johnwitzke Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 (edited) I am a big fan for the 1962-63 Ferrari 250 GTO, with about ten different cars scheduled to be built. I am currently working on my favorite 250 GTO, chassis # 3505, UDT Laystall Racing Team. I started with Fujimi's 1/24 scale 250 GTO. Since each GTO chassis is unique, a number of modifications have to be done to the original kit body in order to build an accurate replica of chassis # 3505. These body modifications included, an unique front grill area, rear spoiler, side vents in back of the side windows, relocation for the fuel door from the right side to the left side, rear mud flaps, and repositioning the windshield wipers for a right-hand drive car. Several interior modifications are being done too. I am using HRM Ferrari 250 GTO right-hand drive kit, Hobby Design photo etch interior detail kit, MFH blue cloth for seats. For the interior color, I am using a custom mix of Testers Model Master acrylic gold and leather to replicate the correct hammered gold color of the original car. Engine is Replicas & Miniatures V12 250 GTO engine. Some minor modification had to be done for the engine/transmission to fit in the kits transmission tunnel and between frame rails. Hobby Design Exhaust Tips I am using MFH Ferrari 250 GTO wire wheels with HRM Dunlop racing tires. Exterior paint is Zero Paints Pale Green which was color matched to the real car. Decals are from Pattos Place Here are photos of the body, compared to the original kit. Edited May 31, 2012 by johnwitzke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwitzke Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 (edited) I have been working on Ferrari 250 GTO chassis no. 4491 along with the UDT Laystall car. Chassis no. 4491 was David Piper's second 250 GTO and was a 1963 model, painted BP Green (available from Zero Paints), and is pretty much a standard issue GTO. The only real modification was moving the fuel filer from the left side of the truck boot to the right side, and doing a right-hand drive conversion. The fuel fill modification requires re-scribing of the trunk lid. I have the car in primer right now, pictures will follow soon of the modified trunk lid. The third car I have in line to be built is chassis no. 3451 driven by Pietro Ferraro + Giorgio Scarlatti during the May 1962 Targa Floria. This car wears a unique brown and white paint scheme and the number 86. This model will require the same extensive modifications to the body as the UDT Laystall car. The Piper car and the Ferraro + Scarlatti car will have the same upgrades as the Laystall car. I will be adding pictures of all three builds as they move along in the process. John Witzke Edited May 31, 2012 by johnwitzke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4DCustoms Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 I have my heart set on building one of these GTO kits with a very specific picture in mind. I just don't know wich brand GTO to go with. I will be watching this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
250 Testa Rossa Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 What did you use for the mud flaps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwitzke Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 (edited) I have 250 GTO kits from Gunze (curbside kit (2) and with engine (2)), Fujimi (8), and Italeri (1). I feel the Fujimi kit best captures the body detail of the original car. The other two are very nice kits too. For the mud flaps I used .015" sheet styrene. I also used .015" sheet styrene to fabricate the rear spoiler and help re-shape the front nose area. Edited June 1, 2012 by johnwitzke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chillyb1 Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I'm pulling up a chair in the front row for this build. I, like many others, love these cars. And I'm really happy with the Fujimi kit. I'm not going to be building it any time soon, so this build will be helpful when I do get around to it. Keep us posted with your progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
250 Testa Rossa Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I'm building a Hiro GTO as s/n 4293GT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwitzke Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 Curtis, I will try to document each step in the build with photos. The body on no. 3505 is ready for the exterior color. I am currently prepping the interior, getting it ready for paint and the photo etch details. The Replica's & Miniatures engine is coming along too. This one as well as the others are not a fast build, I take my time to reseach each chassis no. as best I can. In the end, I hope you find my build helpful. Thanks, John Witzke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwitzke Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 (edited) no. 4293 is the Swaters car. Are you doing the 24 Hrs LeMans version? How is the Hiro model to work with? Edited June 1, 2012 by johnwitzke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
250 Testa Rossa Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 (edited) Yes, I am. The kit is more precise than the Fujimi kit, which I also have. I'm reconfiguring a replacement body to look like the Swaters car. The rear fender flares are being built, and I need to add mud flaps to it. The original body from the kit was damaged, and impossible to restore, and I am using it as a guide to reconfigure the new body. I also need to add the little cones for the ignition wires on top of the cam covers. I'm still waiting on a new bonnet from Hiro. The Hiro kit is much more precise, but difficult to work with. I added MFH blue cloth to the seats, and it's a big pain in the butt to get it to wrap over the seat. I will be building my Fujimi GTO as s/n 3223GT when Charlie Hayes and Doug Thiem drove the car at Sebring in 1963. Edited June 1, 2012 by 250 Testa Rossa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwitzke Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 I have heard the Hiro kit is very nice. Please share some photos of your build. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
250 Testa Rossa Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Sure thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cato Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 3505 sold for 35 MILLION earlier this week. Pray your build appreciates like that John... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Len Colombo Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Very nice to read about my all time favorite Ferrari from fellow Tifosi.Looking forward to updates on the builds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwitzke Posted June 2, 2012 Author Share Posted June 2, 2012 That is a lot of $$$$$$. Nice to see that the car will now be in the States Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webb Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 That's going to be really nice! It looks like you nailed all the body details. I have a Protar GTO kit that I started about ten years ago. It's been back in the box for nine years. Is the Protar kit the same as the Italeri? Keep us posted on the progress of this one. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwitzke Posted June 7, 2012 Author Share Posted June 7, 2012 (edited) Thanks Chris. The Fujimi kit is a new kit, not a re-issue. Body proportions look very accurate. I have a couple of MFH 250 GTO's ordered. I will see how the MFH body compares to the Fujimi body. Edited June 7, 2012 by johnwitzke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
250 Testa Rossa Posted June 7, 2012 Share Posted June 7, 2012 You're going to love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwitzke Posted June 20, 2012 Author Share Posted June 20, 2012 (edited) I started adding the photo etched parts from Hobby Design to the interior. Each door panel has 24 VERY SMALL rivet pins that require each hold to be drilled. To set each pin required needle nose tweezers and a magnifying glass. A lot of work but looks great. I will follow up with some photos later in the week. The body is ready for paint, however, I am waiting for less humid weather. Edited June 20, 2012 by johnwitzke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwitzke Posted July 16, 2012 Author Share Posted July 16, 2012 (edited) Work on my Fujimi 250 GTO chassis 3505 is progressing slowly. I have begun adding the photo-etched parts to the door panels, dash, and disc brake rotors. The door panels have a nice photo etched plate that includes 24 (smaller than a pin head) rivets that required drilling a set a needle nose tweezers to set. Wow! This took a lot of patience, but the end result is outstanding. The gas cap is from MFH. The 250 GTO engine that I am using is a mixed between Historic Racing Miniatures and Replicas & Miniatues of Maryland. Together, both offer the most realistic 250 GTO engine available. Edited July 16, 2012 by johnwitzke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
250 Testa Rossa Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Does Replicas & Miniatures still offer the GTO and SWB engines? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwitzke Posted July 16, 2012 Author Share Posted July 16, 2012 Yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ace-Garageguy Posted July 16, 2012 Share Posted July 16, 2012 Wow. I really appreciate your attention to detail and historical accuracy. Beautiful stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnwitzke Posted July 17, 2012 Author Share Posted July 17, 2012 (edited) Thanks Bill. I agree, accuracy is very important when building any of the 250 GTO's. I do a lot of research in order to make them as accurate as possible. Edited July 18, 2012 by johnwitzke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
250 Testa Rossa Posted July 17, 2012 Share Posted July 17, 2012 Do you know if 250 GTOs originally had headliners installed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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