Italianhorses

Yep, the stuff gets everywhere! I wear a dust mask, goggles, and a hood to avoid having resin bits in my hair!

Excellent flocking job! Where do you buy DM flocking nowadays? I can't find any at my usual suppliers.

Thank you! Sure did! I think I always do a bit of dry brushing on most chassis parts, makes them look just a tiny bit more realistic. Thank you! Yes, the wheel plating is original, and it does look good in person.

Paint looks terrific!

Thank you. These Italeri kits are pretty hard to find nowadays. And looks like pretty penny too. The body is gone. The kit was purchased off eBay long time ago, and did not have the body, glass, or wheels, but all I needed was chassis and the motor, so I snagged it for a steal. Thank you Dann, I hope I can to the car justice! As it happens, I’m very enthusiastic about the project for a few days, so this is the time to accomplish a lot if you want to advance in the build beyond “I’m burned out on this” stage ? The body was cleaned up, all bubbles filled, panel lines corrected and re-scribed, body block-sanded, smoothed, corrected in spots, and overall made ready for test fitting the rest of the components: IMG_1479 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1480 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1481 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1482 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1483 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1484 by Italian Horses, on Flickr There is still a lot of work on the body, but at least I can start working with other bits knowing general proportions and shapes. IMG_1486 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1485 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1487 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1488 by Italian Horses, on Flickr A 12-cylinder Ferrari should have a motor! And what is the point in putting a motor in a model, if you can’t see it, right? IMG_1464 by Italian Horses, on Flickr The new hood will be made out of .010 brass. The overall shape was done by beating the brass into shape (like Pininfarina in the 60-s!) IMG_1466 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1467 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Got the overall shape right: IMG_1465 by Italian Horses, on Flickr In this process it is imperative not to rush and check your work often: IMG_1468 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1470 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1469 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Then I spent some time re-shaping and perfecting the curve: IMG_1474 by Italian Horses, on Flickr After the general shape was right, I cut the resin hood out: IMG_1490 by Italian Horses, on Flickr The thickness of the casting is crazy! IMG_1492 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1493 by Italian Horses, on Flick Test fit to make sure the curve is right: IMG_1494 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Then I ground the resin from the back side to make the opening appear like sheet metal – more or less. It will be thinned some more later on. IMG_1502 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1503 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Then I cut the brass piece to fit the newly reshaped opening: IMG_1506 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1507 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Then spent some time making sure all the gaps are right and tight, and the shape of the hood is correct. Preliminary coat of metal etch and gray primer to see the result: IMG_1527 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1529 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1530 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1532 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1533 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Texas chainsaw massacre! More soon!

Thank you! Haha, yup. Too bad you don't see these cars zipping around as much anymore, and if you do they are modified way beyond even remotely looking like this.

Yup. Ferraris of that period apparently drove like trucks till they get to about 80 miles an hour. Then it was surgical precise and crisp. Again, relatively. No need to search: http://italianhorses.net/Gallery/Resin/SKLusso/lusso.htm Haha, thank you. I admit, I had to Google Prunga, and yes, it is a very cool color! But I'm trying to stick with something that was actually available on this car back in the 60s to make it period correct replica. We'll see.

Thank you. I agree, chassis plate is very nicely done. Thanks! It was a good choice for color! I have a small update - the body was masked off and moldings were painted satin black: IMG_1540 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Since it was all masked, painted inside the shell as well: IMG_1542 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0892 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Did the panel lines, polished the paint - now it shines properly! DSC_0890 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0888 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Painted small chassis and suspension bits in their base colors: IMG_1535 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Then detail-painted and washed everything: IMG_1546 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Assembled front and rear suspensions: DSC_0897 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0899 by Italian Horses, on Flickr And the chassis is ready: DSC_0895 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0901 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Assembled the wheels to mock-up and check the stance: DSC_0887 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0885 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0883 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0880 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Looking good!

You bet! Thanks! Thank you! Better pix in Under the Glass soon!

Haha, this is awesome! I bet this was an unforgettable experience. Hopefully I can do this car justice. Thank you! Yup, we'll see what can be done here. I'm still flipping through the pictures for the colors, and to be honest I'm leaning towards just plaint Rosso Corsa at this point. I feel like every time somebody starts building a Ferrari they want to avoid the stereotype and painting it red, that we don't see red Ferrari models anymore. We'll see. Thank you! Hehe, you bet I do! One screaming hot V12 coming in! Ha, not trying to prove anything really, just want to build this pile of... kit. I'm definitely planning on opening the hood! What's a Ferrari without an engine!? RMMD V12 is a different engine (similar Colombo-based block though), so I will be using Italeri powerplant which is correct for this car. They shared the powerplants with 275 and Daytona (for 365 GTC). 250 GTO chassis is also completely wrong for this car, as it was built on 275 chassis, with all the complicated suspension bits, etc. so I don't suggest 250 GTO chassis for this. Thanks all!

Ha, it has a very post-apocalyptic feel to it! I dig it.

After building a few nearly box-stock Tamiya kits to remember how its done, hone some techniques, and feel the airbrush again, I decided it was time to do another serious, all-out, old-school, superdetail project. Long time ago I have purchased an Airtrax transkit to build a car that I consider one of the most beautiful Ferraris of the late 60’s – the gorgeous 330 GTC. The Beauty Traditional 2-seater coupe 330 GTC (Gran Turismo Coupe) was unveiled at 1966 Geneva autoshow as an additional model to the Ferrari lineup and sloted between 275 GTB (on which chassis it is built) and more upscale 330 GT 2+2. The body was designed and built by Pininfarina. Over the 2-year period through the end of 1968, Ferrari made a total of 598 cars (both RHD and LHD). 330 GTC was considered by many to be the most elegant model in the Ferrari lineup. Beautiful body lines were complimented well by the powerful 12-cylinder engine and nicely appointed luxury cabin with spacious trunk. The car was no slouch and handled great too. The Beast Transkit is very simple, and contains a body, few interior pieces, some external bits, and a fret of photoetched parts. Disclaimer: I’m in no way trying to bash people who made the trasnkit in my following descriptions of the parts and the quality overall – I’m thankful it exists and somebody made it. But I want to be objective so others know what they are getting into. The resin castings are pretty horrible, but overall correct as far as proportions go. Quality of resin casting is pretty bad. Lots of bubbles, uneven and partially lost panel lines, parts that are not completely (fully) cast, and body shell thicker than my finger. Poop. But, nobody did anything better since this was released, so we have what we have. There will be a lot of work to make this look worthy of calling a replica, like fixing bent parts like this: The glass vacuuforms are very vague, the front does not fit. Other parts are not much better, some are just wrong. Just look at the seats…. Luckily, photoetch is of great quality, and will be very useful: That’s all for now. As a base for the model, I will use Italeri 275 GTS kit. There will be obviously any other things and sets used, like wheels, etc. Not decided 100% on the color as of right now. Wish me luck.

Thank you! It is a mix of XF-8 and XF-7, just a few drops of blue though. Untitled by Italian Horses, on Flickr This will be the last update. Finished all the little bits: IMG_1392 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Assembled the engine bay: DSC_0647 by Italian Horses, on Flickr ....and done! DSC_0643 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0641 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0635 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0632 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0622 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0653 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

Thank you! For some reason, I like it the best out of all the "pandemic" builds I did so far!

Thank you! I'm not a big fan of pop-ups on this particular car, they do look like a lot of headlights on small cars - out of place when open - but that is the sacrifice you are willing to take for the look of the car when they are lowered. It does shine! In a true spirit of Elise! Thanks! Miata is not the car I would spend time kit-bashing or even build full detail on. As a quickie curbside build it fits the bill perfectly, though. True that! Thank you.

Haha, probably! Thank you! Thanks man! I have a small update - body was cleaned up and everything primered. IMG_1424 by Italian Horses, on Flickr I also re-scribed all panel lines, and for such a small car there was a lot! IMG_1426 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1427 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1428 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1429 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Painted with Tamiya TS-9 decanted and sprayed with an airbrush. Cleared with 2K. IMG_1449 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1450 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1451 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Also painted the hardtop. IMG_1453 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1457 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_4647 by Italian Horses, on Flickr

Thanks! Yeah, commercially, the car was a dud, but what a beautiful shape! Thank you!

Looks great! Being a BMW purist, I'm not a fan of blingy wheels and chrome plated rivets on the wheel flares, but overall its a great looking build. This is such a classic, I think it looks best in classic form. But excellent job on it.

Looks real good man. I've built this kit in the past, its a great one.

Matt - thank you. These are shot with just white backdrop, but it is slanted in the back, so shadows make the back darker.

Thank you! Yup, wanted to build this one again for a long time. Thanks! Appreciate it! I don't really do anything in particular - just use good quality masking tape, and work slowly, take your time, burnish everything real good. That body took me almost 4 hours to mask, so definitely not a quick process - but that is what model building os all about!

Yup, I was in the same situation - need to use this stay at home time to make a dent in the stash! Thanks Ben! Hopefully I can make it justice! Haha, thanks man. That is a great idea! Thank you! Thanks. I'll have an update on this one pretty soon - its ready for color!

For the longest time I wanted to do a NA Miata, but couldn't find the time - not seems like as good of a time as ever! The kit is good old Tamiya 24085 - pretty old kit as Tamiya made it right after the car release in 1989 - this will be a JDM version, so RHD. Curbside, but good detail. Plan is to build mostly box stock, but maybe will add a few bits here and there. This will represent a BRG edition car, with saddle interior - similar to this:

Thank you! Took a few nicer photos in a studio setup:

Thank you! I'm on a home stretch - painted the windows. Lots of time was spent on creating masks - and with the T-tops its almost twice the work! IMG_1353 by Italian Horses, on Flickr IMG_1356 by Italian Horses, on Flickr All interior pieces were cleaned up, filled, sanded, primed, and painted in base color: IMG_1350 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Then masked off and painted black: IMG_1360 by Italian Horses, on Flickr Finished dashboard: IMG_1372 by Italian Horses, on Flickr And finished interior: DSC_0613 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0610 by Italian Horses, on Flickr DSC_0615 by Italian Horses, on Flickr