Fujimi Ferrari 458 Mini-Review

[Veyron]

Hi

Just received the much anticipated 458 kit.

I'm not going to slam the kit because overall I know it will build into a very nice model, on the other hand, if Revell's New California kit is any indication their 458 kit will blow this one away.

There are things we already knew about like the simplified interior with seat bottoms made into the tub. I must say after the excellent 430 Scuderia interior this one is very disappointing. All the surfaces of the tub, door panels and dash are smooth so we will have to add our own textures For the most part. There is some engraving on the section in front of the dash.

Another glaring shortcoming of the kit are the tires. We are finally getting a different tire than Fujimi has been including in their kits like the Gallardo, 430 etc. but unfortunately they are undersized. The new tires are Bridgestone Potenza's and are marked as such on the sidewall. The side wall is too flat...they look like they tried to replicate the rim protection tire lip but from the rim out to the tread they don't look correct. When stretched onto the rim the front tire profile is too tall and lacks 1/16" covering the width of the rim. The profile of the rear tire is lower than the front but still lacks the same amount to cover the rim.

The other thing we knew was the engine bay is simplified, it will have about the same visual effect as the 430 when assembled.

The steering wheel rim for once actually looks in scale and the exhaust pipe wall thickness is nice and thin, really looks in scale!

Since I'm writing this with nearly every part still on the trees I'm going to move on to the body... which seems very well proportioned. The side skirts are separate and Fujimi gave us more glueing surface then with the 430...and they seem to fit well too.

The rear section of the body is a separate part but Fujimi have put three mounting holes in the top of it which guide onto three mounting pins. The fit seems nice and solid. There are some slight sink marks on the body where the mounting pins are.

Well that's the quick and dirty for now.

Hope I get to build it soon.....hmmmm....what color?

[MidMazar]

[BVC500]

Hmmmm, white might be nice, or maybe do bi-color, white with metallic blue roof or red with gunmetal roof and wheels as seen on the 599 GTO.

[indy_231]

Originally Posted by MidMazar

x 2

[cjsbosox]

Man I'm glad I held off

[ales]

Thanks for the review, Brian.

May I suggest pearl white?

[rallymaster]

A review without pictures...??!
hard to "review" anything without seeing it...

[ZoomZoomMX-5]

Originally Posted by ales

Thanks for the review, Brian.

May I suggest pearl white?

Mine will be pearl white, black roof, dark wheels

[Ferrari TR]

Sounds like it's a typical Fujimi kit.
Any ideas on getting the 'dark chrome' finish on the wheels?

[Decs0105]

thanks for the review!