Matt Bacon Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 Compare and contrast, once more... Slow beginnings, but I wanted to get the body shells painted so that they can cure properly before final polishing while other work gets under way. The Daytona is Zero's "Blu Dino"; the 599GTO is "Rosso Scuderia", and a matt (ish) black (ish) homebrew for the roof. These will go slowly while I work on some stuff for SMW 2012, but at least I've started! bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deathgoblin Posted September 24, 2012 Share Posted September 24, 2012 Very nice! Excellent paint on both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoatGuy Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 Looking good. I need to get one of those 599 GTOs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 GREAT START!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanyb505 Posted September 25, 2012 Share Posted September 25, 2012 An excellent study in Ferrari V12's. They both look awesome so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted November 24, 2012 Author Share Posted November 24, 2012 Well, it's been a while... Scale Model World is behind me, and my B-26 Marauder Box Art diorama has seen the light of day, so progress is now being made on these at last... Engines under way. The Italeri 365 GTB V12 is beautifully crisp, with a nice detail, and noticeably bigger than the 599 GTOs. The Revell parts are well-designed and simple, responding well to detail painting, but have slightly more flash and not so precise fit. The "flying buttresses" are very well engineered, and to fit properly you need to have no primer on the "tab" element or in the slot on the car body. These are cleaned, sanded and pressed into place, where they fit really well....now! Lots of priming and prep going on off-camera... bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted November 25, 2012 Author Share Posted November 25, 2012 (edited) Slow progress today... Engines slowly coming together. The next job is to wire the Daytona ignition. 599 chassis, painted with Vallejo German Grey. I assembled the chassis, wheel wells etc with Copydex (rubber solution glue) before priming and painting. Then, after the paint has dried, they can be pulled apart and the glue peeled off, leaving mating surfaces clean and ready to be glued as the suspension is assembled. Various parts masked with mesh before spraying a "carbon" effect in graphite grey over black. And the results... Work on the Daytona suspension continues as well... bestest, M. Edited November 25, 2012 by Matt Bacon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted November 25, 2012 Share Posted November 25, 2012 Such beautiful, beautiful cars. And that carbon trick is slick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted November 27, 2012 Author Share Posted November 27, 2012 Thanks, Bill! Today I have mostly been building a chassis for the Daytona... The engine is just dropped into place for the moment. The swinging arms are painted with Tamiya Titanium Gold. There are three parts for each corner -- axle and shock, upper arm and lower arm. The steering isn't positionable, at least out of the box. This is a pretty good attempt at a realistic suspension set-up, unlike the 599GTO, which prioritises what you can see and being able to steer the front wheels. It's a lot simpler and easy to build than the even more prototypical Fujimi Enthusiast set-ups, though. I'd say, all in all, it's a good compromise between accuracy, complexity and buildability. It looks good from underneath, as well... As a matter of interest, this now completes Stage 1 of the Italeri instructions! In other news, I've at least had a response from Italeri spares about the bubble I found in the windscreen moulding -- they've asked for some photos for the technical department to investigate: A long way to go before I have a replacement in my hands, but at least we have opened a channel of communication! bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaymcminn Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Great work so far, Matt. I've actually pilfered your carbon-fiber technique for a few of my own projects- it works really well. The Italeri Daytona, like the rest of their Ferrari kits, builds up pretty well, but the kit's solid engineering tends to be let down by their indifferent quality control and atrocious packaging. I have a 275 Spyder I'm going to be starting soon where the first step in the assembly process was piecing the windshield frame back together! I'm anxious to see how you get on with the GTO, as I've just bought this one myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamez Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 Looks excellent Matt. If I could ask, where did you get your mesh for the carbon fiber effect? I've been looking off and on for a month or so and not really found anything the right size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 Thanks, gentlemen... @Jamez -- the mesh is actually a dress fabric, from my local department store which sells all kinds of dressmaking stuff. It's a plain acrylic mesh, which in dressmaking land is sometimes called tulle. It's used for veils or petticoats on 50s style dresses, apparently. Anyway, they have it in several colours, and you can probably get different size meshes in a big specialist store... These guys (or gals) look like they could probably help you (they are in Calgary): http://www.fabricdepot.ca bestest, M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted December 8, 2012 Author Share Posted December 8, 2012 Just a quick one to save anyone else any trouble. Revell have mixed up the brake disk parts in the 599 instructions. The bigger callipers with the disk only half-shrouded go at the front, on the narrower wheels. The smaller callipers with the "two-thirds" shroud are for the wider rear wheels. Just goes to show... I was so worried about making sure I had the disks facing the right way that I focused entirely on the instructions, and didn't look at my reference photos, which clearly show the right disks for the right wheels... or indeed think twice. I _know_ the beefier brakes go on the front, when there's an option, but I was derailed. bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted December 9, 2012 Author Share Posted December 9, 2012 It's a big update today (for the 599 at least!) Lots of work that has been going on bit by bit in the background, with no real landmarks to post about, has now started to pay dividends. First of all... some wheels: I don't think that you can tell that they've been prised apart and stuck back together! Paint is Zero's Graphite Grey, and they are shod in Pegasus Michelin Pilots, which should help the look a bit. The disks are sprayed with Humbrol Flat Aluminium, which has a whitey-grey look that's just right for carbon disks, washed with Citadel Devlan Mud to pop the detail, and then the shields and centres are painted with Citadel black and grey. Callipers in Humbrol spray Yellow. Test fit carefully, because on at least one pair of wheels, the raised circular moulding on the back of the spoked disk hub interfered enough with the brake disk hub raised detail that I could't close the front and back of the wheels. I had to pare it off with a sharp knife... The bare chassis assembled. The hubs, suspension, shocks and wheel arches fit nicely if you VERY carefully follow the instructions and numbered sequence. For the back pair, get a hold of the drive shaft with a pair of tweezers and lift it as you slide the wheel arch assembly into place to pop it into the back of the hub bearing, otherwise it'll keep pushing the whole thing out of it's location. The engine: All done out of the box, with detail painting of the parts that Revell provide. You need to cut the tops of the location stubs for the front shocks, which come up through the wheel arches, to get a snug fit for the airbox on top of the engine. The location for the radiator is unclear -- it actually sits leaning back with only the angled side brackets on the baseplate, and the front edge sits ON TOP of the raised tab in the middle. It does NOT go with the flat lower edge glued to the baseplate, as the location tabs might suggest! A better view of the wheels in place, showing where the callipers SHOULD be... More to follow... bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted December 9, 2012 Author Share Posted December 9, 2012 ...and now on to the interior. Doors off, you can see the various slightly different blacks, greys and carbon colours (as well as Vallejo Sunny Skintone for the tan). I think the main thing is to try to get a range to represent the different kinds of materials. The steering wheel, for example, has Citadel Chaos Black, Vallejo German Grey, Citadel Charandon Granite (which is standing in for the suede-y Alcantara everywhere it appears in the cabin), and finally Tamiya Gunmetal for an ersatz "carbon" look on some details to small to "mesh" easily) The colour's a bit off in this image, but you can see the mesh effect on the carbon dash, the centre console, and even on the seats, where I sprayed black over a German Grey base to give the effect of the "technical fabric" the real thing is made of... Another view where you can clearly see the different colours and textures around the cabin. The rest is all tiny brushes and Citadel colours... The chassis mocked up. It looks like it'll fill the body quite nicely... bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted December 9, 2012 Author Share Posted December 9, 2012 And finally, a few "compare and contrast" shots... It may be my imagination, or just a front-engined GT car thing, but I think I can see a resemblance between the underpinnings of some of Maranello's finest.. bestest, M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeeBee Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Looking good, your putting a lot of work into these builds, I'm sure the final result will be worth all the effort Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwitzke Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Looks good! I just bought the Revell 599 GTO. Looks like a decent kit. I have already ordered the exterior paint for mine, it's a little different than yours. The color is a vintage Ferrari color called Vinaccia. Here is a photo of the real car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Excellent work, and those subtle colour / texture differentiations on the GTO interior looks extremely effective. Btw, the Daytona was also released by Revell a few years ago. Almost finished building one (but it has ground to a halt since I lost the bonnet hinge & haven't got around to making a replacement yet) and as you say, it's not as insane as the Fujimi kit, but still goes together nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruz Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Very cool and yes, that carbon trick with the mesh is very cool, much better than trying to get a decal to conform to such crazy surfaces!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 Thanks, Marcos! Another quickie, while I wait for decent daylight to take some more progress pictures. It IS possible to get the bonnet/hood on the 599 to close properly. The first thing to do, before painting, is to check the fit, and if it's like mine, heat briefly in the steam from a kettle and flex the left hand front corner downward a little. YMMV, obviously, so keep test fitting until it closes into the recess properly. Then, when the time comes to fit the thing permanently, I've found that first thinning the pins by removing the upper 1/3 or so and then rounding them again with some scraping, and secondly fully rounding the upper ends of the pivot arms, gives enough room for maneouvre when the bonnet is down for it to drop properly in place while still holding it in position... HTH somebody else! bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted December 19, 2012 Author Share Posted December 19, 2012 Some progress to report tonight: The headliner positioned, and painted in matching colours for the interior (it was great to see an internal cabin photo that showed it clearly in Evo.) If you look closely you can also see the trimmed ends of the bonnet supports. I'm using the mesh for the grilles, stuck in place with "Serious Glue", which holds them in position from the off, and then if you press them finally into position after a couple of minutes, "persuades" the springy mesh to conform to the curves.... The headlights are painted to replicate the ones on the 599 GTE I spotted in London last week. The lenses are grey shades with a "catch light" as figure painters use for eyeballs... those Xenon's are weird-looking, as I know from my own car. I've gone for carbon mirrors, and this is probably the best bit of fake carbon detailing on the whole car, though I say so myself... The bonnet doesn't stay UP by itself yet, but you can see that the engine sits in place nicely. ..and finally a couple on the bench where we are tonight. People may complain that the detailing on this kit is a bit soft or coarse, but the fit and engineering is superb. I think Revell have got their priorities right! bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duntov Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 Nice work and some very worthwhile techniques to consider...... I like the rubber cement used to mask / build / re-assemble the chassis.... inventive approach for sure... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted December 22, 2012 Author Share Posted December 22, 2012 Thanks, Bill! I'm calling this one done, and will try to do some decent pictures tomorrow, if it's dry enough outside to take them! bestest, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted December 29, 2012 Author Share Posted December 29, 2012 (edited) Back to the bench now, and continuing with the Daytona... The engine is rather nice, and I wish I could wire it better! 0.3mm brass tube for the spark plugs works nicely, but I really need some wire that's a bit tougher but just as flexible as the lead I've used here. Does anyone make 0.25mm PVC or elastic thread in black, red and white? Fits in place OK, though getting the engine mounts into position under the exhaust manifolds is a pain! Rubber is a bit "tractor tyre", but the wire wheels are pretty good for plastic, and the whole thing fits together very well, with the aid of some silicone "plastic parts" grease (intended for mountain bikes) to stop the wrong bits sticking permanently. Engine in situ. The yellow fans are my own idea (instructions say silver), but they liven things up a bit. Stance is a bit "nose down". but I think that it's probably prototypical. Let's see how it looks with the body on... The underside looks nicely "busy". There's a small (broken) tie rod to put in place on the front suspension, which kinda sums the whole thing up... a nice compromise between detail, scale accuracy and ease of assembly, generally, but it really should have been made in tougher plastic! The distributors have been off a couple of times on each side, because they are just not tough enough when the kit nearly (but not quite) fits perfectly... bestest, M. Edited December 29, 2012 by Matt Bacon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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