mrm

The 550 family.

I love the Modulo. I have one in 1:18. I believe the car was originally white and it got briefly repainted black for a tire sponsor promotion or something like that. The Engine and transmission were never removed from it, they were just always gutted. Ferrari did not give the car to Pininfarina. It always belonged to them. Technically it is their own car, they just ask Ferrari for authorization to use their name and/or logos.

Paint correction. Simple 2500 grid wetsanding to make sure the panel gaps have no pooling and any dust particles that may have stuck to the clear are gone. Next comes my most hated part - couple of hours buffing out and polishing.

I like to be efficient. And what I really don't understand is when I see people take all these extra steps that make their project considerably more complex and unnecessarily more complicated. Like the whole ritual going through 15 different grades of sand paper when polishing paint. Or the number of coats and sanding in-between them, whith different primers and unicorn dust, blue moon spells and specialty paints from Dalai Lama's birthplace thinned with holly water.... I follow three golden rules: 1. Anything can be sprayed through an airbrush. ANYTHING! 2. 2K Primer can be sprayed over anything and anything can be sprayed over it. 3. 2K clear can be sprayed over ANYTHING with better results than anything and will dry and polish faster and better than anything. And on the long run cheaper than pretty much any clear coat. A big no-no for me is to have to do something twice when unnecessary. That goes for anything, not just models. In this particular case, the perfect example is the foundation for the paint job on this model. It's diecast, which is notoriously problematic hen it comes to paint sticking to the Zinc-rich alloy. Well, the manufacturer went through quite a budget trying to figure out what works best I'm sure. So why remove it, when it can simply be sanded smooth, orange peel and imperfections corrected and then resprayed? It basically comes already primered with the best primer for the job. Some parts, like the front markers, are impossible to be removed without destroying them. And others, like the side markers are just molded into the fenders. So, what needs to be saved from overspray is masked off. In this case with liquid mask. And then everything is sprayed with Rosso Barchetta. To be honest, I don't know if that is the exact color of Rockefeller's Ferrari, but it looks close enough from all the pictures I have seen. Here is another myth that I don't really understand. Spraying "base colors" under a base color. That one always makes me chuckle. Base colors are not transparent. Quality paint will have enough pigmentation, that after proper application not only will not make any difference what is sprayed over, but would pretty much maintain its color no matter how many coats you apply. Of course Candies and some semi-transparent metallics are a different story. But Whether I spray solid white over black , solid red over grey or solid black over white primers should make absolutely no difference whatsoever. Maroons for me are like Kryptonite, together with white. I hate working with them and usually they fight me back. This particular color is a PPG product, mixed for me by an auto paint store ready to spray. However, some paints apparently have different "grain" pigments in them and are just not working very well through an airbrush. They still do, just no as well as others. This Rosso Barchetta is one of those paints. It sprays always grainy and it sand off really easy. Rosso Corsa (aka Ferrari Red) on the other hand, mixed by the same shop, the same way, using the same product line has no such issues whatsoever. Regular 3M sand paper (automotive) available from pretty much anywhere for cheap does the trick. There is absolutely no reason to sand base coats with anything higher than 2000 if you are going to spray another coat of anything over it. Simply because any paint will fill these size scratches. Probably even 1500 would be safe. And also when not careful rubs right trough when wet sanding. While I was wetsanding the sides and naturally the side trim was the first thing to shine through, I had an idea. So, after another coat to cover up the spots I sanded through, I covered the side markers with BMF. And then painted them with Tamiya clear orange. Then I sanded through the side trim on purpose, giving me an easy perfectly straight, very shiny and very naturally metal looking "chrome side trim". Once clear coated it is forever sealed. Just like the side markers, which also got more depth this way. Thanks for looking and stay tuned... P.S. Any repetitious overuse of "any" or "anything" is anything but coincidental. ?

Next the headliner had to be addressed . The holes where the roof's tabs were protruding were filled in. Puttied. And sanded

Thank you, Martin. Interesting you say that. I started in the hobby with airplanes, went through my "Top Gun" and "Platoon" stages, tried a little WWII and when I started with cars it was all about tuned up exotics. Then I had my showroom stock Ferraris period, which went through Ferrari F1 period and then somehow into full Boyd Coddington swing. Then I was all about JDM tuners and then back to hot rods. Over all, I have built way more exotics than hot rods. And when I say more I mean it's like 20 to 1 ratio. I just never really showed anything but hot rods and customs, simply because the other stuff does not generate that much interest on the forums. This is also one of the reasons IMO, that the average age of modelers keeps going up, which can not be good for the hobby, but that's a whole different story.

Great looking model. Love the color. Whatever it is that you used on this build, it represents the nasty carpet in the back of the real thing perfectly.

It's an amazing build so far. A true feast for the eyes.

Man, that paint looks perfect! What kit is that based on?

I also thought it was a real car at the first photo. Those wheels look like real, so we know they did not come in the kit for sure. You put a lot of effort into the body and it definitely shows. Your model has better fitment than the real cars now. Awesome job, Erik.

I'll second that. Actually I use more BMF for masking than for using the actual foil.

Pretty cool. I never realized how many cool little extra details were in this model. I love the intake the most. Last year my younger son had a school project about Egypt. We looked everywhere for Pharaoh stuff without success. Looking at your model now, I 'm thinking "who would've thought? I could save myself a lot of grief with one visit to ebay". The model looks great. At first I was thinking "Why so much red?", but now that you add all the artifact details is actually a really nice background color.

Thank you, David. I appreciate the encouragement. I am definitely soldiering on.

Oh, boy! I did not realize until now where you are. A whole different ball game. Try these two reputable sites: Modelcargarage.com Detailmaster.com Also just search on ebay for "prewired distributor". There are quite few companies who make them. Parts by Parks is what I use a lot of times. Our days there are some cool stuff you can get 3D printed from Shapeways too.

Well, that's different...

Good news / Bad news...... Good news is that I clear coated my body panels together with my Maranello, which was the plan. The doors came out perfect. I am fine with the front bumper, altho I forgot I wanted to install the fog lights, which fit in the horizontal blade, before clear coat, so it can seal them. No biggie... Blue carbon looks cool. I am really happy with the rear. However it makes me think, how funny things work. On both pictures you can see the ghost lines of where the masking tape scored the previous clear coat. In person however, those lines are simply not there. I guess the camera lens catches light braking different than our eyes. Bad news: The front hood continues to fight me and to create drama. As I was spraying it, it snapped from it's mount and bounced off the floor. Luckily it landed clear coat up, but picked up trash on top of one fender. So I will have to attempt to buff the debris out, which may or may not require a new coat of pearl white. Keeping fingers crossed. Thanks for looking and stay tuned...

Rosso Barchetta it is. And the first clear coat is down. It has few little dust fairies here and there, but I think it will buff out just fine and probably will not need another coat.

Very nice. I always had very mixed feelings about MFH. It is absolutely mind boggling the level of inaccuracies in some high end model makers, whether in kits or finished models. Some things I just scratch my head and for the life of me can’t find a reason why they would have done some things. What model is this supposed to represent? Just Ferrari 166 is rather vague. Does it specify on the box? I’m asking, because most Barchettas with that five instrument dash have a shifter placed more forward with the unique triangular knob.

Yes, it is. And thank you.

Very nice and clean. Colors are perfect.

I was never a fan of that grille, with the bar in the middle, but I have to say that this is the first time I see a rod that actually pulls it off and looks really good with it. I am also pretty sure this is a 3 window coupe, but this is probably a typo. I love the over all look of this hot rod. It has the right attitude.

Looking really good so far. I love vintage F1.

Aside from the materials used, I think it is very important to go in stages. Start small and simple. Worst thing to do is bite more than you can chew, go after the "looks-authentic-even-under-microscope-look" and then get frustrated and pushed away from it because it didn't quite work out. Besides a lot of time Less is more. Start with just wired distributors and radiator hoses. Then add the plug wire boots. those will test your commitment. And honestly, a set of prewired distributor, turned aluminum coil and sparkplug boot material is like $5 or $6 in a variety of colors. It is not worth the gas looking for stuff to substitute it with. For fuel lines, brake lines or various supply or cooling lines under the hood or chassis I love using different thickness solder. Main reason why is because it is very soft and easy to cut and bend and correct if necessary. Besides it polishes to a very realistic finish. Very important tip! Get extras of all the tiny micro drill bits you are going to need. They brake when you just look at them the wrong way.

Welcome to the forum, Daryl.

Hello Doyle, welcome to the board. I am in neighboring Tennessee. Perhaps in near future we can get together and visit a show or two.