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Thank you for the kind words gentlemen. They’re appreciated.

Thank you David. I remember seeing it being build on here about 5 years ago and then heard of all the fitment complaints. So I took it as a challenge. I finished it June last year, but started it back in Colorado. And we moved to TN four years ago. The decals and panel fitment definitely tested my commitment. I think this is one of the best things about model shows - when I decide to attend one it creates a deadline I need to finish certain model by.

Thank you Les. I have never seen a built one in person. But I have seen them at shows in magazines or video coverage. The ones I have seen have always been glued all opened up. That makes sense as there are parts provided in the kit, looking like the hinges to glue all the panels in the open position. There was a build thread on this forum by someone who made one, but I don’t quite remember the outcome. I’ll have to search it and check it out. His name was Dan I believe.

If I was on a diecast forum, where 1/18 scale and exotics usually rule, this car would need absolutely no introduction. However, after watching some videos online of model car shows coverage, where people had no idea how to even pronounce the name Pagani and making fun of this same model (not mine) while demonstrating staggering ignorance and after experiencing similar reactions the one and only time I have shown my model, I think it would be better if I cover the basics. No matter where in the world you go, everyone knows the Lamborghini Countach. Well, the argentian-born Horacio Pagani, who moved to Italy as a student worked on that very same iconic car. He had a dream of making his own super car and kept drawing sketches and designing scale models. He was the guy responsible for all the aero and design changes to the Countach when it was given a facelift for its last iteration - the 25th Anniversary Countach. As detail oriented as he was, he started a company making carbon fiber parts and eventually all the big names like Ferrari, Lamborghini and others became his clients. When Lamborghini was ready to make a replacement for the Countach, few design studios came with proposals what the newest raging bull should look like. Horacio Pagani was one of them, but his radical design did not win and Giugiaro end up designing the Lamborghini Diablo. At that moment Horacio faced a dilemma. Swallow his pride and continue working for Lamborghini for a very lucrative pay but under someone else's direction or take a huge risk, quit his job at Lamborghini and put on the line his entire savings and try to pursue his dream and build his own car. He desided to follow his dreams, but credits his wife with that decision. What followed was a car that turned the supercar world on its head. The first car was called Zonda C12. Since his design was originally made to be powered by a Lambo V12, he used the Mercedes 6.0L V12 found in their S class limos. The C12 carrying his wife Christina's initial for convincing him to follow his dream and 12 for the engine, which was chosen mainly because it was the same dimensions as the Lambo's unit. An unholy amount of different Zonda editions followed, making a name for Pagani for building the most exclusive and finely detailed cars ever. The second model line was introduced in January 2011 online. The new car gave the term "hand built" a whole new meaning. The engine was an AMG twin turbo V12 unit hand built specially for Pagani and as per the agreement in that partnership only 100 cars were to be built. Pretty much no two Huayras are the same. And in no time they became the epitome of excess and in some cases kitsch. Pretty much anything went when Arab royalties, supercar collectors, sports stars and eccentric billionaires decided to outdo eachother. Any color carbon fiber and any upholstery pattern and material was fair game resulting in some Huayras looking like a Romanian gentleman's club inside. Still these cars are more rolling art than an automobile while still delivering some amazing performance. But enough about the car. Lets look at the model. The only model of this car in 1/24 scale is by Aoshima. This is my very first Aoshima kit ever and to say it was challenging is an understatement. And I find Tamiya kits mostly easy. To be honest, I am not the biggest fan of the car. I think its design is overdone and plain vulgar. But I've seen numerous reviews online, youtube videos and even a thread or two on the forums. The absolute anonymous consensus is that the kit has major fitting issues and many have claimed that it is impossible to build where all the panels fit while being functional. Well, they are almost right... My train of thought was "challenge accepted" with the hope for a "hold my beer moment". Well, I did not quite achieve that. My panels fit 95% fine. Definitely the best I have seen achieved and I am not trying to toot my horn. There is still room for improvement and if I ever mustered the courage to undertake another Huayra build, I definitely have learned some lessons I could apply and improve on the panel fitment. The point is that I am convinced that it is not impossible. Anyway, this model has taken me over 300 hours over the period of 3 years or so. It has a laundry list of colors by pretty much every paint maker under the sun, from PPG to Hobby Lobby craft paint. It has about six different carbon fiber patterns and scales from Scalemotorsport plus their signature Mercedes Gullwing interior pattern, which is often used by Pagani as a homage to his idol Juan Manuel Fangio and the supplier of his engines. All the blue carbon you see is actually clear carbon decal over Tamiya blue metallic paint. Matching separate pieces into a continuous weave is a whole different ball game than with the regular carbon, as the pieces can not overlap. There are numerous scratchbuilt parts and just ver 100 photo etched pieces, which includes all emblems, grilles and interior, engine and chassis details. The exhausts are aluminum and so are some other parts. By far the most challenging part was to make all main carbon weave to have a V pattern and to match throughout the car in all the layers under the hoods and on the body . Everything is in the same direction where it should be, just like on the real car. This almost made me lose my mind and at times I felt like throwing in the towel. I believe something like 6 or seven complete sheets were wasted in the process. Well, I am pretty happy with it, but it may be a while before I attempt another Huayra kit. Only someone who has built this kit could fully comprehend the feeling. LOL. I do have however another Aoshima Pagani on the bench and two more lined up. Sorry for the long write up and the dozens of pictures and I hope you enjoy the model. As always any comments, questions and criticism re more than welcome.

The one that started it all. The amount of people in US who think that Henry Ford invented the automobile is just mindblowing.

I see that. I think you are doing a fantastic job. Fox bodies are one of those cars that bone stock are nothing really to look twice at. But then with just a little bit of effort they can looks really cool or total duds. Your dad's car looks cool. Just the right amount of mods here and there to have a really slick well put together look. Mine is a study in excess while having fun while paying homage to some memories.

Looks really good. The wheels are perfect choice for this truck. I dig the grille too.

Wow, that thing looks like it can be started up. Great job on that engine. It looks very realistic.

Thank you guys. I have not done anything new with it yet, but I plan to have the chassis with the engine and radiator done this weekend and for it to be sitting on its wheels. once the body is buffed out it will be down to just little details and final assembly.

Coming along really nicely. Are you going to detail the engine? The dry sump and turbos plumbing on this car (and the F40) is just crazy.

Thank you. This model is having so many nods to the past of my family, that it is just crazy.

I see at least a dozen C8s every day. And 99% of them are driven by women of respectable age. Not sayin' anythin', just sayin', ya know what Ima sayin'? Me personally, I'm not a fan. The Zo6 is better looking and the sound of its flat plane crank (which is only 20 years late to the party) almost makes up for its looks. Almost... They should have stuck to the front engine GT formula. It is still good enough even for Ferrari and Aston Martin, so I don't understand why try to be something you are not.

This is a very nice build of a very nice kit. I think you have done an amazing job with all the carbon decals and finishes. I have seen quite few of these build and they seem to be very nice, but somewhat complicated kits. Which just gives more kuddos to you for the excellent result. The real car however is butt ugly in my personal opinion and naming it Senna as a money grab just adds insult to injury. From what I understand it is not especially comfy to drive either.

On the final stretch..... first the body was painted Tamiya Pure White. The idea was to stay true to a Star Wars Storm Trooper theme. Which meant to make the car white with black trim and details. Except that most black on the car became carbon fiber. in the beginning it was to be just the hood, the bumpers and the the upper wing, with the rest of the aero in a mix of gloss and matt black. But as it often happens with projects like this, things changed dramatically. The vents on the front fenders were originally going to be flat black to mimic the vents on each side of a trooper helmet. Except I did not like how it looked, so I figured out they would end up in gloss black. The face did not look quite right with the front bumper in black, as it it made the entire front look like black hole. So I had to paint it back white again to brake things up. The wing was supposed to have only its upper part in carbon with the lower plane gloss black. But once I started laying decals, I decided why not go all the way. At least I left the posts plain black. Everything was covered in a couple, or three...OK maybe four coats of clear. Including the wheels, but only after the barrels were covered in carbon and the centers painted white. The centers have a really complicated double layer of spokes, which would be next to impossible to mould, but the 3D printers take care of that. Painting them presented its own challenges. This was the very first time I have ever wrapped wheel barrels in carbon fiber and let me tell you: it was the most frustrating experience I've had in a looooong time. I tried to to do it in a one piece decal (which I did) and looking back now, it was not the best route to take. The wheels are not perfect, but I'm more than happy with them, as they were basically guinea pigs. The rear diffuser was supposed to be flat black with the rear side pieces and side skirts in gloss black. But looking at the whole bottom, I thought it needed to have some contrast, so it ended in carbon and gloss. I am still contemplating making it flat carbon, but have not decided yet. Any opinions or suggestions are welcome. I have no idea what made me do the side skirts in carbon, which necessitated the rears to be carbon too. The hood was supposed to be carbon from the very get go. I decided to make it in a V pattern, which to some degree I regret now. I should have done it all uniform, like everything else on the car. After all storm troopers purpose is war, not to be pretty. ? The little detail around the opening, where you see black not covered by decal will be painted either flat black or flat gunmetal to mimic the vents on a storm trooper helmet. I believe the white bumper does a great job braking up all the black and brings balance to that mean face. Everything is gloss now, but the grille area under the hood will go flat eventually. It looks very "Camaro" right now, but I promise I will fix that. ? This upper portion of the rear wing was also supposed to be carbon from the get go as a continuation of the hood. i had the idea to put a red stripe in the middle of the hood and the wing, which then was changed to black for the sake of keeping the trooper character and eventually completely eliminated. Once everything was mocked up, I decided that it will look best all in carbon, so I soldiered on, despite my eyes and back's protests. Since this space ship naturally runs on star dust and empire farts, it did not need the protruding gas cap on the rear, so just a simple decorative carbon detail was added for balance. But then it looked too plain and since there are 500 prancing horses under the hood, I figured out I'll insert one more in here as wink to the power plant. At this point almost everything black on the car was covered in carbon, so I thought "what the hell" and covered the fender vents too. Now comes my "favorite part" (NOT) of any build - sanding, rubbing out and polishing until I don't feel my finger tips. But at least I know I am close to the finish line now. I still have one more surprise up my sleeve, so stay tuned and thanks for watching...

I am not a fan of the real car, altho I am a huge Ferrari fan. About the interior colors, I like what you are doing and I think it’s perfectly fine. The notion that certain parts on the real car are always only in black is wrong. Not only Ferrari offers different options, but they also have the so called one on one program where a customer can customize pretty much any finish on any part of the car. Infamously Lapo Elkhan (one of the Agnelli family heirs) had his Ferrari upholstered in denim, one of the seats even having a back jeans pocket on it. Our days pretty much anything is possible, as companies fight for exclusivity. About your paint, I really don’t understand all the frivolous work you are doing, as it is basically waste of your time and material. The whole idea of using 2k primer is that it seals everything with a coat that does not get dissolved by whatever you put on top of it. You can buy a pint of light grey 2k primer and your choice of hardener from any reputable auto paint store, which when properly store will last you for years and will be enough to cover dozens of models. And if you use automotive paint, which is basically what all the aftermarket model suppliers are selling in smaller bottles, you don’t need all these coats of paint. A good coat of 2k primer, good paint and 2k clear is all you need. You can literally go through the entire process in a day and buff out the next with results matching the factory finish. Spraying 2k primer, then silver, then oink primer then red paint makes no sense and is just asking for trouble and throwing money and effort away. Here is a yellow car painted with PPG factory code paint sprayed over grey 2k primer followed by 2k clear, next to the real car it represents. Keep in mind that this is a diecast model with bumpers molded in red abs plastic and some parts molded in black rubbery material. The 2k primer sealed everything and made them equal and because it is not solvent based it did not affect the yellow tone over it. In its turn the 2k clear did not dissolve the yellow, so it did not affect its coverage at all. You can use the same hardener for both the primer and the clear.

It looks like you did a great job on that model. You don’t see one available every day, let alone one that is built and detailed like yours.

My kiddo. Every once in a while he surprises me with his maturity and makes me proud. Usually followed by some really dumb sheet, but that's another story. LOL

Well, funny thing is, that in the past the US versions of some Ferraris, Audi R8 etc have not included any US tags at all. I am saying all this with no discontent, but just humor. Last time I was in Maui, they offered me a free upgrade for my rental car at the airport. I opted for the Camaro Convertible and then they gave me the V8 one. I was trilled that were are going to have some fast fun with my wife. Until I realized that due to the nature of the roads and traffic you can barely do 50mph anywhere. So I find the choice of Hawaiian plates on this particular model as plain funny.

Well here is another space ship from the '80/'90s. This was a design study by Giugiaro. The car was basically a prototype of a rear engined BMW 8 series. Few things are interesting about this car and the model. The original car was supposed to be just a show car showing what is possible. Supposedly a one off owned by Italdesign. Until years later it became apparent that at least three of them were built for the Sultan of Brunei. The model, by Revell of Germany was very detailed for its time, but is missing the the center vertical line in its grille. What is the signature BMW "kidney beans grille" is just an opening on the model. Considering that BMW is not mentioned anywhere on the box or model, one can only assume that it was a licensing related issue. I am not 100% sure, but I think Revell of Germany issued a 1/24 plastic model of the same car. BMW Nazca M12 by Italdesign - Revell 1/18

KK Scale make some great models and they have been getting better. Their "weak spot", so to speak, have always been their interiors. And the wheels of their Ferraris when they first started. With some love and care they can be brought to be great models and think that's exactly what you have achieved here.

One of the things that bothered me was that the mom, the one who posted the picture was raging how the restaurants "should be paying respectable wage" to all their employees and paying $2.15 to wait staff should be criminal. The funny thing, which belongs in the other thread "what pleased me today", is that my 18 year old son looked at me puzzled and said "so, basically she wants everyone to get paid the same, no matter what? Isn't that communism?" Every once in a while, my kid does make me proud. LOL.

All I see is a couple of decal donors. OK, maybe some wheels too.

So, we have "THE American sportscar", which I am 100% sure is a far more common site on US roads than in Europe and we have 8 different Euro plates and ... Hawaii?

I believe the problem is multifaceted and lies on both sides of the fence. On one side, people need to understand that waiters are basically commissioned employees that on a general principle are getting paid just like insurance agents, car salespeople or real estate agents. On the flip side, people getting into that business need to understand that it is a trade like any other, requiring skill and experience to be profitable and that tips (just like any commission) are earned and being a waiter is not for everyone. Just like any other job.

So where do you get all the tiny bulbs and wires from? I wasn’t kidding, when I said that it would be really cool if you made a little tutorial for people like me that have no idea where to start when it comes to electrical stuff.