Aoshima's 1/24 Pagani Zonda F: A lesson in how to (NOT) engineer a model kit

[Tyas]

Yes. I pulled the trigger on the Zonda. My local suppliers has yet to import one so I went to my friend and ordered one through Yahoo Auction. I've heard horrid things about Aoshima's Pagani Huayra kit and many have said that Zonda suffered the same issues as well. After building it for 2 months, I can safely say it does suffer the same issue. For whatever wisdom they have, the chassis rear end is a millimeter shorter than it should. Which means, if built as it is, the rear cowling basically won't shut even if you drop an anvil on it. The solution: Glue extra plasticards before fitting the rear bumper. Another problem: The front cowling won't shut. Shaving and applying plasticards roughly did the job but I can only do so much. And then the door won't fit. I swear to God this kit tried to fight me for every solution I found for its problem. Also, this is my first time ever using carbon decals, from HobbyMio. Was not a fan, too thick, hard to conform. In the end if I did this kind of job to an actual Pagani Zonda at Pagani factory in San Cesario Sul Panaro, Horacio himself would have trounced me and stuck my head on a fence.

 

As for the spec, I was inspired by the Zonda ZoZo, a one-off Zonda owned by Yusaku Maezawa, and Lewis Hamilton's old Zonda 760LH. Hence the Viola LH colour, concocted from Mr. Color GX's Metallic Purple with Mr Crystal Color Topaz Gold and Sapphire Blue pearl flakes mixed in. In real life, under strong light, looks fantastic. In photo, with lighting from my phone? Looks like purple.

 

 

Not good at documenting my progress, I know. Now the end result:

 

 

Verdict: A 6.5/10. I was happy with the detail but definitely not happy with the fitment. Also, to keep all those body panels from dismantling itself from the chassis, turning my Zonda into a rolling chassis, I applied magnets. Everywhere. Was a botched job, but that's as much as I can do. Not touching Aoshima kit again for the next 6 months, after the Zonda and the Murcielago SV (which is a better kit engineering-wise). Ordered a Tamiya LFA kit from my friend (who is currently in Japan) as a mode of relaxation therapy, will be picking it up next week.

[iamsuperdan]

Despite your issues, I think it turned out nice. Everything looks like it fits well in those pics. The time spent fixing was well spent!

 

I've never found the Zonda to be a particularly attractive car. I find it awkward looking, especially when viewed from the side.

 

[jaymcminn]

Looks like a battle well-fought. I guess there's a reason you rarely see these built up, but you did a great job overcoming the challenges!

[cobraman]

You built one heck of a nice model.

[happy grumpy]

Yet, it looks pretty good from here. Regardless of manufacturer, some kit can be a real challenge , I have had kits that fought me all the way to the end, some was my fault but some have you scratch your head wondering " what the heck were they thinking ? ". In the end , your model looks really cool. I really enjoyed driving that car in TDU, the sound was awesome.

[martinfan5]

The fitment issues is not surprising and somewhat expected since lot of it is shared with the Huayra kit which is one of the worst ill fitting kits to be tooled.

Nice work on yours.

[michelle]

Very nice work on such a troublesome kit I sometimes want to throw a model across the room when it gives me fit issues but I end up yelling and cursing at it to relieve my anger and frustration at it then take the kit and into my parts boxes it goes for future kitbashes

[Rich Chernosky]

This model looks great and you have some very cool photography. I have this kit in the stash and most of the parts are sprayed and waiting for final assembly. I will take into consideration your problems and maybe have other ways to fix them. Or...I can just build another Tamiya kit.  <G>

[bbowser]

Looks like you won the battle to me!  Great photos as well.

[Tyas]

On 2/15/2023 at 4:07 AM, Rich Chernosky said:

This model looks great and you have some very cool photography. I have this kit in the stash and most of the parts are sprayed and waiting for final assembly. I will take into consideration your problems and maybe have other ways to fix them. Or...I can just build another Tamiya kit.  <G>

Seriously, just build a Tamiya kit instead of Aoshima's Pagani line-up (though if they do release a Huayra Roadster I might be tempted to build it in the spec of the Huayra Roadster that my acquaintance owned). Got a Carrera GT, a Nismo ZTune and an LFA waiting to be built.

As well as Aoshima's R35 VSpec but compared to Zonda that one's a minnow.

[mrm]

I really don't understand the bashing of these kits. They are amazing and leave little to be desired in terms of detail. Yes, they are challenging and take a lot of work, but basically give you everything one needs to make an amazing fully open model. I have seen on here people cut doors/hoods/panels, that were never designed to be opened on the kit and scratch build everything necessary behind those panels to make them look like the real thing. The way I see it, Aoshima has basically done most of the work for you, if you wish to make the model open. 

I am a big fan of the Zonda and this kit has me all twisted. On one hand I would want to show all the detail underneath, but on the other I would hate to brake up the clean lines of this design, which was the last pure form from Pagani, before his cars became the ultimate showcase for kitschy excess. 

I think you did a great job with the kit and your pictures (especially the profile one) show that all the panels actually do fit and line up perfectly. 

[beeRS]

Despite all the troubles, I think the end result looks fantastic. I have yet to tackle this kit. I’m not sure if I’m looking forward to it. 
Im sure you’ll enjoy building the Tamiya LFA. 

[Mattilacken]

Looks very good! Great work on an difficult kit!

[ChrisR]

Looks great!