Fujimi EM Stratos- Finished 4/10!

[jaymcminn]

My current build is the rarer-than-hens-teeth Fujimi EM Lancia Stratos. I found one of these on Ebay a few months back and paid waaay too much for it. Despite the rally decals, the kit builds a Stradale out of the box. This is what I'm starting with...

What you get in the box is two trees of Stratos- specific parts, three trees of mechanical parts lifted directly from the 246 Dino kit, some really nice wheels and tires, a small photoetched fret, some mesh, and the rally decals. The Dino trees are included because the Stratos' engine was the same 2.4 liter V6 as the Dino's. You also get a bunch of goodies on those trees for your parts box!

The Stratos-specific parts, however, are a bit of a letdown. You'll see what I mean as the build progresses, but the simple fact is that there is a big dropoff in quality between the Dino bits and the newer Stratos bits. But hey, the shape is perfect, the fit is pretty good (so far) and it sure looks like a Stratos.

The first thing I did with the kit was to clean up the body and test-fit the rear clamshell to the main body. I added some tabs to the body sides to facilitate the fit. I also glued the engine cage together on the frame, after making sure with a spare Dino engine that the engine would be able to be mounted with the cage assembled first. The Stratos is unusual in that the entire car- frame, inside of the body, etc. is painted the body color, so I wanted as much assembly done as possible before paint application. This is the mockup...

And with the engine cover in place...

More to follow- as always, any questions and comments are welcome!

Edited April 10, 2012 by jaymcminn

[sportandmiah]

I have a handful of enthusiast kits and the parts count is mind boggling. Looking forward to this build!

[kingtoy]

I have a Stratos kit I started a few years ago. I got a little ways into it and got side tracked with other things and projects. I keep meaning to get back to it. If not this year then next.

[cobraman]

I always liked those cars.

[62rebel]

oh my gosh you're building a rarity like that?

hahahaha... you go right on and BUILD it... love to see the finished model!

[Roncla]

Thats interesting. I have a couple of the more common Fujimi Enthusiast series Porsche/ Ferrari but was completely unaware that there was a Stratos in the series.

Its a wonder Fujimi isn't more active in re releasing these models.

[PARTSMARTY]

LOOKS LIKE A COOL PROJECT.GOOD LUCK.

[Matt Bacon]

That looks to be a really cool build. I know what to expect from an Enthusiast kit, and I _love_ the Stratos, so I'm really looking forward to seeing this WIP. Are you going to use the kit decals/scheme, or go for a true Stradale look in fluorescent red or virulent lime green?

bestest,

M.

[GeeBee]

Looking forward to seeing more of this build, I have this one in my stash to build, I also have the Hasegawa version

[jaymcminn]

That looks to be a really cool build. I know what to expect from an Enthusiast kit, and I _love_ the Stratos, so I'm really looking forward to seeing this WIP. Are you going to use the kit decals/scheme, or go for a true Stradale look in fluorescent red or virulent lime green?

bestest,

M.

Matt, it's going to be a nice, tasteful beige with brown interior. I'm thinking a current Toyota Camry color.

Just kidding- here's a little preview!

[jaymcminn]

So, I got paint on this a few days ago, and I just got it polished out and took some pics. The color is Tamiya Light Green TS-22. It's not a perfect match for the Verde Bertone that was available on the Stratos, but it gets the point across. Here's a Verde Bertone car...

And here's what I've got so far.

The color is actually closer in person to the color of the 1:1, which should hopefully show up in the outdoor pictures of the finished model. Next up will be the engine/transaxle and the suspension!

[Assa9]

Wow i love the color choice!!!!

[tim_g]

cool

[Deathgoblin]

I want one of these. Good work so far!

[RodneyBad]

Nice shade of Green and the paint looks great on it..

[Matt Bacon]

You gotta love that Camry beige! What a fine colour TS-22 is for Italian exotics (I suspect that I may use some on the upcoming 599 SA Aperta...). I had the same trouble getting a photograph that really showed the colour properly with my Miura. Looks really good... it does polish up nicely, doesn't it? I guess things will slow down now while you build that EM Dino engine...

bestest,

M.

[jaymcminn]

Looks good.

I have a question,How much harder are these kits to

build compared to say revell or AMT.

Tim, it's a very different build experience doing a Fujimi EM kit. Parts breakdown is very different - a case in point is the kit's Dino V6 engine that Matt was talking about. On a Revell small-block Chevy engine, assembly's pretty straightforward- assemble the block halves, then the heads, then the intake manifold and valve covers. Add the rest of the engine bits, and a Revell engine might have fifteen pieces. It's a great representation of its subject matter, don't get me wrong, but it's not (usually) complicated. Now here's a scan of the Fujimi's instructions...

That engine builds up from more than 40 pieces. Parts count on some of the Enthusiast kits, like the Ferrari Daytonas, can top 260 pieces, not all of which fit as well as you'd like. It's complicated, in some cases needlessly so, but the challenge is part of what makes it fun. In terms of domestic kits, the closest matches I can think of are the Accurate Miniatures kits. You can't do a weekend build on one of these guys. You actually learn to take your time and pace yourself- it's a different style of model building that will make you a better builder whatever your choice of subject matter!

[jaymcminn]

You gotta love that Camry beige! What a fine colour TS-22 is for Italian exotics (I suspect that I may use some on the upcoming 599 SA Aperta...). I had the same trouble getting a photograph that really showed the colour properly with my Miura. Looks really good... it does polish up nicely, doesn't it? I guess things will slow down now while you build that EM Dino engine...

bestest,

M.

Matt, I actually thought about leaving the paint unpolished- It took about four hours to polish everything out, and I don't think a Stratos ever left the factory that had four hours invested in the paintwork. And your Miura is the reason why I went with the TS-22- it's a fantastic color for an outrageous car like the Lambo or the Stratos. (or the 599 Aperta!)

Edited March 30, 2012 by jaymcminn

[stulee11]

this is one sweet car... and that engine detail is mental with how many parts there are. but i cant see a way of wiring up the ignition tho. i might be just havin a thick day lol. i love that colour and cant wait to see what u do with such a gorgeous car

[Kanedge]

That Bertone car looks really nice, i think the colour is a pretty good match

[jaymcminn]

After getting the body painted, it's time to move on to the more tedious assembly tasks. The engine has been assembled, including those four-piece headers.

In order to get the headers lined up right, I applied a drop of Micro Kristal Klear into the mounting holes for the tubes on the block. After the glue had mostly set up, I pushed the tubes into place, lining them up correctly before cementing the collector into place using Bondene. After everything was dry, I removed the assembled headers from the block and peeled off the Kristal Klear. Since these pics were taken, I've cleaned up the headers and mounted them for painting. The engine will be painted metalizer aluminum and I'll airbrush some heat discolorization on the headers.

The kit's rear struts and front shocks were truly atrocious. The "springs" didn't actually spiral down, and looked completely unrealistic. This won't do, especially as the rear springs are VERY visible on the car with the engine cover off. I sliced the springs off the rear struts (removing a neat chunk of my fingertip in the process- I don't think I've ever completed a build that I haven't shed some blood over!) and fabricated new springs with a stiff wrapped beading wire. The front shocks were completely scratchbuilt from wire and aluminum tubing. I think it's a bit of an improvement...

Of course, there's a top plate that will be glued in place when everything's done. The rear struts will be painted metalizer aluminum, too.

Next, the exhaust system was molded with the top of the muffler open. Not a problem on most models, but the top of the muffler is very visible in the engine bay of the Stratos. I filled the gap with thin sheet styrene and sanded it smooth. The slot I left open is where the muffler joins to an exhaust shield and will be invisible.

I've also been cleaning up the various parts, removing them from the sprues and mounting them on toothpicks prior to painting. Over this weekend, I should get everything primed and painted... more updates soon!

Edited April 5, 2012 by jaymcminn

[GeeBee]

Very nice work on the detail, looking forward to seeing more ....

[hvymtl]

_{Very nice . i have tried to bring myself to get one off of evilbay. but i might have to do it now . the EM kits are really awesome i have several porsches}

_{bought cheap at swap meetsmost of which ore on the to do list}

_{keep it going .}

_Michael

[jaymcminn]

After airbrushing all the kit parts yesterday, I can get some real progress done now. The engine is complete and ready to drop in. For purposes of this photo, I've temporarily installed the driveshafts, which I separated from the kit part and made removable with brass pins, the rear exhaust manifold (the one that arcs out over the transaxle) and the air cleaner. All of these parts will be permanently installed after the engine is mounted in the frame. The loose ignition lead will go to the coil, which is mounted on the engine frame.

Edited April 7, 2012 by jaymcminn

[Deathgoblin]

Fantastic work. Do Want!