use of the lathe and mill on this build. For those of you curious about machining, I'll show how I'm making parts. I start with a bit of aluminum rod chucked in the lathe, which is then center drilled with a largeish diameter drill bit. Then the chuck (serving as a milling vise) is mounted on the milling table, and the rod is machined with an end mill to a rectangle with the dimensions of the kit lens.




The result:




Here, the new reflector is being cut off of the rest of the luminum rod on the lathe.



And the finished parts:




The turn signal reflector is made the same way, except that instead of being center drilled first, the reflector curve is simply cut with an end mill.




The reflectors in place. Has a bit of a gleam in its eye now.

There's much, much more to come. Enjoy!

[mozli]

Amazing work mate!!!
I sure can learn a few things here..i'll be sure to follow

[tardster]

Sweet this looks like its going to be very interesting, not to mention highly detailed.... Cant wait to see more..........

[Lambophilia]

You're at it again! It's coming along nicely.

[blubaja]

Dam, this seems like it's going to be really detailed. Great work on the lights so far.

Frank X.

[SchuberT]

If the this is going to be anything like the F50, I can't wait to see the finished product .

[eph2]

Wooww... it´s a professional work!!!

[tonioseven]

Mmmmmm....greatness on the way!!

[MidMazar]

damn definetly going to follow this thread, just like the f50 this one should be amazing, hey you should make another set of those lights. I'll buy em!!!

[proosen]

Well, this one will be a treat to watch all the way! Looking forward to the next update. Good work on thoose headlights and turn signals, it looks so easy when someone who knows the buisness does it!

Niclas

[assad_l]

nice work man if i had a laith and a good model car that i was working on i would use this method real nice stuff!

[Bas Carwash]

OMG, here we go again!!! Keep us posted!

[Samurai75007]

WooT... Im going to love this one to...

[chaos]

Wow - this going to be another great build to follow!

[druid_99]

Another excellent build is on the way. Are you going to use the Studio27 etch parts? Great job on the headlights, I'm thinking of doing the same thing myself, but only using resin or plastic. I'll be following his thread.