Fujimi Ferrari 250gto

[Pierre Rivard]

Starting work on a beautiful kit: the Fujimi Ferrari 250gto. We'll call this one a w.i.p. "light" as I plan to do it OOB..ish.

Subject will be the first GTO, chassis 3223 as it competed in one of its first venues, either at Nassau or Sebring.

I plan to substitute the kit wheels & tires with Jack Modeling 3D printed units. Other than that I will try to improve the engine presentation and any requires paint/decal work as needed to represent the car at the chosen event.

 

[Pierre Rivard]

Job one was the engine. It is not representative in some areas but chose against a full transplant and decided to add detailing to improve it's presentation.

I made air intakes using 1,5mm aluminium tubes

Used 0.29mm soft line as ignition wires and black jewelry and embroidery wire for the collector.

The black j&e wire was painted silver and used as corrugated tube tying to the oil breathers and an extra length will eventually lead to the collector can.

The slimmer (and very finicky) silver j&e wire was stretched and wrapped around yellow ignition wire to create the reinforced fuel lines

Finally the molded pullet/strap assembly was substituted with Ted's Modeling units.

 

[Rich Chernosky]

Pierre...this project is coming along very nicely. Your engine work so far is superb. Can't wait to see the rest of this come together. 

[Ace-Garageguy]

Looks good. I have every 250 GTO kit, including this one (already moved west, pretty much without cracking open the box).

The kit's rendition of the engine and gearbox strike me as more blobular than I'd expect from Fujimi, but most of the lack of detail will be hidden after assembly anyway.

I never understood Ferrari's choice of that odd yellow corrugated fuel line, and it always struck me that it would be a bear to model in smaller scales.

Really interested in seeing your project here unfold.  

Edited November 13, 2023 by Ace-Garageguy

[absmiami]

Suggesting an engine mockup - your forward silver line mite run afoul of the bonnett - good use if sm diameter plug wires …

[Dave B]

Yes Pierre, l can see you are going to build this very Oobish, not!!

Dave B

[Pierre Rivard]

Thanks for the interest guys.

Completely agree with Ace that the engine is so so (where's the bell housing?) but it can look reasonable once dropped into the engine bay.

Something I gotta  check before bed time. Relief...goodnight fellows. ?

 

[afx]

Great start. Are the wheels and tires printed as a single unit?

[Pierre Rivard]

3 hours ago, afx said:

Great start. Are the wheels and tires printed as a single unit?

Tires, wheels and spinners are separate units. This came off from a small group (including me) working directly with Jason Hupin (Jack_Modelling). Borranis and matching Dunlops to replicate the setup of series 1 GTO's. I don't see them on his regular catalog but certainly he will accept new orders if contacted directly.

contact.jackmodelling@gmail.com

 

[1959scudetto]

Pierre, you are going to put most GTOs to shame (at least mine!) with your new build - I can hardly await the outcome.

You started with a joke: build a kit OOB - this is something that you are simply NOT able to - it's not on your agenda !

The engine is evidence enough that even "out-of-the-box-builds Pierre style" means attention to the smallest details and lots of improvements - this is what makes your models so special. 

 

 

[Justin Porter]

Definitely enjoying seeing this and watching to get ideas for my own 250GTO build. 

[Pierre Rivard]

Thanks Helmut, no kidding it is an OBB..ish build as the engine and the wheels & tires see an upgrade but the rest of the kit is excellent as it is.

Thanks Justin, I also watch and learn a lot from your builds. If only I could get my hands on one of those rare Gunze 250 SWB kits. I have the AMT kit but I don't think much can be done with it...

That being said, a key task I try to do early in a build is a mock up of the chassis and making sure the track, wheelbase and ride height are properly set. I did not need to make adjustments here other than lengthening the hubs and adapting them to the aftermarket wheels. I like the way she sits. Now that this is done the body can go it's separate ways to the various painting stages while I build the rest of the car on a parallel path.

 

 

[MarkJ]

Pierre, disregard the private message. I found it by myself. This is going to be off the charts if the engine work has anything to say about it. 

[jaymcminn]

On 11/14/2023 at 8:56 AM, Pierre Rivard said:

Tires, wheels and spinners are separate units. This came off from a small group (including me) working directly with Jason Hupin (Jack_Modelling). Borranis and matching Dunlops to replicate the setup of series 1 GTO's. I don't see them on his regular catalog but certainly he will accept new orders if contacted directly.

contact.jackmodelling@gmail.com

 

I've got 3 sets of these on the way from Jason as we speak. They look really great. Excellent work on that engine!

[Pierre Rivard]

2 hours ago, MarkJ said:

Pierre, disregard the private message. I found it by myself. This is going to be off the charts if the engine work has anything to say about it. 

Thanks Mark. The kit engine was in a need of detailing and getting proper wheels made for this car is also a key upgrade. I don't plan changes to the rest of the kit. Nailing the formulation for the NART metallic blue is the battle of the day.

[Pierre Rivard]

1 hour ago, jaymcminn said:

I've got 3 sets of these on the way from Jason as we speak. They look really great. Excellent work on that engine!

Glad you like them Jason. 3 of us were providing lots of input to Jason and he sorted through all of it and came up with a beautiful product. I'm painting them  right now and will try to post pictures soon.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Lotsa good stuff here...   

[Pierre Rivard]

Got the Jack_Modelling wheels and tires painted. That good feeling about getting one thing completed...

 

[Pierre Rivard]

Formulating the color for this thing has been driving me nuts!

Then it hit me, if all of these are supposed to be NART metallic blue, then whatever I do will be like aiming for the elephant 10 feet away?

I may have missed the elephant... but I'm not starting over again.

 

[MarkJ]

To me the middle right photo looks like the most clear and accurate photo you have, and you got really close to that photo with your color match, so I think you are there. I'm amazed how you got that metallic paint so homogeneous with a brush and there are positively no brush marks in that baby. Awesome job again. Looks like you got the wheels correct too.

Edited November 19, 2023 by MarkJ

[Ace-Garageguy]

Those are the best looking scale wires I've ever seen. PE is nice, but always the spokes look flat to me, and they never have the adjustment nuts...at least the ones I've seen. The tires look right too.

From all those color shots, I'm sure your in the ballpark.  

[Gramps46]

I wish I could be of more help color wise but my color sense has been outlawed in all states and provinces in North Americal.

[Pierre Rivard]

15 hours ago, MarkJ said:

To me the middle right photo looks like the most clear and accurate photo you have, and you got really close to that photo with your color match, so I think you are there. I'm amazed how you got that metallic paint so homogeneous with a brush and there are positively no brush marks in that baby. Awesome job again. Looks like you got the wheels correct too.

That middle right is 3387 (the real one, with the bolted spoiler) restored in NART colors. It's a gray-blue type of tone. Hard to reproduce. BTW that's the car Fireball drove to 6th overall at the 62 Le mans 24 hours. Chassis 3223 which I am modeling was supposed to be the same color.

12 hours ago, Gramps46 said:

I wish I could be of more help color wise but my color sense has been outlawed in all states and provinces in North Americal.

No problem Gary...but you owe me one!  ?

14 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Those are the best looking scale wires I've ever seen. PE is nice, but always the spokes look flat to me, and they never have the adjustment nuts...at least the ones I've seen. The tires look right too.

From all those color shots, I'm sure your in the ballpark.  

PE was the way to go as replacement for cast wheels but 3D printing opens up new possibilities providing the design and execution are done well. Jason has done a wonderful job with these and the Dunlop tires are icing on the cake.

[Pierre Rivard]

Chassis 3387 in action...on the streets.

https://www.motor1.com/news/495280/ferrari-gto-driven-hard-public/

[1959scudetto]

On 11/19/2023 at 8:54 PM, Pierre Rivard said:

Formulating the color for this thing has been driving me nuts!

Then it hit me, if all of these are supposed to be NART metallic blue, then whatever I do will be like aiming for the elephant 10 feet away?

I may have missed the elephant... but I'm not starting over again.

 

Pierre, I think you matched the desired color quite well.

This is the problem with pictures from back in the day: they show the details (if they are of good quality), but they are either black and white or the colors look different on every picture depending on the lighting situation - additionally some may have bleached out over time, colors have faded or altered. So the best way is to rely on your feelings and find a good compromise (Pictures of restored race cars do not always sport the correct color)