Tamiya Ferrari FXX Wip

[jtrout13]

Hi all, this will be a WIP thread for my Tamiya Ferrari FXX. I will be using the SMS superkit to make the carbon-fiber version, and will eventually be making door decals with numbers for this thing too.

I have a Tamiya Enzo that a friend messed up, which I am using for fitting all my custom parts and etc, so everything works out nicely.

To start, I got to work with the LED lights which I plan on installing:

1. Glued up the hood/fenders/front clip.
2. Cut open the hood.


3. Prototyped my LED circuit on the breadboard (day and night pics)





4. Soldered up the circuit on some perfboard. You will see I'm using 3mm white LEDs in front and 1.8mm red LEDs in the back for the FXX's tiny rear lights. I have blacked out all but the tips of the rear LEDs to reduce the amount of diffusion the light has. Resistors were placed inline on the red LED wiring to reduce the space taken up on the perfboard, and it is all powered by a 3V coincell battery. Hot glue is a nice dielectric so I used a the glue gun a bit to hold everything in place, and make it all nice and neat, as well as liberal heat shrinking. I will be routing the wires to the rear lights through the tunnel in the floor, then under the engine and up to the rear lights. This is my first attempt at lighting so take it easy on me



Up next: I will be fitting this inside the hood section of the messed up Enzo and building a plastic cover that replicates the underhood of an FXX. I have nice reference pictures, so it should be no problem. Will also be grinding down the switch tab so it doesn't stick up so far.

[countach79]

nice idea!

i reckon the front lights should be the ones that all the newer cars have with the super bright light with the slight blue tinge to them!

good luck with your build and i will be watching!!

[TurboGuru]

This is 'exactly' what I have planned, 3.7v coin battery..... what is perfboard is it the same as stripboard?

Also are your wires just wrapped in black tape?

Looks awesome!

[jtrout13]

Actually, I detest electrical tape. all the "wrapping" you see there is heat shrink tubing. i may have to cut a bit of the heatshrink off the back lights.

Be careful when applying the heat tubing, hold your heat gun far away and take your time, as the little 1.8mm LEDs are easy to melt.

You read my mind on the front lights, I finished this late yesterday and had to hurry up and post it, so I could study for an exam today (mechanical engineering student here)... I will be experimenting with some Tamiya clear blue on the front LEDs.

[MidMazar]

Good luck, i got the sms kit too and plan on starting it soon. Just make sure to be careful clearing the cf decals.

[jtrout13]

Got back to work installing the circuit in the body.

Here I have the circuit installed under the front hood, I had to do only minimal surgery to get it to fit.

[jtrout13]

I added some styrene strip inside the trunk opening, and puttied all the imperfections. The hood is also filed down to fit, I will be hinging it when I receive the photo-etch parts I have ordered.


I also removed the bracing on the rear fenders and puttied it, although I didn't put a ton of work into the putty since this will be covered by photo-etch parts as well.


Here is a shot of everything for the body primered.


Here is a picture of the modifications I did to the monocoque to allow room for my light circuit to fit.

[da_ashman]

Awesome work, great idea adding lights!! how are you going to light up the rear lights? theyre about 2mm wide!! Cant wait to see what you do with this one!!!

[jtrout13]

The rear lights will be done using 1.8mm diffused red LEDs, which I have blacked out around the edges. My next plans are to hinge the trunk, then work out the mounting of the rear lights and lenses. Then onto completing the body. I am also reconstructing the overlay which will cover up up the battery under the trunk.

I like to complete the body first, that way I have great inspiration sitting on the bench to help me complete every detail of the interior.

[KevHw]

I'm very interested to see how you tackle adding the rear lights. It looks like you've made some great progress. I hope the trunk lid manages to close considering how much you're putting under it, but it's a nice solution to hiding the wiring.

[jtrout13]

Here are the rear lights. It's hard to see, but even harder to photograph something this small. The LED I used is about 4mm wide and 2mm high, so it sits behind the lights (parts L1 and L2) perfectly. I built a "box" around the LEDs using clear styrene sheet, then glued this to the back of the light parts that came with the kit. A bit of silver paint covers up the parts where no light should shine through.

by day (hard to see the styrene work)


lit up

[da_ashman]

Nice, very nice

[tuned.by.twenty]

Wow, great work! I've never seen this sort of thing done to an FXX before.

[KevHw]

nice results and it looks to have a realistic light intensity. I like the light box surround you've made and hope you don't mind if I experiment with the idea for my R8 I'm working on.

[jtrout13]

Hope it works for you Kev! Next I will be cutting open the sliding side windows on this model.