1/12th Italeri Alfa Romeo 179 /179C

[AaronM]

A few weeks ago I saw this on the Local Hobby Shop shelf and it was a “I’ll have that” moment.  It was a spur of a moment that made me start it today, but first the ugly truths.

Box art looks great.

The build manual is terrible.  Very few indicators of colour, it’s a colour print of a third generation copy!

So I ponied up the cash and got a guide from Modelersite.  It at least gives alternative angles photos and some basis for colours etc.

So much stuff is molded as part of the main chassis tub.  That would be great if there weren’t some terrible parting lines and mould flash etc to clean up.  It’s also going to be a real “challenge” to paint around.

When the two halves are brought together the joins are going to need a massive amount of filling.  I guess that’s why the Modelersite guide suggests bonding them together before painting, which is exactly my plan now too.

 

Ive glued in all the hard mount points for the front suspension.  Hopefully I can blend them well enough.

 

More really difficult things to paint around.  
 

I assembled the steering rack, as it has to be built in as part of the assembly.

I will start basic paintwork next.

[Rich Chernosky]

I have this kit (and its sister kit)  as the original Protar.  I know from doing other Protar kits what a massive amount of work it is to get a decent model.  So I have avoided them until I  have a decnt amount of time.  I will be following your progress  and wish you  the very best of luck. Looks like you are off to a good start. 

[jaymcminn]

I feel your pain concerning the instructions... I'm just starting the ex-Protar Fiat Mefistofele kit and the instructions, while charmingly hand-drawn, are fairly awful. You're off to a good start, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this build progresses!

[AaronM]

7 hours ago, jaymcminn said:

I feel your pain concerning the instructions... I'm just starting the ex-Protar Fiat Mefistofele kit and the instructions, while charmingly hand-drawn, are fairly awful. You're off to a good start, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this build progresses!

I’ll give it a good attempt.  It’s all a learning curve for me

I am keenly awaiting the re-release of the McLaren MP4/2 - and should really pick up the Mefistofele as it’s F1 of sorts from another era completely!

Still this is enough to well and truely convince me that Tamiya really are a benchmark 

[AaronM]

I’ve decided to work along with the Modelersite guide and assemble the tub halves ASAP before painting the exterior of the tub.  However I figured spraying the inside elements would give me a better finish if anyone took a good look down into the cockpit or up the footwell.

Tamiya Gloss Aluminium spray works so well.

A side effect of spraying the inside was that the overspray on the outside acts as a guide coat for the sanding.  The mould line on this side is too bad to sand away and instead the step will need to be filled.

 

It also highlighted some depressions from shrinkage of the plastics.  I’ll try to fill these.  While I think it’s acceptable for an “alloy” tub to have some waves in it, such a severe dent is definitely not a realistic feature.

 

Putty is a new thing to me (this being the 2nd kit since coming back to the hobby after a 30 year break).  I’m getting better at the application.  

I see sanding in my future.  I see a lot of sanding in my future!

Built and painted the steering rack.  It’s chrome silver, and will be masked up whe I spray the exterior of the tub.  
I’ll brush paint the steering arms as I add the finer pint details to all the elements on the tub exterior.

[AaronM]

I’m still sanding!

After looking at some other peoples builds I think the amount of effort that I’m putting into prep will pay off.  

having to fill the pedal pads and so on because of the styrene shrinkage is a disappointment.  

[Bugatti Fan]

It is kits like this that challenge us as modellers and help to hone our skills.    Good luck with your efforts and this one looks to be coming along nicely despite the stumbling blocks the kit is presenting you with Aaron.

[AaronM]

brake and clutch masters nearly done.  Just have to paint the lids (I’m doing black lids) and add a little wash to bring out the detail a bit.

Testing the rack, steering shaft and instrument fit.  Have to make sure the universal joint turns correctly etc.

Getting an idea of how the instrument panel fits.

Finally bonding the two chassis sections.  Then filling the join, then more sanding.

[Kingslug]

I hate sanding..lol

[AaronM]

 

Joining the upper and lower sections of the tub presented the next issue, how to deal with the seam.  
 

It’s just ended up being a case of fill, sand, fill, sand until it looked ok.  

Then once I’d done that to a point where I was fed up out came the Primer and all the bad bits became visible.

Looks good from afar!

Just kept on refining the finish.

Eventually it paid off to a point where I’m happy to prime it for the silver.  Except the paint to do that is lost in a postal system bogged down with COVID.

[AaronM]

With work on the tub stalled for lack of paint I started on the engine.  

It’s a very simple assembly and after some sanding and filling it was primed.

Im deviating from the paint scheme a little. 

Some bits go together easier than others.

First time airbrushing on a model!

bring some elements together, paint some fine details and the pretty rough quality of the Italeri kit fades a bit.

[jaymcminn]

Excellent work so far. It's always exciting when you get to the primer stage...until you get stuck in the eternal prime/sand/prime/sand cycle. The tub and engine look great!

[cobraman]

Looks like your making a good run at it. I'm sure it will look great when done.

[AaronM]

back to work on this.

Primed in black.

Sprayed in Tamiya Gloss Aluminium.  I was hoping to try a new paint but it’s lost in the mail.  

Started to paint the details that were moulded into the sides of the tub.

Added the kit supplied injection lines and spark plug leads.  They’re not a good look.

Started the rough fitting of the bodywork.  There’s more sink holes to be filled, and a lot of finessing of edges etc.

Built up the front brake rotors, had to drill out every BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH hole.

Started work on the rear uprights and the integrated brake ducts.  The moulding was terrible and needed a lot of filling.

Painted some body parts in SMS Italian Red.  My first time spraying this brand of paint, and only the second batch of parts I’ve ever sprayed with an airbrush.

Just keep working more and more on the details around the tub.  

Decided to redo the ignition wires and fuel lines with more scale appropriate alternatives.  That meant cutting the nubs off the plug boots then drilling out holes for the wires to go into.  
 

I’m now working cooling system hard lines, oil cooler lines and some other pieces that aren’t included in the kit.  While my scratch build skills aren’t great I know I need to have a go to make the side pod areas more realistic.

[JohnnyK]

Great work!!  I love detailing these 1/12 scale kits. 

[AaronM]

[jaymcminn]

Good call on replacing those ignition wires. The smaller ones look a lot better. Your additional wiring and plumbing is really bringing this old kit to life!

[Kingslug]

Looks great..yes replacing wires is always a good thing.

[AaronM]

Thanks.  It’s been a struggle but I can fi ally see some light at the end of the tunnel.

[AaronM]

Working away..

the end is close, very close

[AaronM]

still have some chassis details and clear coating to go.

[Kingslug]

Coming along great...thats a lot of decals....

[AaronM]

17 hours ago, Kingslug said:

Coming along great...thats a lot of decals....

Thanks.

decals were very time consuming.  I did them all by “feel” trying to match the instructions but also how some things lined up in pictures.  Some things aren’t as symmetrical as I’d like, but then on the real cars there were differences in placement through the season as well, maybe because of crash damage, or different applicator.

Ive now got the clear coat done and really only have to finish up some brake lines and wiring detail, the seat and harness, then it’s time for fancy photos and putting away on the shelf.

As it sits now.  I had the cat walk over the beach and that resulted in some minor decal damage so I rushed to clear it before worse happened.  
 

the clear absolutely transformed it.  I used Zurc Mirror Gloss and am super impressed (but as a novice I’m impressed by anything that doesn’t fail on first try)