Matt Bacon Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 These have been progressing speedily, and I haven't got round to posting until now... An Academy "Classic European Sports Car", better known as the Italeri Ferrari 250 SWB California, and a Fujimi Dino 246, inspired by seeing Keith Richards' beauty driven on The Classic Car Show. It's the simplified curbside Dino, not the full-on "Enthusiast Model" kit with the engine, detailed suspension, underbonnet details etc... Classic Ferrari 250ish engine -- I've built a fair number of these now. Distributors wired, and electrical "ferrules" to replace the hideous intake trumpets. NB: the kit has parts for several variants of this engine on the sprue, so make sure you've got the right ones! SWB body in "Vinaccia" (aka Aubergine). This has been around for a while in the stash, so I'm glad to get it under way. Beautiful curves! Dino body in Tamiya Gloss Aluminium. After seeking advice, and test fitting, it is possible to get the chassis inside the body with the lower front valance in place, which makes painting the body much easier. No engine, just some painting. Homebrew "rust/burnt iron" accentuated with Citadel coloured washes. Dino interior in multiple shades of black/grey. Keith's seats are very shiny leather! Dino dashboard comes up nicely with a bit of paint. I'm not sure whether Keith's is "factory finished" but it's got plenty of suede-y Alcantara today... bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted April 23, 2015 Author Share Posted April 23, 2015 ...continuing: Not a lot of parts in this interior, but it looks neat, I reckon. The front suspension has to be built before installing the chassis into the body, but the rear can be assembled afterwards (and probbaly needs to be, because it's the back end that needs to twist and flex most to get it inside). The familiar Ferrari 250 chassis coming together. And this is where I'm up to today. The eagle-eyed will spot that I've relocated the filler/breather caps on the 250 SWB engine back to around halfway along the block. That's where they are on the prototype, and if fitted further forward as instructed, they'll foul the wheel wells on the engine bay walls. The engine bay has been "jigged" on the chassis, and separated for painting and detailing. bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Nice work on both so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxer Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Glad to see this here as I'm working on Monogram's 250 GTO and the engine has been fighting me, though it is an ebay junker to start. Your engine looks good but wondering how you fit those 6 wires into the cast on valve cover tube. I replaced it with the smallest tube I could fit .. slightly oversize but looks ok. I also user v to replace the intake trumpets. Both bodies look great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Exotics_Builder Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 (edited) Both are really nice. Great color choices too. Too bad Italeri cheaped on this with the GTO interior and engine block. On the California, you realize the induction cold air is for a 250. If on a California, you need to have a sport version with a gas cap protruding through the trunk. What are you doing for the interior conversion? Edited April 23, 2015 by Exotics_Builder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted April 25, 2015 Author Share Posted April 25, 2015 Thanks, guys! The Dino is on the home straight: Not a whole lot to report other than the "chrome" parts have their raised rubber inserts painted with Tamiya "Rubber Black", and she needs a good dust! The 250 Spider is making progress: As it happens, I have an (dreadful) AMT 250 SWB as a "donor kit", so I'm carefully slicing off the door furniture and attaching it to the Academy kit cockpit sidewalls. The seats are currently WiP.... bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vintagercr Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 Both are coming along nicely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrKerry Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Looking very nice!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slusher Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Great color choices. Rel nice work so far... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaguar man 21 Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Very nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brizio Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Looking good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted April 30, 2015 Author Share Posted April 30, 2015 Thanks, Paul! On with the 250 Spider: The operation to transfer the door furniture was mostly successful, apart from one of the door closing handles which disappeared into oblivion, along with a small slice of skin from the end of my thumb. No blood on the paint, mind... that's what matters! A new one was fabricated after several tries, and now I think the door liners look the part. The exhausts (painted in Vallejo Model Air "Rust") are a bit of a pain to thread and get into position (and the instructions aren't so clear and well drawn...). To save anyone else the hassle, this is how they go. I used actual polystyrene cement for these, after cleaning up the mounting points. I wanted a REALLY strong bond when the time came to put the engine bay on (which is a very tight fit around the exhausts at the chassis level), but plenty of time to fettle the final positions of the pipes as I installed them. The interior is an "interesting" colour, but it's a very close match to the references I have -- I think it's called "Tobacco" by Ferrari. I think it will go well with the body colour, and it's much less boring than black (though that would have hidden the "cobbled together" door liners a bit better!) Another test fit of the chassis -- the engine bay does fit around the exhausts, after all. The seats are much modified from the ones in the "donor" 250 SWB, because the "buckets" in the California kit are completely wrong... The Dino will reappear shortly! bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted May 7, 2015 Author Share Posted May 7, 2015 With the chassis basically assembled, time to move on with some engine bay detailing. Plundering a few unused detail bits from the Dino, and some more of the 250SWB, I've at least got a radiator fan, battery, coils and a screen wash reservoir. (No idea what that was on the Dino, but it'll do the job here with a cap added and a repaint... There's a big air duct hose running from the right hand side of the bay into the back. After wracking my brains trying to figure out where to find one, I thought I'd just have a try at making one, and I'm pretty happy with the result. 1) Wind garden wire around a suitable diameter bit of sprue, 2) cover with porous-ish paper-ish medical tape, 3) Spray with Tamiya "Rubber Black". It's still very flexible, and works just like the real thing. A couple of short stubs of the sprue mandrel stuck to the bay walls in the right places will make mounting points. On with the tubes, pipes and cables! bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landman Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Matt, this great work. What did you use for the "Tobacco" color? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
microwheel Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Cool idea on the hose using medical tape. My wife is a nurse and works for a hospital, maybe I'll see if she can pick me up some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twokidsnosleep Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Loving this build for sure Great work...hardly cobbled together Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted May 10, 2015 Author Share Posted May 10, 2015 Thanks, guys... landman -- the "Tobacco" is a Vallejo "Tanned Flesh, with a drop or two of yellow to make it a bit less pink. And this is where I am tonight: I KNEW that would come in handy one day... My abortive _first_ return to modelling in 1990 or thereabouts was to attempt a wooden model boat kit. It didn't work out -- tool far too long to achieve anything. But at the time, I bought some self-adhesive copper strip for the anti-fouling covering of the bottom. 25 years later, it's come out of the bottom of the toolkit, and made that little bit of copper pipe in the middle of the radiator hose that much easier! The rest is some electric flex insulation over a solid wire core, and BMF for the jubilee clips... The brake master cylinder is pretty visible in the engine bay, and, unusually for a 60s Ferrari kit, in my experience, is not included. A stack of tubing fills the gap. The radiator hose doesn't connect to anything, of course -- not the first time I'll be grateful for that "roasting dish" on the top of the engine! I think the ducting looks the part. The wiring diagram I found online stopped me connecting the battery to anything stupid -- ground at one end, the fuse-box at the other, apparently! The twin coils brighten things up a bit. I'm glad I didn't have to fabricate those, mind you... Master cylinder cluttering things up nicely. No idea what most of these bits and tubes do, but they busy it up nicely. One of the sage green caps is sitting on top of the steering box, the other is angled off teh top of a additional square section "lump" at the front left corner of the bay, which will also anchor the fuel lines. It's completely "gizmology", but there's _something_ over there... So that's more or less done now. The fuel line to the carbs will be added once that gizmo in the corner is thoroughly set and anchored. Guitar string is a bit unforgiving... On the next episode... the inside goes inside the outside. bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twokidsnosleep Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 (edited) Gizmo wizardry at it's finest, looks great "Roasting pan".....hilarious Drove myself nuts looking over MG restoration manuals and photos trying to replicate everything in the engine compartment when I did a 1/16 MG TC....Not a mechanic by any means Edited May 10, 2015 by Twokidsnosleep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superbike-shaun Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 I'm gonna tell you if you ever decide that your expertise at building these inferior kits into things of beauty,has you deciding to do something else you might think about writing comedy,Dude besides being a very proficient model builder you are hilarious! Superbike-shaun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w451973 Posted May 10, 2015 Share Posted May 10, 2015 Nice work so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted May 11, 2015 Author Share Posted May 11, 2015 Thanks, guys! As promised... the inside is inside the outside. No great drama, thank goodness! The body's covered in greasy fingerprints, but there's no point in getting too antsy about cleaning it at this stage! I'm leaving the bonnet hinge to set thoroughly before I even think about opening it! bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High octane Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Oh, when you mentioned Italian beauties, I was expecting something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrm Posted May 11, 2015 Share Posted May 11, 2015 Very cool work on both of them. especially the California. However the three carb set up with the aluminum tray is typical for a competition engine. Californias like the one you are making had the big oval air filter on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted May 17, 2015 Author Share Posted May 17, 2015 My owner has had his upgraded to the competition set up... ...seriously -- I don't have a spare oval air cleaner, and this was supposed to be an "empty the queue" build before I depart in an entirely different direction! so, more or less done now. A few fragile details (door handles, wipers) to add, and a good clean, and then she'll be ready for prime-time... bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superbike-shaun Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Matt bring home the Bacon,yea baby! Wow!beeeuuuutifullllllll!For whatever reason I was not a big fan of the 50's,60's series of these cars actually, but because you've chosen to build and post these babies,I've decided to choose one,build it and see how it goes down, Shaun Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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