Alfa Romeo 8C 2300- 1/12 Italeri Kit!

[jaymcminn]

This was my big coronavirus furlough project- Italeri's new release 1/12 Alfa 8C kit. The kit is extremely well-detailed right out of the box., but I added floorboards made from thin aluminum sheet, some underhood details such as braided ignition wires, and lots of styrene rivets and bolts from Tichy Train Group. I also added safety wire using more Tichy bolts and silver-painted thread. The rear-view mirror was scratchbuilt. My concept for this build was to depict a weathered car a few years into its career, so I pulled out every trick in the book to represent a well-maintained but battle-scarred classic racer. Paint is Tamiya maroon over red oxide primer. To keep the shine down and give the finish a faded translucent look I applied mist coats without the final wet coats. Weathering was done with Testors acrylic and enamel washes and drybrushing with Tamiya flat aluminum and metallic grey. Final weathering was done with Tamiya's excellent Weathering Master powders. I used a crackle medium to represent the cracked leather on the seat. There is a WIP thread under the Road Racing WIP forum.

This kit went together extremely well... my only fitment issues were due to some of the modifications that I did and were easily fixed. A lot of this kit goes together with screws and bolts. I did decide to skip the screws that attach the body to the chassis after a near-disaster with the first screw. On to the pics, and any questions or comments are welcome!

Edited April 29, 2020 by jaymcminn
double posted pic

[Matt Bacon]

Oh, that looks absolutely fabulous, Jay. Stunning. I shall shamelessly pinch many of your techniques, and learn from your lessons, when I build mine. Truly inspirational.

best,

M

[jaymcminn]

21 hours ago, Matt Bacon said:

Oh, that looks absolutely fabulous, Jay. Stunning. I shall shamelessly pinch many of your techniques, and learn from your lessons, when I build mine. Truly inspirational.

best,

M

Thanks Matt. I can't wait to see how yours turns out... you do some amazing work!

[Belugawrx]

Very very nicely done Jason !

You've captured the light weathering of an actual raced car, without going overboard...difficult to do, and you nailed it IMHO.

Cheers

[Roger U]

11 minutes ago, Belugawrx said:

Very very nicely done Jason !

You've captured the light weathering of an actual raced car, without going overboard...difficult to do, and you nailed it IMHO.

Cheers

I agree, it's a beautiful model.

[jaymcminn]

6 minutes ago, Belugawrx said:

Very very nicely done Jason !

You've captured the light weathering of an actual raced car, without going overboard...difficult to do, and you nailed it IMHO.

Cheers

Thanks Bruce, I thought I might be going a bit heavy on weathering the individual assemblies but it came out exactly how I had it in my head when it started coming together. I built WWII planes for a while in the 90s before moving to cars and the weathering was my favorite part of military modelling... My next big-scale build will be similarly weathered with the added challenge of a fabric body. Those who know their pre-war cars probably know what this will be!

[bbowser]

Just.....Wow!  Museum quality replica.  Thanks very much for sharing.

[Gramps46]

Very well done indeed.  Thanks for sharing.

[slusher]

Outstanding,  love the detail!!

[Silver Foxx]

A real nice build , love the subtle weathering , looks so right .

[Bernard Kron]

Beautiful. I agree that, particularly in this scale, the weathering is very appropriate, and quite succesful. Those who may have been around these cars when their owners still raced them, before their value demanded they be restored to "better than new" condition, will recognize the worn edges and discoloration from heat and vibration. I can alsmot smell the odor of hot metal!

[jaymcminn]

2 hours ago, Bernard Kron said:

Beautiful. I agree that, particularly in this scale, the weathering is very appropriate, and quite succesful. Those who may have been around these cars when their owners still raced them, before their value demanded they be restored to "better than new" condition, will recognize the worn edges and discoloration from heat and vibration. I can alsmot smell the odor of hot metal!

My biggest inspiration was some of the unrestored cars in the Revs Institute museum locally as well as online pics of an unrestored 8C Touring in the Simeone Collection. I respect the work that goes into a total restoration but there's real beauty in the wear and patina of an original car and that's what I was hoping to replicate here. Thanks!

[Dave B]

That's a great build Jason, love the weathering.

Dave B

Edited May 14, 2020 by Bantoft
typo

[TonyK]

Wow! The weathering is great! Enjoyed looking at your pictures.

[tmathew1us]

Stunning work, and I totally agree - the weathering is just right. Very realistic, this would look right at home at the Revs Institute. 

[peekay]

Beautifully done! Some of the most effective weathering/aging I've ever seen.

[iBorg]

This to me looks like a real race car, not a museum restoration. It definitely is not a toy model car......it is a replica. One of the best builds I've ever seen. 

[m3fan]

Very well executed! Looks like you can hop in and fire it up

[Codi]

Wonderful pics you've posted Jason.  The ones taken outside in b & w look so much like a vintage pic of the car.  If not for the bricks behind it, I would have sworn it was the 1:1.   Fantastic!  cheers, tim

[maysula]

Wow! This is a beauty ! Very well done ? And it´s a very good kit , I have one more in my stash

Thomas

[ChrisR]

Looks great!

[Jim N]

Wow, that looks great!

[#1 model citizen]

I have to agree the weathering is perfection! It looks like the real deal in the outdoor shots. Fantastic! 

[primabaleron]

Very, very nice ! And amazing weathering ?

[curt raitz]

I was just cruising Italeris website and came across the Alfa. I had built their FIAT 806 before, beautiful kits!

Was happy to view your build of the Alfa...you nailed it!!!

Very, Very Nice...what's next?