The most exotic of Italian Exotics

[mrm]

My wife and kids are about to fly off to Europe tomorrow, so my last couple of days have been rather hectic. However, I found time to tackle some more of the carbon fiber load, which was not small task. 

People ask me all the time how do I make the carbon seamless and how do I make the decals confirm to the curves of the parts. I find the process ratter simple, but very tedious and time consuming. It definitely can be testing.

First I start by masking sections of the parts I need covered in decals. I use flat Tamiya masking tape (the widest roll) which gives me an idea where and how the decal will have curve.

 

Once the entire area I will be covering is masked, I mark the direction of the weave I would like my decal to go in.

I then remove all the separate pieces of mask in the reverse order I applied them. creating pieces that would be easier to fold. 

 

Then I transfer each template onto the decal sheet, matching the direction of the weave and apply each piece of decal in the same order I applied the initial masking tape pieces. 

 

After each piece is applied and placed in position, it gets a good amount of Micro Sol brushed on. This is followed by drying it with a hot blow-dryer, while periodically brushing the decal down, until it conforms to the part. I usually like to clear coat carbon decals, as it makes the pattern pop. In this case I liked the texture without any clear, so I left it alone.

and just like that, my door are finally done, plaid certs, carbon speakers, aluminum pieces and all...

 

This kit is notoriously difficult to make everything fit properly on. I tried something I came up with while test fitting everything. After I glued the driver's door inner panel to the outer shell the fit was far from perfect as the interior panel did not align perfect with the door opening. So what I did was that I placed the interior panel in the opening, where it was held by the magnets I installed and then applied glue to the contact areas. Then I I lined up the door with the hinges on the roof and the windshield and closed it over the interior panel. This way the inner door panel got glued to the outer shell exactly where it caused minimal interference with the monocoque.

 

Now it operates great, showing off that wild interior.

 

I guess I didn't have enough torture in one seating and decided to go through the same process on the entire underside of the hood.

 

It is looking good though...

 

The rear hood has another center piece with a window that also needs to be covered in carbon and then the entire underside will receive some clear coat, plus some other details. Then the tail light clusters need to be covered in carbon, which will be complicated to say the least. Then comes the turn of the front hood. So that's the plan for tonight. 

Thanks for looking and stay tuned...

[David G.]

That's a very clever process you came up with for aligning the decals Michael, but once you explain it, it makes perfect sense.

I'd like to think that I'd come up with a solution like that when faced with a similar situation . Still, I'm glad you shared it.

This has been a spectacular build from the very start, it must feel great to be so close to finishing it.

David G.

[mrm]

7 hours ago, David G. said:

That's a very clever process you came up with for aligning the decals Michael, but once you explain it, it makes perfect sense.

I'd like to think that I'd come up with a solution like that when faced with a similar situation . Still, I'm glad you shared it.

This has been a spectacular build from the very start, it must feel great to be so close to finishing it.

David G.

Thank you David. 

Actually being this close to finishing it is nerve wrecking, because I am always afraid not to f-up something at the very end. 

[mrm]

Off to the numerous small parts in carbon...

This is the third brake light.

 

 

[mrm]

Quite a bit done yesterday. 

 

The wiper was installed (ignore all the fingerprints on the windshield I still haven't cleaned) and its carbon cover.

 

The corresponding piece for the wiper cover on the front hood was also covered in carbon and installed. My detail set included a photoetched emblem, which I wanted to use. As the Murphy's Law goes, right when I was trying to set it over the tiny patch of glue I had prepped for it on the carbon piece, it flipped from my tweezers upside down. Instead of making a mess which would set me back quite a bit, I managed to put it in place and just use it as a base for the kit's decal. I think it worked out great, as now it has the metal plate look, but also the color that comes with the decal. 

 

I messed up big time with the third brake light. I knew where it was going, but never paid attention to the kit's instructions for the order of installation. The entire time I thought that little "bucket" with the light in it goes over the cut out in the rear window. Well, it doesn't. It actually goes under the windowon top of the interior piece that serves as a headliner. So I had to very, very carefully remove the rear window, glue the third light assembly in place and then reglue the rear window. Let me tell you, this made me sweat bullets, but it got done without any accidents.

 

The rear bumper got installed and the Pagani lettering on it where the license plate would normally go. This was a crazy experience. Everyone who has built this kit will attest to the fitting issues. Actually there are none. However this kit is engineered in a weird way. It is perfect. And by that I mean way too perfect for a kit. Basically they have scanned the real thing and scaled down all the parts to 1:24 scale. Including the tolerances between parts. Which means that if you glue anything a hair in the wrong direction, stuff don't fit properly. I did cheat with the rear bumper installation in order to make it work. I it is the closest I can do, which is a lot better than what I have seen from a lot of builds out there. The most important part is that I learned a lot from it and I would definitely like to built one more Huayra, to challenge myself and do it even better. This is not going to be any time soon however, as I already have two more Paganis {Zondas) which I will have to finish before that. Still, that ass is sexy!

 

Front bumper also got installed, but only after it's fog lights were painted chrome and lenses installed.

 

Fit is nowhere near as horrible as some people like to make it and that is me building this for the first time. I am sure that this could be made to fit absolutely perfect. I am happy with mine.

 

The mirrors, which Horacio Pagani himself says are inspired by the shape of a woman's eye, were also covered in carbon. Note that the direction of the carbon weave matches the direction of all the carbon on the car, which is specific to the left and right sides. 

 

This thing has eight headlights! The kit provides eight tiny little projectors and eight even tinier little lenses for each one. I did not want to deal with cutting eight clear circles, less than 1mm in diameter, which I would have to somehow cleanly glue in the eight light pods. Last time I did something similar, I had to spend an hour on all fours with a flashlight in my hand, looking over the floor inch by inch to find what I dropped. I was not having any of this. So instead, I mixed some 5min epoxy and put a tiny drop in each light pod. It created same effect as the lenses, except much easier and less nerve wrecking. 

 

The rear light pods were a lot of work too. First I had to wrap them in carbon. This was very complicated for few different reasons. First these are extremely complicated shapes, with the holes for the lights and all the curves. Second, the tops, which would be like a continuation of the top side of the hood, had to have the weave matching the direction of the rest of the carbon on the hood, while it connected seamlessly to the weave on the face of the light clusters, which in tern had to have matching angles on both sides. It drove me crazy, but it got done at the end. Then the light clusters were glued in and then the lenses. The kit called for clear lenses with red rings around them. The way the clear parts are molded that would be achievable, but I never liked the look. I hate clear lenses. So I decided to make them all red to start with, then they will get blacked out. Paganis are bespoke pieces, built to their owners specs, so this would be totally fine. 

 

The entire underside of the rear hood was covered in directional carbon, matching the upper side. The little transmission cooler intake was done in different weave carbon to create some contrast. After the entire carbon assemblies with the light clusters were installed in the rear hood, Both hoods were clear coated one more time with everything attached to them.

 

So, basically the only thing left is to attach the front light pods, get the underside of the front hood covered in carbon, attach the front inner fenders to the hood and the aero flaps on the hoods. And of course, buff everything out. 

Almost there. Stay tuned...

Edited June 6, 2023 by mrm

[beeRS]

I am in awe of the carbon fibre work you have done here. You have got the diagonal weave perfectly mirrored left and right - that is impressive! I know why I have not yet started any of my Pagani models.

It’s good to know that you are not experiencing any of the panel fit issues with that others have.

Superb work. Very nearly done now. 

[mrm]

This is now complete. I will post picture under glass, but it will probably be next week. 
Hip, Hip hurray! 

[David G.]

Holy Cow Michael, you weren't kidding! Sometimes the last ten yards are the toughest but you managed to get through it!

Nice recovery work on the...  procedural lapses. It's not about the mistakes you make, it's what you do afterword that matters.

Impressive work. Most impressive.

I look forward to seeing this in the Under Glass section.

David G.

[mrm]

On 6/10/2023 at 7:00 AM, David G. said:

Holy Cow Michael, you weren't kidding! Sometimes the last ten yards are the toughest but you managed to get through it!

Nice recovery work on the...  procedural lapses. It's not about the mistakes you make, it's what you do afterword that matters.

Impressive work. Most impressive.

I look forward to seeing this in the Under Glass section.

David G.

Thank you David.

What's more impressive is when you take this model to a show, where it doesn't even place, because the judges have no clue what they are looking at. 

[David G.]

8 hours ago, mrm said:

Thank you David.

What's more impressive is when you take this model to a show, where it doesn't even place, because the judges have no clue what they are looking at. 

How sad and frustrating.  

David G.