Tamiya 1/24th Scale Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA

[mikevillena]

This is going to be a great model.. keep going!!!

Thanks Mike. It's hard to stay focused on what is turning out to be a very, very long project especially when I now have a bunch of kits tempting me to start them.

Love the amount of steps shared, it's helping me learn

Thank you Drew. I'm happy to share what little I know but you'll definitely learn a whole lot more from any of John Teresi's builds. That guy rocks!

[mikevillena]

After several coats of filler/primer on the roof structure were applied, the bodyshell is set aside to throughly cure overnight:

I decided to go with a custom fuel cell as that seems to be quite common in race prepped cars. The tank is positioned close to or directly over the rear axle to help improve and maintain weight distribution:

[mikevillena]

[afx]

Mike very impressed with your work. What I like to do with a super detail build is appreciate each step or sub-assembly. I try to take satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment from each step. It helps me to be patient and remain enthusiastic about the build. Your excellent fuel cell for instance is a model in and of itself. Keep up the great work!

[Danno]

Absolutely impressive work! Excellent building.

[slusher]

Outstanding work on this

[jaftygas]

Thanks Mike. It's hard to stay focused on what is turning out to be a very, very long project especially when I now have a bunch of kits tempting me to start them.

Thank you Drew. I'm happy to share what little I know but you'll definitely learn a whole lot more from any of John Teresi's builds. That guy rocks!

Hey Mike, I know all to well the feeling. because I want to try things I've thought of on other kits. I have this rat rod that I have chopped successfully and hinged the door, and now I want to build that AMT Baldwin Motion 70&1/2 Camaro and practice my photo etch details, like how to glue those things. As well as a 68 Chevelle there is no kit for that car, so I have to use a 69 kit and make the tail lite change myself, I have no idea how that's going to go, Not to mention that this euro burner of yours is just so good and dammed interesting that I want to build a Tamiya kit, Because I LOVE them. The styrene work is really great on yours, But I don't have the education that you do on euro racers. Long story short don't stop keep focus I would love to see at least some paint and decals on that little bugger. Cheers; Jaftygas

[mikevillena]

Mike very impressed with your work. What I like to do with a super detail build is appreciate each step or sub-assembly. I try to take satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment from each step. It helps me to be patient and remain enthusiastic about the build. Your excellent fuel cell for instance is a model in and of itself. Keep up the great work!

Thank you very much JC. I couldn't agree with you more. I've been scratchbuilding little details since the 80's and I've always treated whatever detail I'm scratchbuilding as a model in and of itself. An example is the engine block for a Toyota 4AGE:

When you are so focused in replicating as many features as personal skill and patience allows it becomes zen like and time just slips away....

Absolutely impressive work! Excellent building.

Thank you...Nameless National Luminary....er..I mean Danno! Actually, I've been following you many fox body projects and I am keenly interested because I used to have an 86 5.0 GT with straight pipes, cage, etc... I dearly miss that Mustang.

[mikevillena]

Outstanding work on this

Thanks Carl. Hope to gain new skills and improve the few that I have.

Hey Mike, I know all to well the feeling. because I want to try things I've thought of on other kits. I have this rat rod that I have chopped successfully and hinged the door, and now I want to build that AMT Baldwin Motion 70&1/2 Camaro and practice my photo etch details, like how to glue those things. As well as a 68 Chevelle there is no kit for that car, so I have to use a 69 kit and make the tail lite change myself, I have no idea how that's going to go, Not to mention that this euro burner of yours is just so good and dammed interesting that I want to build a Tamiya kit, Because I LOVE them. The styrene work is really great on yours, But I don't have the education that you do on euro racers. Long story short don't stop keep focus I would love to see at least some paint and decals on that little bugger. Cheers; Jaftygas

Joe, it sounds like you have your hands full!!! There's so much to do on this little monster....it'll porbably take a year. Geez, and I thought I was just going to build it straight out of the box

[mikevillena]

I'm having to jump around the project as each area gets set aside to allow the primer, filler, repairs , etc. to dry/cure/go away.........

A quick look made me realize that the details on the engine bay sides were different from the reference photo so I had to make modifications:

Turned my attention to the engine. I wanted to replicate the fine texture on the various alloy castings so I tried many different approaches. I think this technique comes closest:

Stock smooth Tamiya surface

Texture added

Someone must have slipped something funny in my coffee this morning or was it the "zen" that I mentioned earlier but I thought about making the shifter semi-functional.

First gear:

Second gear:

Third gear:

Experimenting with different shades of Metalizer:

I will be added bosses and fastener details throughout. Thanks for looking in.

[mikevillena]

A bit of "one step forward, two steps back" as the rain gutters proved to be rather fragile:

Some careful repairs and I've set the bodyshell aside. Meanwhile, there were several issues with the suspension attachment points that need attention. No fault of Tamiya as they have had to make design compromises because of budget considerations. For the front suspension, I needed to revise the upper leading arm attachment point:

The leading arm will be reworked so that it attaches properly. I've also had to build new shock mounts:

With everything roughed in:

The rear axle/diff housing also needs attention:

[sjordan2]

Watch out for 2nd gear -- the synchronizers have a tendency to go out.

[mikevillena]

Watch out for 2nd gear -- the synchronizers have a tendency to go out.

So that's why I had difficulty rowing through the gears!

Don't mention the costs of cylinder head rebuilds......

[mikevillena]

Not much progress today. A little bit of work on the live axle as well as experimenting with textures and washes:

[always painting]

Looks amazing I love that ride one of my favorites

[fitforbattle]

NOW I know who you are! Nice to see you again Mr. Pkasticbuddha! (the 4age seemed familiar )

[mikevillena]

Looks amazing I love that ride one of my favorites

Thanks Paul.

NOW I know who you are! Nice to see you again Mr. Pkasticbuddha! (the 4age seemed familiar )

Haha....I'm surprised that you even remembered that project. I've decided to get back into model cars again but it's a real challenge making the transition from 1/10th to 1/24th. (Plasticbuddha was the nickname given to me by some members of a model car club over twenty years ago.)

[mikevillena]

Did a little more work on the engine. I fabricated the main pulley since the stock pulley/belt part was horrible.

I also needed to fabricate the alternator adjusment bracket:

Some of the bits in place. I was still experimenting with mixing various shades of Metalizer to simulate the corroded aluminum castings as well as pre-shading. I'll eventually re-spray everything and refine the washes:

[fitforbattle]

Haha....I'm surprised that you even remembered that project. I've decided to get back into model cars again but it's a real challenge making the transition from 1/10th to 1/24th. (Plasticbuddha was the nickname given to me by some members of a model car club over twenty years ago.)

Of course I remember! It was a true inspiration to me.

I made the transition the other way, but I never got through scratchbuilding anything for the 1/10's except for some bodywork details.

Great to see you again. And that Alfa looks killer.

[mikevillena]

Of course I remember! It was a true inspiration to me.

I made the transition the other way, but I never got through scratchbuilding anything for the 1/10's except for some bodywork details.

Great to see you again. And that Alfa looks killer.

Hi and thanks Robin. It's very much a challenge working in this relatively tiny scale and I'm also making a concerted effort to improve my build quality and detail painting. I've got a looong way to go before I'm satisfied.

[mikevillena]

Finished adding details to the diff housing and began work on the rear suspension:

Fabricating the trailing arms:

Sunday morning, having fun scratchbuilding and having some really good Italian coffee served in my favorite antique cup

Trailing arm is swagged and lightened. Temporarily pinned to the chassis:

An appreciable improvement over the kit's stock parts (I hope)

Edited May 11, 2014 by mikevillena

[sjordan2]

Looking awesome. I would only suggest that out of the 4 Alfas I've owned, the valve cover was a lighter aluminum color like the block. You have probably seen some black valve covers, but those are only on over-restored cars.

[mikevillena]

Looking awesome. I would only suggest that out of the 4 Alfas I've owned, the valve cover was a lighter aluminum color like the block. You have probably seen some black valve covers, but those are only on over-restored cars.

Thanks Skip. Yes, you are entirely correct. The factory (Autodelta) cover is bare cast aluminum. Additionally, the magnesium sump was painted purplelish grey on the SA engine. I'm trying to replicate Alfaholics' magnesium covers since this is meant to be a modern day resto with modern upgrades and touches. I've also opted to leave the sump in it's natural magnesium state. There are also a few other inaccuracies in my build but I'll simply consider it as part of the learning process especially since this is my first 1/24th scale model in twenty plus years.

Edited May 11, 2014 by mikevillena

[Chillyb1]

I wanted to replicate the fine texture on the various alloy castings so I tried many different approaches. I think this technique comes closest

Texture added

Mike, I have two items for you; One of praise and one of reproach. First, thank you for keeping this WIP going at speed with regular progress and updates. I've analyzed the available data and have found that 99.999% of threads that start out with this sort of ambitious project requiring lots of work end up disappearing along with the builder after building only excitement among the many modelers following along. So you deserve accolades and adulation alike for both the work you are doing and the sheer persistence.

And second, you didn't tell us what "this technique" is. So, Slacker, what's the secret?

[mikevillena]

Mike, I have two items for you; One of praise and one of reproach. First, thank you for keeping this WIP going at speed with regular progress and updates. I've analyzed the available data and have found that 99.999% of threads that start out with this sort of ambitious project requiring lots of work end up disappearing along with the builder after building only excitement among the many modelers following along. So you deserve accolades and adulation alike for both the work you are doing and the sheer persistence.

And second, you didn't tell us what "this technique" is. So, Slacker, what's the secret?

Thank you very much for the kind compliment, Curtis. I don't think it's persistence...more like OCD! But seriously, I kind of painted myself into a corner as I never really intended to get into it this deep. As to the texturing technique, well it's very much hit or miss at this point as I'm still experimenting with different approaches and I'd hate to mislead anyone. However, feel free to experiment for yourself. I've tried my old technique of softening the plastic surface using slow setting liquid cement and then adding the texture with various tools such as a tiny brass bristle brush, the frayed ends of a stripped Dean's RC silicone wire, or even a pin mounted on a pin vise. I've also experimented with getting the surface tacky and sprinkling various household or kitchen items such as super fine salt, sugar and even baking soda. I used to use baking soda mixed with grey primer to make my own putty back in the dark ages. I also used it to fill cracks by pouring it dry into the gap, leveling it off and adding a drop of super thin CA. Anyway, it's a matter o experimenting and keeping the look in scale. It really helps to study the actual casting because there are variations. Hope this helps.