Justin Porter Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 I've been wanting to start on this kit for a while as it's one of those "once in a lifetime" builds. It's the Gunze Sangyo "High Tech" series Ferrari 250GT SWB and it's a really amazing kit with most of its components in white metal as well as a huge photoetch fret including the wire wheels. I plan to build it box-stock except for replacing the admittedly awful tires with nicer ones from a Fujimi 250GTO. Last night I started the process by building up the chassis and getting it into Mr Surfacer Black primer. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drodg Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 I will want to watch this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bainford Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 Yup, me too. Looking forward to seeing this one come together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 (edited) It's a great kit, which will produce a great looking result. I hope you won't think of this as a thread hijack, but I think you might find the following useful. The etched egg-crate grille looks great, but it's not straightforward... The numbering and order of the etch pieces in the instructions is wrong. This is what I did to build it. I built it on top of a ceramic tile, stuck down some masking tape double sided, and on top a piece onto which I'd copied the outline of the opening by tracing a "rubbing" through with a pencil. The vertical slats are reasonably obvious (you know which ones the biggest are); the horizontals, not so much... I bent the ends of the slats with a hold n fold, and then just tried each one in different vertical slots until it matched the outline shape of the opening as best as possible, using only the centre pair of verticals. Until I got to here. Then, I hit the cross overs with thin superglue. When it had set, I flipped the whole assembly over on the tape. Then I dropped on the remaining verticals, which I'd sorted into matched pairs. They're symmetrical top to bottom, so you can just bend the ends both the same way, and flip them left and right to match up across the grille. When they were all done, I applied the thing superglue to the joints, and I had a solid unit. Which fits into the frame like this. And looks like this. I'm adding this because that grille put me off building this kit for two years, and how to do it is probably the single most useful thing I've learned in ten years of car modelling, so I share it with the hope that it will flatten a potential bump in the road in what is otherwise a fantastic kit of arguably one of the coolest cars on the planet: Enjoy! best, M. Edited October 7, 2022 by Matt Bacon 6 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CabDriver Posted October 8, 2022 Share Posted October 8, 2022 Great start Matt! Nice work on the grille, looks like a tricky piece to get right! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluestringer Posted October 8, 2022 Share Posted October 8, 2022 Looks good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phildaupho Posted October 8, 2022 Share Posted October 8, 2022 You are a fortunate fellow building one of my most desired kits. I am going to have to make do with the sows ear AMT kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
absmiami Posted October 9, 2022 Share Posted October 9, 2022 CAREFULLY test fit all of the suspension parts - and make sure that the metal parts have a good glue bond - it’s not white metal - it’s “diecast metal” - it’s a tricky kit to build well - trust me … Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beeRS Posted October 9, 2022 Share Posted October 9, 2022 I have not had the pleasure of seeing this kit in person. I hope to find it some day. I’ll be watching this build with interest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugatti Fan Posted October 9, 2022 Share Posted October 9, 2022 Best bonding adhesive for white metal or die cast is epoxy from my own experience. A bit messy to use it not careful and needs support whist setting. Looking forward to following your build Justin. That GS kit looks to be one of the best Ferrari kits around. Matt Bacon's tips about the photo etched grille will save you a lot of aggravation I would imagine. Reminds me that I have a Fujimi Enthusist Kit Ferrari Daytona to build that has been in my stash for years that I ought to see about building! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy D Posted October 9, 2022 Share Posted October 9, 2022 Look forward to more progess on this one Justin! Randy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Porter Posted October 9, 2022 Author Share Posted October 9, 2022 So got a bit of time at the bench and decided to tackle this kit's signature: those gorgeous photoetch wire wheels. Fortunately, they're not nearly so tricky as could be expected. The combination of my AK Photoetch Scissors, a good fine sanding stick, and Bob Smith purple cap CA meant that they genuinely went together well! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted October 9, 2022 Share Posted October 9, 2022 The wheels look great, Justin. best, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugatti Fan Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 Agreed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afx Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 Great looking project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Porter Posted October 11, 2022 Author Share Posted October 11, 2022 Chassis is all together. It's kind of a shame that the chassis is missing so much in terms of detail. The kit front suspension has no front sway bar, no steering linkage, no steering gearbox, just a representation of control arms, some spindles that exist solely to give the wheels somewhere to attach, and some admittedly very nice metal coil springs. The rear suspension comes off much better which is good since the stance of the car means it'll be much more visible. I masked off the floorboards and airbrushed the frame and suspension with semi-gloss black, then picked out the differential in C28 Steel and the control arms in C8 Silver. I chose to leave the brake rotors bare metal, with the calipers picked out in Vallejo Metal Color Gold. The Fujimi 250GTO Avon tires really do look so much nicer than the kit tires as shown in the mock-up, BUT they're at least a scale inch larger in diameter than the Gunze Sangyo wheels so I'm either going to have to wrap the rims in sheet styrene to bulk them up OR wave the white flag and use the Gunze tires. What a predicament! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Porter Posted October 17, 2022 Author Share Posted October 17, 2022 Even dream projects using highly collectible kits aren't immune from bodywork. In this case Gunze Sangyo saw fit to bless the builder with a good host of fine but noticeable mold lines which were difficult to see before a coat of Tamiya Fine Gray Primer. On top of that, there's some genuinely awful sink marks around the rear license plate. Out came the Mr Dissolved Putty to fill in those! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted October 18, 2022 Share Posted October 18, 2022 It does capture the pumped and pugnacious shape really well, though, IMHO… best, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bainford Posted October 18, 2022 Share Posted October 18, 2022 Looking good. Those wheels are gorgeous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Porter Posted October 19, 2022 Author Share Posted October 19, 2022 Got the front inner fenders in place and that meant finally an opportunity for a true mock-up. After much deliberation, I decided that the Gunze Sangyo tires will be okay for the build particularly since the stance does look quite good. A little bit more sanding and on will go the next coat of primer. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Porter Posted October 21, 2022 Author Share Posted October 21, 2022 Added the shocks to the suspension as the 250GT continues towards being a completed build. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bacon Posted October 21, 2022 Share Posted October 21, 2022 Sharp, clean work @Justin Porter. I might argue about some of the decisions about what’s in this kit and what isn’t, but what they did give us is very well engineered. Looking forward to seeing more. best, M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funkychiken Posted October 25, 2022 Share Posted October 25, 2022 It looks great so far, very clean build and the body will be really smooth after all the prep work you are putting in... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Porter Posted November 7, 2022 Author Share Posted November 7, 2022 This past Sunday at the Cleveland Model Show, I was finally able to address a big concern hanging over the project: the paint. The car I want to approximate - though not necessarily replicate - was painted an obscure Ferrari color named Rosso Bordeaux. Unfortunately, there wasn't a ready source for just that color. Thankfully, Mike of MCW Automotive Finishes took some time during the show to try and match against my reference photos and we settled on Royal Maroon from his lacquer line. This is the first color coat, sprayed straight from the jar and then backed up with a mist coat of Mr Leveling Thinner to level out the paint. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Funkychiken Posted November 12, 2022 Share Posted November 12, 2022 It's a beautiful colour! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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