Fiat Ferrari Tribute Car

[Exotics_Builder]

It has been a while since I have done a Curbside. This is the Fujimi version of the Fiat 695 Ferrari Tribute car which is special version based on an Abarth and carries a Ferrari theme. As Fiat owns Ferrari, I guess they’re allowed to. Anyway the model is typical Fujimi in that it starts with a base model (in this case the Fiat 500) with the additional features added. As is also the case, not all features are correct.

The wheels are accurate representations of the real car and the chassis as well.

The body and interior are where work is needed. The body has a side molding that is NOT in the actual car but on the 500. So it had to be sanded off before the aero kit was installed:

The interior dashboard has 500 emblem molded in that needs removal and there is a shift knob where a pushbutton control for the F1 paddles on the steering wheel should be. Fortunately, Hobby Design offers an aftermarket set that includes the control panel as well as other interior components, including the metal floor pan.

No carbon fiber decals are offered for the dash or seatbacks, but I went to the decal stash and got some out. I added seat belt hardware, the carbon fiber decal and a simulated Alcantara for the front seats:

For the Alcantara effect, I trimmed a broad, round paint brush to within a quarter inch of the ferrule. I then first painted flat black and used the trimmed brush to stipple Euro Gray on top of the flat black. This is the first time I tried it and will experiment a little more. As Alcantara is fancy microfiber suede, a fabric paint (such as Testor’s or Scale Motorsport) comes out too much like a cloth and didn’t give the right effect. Hence the method I tried.

Another technique I use when applying seat belts in modern cars is to cut a clear plastic strip the width of the belt material and glue the strip to the interior bucket. When inserting the interior into the body, I’ll glue the strip to the post. Of course this technique is dependent on body style and usually necessitates front open windows or some opening to do the final glue up.

The body is through its first clear coat (over Testor Lacquer Italain Red) and awaiting decals. Then another clear coat and final detailing:

I also need to clean up the interior work a bit before final assembly.

[Tompidom]

Looking good, I have Always liked the new 500!