Fugimi Lamborghini Countache 5000 qv: WIP

[Force]

14 minutes ago, David G. said:

Thank you Håkan. It is a good kit but like you said it's fiddly and this one's the curbside edition. I can only imagine adding in the need to build and fit an engine, Work in the opening boot lid with accompanying detail and roll-down headlights.

Some of the parts for some of those features are included in this kit. I noticed them but didn't investigate any further fearing that I would try to find a way to work them in..

Again, thank you for your kind comment and encouragement Håkan.

David G.

I have the full detail versions and they are quite hard to build, but very detailed.

[Dann Tier]

Even with all the issues you ran into, you have managed to build a Beautiful white/black Countach!!...i am so glad you stuck with it!!  I'm especially jealous about the white paint job...i've failed 16 white/black Countach paintjobs over the years... its my favorite color combo for this car, but its also my nemesis. I WILL have one some day, just dont know when. 

  Just a little bit of trivia here; Most people think the best color for the Countach was red, or black, and believed that the Periscope' was the best version -Ferruccio himself had a Countach that wasnt a Periscope', and it was white/black...he said that they were the perfect, only colors for a Countach.

[David G.]

14 hours ago, Dann Tier said:

Even with all the issues you ran into, you have managed to build a Beautiful white/black Countach!!...i am so glad you stuck with it!!  I'm especially jealous about the white paint job...i've failed 16 white/black Countach paintjobs over the years... its my favorite color combo for this car, but its also my nemesis. I WILL have one some day, just dont know when. 

  Just a little bit of trivia here; Most people think the best color for the Countach was red, or black, and believed that the Periscope' was the best version -Ferruccio himself had a Countach that wasnt a Periscope', and it was white/black...he said that they were the perfect, only colors for a Countach.

Thank you so much Dann for your kind words, they strengthen my resolve to finish this build.

Obviously we agree on the best correct color for the Countach.

...Red?!

Red is for Ferraris and Fire Engines!

Red on a Countach is sacrilege!   

Of course if someone were to offer me one for free, I would likely accept it regardless of what color it was painted.

Thanks again for the comment Dann.

David G.

 

23 hours ago, Force said:

I have the full detail versions and they are quite hard to build, but very detailed.

I can certainly imagine, Håkan.

Among those who posted comments regarding their experience with one of these Fujimi Countach kits, I don't recall that anyone has actually finished building one.

I may be the first. 😮 

Assuming that I get it completed.

I do believe I will though, and soon.

Regards,

David G.

[Force]

2 hours ago, David G. said:

Thank you so much Dann for your kind words, they strengthen my resolve to finish this build.

Obviously we agree on the best correct color for the Countach.

...Red?!

Red is for Ferraris and Fire Engines!

Red on a Countach is sacrilege!   

Of course if someone were to offer me one for free, I would likely accept it regardless of what color it was painted.

Thanks again for the comment Dann.

David G.

 

I can certainly imagine, Håkan.

Among those who posted comments regarding their experience with one of these Fujimi Countach kits, I don't recall that anyone has actually finished building one.

I may be the first. 😮 

Assuming that I get it completed.

I do believe I will though, and soon.

Regards,

David G.

Well I will come back to it some day, I have completed the chassis with engine suspensions and all and the interior, but as the buildup is fragile in the inner fender/engine bay area I suspect I will break a few things before the body is on with the wheel fairings and all, but we'll see when I get back to it again...I will get it done some day.
The curbside version is pretty much the same kit with no engine/gearbox and some other stuff.
I also have a Aoshima Countach 5000 Qattrovalvole and it looks to be easier to build, a bit simplified in the engine area but looks to be quite nice.

Good luck on your build and I will follow your progress closely.

Edited April 17, 2023 by Force

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

I'm back and I thank you all for your patience. Don't you just hate when real life interferes with your hobbies?

I finally managed to get some work done on the Lambo, gluing in the last of the interior body parts that need to be installed prior to mounting the body to the chassis. I then screwed up my courage, took a deep breath and dove into coercing the body down over the chassis.

 

For those who are unfamiliar with this kit, getting the body over the chassis may not seem like much of an accomplishment but let me tell you, it's a bit of work. I did a body-on-chassis test fit early in the build and given the difficulty of stretching the body over the partially assembled chassis, I realized that I would only have one more shot at getting them together again.

It took most of my build session and a couple of false starts to get the body and chassis together. Given the potential for disaster, I count myself lucky that the muffler was the only casualty. There was no real damage and gluing it back on is an easy fix. 

Lucky.

Now we'll see how long it takes me to wrap up the rest of the little details.

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment.

David G.

[SpikeSchumacher]

It's looking really good David. Glad you were able to achieve it without too much damage.

[Pierre Rivard]

It looks good, very very good David. I'm happy you and the car survived the body to chassis marriage.

Considering all the comments about the Fujimi it appears to be a great achievement to make it to this step. Now you can see the finish line.

[CabDriver]

Looks amazing David - beautiful work on an iconic car!

Looks like I need to add one of these to my (already pretty sizable) ‘to build’ list 😩😂

[Force]

Good on you, the body chassis mating on this kit is a nightmare.

[David G.]

22 hours ago, SpikeSchumacher said:

It's looking really good David. Glad you were able to achieve it without too much damage.

Thank you Mathias, I'm rather pleased with the outcome. It truly went about as well as it could.

16 hours ago, Pierre Rivard said:

It looks good, very very good David. I'm happy you and the car survived the body to chassis marriage.

Considering all the comments about the Fujimi it appears to be a great achievement to make it to this step. Now you can see the finish line.

Thank you very much for your kind comment Pierre. Yes, the finish line does seem much closer now.

8 hours ago, CabDriver said:

Looks amazing David - beautiful work on an iconic car!

Looks like I need to add one of these to my (already pretty sizable) ‘to build’ list 😩😂

Thank you Jim. Given the custom work I've seen you do, I'd love to see what you could do with one of these.

36 minutes ago, Force said:

Good on you, the body chassis mating on this kit is a nightmare.

Indeed it is Håkan, it truly feels like the worst part of this build is behind me and what lies should be comparatively easy... should be.

Thank you all for your kind comments.

David G.

[FLHCAHZ]

That looks Great!!

[David G.]

50 minutes ago, FLHCAHZ said:

That looks Great!!

Thanks Chaz! I always enjoy seeing your comments.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

Here's a minor update from yesterday's build session.

I attached the front... bumper(?) I guess that's the bumper. In any case, it's on there.

 

I also reinstalled the muffler/tailpipe assembly and mounted the splashguard. 

Yeah, I know. There's a little light leak under the left front but that's just from the wavy cutting mat. This thing sets four-square and firm, trust me on that.

 

I know it's not a big update but on this one, I feel that any progress is worthy of celebration. Or at least acknowledgement.

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to comment.

David G.

 

[Bainford]

Looking great, David.  Nice work marrying the body to the chassis. It's really shaping up.

[FLHCAHZ]

Excellent detailing!  Seeing this car in the ealry 80's made a huge impression on me, and its still one of my favorite supercars.  Killer job!!

[David G.]

21 hours ago, Bainford said:

Looking great, David.  Nice work marrying the body to the chassis. It's really shaping up.

Thank you Trevor, I'm hoping to finally have this completed soon.

1 hour ago, FLHCAHZ said:

Excellent detailing!  Seeing this car in the ealry 80's made a huge impression on me, and its still one of my favorite supercars.  Killer job!!

Thank you Chaz. It had much the same effect on me at the time and I've wanted one ever since. This model is as close as I'm likely to ever get to actually owning one.

David G.

[H.A.K]

Its coming along ice.

[gotnitro?]

Excellent job! White is such a perfect color for the Countach

[NOBLNG]

It is really looking great David!👍

[1959scudetto]

David, you are almost at the finish line with this fabulous model ! I have the Enthusiast model LP400 but have not tackled it yet.

Did the windshield pop out when you stretched the body over the chassis? It looks like you did install it afterwards. This would be my greatest nighmare, I remember building the Dino 246 GT almost 30 years ago and it was also not an easy task putting body and chassis together without breaking anything.

[David G.]

22 hours ago, H.A.K said:

Its coming along ice.

Thank you Samuel.

18 hours ago, gotnitro? said:

Excellent job! White is such a perfect color for the Countach

Thanks Jeff, I couldn't agree more.

16 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

It is really looking great David!👍

Thanks Greg, I appreciate that.

15 hours ago, 1959scudetto said:

David, you are almost at the finish line with this fabulous model ! I have the Enthusiast model LP400 but have not tackled it yet.

Did the windshield pop out when you stretched the body over the chassis? It looks like you did install it afterwards. This would be my greatest nighmare, I remember building the Dino 246 GT almost 30 years ago and it was also not an easy task putting body and chassis together without breaking anything.

Thank you Helmut. When you start building your LP400 just be aware that with these kits, there's always something that requires extra effort and attention. They're good kits but very finicky. 

For the windshield on this build I decided to wait until I was done with most of the manhandling to place it. That way I could avoid that particular nightmare you mentioned. In the photo above it's just resting in place with the masking tape used as a handle for lifting it out of the frame. I actually placed it permanently during yesterday's build session, most of which I ended up using to correct yet another situation.

Because with these Aoshima kits, it seems that there's always something. I should have pictures to post tomorrow.

Thanks again for all the comments, I appreciate you taking your time to offer them.

David G.

[beeRS]

This is looking fabulous. White is just perfect for the Countach. 

I built the Fujimi kit back in the 80s when it was first released, and I was still just a kid modeller. I remember being blown away by the detail of the Enthusiast Series kit, and I still have trauma from fitting the body to the chassis. I still have that model and it is very much worse for wear.

Your Countach build is a million times better than mine. You are truly doing justice to such a great kit. Looking forward to seeing this finished. 

[David G.]

6 hours ago, beeRS said:

This is looking fabulous. White is just perfect for the Countach. 

I built the Fujimi kit back in the 80s when it was first released, and I was still just a kid modeller. I remember being blown away by the detail of the Enthusiast Series kit, and I still have trauma from fitting the body to the chassis. I still have that model and it is very much worse for wear.

Your Countach build is a million times better than mine. You are truly doing justice to such a great kit. Looking forward to seeing this finished. 

Thank you for your kind comment Sonny. This build has been quite the challenge, I'm glad to know that my efforts seem to be paying off.

David G.

[David G.]

Hello Everybody!

This just in from our "Because there's always something" department. 

Upon fitting the chin spoiler for what I thought was to be the final time I discovered a noticeable lack of symmetry between the way the two ends meet up with their respective fender flares. Not a surprising revelation considering that there is no positive indication of where the spoiler is supposed to attach to the body. Not having having a solid locator for the spoiler, checking and adjusting the corrections I made was more a matter of guesswork than anything else. Luckily, it's always easier to remove material than it is to add it. 

 

 

So getting out the files and masking tape, I went to work.

 

 

While waiting for the paint on the spoiler to dry, I installed the windshield.

 

 

And here we are after some filing, reshaping and repainting. Ready for some reinstalling.

 

 

Now, we'll let this settle into place and then get on with the rest of the build.

 

As always, thanks for taking the time to look and please feel free to post any comments you may have.

David G.

[Pierre Rivard]

nice snug fit

👌