Tamiya Ferrari FXX

[harti20]

Hi all

I'm back after a  long break which was primarily due to a rather pronounced lack of motivation, which has been with me for quite some time now, even during the last few projects. In the meantime, I had even considered giving up the hobby and devoting myself entirely to photography again. However, after participating as an exhibitor at a model exhibition held in Switzerland a few weeks ago, I got hooked again.

I was able to purchase the kit presented here a few years ago at a bargain price in a model shop that was about to close down. The photo-etched parts included by Tamiya are rather rudimentary, so I wanted the HobbyDesign PE set from the very beginning. Unfortunately, this is no longer even available from the manufacturer itself, so I was afraid that I would never be able to call it my own. Shortly before the model exhibition, I received a notification on Scalemates that someone was offering something on my wish list for sale. Usually I don't pay much attention to these notifications, but this time I was curious and saw that someone in Germany was offering exactly the set I was looking for for the FXX at a very reasonable price. A few PMs and days later, the set was actually in my mailbox 👍 Actually, my goal would have been to build a motorcycle again. But after finally holding the PE parts in my hands after years of waiting, it was clear that this would be the kit I would start next.

First, all the body parts were deburred, checked for accuracy of fit (yes, I know, with Tamiya it's actually a waste of time), assembled as far as possible and reasonable, and sanded with 400 grit sponge to achieve an evenly flat surface everywhere. Now I will sand all the parts againwith 800 grit and then with 2000- or 3000-grit sanding sponge, and then prime and paint everything. I haven't taken any pictures of these steps yet. I don't think a pile of body parts with sanding dust marks is particularly exciting  

Then, as specified in the assembly instructions, I started with the engine. Somehow, I seem to have had this kit in my hands before, because the engine block itself was already assembled. In original pictures, I saw that the cylinder head cover had a heat protection shield on the area specified in the instructions as XF-16 aluminum matt, so I tried to reproduce this in the model. To do this, I sanded down the molded rivet heads, drilled holes for etched rivets, covered the part with heat protection foil from MFH, and then inserted the rivets. I am quite satisfied with the result, even though the rivet heads are now quite a bit larger than the molded ones.

Once this was done, I was soon able to finish the engine, as far as this is currently possible. I tried my hand at adding heat stains and almost despaired because the transparent Alclad paints (red, blue, and sepia) hardly wanted to go through the nozzle of my Evolution. Or rather, when paint did come out, it was always much more than I actually intended. Does anyone have any experience with whether and how these paints can be thinned?

In order for the engine to be installed afterwards, the mount had to be painted. These two parts are now just waiting to be assembled.

Then I jumped ahead in the construction plan again and started on the seats. I had to drill holes in the sides so that I could then thread the 5- or 6-point seat belts through. Once this was done, I applied a coat of primer and satin black. I have also already started covering the backrest of one seat with carbon decals. I'll have to touch up the upper area a little and cut the arch more generously from the start on the next seat. Otherwise, I'm quite happy with it Once the carbon work on the seats is complete, they will be coated with gloss clear, the carbon surfaces will be masked, and the rest of the seat will be painted over with Charcoal Textured Paint from Zero Paints. 

 

That's it for today. As usual I hope to have piqued your interest and am looking forward to your comments, critiques and plaudits
Urs

Edited Monday at 07:26 PM by harti20