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Posted

I was able to pull my old workbench together and while waiting for the MG TC kit to arrive, I went through my miniscule collection of kits. I've always had a soft spot for Alfas and I personally think that the Guilia Sprint GTA is one of the best looking cars ever made. I have two of the Tamiya kits which I held in reserve for a future 1/10th scale project so I decided to build one of them up. The intent at this time is to build a present day restored street/trackday weapon that's lightweight without bumpers and a throroughly sparse interior. I'm also thinking of scratchbuilding the rare hydraulic super charger (sovralimentata) that was installed on the GTA SA. Onto the build.

I was rather surprised at the mediocre fit quality and amount of ejector pin marks and flash on the engine parts as this is supposed to be a Tamiya kit. Although I must admit that it has been 20 years or more since I've actually assembled one.

IMG_1002_zps27275aec.jpg

It took a fair amount of sanding and blade work to get the parts to line up properly especially around the finned oil sump. I also tried out Tamiya's White Putty and I like it very much. It is certainly finer grained than the Bondo Spot Putty that I have used. I've set the engine aside for now to allow all of the putty work to cure and I started tackling the hood. More to follow.

Posted

Michael, looking forward to this build. The GTA's where a very successful and handsome race car.

Posted

Always nice to see more Alfas getting built. I built this same kit some time ago, and i thought that it went together pretty smoothly. Looking forward to see what you can make out of it.

Posted

Always nice to see more Alfas getting built. I built this same kit some time ago, and i thought that it went together pretty smoothly. Looking forward to see what you can make out of it.

Hi Pauli. You probably built the original issue kit that was made in Japan. I once had that same kit but I never got around to building it as it served as reference for my 1/10th scale r/c project from 1999:

Alfadetails05.jpg

Sadly, I sold off the huge collection of kits and projects around 2001 as I was moving away from Chicago. This current kit was purchased about two years ago and was manufactured in the Philippines. I'm not bashing non-Japanese manufactured kits....it's just that the tooling seems to have worn down and the styrene isn't of the same high quality as the original.

Posted

Thanks guys. @ Skip - I know I'll never get to own one, let alone a real GTA as those are rarely on the market and those that do fetch six figures.

Made a quick trip to Hobby Lobby and snagged one of these for 38.99 using their 40% off coupon:

IMG_1003_zpsf3e53680.jpg

Should work a little better than the Harbor Freight one that I bought last year.

Did more research and decided to check working clearances for the hydraulic pump:

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Looks like there will be enough room for the supercharger system after all. Next step is to modify the front engine cover to add the cast pump drive.

Posted

Well it has literally been decades since I last attempted to scratchbuild anything in 1/24th scale and what little skills I had are long gone so things are crude:

IMG_1006_zps9596154d.jpg

Everything will be blended in with some spot primer and additional surface details will be added to the hydraulic pump drive housing. The functional oil dipstick was fabbed out of some cheap necklace wire I bought at Wal Mart whilst everything else is styrene. Back to the bench.

Posted

Managed to find a few reference photos of a GTA being restored from the frame up. Since I'm modeling a stripped down bare bones car with just the drivers and front passenger seat, it looks like I will have a ton of work duplicating the internal structures. The area behind and under the rear seats on the model is totally inaccurate since it was intended to be covered with the rear bench. Time to start hogging out the plastic:

IMG_1007_zps803efa2d.jpg

I have forgetten what an incredible mess it is to grind and sand styrene as there is work dust all over the place. After a fair amount of grinding and sanding, I managed to level out the rear platform so that I can start building out the rear structure. I will also be detailing the trunk and installing a scratch built fuel cell so I had to cut out the stock fuel tank:

IMG_1008_zps9c4d6eef.jpg

I also decided to detail the instrument panel and add depth to the instrument facia. I drilled and reamed out the shallow instrument faces as I will install a backing plate that will carry the decals and will be topped off with a thick clear coating to add more depth.

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Time to stop and vacuum up the workbench as there is styrene dust all over! :angry:

Posted (edited)

BTW, can anyone else spot what's wrong with this picture?

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Also note the slight misalignment of the mold halves and the flash around the parting lines.

Edited by mikevillena
Posted

The scratchbuilding looks good in my eyes. Wrong,are you refering to the pedals? The Gulia have standing pedals.

Posted

The scratchbuilding looks good in my eyes. Wrong,are you refering to the pedals? The Gulia have standing pedals.

Thank you Tommy. Ah, you are correct as I didn't even look at the instruction sheet :lol:

Posted (edited)

Well, very small incremental progress. Since the trunk will be hinged (along with the doors) I'm going to have to add alot of missing details. I built up the opening around the fuel tank cutout and it will ultimately accept a scratch built ATL fuel cell. I also added the spare tire mounting bracket as this is supposed to be a marginal "road" car capable of carrying a spare. I also drilled out the drainage holes and I will leave them unplugged.

IMG_1011_zps0943ad37.jpg

Anyway, I wish everyone a Happy Easter! :D

Edited by mikevillena
Posted (edited)

going all out. Will be following you on this topic. This is a lovely kit and I echo you with some of the made in Philippine kit now, so,e of the tooling is getting old so parts are not very crisp. I will be getting another few of this car. Not going all out like yours but will convert one to a 1750, which is my favorite look of the 105 coupes.Here is one that I build a year ago.

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Edited by mitchell
Posted

going all out. Will be following you on this topic. This is a lovely kit and I echo you with some of the made in Philippine kit now, so,e of the tooling is getting old so parts are not very crisp. I will be getting another few of this car. Not going all out like yours but will convert one to a 1750, which is my favorite look of the 105 coupes.Here is one that I build a year ago.

Thank you Mitchell. I am curious about the number decal....did you use an old one from a Chaparral? Your Alfa is an absolute little gem. The wipers are so well done!

Great added detail work. I have this kit as well, so I am happily following your progress.

Thanks, Bill. I hope I can do a decent job with this. :wacko:

Posted

A little more progress on the build. Since the cockpit will be bare sans carpeting, the floor will be completely visible. After checking my refernce photos, I realize that I'm going to have to engrave a lot of the missing details. I first had to scrape and sand numerous ejector pin marks on the floor. I then used a small ball cutter with my flex shaft toll set to almost stalling to do the engraving. The details are slightly wonky but I think they won't be too noticable. I just wish I had a set of riffler files to make the job easier and get crisper lines.

IMG_1014_zps626d633c.jpg

I've also started building up the area over the rear axle:

IMG_1012_zps86e6dc77.jpg

The molded fuse box was ground off of the firewall and I started marking off and planning additional surface detail to be added;

IMG_1013_zps3002f6a4.jpg

Posted

Slow progress:

IMG_1016_zps6ffaeb20.jpg

Finished carving the floor details. Will have to re-prime to help me even out the grooves. Also modified the tunnel cap for the hand brake based on my reference photos.

Posted

Received some things I ordered from Scale Motorsport a few minutes ago. Can't wait to try them out:

IMG_1018_zpse93a67b9.jpg

Started the bodywork by opening the vents:

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This will take a while.... :lol:

Posted (edited)

Vents cut open:

IMG_1022_zpsc12930f3.jpg

Ground off the molded details on the hood undersides and shaved the hood to the correct scale thickness:

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I will be scratchbuilding the hood support structure.

Quick side by side comparison between the build and the box stock:

IMG_1019_zps63162616.jpg

Edited by mikevillena
Posted

Decided to tackle the needed details on the hood's underside. Used the spare kit's stock hood to make templates:

IMG_1024_zps2eb0a889.jpg

I didn't have any .010 Evergreen so I had to use .015:

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Used .030 to make the second layer:

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Still needs a lot of trimming and sanding. The additional depth should add to the realism.

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Posted

Nice progress,i look forward to you start on the engine.

Thank you Tommy! I'll resume work on the engine after I've tackled the additional details and mods on the chassis/unibody. Slow progress:

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Posted

Began fabricating the internal side structures of the unit body. Used the kit's interior side panels as template:

IMG_1033_zps3b63c8b3.jpg

Rough trimmed:

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Test fit:

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More sanding and trimming to get it right.

Posted

Way too cool. I'm loving this build. I've just broken this kit out to get started. I built one a few years ago and was pleased with the result, but I think I could do a much better job on it now. Not planning to go as far as you though....

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