Solar Direct Ferrari FXX

[godfather23]

Oh yeah, this is great. Home made decal templates. I really like that effort and they look awesome - no wrinkles and no reworking. How did you get them to lay down that nicely?? Oh - almost forgot - the engine is bravo.

[sportracer02]

Hi,

interesting project, great work so far !!

[andybmw7272]

Godfather... carbon fiber decals... my trick is using a flat paint bursh to cover the decals with decal setting solution and a hairdryer and a little technique.

I think it all starts with good shapes from the yellow tape.

The flat brush not only applies, but helps work the decal flat and into crevices. The hairdryer heat helps decals conform, almost like shrink wrap.

I go through three rounds max on parts that really need to settle into shape:
1. decal set... let sit for 20 seconds or so
2. hit it with heat until it appears dry
3. now it is getting ready to be manipulated a little bit
4. a little more decal set, this time helping it conform
5. heat... now it really wants to take shape
6. one last round of light decal set, still pusing it into final place
7. heat one last time
8. let it dry completely
9. if there are still spots that are not sitting in the crevices or corners, cut along a line to give decal freedom to set into the corner
10. hit with one last light coat of decal set for final encouragement and let dry

That's it!

It helps to think about the dimensions and how the decal is going to want to sit and not sit.

See the picure below: motorcycle capilers: this is three pieces, one for each side: front, back and top.

Does that help?

[jmwallac]

Orange supercars + black rims = hotness

Great build so far. I appreciate how unapologetic you are for wanting to build the model your way. That's what it's all about!

Looking forward to more updates.

[Adam Baker]

Wow, that decal job on those calipers is absolutley amazing.

[robrex]

Nice build..I'll be watching this for sure!

[godfather23]

Thank you for explanation. I have a rather good working application pattern for decals myself. I´m just always curious whether it can be improved. Thanks again.

[andybmw7272]

Thank you for explanation. I have a rather good working application pattern for decals myself. I´m just always curious whether it can be improved. Thanks again.

I think the part that has helped me the most is 8,9,10 above. I used to think they were done at step 7, but the decal set and final cuts to help settle has been a great help in getting the decal into those hard to reach areas.

Thanks again for the all the comments!
Andy

[ddtham]

It's an artwork! Those KA CF is awesome indeed.

[andybmw7272]

I love the KA Models Carbon Fiber decals. You see below there is a subtle shine/reflection like you see on the real thing. These are the only decals I have seen so far that have that effect. I have used many different patterns from Studio 27, Model Factory Hiro, SMS (all manufacturers are great), but these are the only ones that have that. I will still use the others for their own applications as the variety of patters and depth is key for me, but the KA are great for parts that will be seen up close.



I took a Crazy Modeler horse and painted it red and stuck it on the seat. Dave T used this on his FXX. I had these left over from the FXX motorcycle; it was this horse that was used to emboss the seat on the bike. Spray paint was sprayed at a distance to create the texture for the seat.

[thadude]

Nice carbon work on them brakes

[andybmw7272]

The engine is in. In Dave T's Model Cars article, he noted how the engine and pieces surrounding fit neatly together like a puzzle, but this was not the case for me. I am thinking some of the wires I added interefered with something.
A little coaxing was required and some additional glue. I have a bad feeling this means I will find something else is out of line later in this build.









The front end is reattached and the battery is wired. I made up the way I wanted the wires to go. I liked the uniform look. Heatshrink tubing adds depth to the wires, the connections are from the leftovers of the PE shock assembly set from another car. I added lines coming out of the master cylinder as well.

[klutz_100]

Most excellent job

A thread to learn from

[godfather23]

Originally Posted by klutz_100

A thread to learn from

So true.

Everything looks well thought of and nicely executed!

Robert

[andybmw7272]

Alright, work has been kicking my butt lately and golf wather is here in Georgia, so making progress on this has been slow although inspiration has not slowed.

A lot of work has been done, but what you see in results is not as much progress.

I have the seats in and belts done. I used some medical tape colored with a black sharpie for the seatbelts combined with the Tamita PE set. As I said in the beginning, I am building this the way I want to, not exacltly like the car; I have black seatbelts.

I appreciate how unapologetic you are for wanting to build the model your way. That's what it's all about!

jmwallac - I loved this comment, thank you!






The dash is done and the sterring wheel is in progress. I used heat shrink material for the padding. I stole DaveT's PE pieces on the dash idea.





Here is the total piece, starting to look more like a car.
I am dreading the front disks and the front springs, but I do not think I can move forward until I get those done.

I am debating the RB Motion springs for this car.

Thanks to mrawl and his open 360, I have decided to open the trunk on this one to show off the battery and wiring. The fans will be up there too so more details can be seen.




Maybe I can add more details to the engine bay as a way to delay the rotors and springs....

Andy