Italianhorses Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 (edited) DISCLAIMER: These kits have been started in 2008 before my accident. Everything that you see in the first few posts will be the work I have completed before the project was shelved. I’m attempting to resurrect the build and hopefully complete these at some point soon, just don’t know if I’m still in shape to actually do it, but what the heck. =================================== The 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 47th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 9 and 10, 1979. Ferrari had no chance against mighty Porsches and new BMW M1s, but it did enter several cars in competition. It was Beurlys 512BB LM #61 "EMKA" with its screaming 4.9L Flat-12 driven by Nick Faure, Steve O'Rourke, Bernard de Dryver, and Jean Blaton that showed 12 overall result having completed 274 laps. Today I will build this car in 1:24th, using multimedia kit from Model Factory Hiro. I will be another double-build. The second car will be JMS Racing/Pozzi #63 3M "Cloud Car", which unfortunately DNF after completing 219 laps. Here are couple of pictures of the real cars: The kits are usual MFH detail tour de force, with lots of white metal, turned aluminum and steel, and photoetch. Body is half resin half metal, and lots of other materials used for various parts of the kit as well. I started with cleaning the bodies, but as with all MFH kits, the process will be slow (and painful) because of the amount of cleanup and test-fitting required. You get a lot for your 31500 yen - here is kit contents: As you can see on the following pix, the fit is horrible. I mean - nothing really fits! It looks like some parts came from a different kit! So...I decided to cut it all apart and see if I can put it back together so it fits right! Made templates for the doors Then started hacking into it. Look at the thickness of that thing! Good grief! You know why Hiro kits are so expensive? They use way too much resin :-) LOL! After I cleaned up door jambs a bit I found one positive though - I don't have to build door jambs now - they are thick enough as is, I actually had to thin them down a bit. Door pattern was transferred to sheet brass, then doors were cut out, shaped over the spare body and just by hand, and then meticulously fine-tuned, bent here and there, beaten to shape. Still need some work a bit, but the basic shape is there. Door jambs were cleaned for the doors, and then I started carving the cavity for the doors to go inside the body when they open. After few hours of work, cavities were made, door jambs finished, and part of the hinge made. Then I added hinge to the door skins. It is a very simple but very effective construction that perfectly replicates the way doors opened on the real car. Later on, the entire hinge assembly will be concealed by the inner door frame. This is how the doors fit on the outside: Front lid was sanded and re-shaped until my fingers started bleeding! Had to completely re-do the sides, then thin it down (a lot). That cover needed tons of work. Still need a bit more, but I was at least able to do proper test fitting. Now I need to do the same for the other! Door frames! Still a few tweaks needed here and there, and solder needs to be cleaned up, but basic shape is there. So, this is where it all stopped in 2008. I have not touched this kit since, everything that is to follow will be new stuff. I honestly don’t even know where to pick up the pieces on this, but will assess the situation over the weekend and proceed then. Just wanted to put this up here as a bookmark! Edited October 31, 2018 by Italianhorses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkzwolf Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 The work on the doors is amazing. Looking forward to seeing where this one goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afx Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Looks like a great Alex, I'm sure you will do it justice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dann Tier Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Outstanding, Alex!!….getting back to full stride!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobraman Posted October 31, 2018 Share Posted October 31, 2018 Wow, what a project. Looking good. You would think for the cost the parts would fit much better than they do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peekay Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 I wouldn't even start on a kit with those sort of fit problems. But then I don't have your talent and perseverance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FabbricaP Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Eager to see more progress what looks like an awesome (and tedious) start Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anglia105E Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Alex...... I agree with Ray, in that if we are paying that amount of money for a Model Factory Hiro kit then the fit of the parts should be much better than this. I have a friend who runs a model car building business locally, and he is building a MFH McLaren F1 model car in 1:12 scale which cost over £500.00, and even that is needing extensive work to make parts fit. Surely, if Tamiya can do it in 1:24 scale then why not MFH ? Your work so far is fantastic, by the way ! David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Italianhorses Posted November 1, 2018 Author Share Posted November 1, 2018 Thanks guys. Yes, the fit is poor for the money, but you have to take into account that this is a limited edition, handmade kit that was produced over 10 years ago. And you can't really compare this with Tamiya who spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to engineer and manufacture a mold for styrene kit vs resin kit which was released in very limited numbers. I don't think MFH ever made even 500 kits, most of their releases were close to 300. Plastic kit manufacturers easily make 10-15,000 or more, so there are obviously economies of scale. So in the end you pay for the exclusivity and the subject matter, something that mainstream manufacturers can't give you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ich_Will Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 Looks like a great start and a lot of cool (although ill fitting) parts. I'll be following this one intently. I do have to say that that's probably the ugliest Ferrari ever... that's just my subjective opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dann Tier Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 4 hours ago, Ich_Will said: Looks like a great start and a lot of cool (although ill fitting) parts. I'll be following this one intently. I do have to say that that's probably the ugliest Ferrari ever... that's just my subjective opinion. …..you're right, William...its pretty ugly!..lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codi Posted November 1, 2018 Share Posted November 1, 2018 This looks like a great thread you've picked up again Alex. I'll be certainly following as well. cheers and good luck! tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gt fan Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Off to a great start Alex. I feel your pain on nothing fits good. I'm building the 289 cobra kit. I'm tired of drill holes and re bending and shaping all the parts. One plus is I used a magnetic tumbler to clean up the white metal parts. Your Ferrai should look outstanding when done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beeRS Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Alex, its great to see you're back on this kit. The work you've done on opening those doors is truly amazing. It reminds me very much of your '64 Ferrari 250 GTO. That model is inspirational. With regards to the fit of the MFH kit, I think its only fair to say that more recent MFH kits are of a higher standard. I have a few of their 1/12 kits and I'm really impressed. I wonder how long ago they originally made the 512BB/LM kit? I was tempted by their 250 Lusso (also in 1/24 scale), but I'm wondering if it will also suffer similar fit issues. I really do hope you do press on with this. The work you have done so far is too good to shelve again. If you do continue, I will be watching avidly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Italianhorses Posted November 2, 2018 Author Share Posted November 2, 2018 Thanks. I really do hope to continue work on these, just need to re-think my approach a bit now that my skill set is somewhat changed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Italianhorses Posted November 2, 2018 Author Share Posted November 2, 2018 On 11/1/2018 at 10:07 AM, Ich_Will said: Looks like a great start and a lot of cool (although ill fitting) parts. I'll be following this one intently. I do have to say that that's probably the ugliest Ferrari ever... that's just my subjective opinion. Yeah, lets be honest, its the face only mother could love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoRover007 Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Great to see the master back at it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dino246gt Posted November 2, 2018 Share Posted November 2, 2018 Excellent work Alex, those doors are so cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
250 Testa Rossa Posted November 3, 2018 Share Posted November 3, 2018 I'll be following this one for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geetee66 Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 Now, THIS is model building! True, I'd be miffed if I shelled-out a wedge for this and the parts were repelling each other. But, this is real modelling. It makes other builds look like assembly, not crafting parts. I hope you gain momentum on this project, Alex. It's well worth the effort, judging by what you've already achieved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Italianhorses Posted November 4, 2018 Author Share Posted November 4, 2018 Thanks guys, it will be a long project! I was looking at all the parts and pictures again last night, and I already have bunch of other changes I want to make... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gramps46 Posted November 4, 2018 Share Posted November 4, 2018 (edited) Alex, When 26681 was being restored there was a request on FChat for photos from Le Mans and I sent then some I had on file. When the restoration was completed they sent me some studio photo. I have included here some of the detail photos which I received. I hope they can be useful for you. Edited November 4, 2018 by Gramps46 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Italianhorses Posted November 5, 2018 Author Share Posted November 5, 2018 Gary, terrific pictures - thank you so much for sharing these! definitely will come in handy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy124 Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 Alex, great idea to pick up on those kits again... Finishing them in stype will become quite the opposite of "will only build some Tamiya kits box-stock"... Wasn't that what you said a few days ago? Take your time on these and they will become great results! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Italianhorses Posted November 5, 2018 Author Share Posted November 5, 2018 5 hours ago, Tommy124 said: Alex, great idea to pick up on those kits again... Finishing them in stype will become quite the opposite of "will only build some Tamiya kits box-stock"... Wasn't that what you said a few days ago? Take your time on these and they will become great results! Haha, no, box stock builds are for "box-stock" contest. CAn't buld them any other way. Plus, you can't be serious thinking I'll stick to kit assembling, rather than kit building, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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