Plasticfanatic

This is coming along GREAT!! If there is a motorsport where the machines appear to be built by an aerospace technology laboratory(mmm...well most is not all this machines are!!!) is F1, the fit and finish is so imaculate and perfect......just like your model, keep em coming!!! Fred ps/ Your 250 Ferrari looks superb also!!

Well for over $200(plus shipping) I think I will pass on this one, I was to looking forward for this kit, even if it was to convert to the 1969 Gulf version as other fellow modelers have stated, BUT after knowing what the "sugested" retail price would be I just said NO THANKS!! Is a shame, Trumpeter was having a very good line of kits when they started in the plastic kit scene, I have about 12 of their military kits in 1/35 and airplane kits from 1/32 to 1/24, they offer great details on great subjects,I know they are not perfect and some times dificult to build but again you had a LOT of detail at a very good price. I remember how I was dreaming in having the 1/35 scale Leupold railway gun that a company was manufacturing at the time, it was a resin,metal,photoecht kit....cost about $450-$500 it was just to much for me!!! Then Trumpeter lauched it magnificent plastic kit of this WWII gun for the incredible price of $135, the same with big scale airplane kits. Then something began to happen to their price range, every time they made a new model it came with a hefty price tag, like their fire truck kit...$95.00, King tiger tank $400-$500 and now the GT40 in about $260, I think they are losing scope of the economic times,tastes(a lot of us would have like the 1969 GT40 version) and actual range of "hobby money" in most of us average collectors. If this kit was offered at about $150-$160 I could considered for my workbench, but at the actual price they could have included the 1969 engine cover,tires and wheels,decals and other minor details to be able to do two types of GT40.....THEY HAVE DONE IT BEFORE!!!! Oh, well...I will comtempt my desire with my Fujimi GT40 1969....in Gulf colors of course!!! Fred

Looks FANTASTIC!!!

And theres the "midnight blue" car with back wheels covers that looks just magnificent!!! It was restored to perfection. Love your 500K, VERY,VERY nice build and attention to detail, it really gives justice to a great automotive icon of the 1930's Fred

This is going to be a VERY SWEET project and with all the details you are putting in this Cuda build is going to look MAGNIFICENT!!!!! Please keep us posted. Fred

Richard, thanks for the kind words on my projects.appreciated a lot. I am using for reference two things, a Cavallino Magazine article on the car and internet photos of the car, in Google image option theres a quite good selection of photos of the F50 GT in varius angles, in fact the Cavallino article on the F50 have some very nice full color photos on the car BUT no photo of the interior,found that one in the net!!! The scoop and back engine panel was "heat form" over balsa wood patterns, a very simple prosses I use for making simple parts. Then all the details and NACA ducts are opened and will be finished with plastic strip. Will try to post photos of the F50 and Modena in final primer tomorow. And yes the 250 California will be a racer, those years give us so many wonderful race car that is VERY dificult to make my mind what type,team or driver to model!!!! Fred

Thanks Ismael, hope to find the time to finish them!! I want to start in the Revell Corvette CR-6 re-detaling soon but want to clear the workbench of older projects first. Saludos, Fred http://public.fotki.com/plasticfanatic/

Hello Bill, Thanks for the positive comments about my projects,really appreciated!!! Hope to beging work on the 250 California next week, still dont know wich of the 3 race car to do.....mmmmm....white,silver gray or red....I like them all!!! The modification on the Ferrari Modena wheelwells are made{as in the real cars) to acomodate the racing tires, is very small amount of "filling" but the final look is great, no sticking-out tires on the front of the car,if I don't rework this area on the Tamiya model and put the racing wheels it will look like it have F-1 tires!! The putty of my choice is the two part epoxy putty by Tamiya(green box) some modelers don't like it and find it mesy to work with. but I like it a lot, it forms and sand perfectly and you can shape it any way you want. Fred

The other ones

This are some of the projects I have been working on and off for some time now, the first one is a conversion of the Tamiya 360 modena kit, the front was rework including the wheel arches for the proper look, in the photos is under the last sanding before final primer, the back spolier was "home made" using a piece of copper tubing for a form and then pressing a piece of hot plastic in a working frame over it, then shaped and sanded. The interior rollcage was made with plastic rod and I hope to receive the right wheels soon....if I am lucky!!!!! The racing tem/colors of the car will be as raced by JMB(GIESSE) in the 2000 Vallelunga race, and yes this is the car with the front airdam in unpaited carbon fiber, I like the look and contrast with the rest of the car paintwork very much. The second is another conversion, this time of the Ferrari F50 barchetta to the racing prototype F50 GT, I started with the Revell convertible version(I know....long,long story!!!) and added the roof,new wheel arches and opened the front grill work and heat formed the roof/engine air intake. The engine cover is still under construction and nothing in this model have been sanded. I know could also buy one of the conversion available in the market BUT this is more rewarding.....yea... right, this project probably will end in a storage box!!! The third one is a detailing job on the Testors/Italiery Ferrari 250 California, the only thing at the moment done in this project was the opening of the trunk and doors. And the last one, a "little project" done long,long time ago. It's a Tameo 1/43 scale Ferrari F1 white metal kit and a scracthbuilt chassis I started to make for a mini-diorama. I never finished the chassis, whis is made of plastic(including the engine) and some small metal parts, is not a masterpiece of modeling but I like it a lot......and it was my first attempt at scractbuilding in 1/43 scale 10 years ago. Click on the photos to see them biger and hope you like them!!! Fred

Richard: THANKS for the anecdotes from your father involment with the race, this are the historical details from this cars and event that makes this hobby and the models we build even more interesting. Now I am thinking in putting the model in a small display base with some groundwork, just to give it a little more presentation. Fred

Hello Ismael: I am from Guaynabo, is probable that we have meet in one of the local contests here in P.R. By the way I am planning to do a compleatly detail Corvette CR-6 and the photos at your Fotki site are MAGNIFICENT for this project of mine. Saludos y espero poder ver mas de tus estupendos proyectos, se ven de pelicula!!! De hecho hoy estaba en Arecibo en cosas del trabajo. Saludos, Fred

That is a sweet and beautiful 935!!! the decal job look superb and if is the model I am thinking of(I have one somewhere) you did a great job on the interior/rollcage to. Federico

Thanks for the nice comments about this project, is a quite simple model but is one I wanted to do for a long time. It was a nice day today and put the decals on the model, they went quite easy. The photoetch pieces are not glued yet, I put them on to see the "almost" final look. Fred

This is a model I am working on, is by MG models, quite basic kit. It will have the RICCI sponsor decals. I love the early Ferraris, including the ones from the Carrera Panamericana, the next one will be the Ferrari 340 Mexico driven by Phil Hill in one of those races. The model is in the early stages of contruction and the paint is still need of a final polish before decal application, the next step will be a detailing of the interior and painting the "chassis" pan. Hope you like it!!! Fred

That is a truly beautiful corvette racer, I like very much the light and realistic weathering you applied to the model. I would like that the company who produce this detailing kit would make the wheels available as a separate set. Fred

I am sure it will look superb!! I have a book with the tittle L'IDEA FERRARI, it's mostly like a color artistic catalog of the most famous cars with a very small section on technical parts, wich have a photo of the original main frame tube chassis plan/diagram, is not a "last bolt" blueprint but it will do for the frame buildup, unfortunatly theres no photo or diagrams of the suspension/drivetrain of the type you are looking for.

Just a magnificent conversion of one of my all time favorites Ferraris, I am enjoying every new update of this project. Hope some day to do this car for my collection including the tube chassis in brass or plastic ......after I finish all the other projects in the "storage area".. some day,some day!!! PLEASE keep us posted, is going to be another masterpiece from J. Drew. Fred

Hey Simon: Thanks for those great pictures!!! I have a 1/24 Moby Dick(boy, this one will need a lot of work!) and Martini RSR reworks in the "waiting table" your photos have been a great inspiration to reetake those projects. I enjoy the Porsche 917k photos, thats one of my all time favorite race car. Fred

Thanks for all the nice comments on the B.Glidden Fairmont, this models started life as a AMT 1965 Pontiac GTO with a front clip extension from a Roadrunner a little amount of plastic sheet and putty. When I started the project it was just an experiment of a theory I had for building a scale pro stock Fairmont, it is an ongoing project and never cross my mind that it will be a popular subject in the model community, I did't take pictures of the construction steps and conversion of the GTO to Fairmont body from the begining....a big mistake from my part, it's not a perfect model but I like it a lot. Again THANKS for all the positive comments on this build. Fred

Well, I put the Bob Glidden name on the doors and several more decals on the car that where missing, still have to finish the pin-stripping on the car and put the clear topcoat. Then move to the engine/chassis..........I wonder if this project will be finish some day, every time I started working on it something happen that it goes back to the storage box!!! Fred

This is my Dick Landi Dodge Dart, the doors where opened, the interior has the carpet floor as the 1/1 car, new tube frame was fabricated and the chassis was scracht built from brass compleatly.....LAST TIME I do that!!!! This model was possible thanks to the help of my Very good friend Norberto who supply me with all the period magazines,spare parts and decals to make this project a finish one. As a side note, this model was finish last year and entered at the Puerto Rico National Caribbean Scale Auto Show, it won it class and pictures of the car where taken by Model Car Magazine BUT because of a builder information mix-up it was never published...I think!! My good friend Norberto Lopez sing up the model under his name accidentaly at the show, he even pick up the trophy for me since I was packing my models at the end of the show, But the info on the Model Car Magazine photo/model information sheet was mine, the actual builder.......so it was bumped...that's what I was told. Hope you like the model. Fred

Visit My Website This is the body conversion from a Toyota Levin in 1/24 scale, this is an ongoing project and a lot of work ahead to finish it. The grille is not finish and the turn signals on it have yet to be added. This model is not perfect but I like it and is something diferent from my vintage pro stock builds. Hope you like it! Fred