WIP: Fujimi 1/24 Ferrari 550 Maranello

[hirofkd]

Just after one hour or so, I finished dry fitting. Here's the overall views of the Fujimi's latest Ferrari kit--the Maranello.

The proportions are almost dead-on, and there's no noticeable flaw.


OMG, what happened, Fujimi?! It's not a WRC car any more. Notice that the car is farily lowered, and there's no gap between the wheel arch and the tire (top). And the front tire isn't sticking out either (bottom).


The rear tire sticks out a bit, but the wheel doesn't. This means that the tire is too wide for the width of the wheel. I suggest cutting the inner tab (yellow arrow), so that the tire sits a little inward. The wheel sizes are 20mm for the front, and 20.5 mm for the rear, and the center of the rear wheels caves in as it should. The tire markings say 235/40Z18 (front) and 295/35Z18 (rear), but the actual widths of the kit tires are wider than that.


Although I don't care about this too much, the chassis has fairly decent details. The wheelbase is accurate, too.



While I'm very satisfied with the overall quality of the kit, there are some flaws. The windows are one-piece, and it's glued from the inside of the body. Because the inner side of the window frames aren't beveled, there are noticeable gaps when the clear part is placed.

There're a few ways to correct this. One is to sand the body from the outside to make the black rubber sealings as thin as possible. The other is to separate the clear part in pieces, adjust the sizes, and glue each one separately. Since I don't intend to spend too much time on this model, I'll probably to the former, and use the latter for the 575M, which I'll put more effort on, including engine details. By that time, I expect to see some aftermarket parts, so that should help, too. BTW, Hobby Search says that the 575M is a limited production item, so if you prefer 575M over 550, don't wait too long.

Next is about the interior, which has some big problems!

[D_LaMz]

Looks great I might have to get these!
Are really sure that Fujimi got the height of the car right? because that is probably a first!!!

[73superduty]

I've heard and seen pictures that the Fujimi 550 utilizes the 575 interior. I suppose it was one way for them to save money on the tooling.
I'm not going to whine about it, I'm just damn happy they made two of my Favorite Ferrari's.
Your dry fit looks really awesome. I'm going to get started on mine here in a week or two, or shall I say whenever Mother Nature says. The humidity has been the worst I can remember in a long time. Not good for painting.
Look forward to your build as well as your dissection of the kit.
Chris

[drunken monkey]

guess taht mean's we'll have to bust out the maisto 1/24 550s for door panels.... now where've i heard that one before?

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

Neat model; I just picked one up from the Hobbylink table at the IPMS Nationals here in Atlanta. Even though I have one in transit. Always can be used for trading fodder .

I guess I did okay buying it in person, $30 got me the Maranello and a black HLJ T Shirt.

What color are you planning for the Maranello? I'm probably going w/black and tan.

[Honoturtle]

Nice Ferrari! The ride height looks great, but are the rims accurate? Maybe I need to see it in person.

[Jaymes]

looks great, but the wheels look a bit chunky...maybe it's the tires.

as for the 575M being limited...wouldn't it be fairly easy to just take the 550 and make slight (if any) modifications? Someone also just mentioned that they share interiors on the models

[g00eY]

this kit looks pretty good. does it have an engine or is it curbside? i'm guessing curbside...

[drunken monkey]

but handily enough, the engine isn't that different to that of the 612.

[73superduty]

Originally Posted by g00eY

this kit looks pretty good. does it have an engine or is it curbside? i'm guessing curbside...

Yup, curbside.
Chris

[druid_99]

Mine hasn't arrived yet and you have started building yours... You sure are a fast builder Hiro. I'll be looking forward to your builds.

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

Originally Posted by Jaymes

looks great, but the wheels look a bit chunky...maybe it's the tires.

as for the 575M being limited...wouldn't it be fairly easy to just take the 550 and make slight (if any) modifications? Someone also just mentioned that they share interiors on the models

The wheels look really nice in this kit, though they are satin plated where the real wheels are painted bright, shiny silver.

I test fit the tires to the wheels and agree w/hirofkd that the locator lips on the inside of the rims definitely needs to be shaved off so that all four tires seat properly-w/the lip the outer sidewalls stick out a bit too far because the tires can't slip completely onto the rims. When the tires are mounted properly on these wheels, the chunky look goes away. The wheels themselves look slightly small, but I'm sure they're the correct size and I'm just used to seeing/using custom wheels/tires in +1 and larger combinations.

[bhop73]

I think the wheel size is fine, it's the tires that are way too thick. See what I mean in these pics? http://www.hadel.net/autos/html/d_pk...aranello2.html

[Jeep_Rubicon]

Looks great, nice rideheight.

[Samurai75007]

This should be a good build... Keep it Commin...