Resin anxiety - 1954 Panamerica Ferrari Vignale

[MarkJ]

Man am I ever late to the party. So glad to see that your back in the saddle, Pierre and you're working your usual magic again. Can't wait for the next update,

[Belugawrx]

Welp, golf season must be over Pierre's back.

Really nice work on the Ferrari so far Pierre. Interior is looking great !

We have a rear round course here in St. David's Ontario, and hold the Beer Can Open every January 1st....If there's snow, bring your coloured golf balls....lol

Great to see you back at the bench...Cheers

[sidcharles]

just looking at these seats, my back is hot and sticking in the mid day sun.

regardless of the minor inconveniences of this cottage industry kit, it's a great and under appreciated genre of automotive history.

i think it speaks fathoms that rather than "sanitize" the race, the decision was made to stop it.

nice replica of that period in racing.

[Pierre Rivard]

On 12/3/2025 at 11:02 AM, kensar said:

Super looking interior, Pierre.  The sheen on the leather and its texture look very realistic.  Curious that his first name is spelled with two 'L's on the car.

I had not noticed. One L as it should on the kit box labeling. Darn, my chances to create a perfect replica are shot. 

 

On 12/3/2025 at 3:17 PM, Mark W said:

Great work Pierre!

Your very innovative thinking has transformed the proverbial sow’s ear into a silk purse.

The Ferrari  Vignale is a beautiful automobile and your efforts to share it with us are appreciated.

The leather interior looks like a period photo of the 1:1

Anxious to see the weathering you will do on the exterior. I hope I can apply your technique to a Toyota 200GT I will be doing.

On 12/3/2025 at 11:40 AM, 1959scudetto said:

C'etait formidable, Pierre !

Interior (gauges, steering wheel, leather seats) looks awesome - just like real leather !

 

Thanks Mark. Did I promise weathering? Now I'm anxious...

Much appreciated Helmut. My favorite part of crafting models is using my brushes and various products to achieve the visual effects like wood steering wheels or leather seats. I am quite pleased with the result.

[Pierre Rivard]

On 12/4/2025 at 8:48 AM, MarkJ said:

Man am I ever late to the party. So glad to see that your back in the saddle, Pierre and you're working your usual magic again. Can't wait for the next update,

Welcome friend. I decided half way through the build to do a WIP. Not much to this one, just a few adds to this nice resin kit.

On 12/4/2025 at 8:57 AM, Belugawrx said:

Welp, golf season must be over Pierre's back.

Really nice work on the Ferrari so far Pierre. Interior is looking great !

We have a rear round course here in St. David's Ontario, and hold the Beer Can Open every January 1st....If there's snow, bring your coloured golf balls....lol

Great to see you back at the bench...Cheers

So true Bruce. Sadly the golf season is over. I remember such a winter event when I played Royal Ashburn  across the lake from you, but sadly no such opportunity nowadays where I live. Back to scale models!

23 hours ago, sidcharles said:

just looking at these seats, my back is hot and sticking in the mid day sun.

regardless of the minor inconveniences of this cottage industry kit, it's a great and under appreciated genre of automotive history.

i think it speaks fathoms that rather than "sanitize" the race, the decision was made to stop it.

nice replica of that period in racing.

Thank you Sid, races like this one, Targa Florio and Mille Miglia are inimaginable in today's world and it is why they are part of the folklore. The cars of the era were gloriously beautiful so they make great subjects to replicate. 

[Rich Chernosky]

Pierre....very impressed with your artistry.  You should have no fear of resin after this project.  Look forward to the finished project. Should be awesome as what is done already is. 

[1959scudetto]

5 hours ago, Pierre Rivard said:

I had not noticed. One L as it should on the kit box labeling. Darn, my chances to create a perfect replica are shot. 

You can make 2 small cuts and then scrap the second L cautiously off (or just go over it with a touch of paint - no problem !

 

 

[Pierre Rivard]

6 hours ago, Rich Chernosky said:

Pierre....very impressed with your artistry.  You should have no fear of resin after this project.  Look forward to the finished project. Should be awesome as what is done already is. 

Thank you Rich. Still not comfy with resin but coping. Almost done with this one.

2 hours ago, 1959scudetto said:

 

Nope. Most fragile decals ever... and covered with 3 layers of satin clear. Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing. 

[Pierre Rivard]

Decklid has spring like tie downs. I just made my own from 0.28 mm wire and PE washers

 

[Pierre Rivard]

Last 2 build elements. Hood tie down pins are PE from the kit, I added PE washers. Oh... picture shows the hood vents need a bit of help...

And finally the nose job. Headlights and grille. 

Race weathering is still under deliberation. Not sure if, how , how much...

 

[1959scudetto]

1 hour ago, Pierre Rivard said:

Decklid has spring like tie downs. I just made my own from 0.28 mm wire and PE washers

 

Fantastic !

[MarkJ]

Pierre, those springs are next level awesome. If only my fingers would work that well. 

[Pierre Rivard]

The process of race weathering starts. This being a white car a little bit can easily appear to be too much. My unsophisticated method relies on washes, dry pigments and Tamiya weathering sets (pigments with some binder) and the tools are brushes and sponges.

Sharing first are a few period photos. The car constantly changes as the event was run over 5 days and perhaps daily cleanups were done. The car appeared to pick up a fair share of dust, some bug spatters (nose & windscreen) and exhaust soot to the back end.

 

[Pierre Rivard]

Pictures of the tools and materials, then starting slow with chassis and wheel wells. Everything was pre painted with a flat clear to allow the pigments to hold on to the surface. Any excess is brushed off or rubbed with a finger.

 

[kensar]

Looks like the driver is a little sleepy in that last pic.

The pictures give me the impression that the race was mostly dry and dusty.  The back of the car does look like some mud splatters on it.  Light weathering should do it.

[Pierre Rivard]

Moving on to the second easiest, wheels and tires. Apologies to those offended with my messing up of beautiful Pinto hand laced wheels but I like the grimed up race weathered look. The idea is to replicate grime and brake dust on the wheels and road debris/dust pick up on the tires.

Again the wheels were initially sprayed with a metal clear primer, then a flat clear, then on to the pigment application. Wheels get the dark steel pigment and the tires the light ochre. On the second photo I show one of the wheels without pigments to highlight the difference.

 

[kensar]

Looks good.  The tread in the tire usually has a lot of dirt in it with the top of the tread that contacts the road surface being much cleaner.  Your call.  I'll leave you alone now.

Edited 21 hours ago by kensar

[Pierre Rivard]

34 minutes ago, kensar said:

Looks good.  The tread in the tire usually has a lot of dirt in it with the top of the tread that contacts the road surface being much cleaner.  Your call.  I'll leave you alone now.

Don't go away Ken, I can really use your advice. Tried to add a bit more. Perhaps making a pigment paste to go there and wiping off the excess would be better but I've never tried that before. Might be a bridge too far for my skill set...

 

[Mark W]

6 hours ago, Pierre Rivard said:

Don't go away Ken, I can really use your advice. Tried to add a bit more. Perhaps making a pigment paste to go there and wiping off the excess would be better but I've never tried that before. Might be a bridge too far for my skill set...

 

I believe you are on the right track. I use Vallejo pigment mixed with either their binder or thinner in a paste. The thinner makes it go on a little less.

Start with a lighter color, when dry, wipe the tread as suggested, then very lightly use a bit darker color to give it some texture. As always, weathering can be hit or miss, but  I’ve had it work.

 

[absmiami]

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