Projects I’m working on appear below. Completed projects get moved off this page and into the Build Diaries list.
updated 12 November 2024
1982 Buick Regal (Salvinos JR, 1:24)
Back onto the American stock cars, this time the 1982 Daytona 500 winner, driven by Bobby Allison.
Box art features a photo of the Gatorade sponsored car on the high banks of Daytona
Wow, does this kit have some flash!
A lot of clean is required on a lot of parts.
To be continued…
1978 Lotus 79 (Hasegawa, 1:20)
Instead of building another really old F1 kit from the stash, I decided to do this – a new release from Hasegawa, the Lotus 79 from the 1978 German Grand Prix, but this is the Detail Up version that includes extra parts and photo etch. Kit number 52298 (also listed as SP498), it’s 1:20 scale (same as the Tamiya Grand Prix series) in plastic with rubber tyres.
I plan to do this as an out-of-box build of Mario Andretti’s car #5 as he won the race on the way to becoming World Champion.
I did an unboxing video for this kit on YouTube – watch it HERE.
There are LOTS of parts in this kit!
Cosworth DFV engine block goes together quickly. I questioned why Hasegawa bothered to model the flywheel and clutch when it will not be visible once the bellhousing and gearbox go on. But I guess if you were doing a diorama, this could be really handy!
The engine appears quite well detailed, but the kit does not include any ignition leads. I’d like to add some, so need to drill out all the mounting points to glue leads in later in the build. First step is the distributor.
Nine tiny holes drilled. The entire part is only 5mm wide!
Distributor, coil pack and rocker cover (x2) all drilled.
To be continued…
1991 Ferrari 643 (Rosso, 1:8)
I never thought I’d see, never mind build, one of these kits. It’s the big 1/8 scale version of the Ferrari 643 by Japanese manufacturer, Rosso Corporation.
Just after this model was produced in 1992, there was a fire at the Rosso factory which destroyed the production equipment and much of the stock of this model (ref: Wikipedia). The company never recovered and this promising model manufacturer was declared bankrupt.
With limited supply reaching retailers, the prices for this kit on eBay are rather spectacular. Cutting edge in its day, the model actually lacks detail that you’d expect in a similar scale modern kit.
I should point out, this kit is not mine. The owner made a start on it many years ago and has commissioned me to finish it off. He’s also given me authority to share the kit and the build process.
We have yet to decide the level of detail for the build. Some beautiful after market items have been produced over the years, but to go “full spec” might cost way more than what the model is worth (assuming the parts can still be found).
So, this is what we have:
The box is big – 755 x 470 x 150mm. This pic is on the dining table because it won’t fit in my work area!
Rosso Corporation’s first (and last) 1/8 scale Formula One model, item number 80001, officially approved by Ferrari.
All the parts that come in this giant kit. Most of the plastic sprue bags are still sealed, but the owner has opened several to use parts for the section’s he’s already started, such as the nose and base monocoque. The body parts, which are metal, are pre-painted.
Below is a full “What’s in the box” video:
With several parts having been started many years ago, they’ve accumulated quite a bit of dust. I don’t want that getting anywhere else in the build, so clean it up before starting any work.
The nose assembly has been sitting like this in the box for many years, which over time has bent the front wings up quite badly (the central piece is quite heavy as the red bodywork part is metal).
Cleaned parts out of the way in another box until I need them. The nose section is sitting up on a block in the hope some of the wing sag will reverse, but I suspect it will need some heat and persuasion to make it flat once again. No rush yet however, as there’s plenty of other work to get done first.
The steering wheel is just black plastic and has already been fitted to the metal steering column with a tiny hex bolt. But I think I can improve the look…
Semi-gloss black was used for the centre piece while the rim was done with black surface primer (to create a bit of a contrasting textured look). Bolt heads and buttons were painted with a small brush. Prancing horse sticker and clear lens cover are kit items.
Kit-supplied self-adhesive heat shielding foil has to be cut to allow mounting brackets and screws to pass through.
The kit’s brake components are all plated in aluminium/silver colour, which is not correct.
Test fitting the calliper-upright-axle-disc assembly. Even though most of this is hidden once the wheels are fitted, it’s going to look wrong. The kit instructions do not call for any of this to be painted, but I think it needs some colour…
So, pads and pistons are masked off, ready for ‘titanium’ colour (Tamiya TS-87) to represent the anodised finish on the real car.
The pads are hand-painted matt black, but the pistons retain the metallic silver colour.
The brake hubs/hats are sprayed Titanium, then masked off so the braking surfaces can be painted a different colour. Each disc is made of two halves that required masking – the back half I used tape cut to shape, while the front halves required Liquid Mask.
Rotor surfaces were then sprayed Tamiya LP-20 Light Gun Metal.
Masking removed.
The two disc halves are screwed together with a nut held captive between the two. This allows the disc to be screwed onto the metal axle that’s mounted in the upright.
All four brake assemblies done! A dark wash was used in places to bring out the detail. Metal wheel nuts are fitted here so they don’t get lost.
Each calliper has a temperature-sensitive sticker so the mechanics can quickly check the max operating temp. After zooming into the photos I can confirm the tiny print is actually legible! (Though it appears the scale is wrong for brakes). Bolt heads and bleed nipples are painted silver.
Callipers attach to the metal uprights via two 1.7x5mm screws, which sort of detract from the good looks of everything else, but that’s just how this kit is engineered to fit together.
Back of the upright will be covered over by the brake ducting, but otherwise, these assemblies are ready to attached to the suspension (once the suspension gets built).
The upper surface of the front pushrods has this casting line all the way down the middle, plus weird speckles of missing paint (some of the parts in this kit are pre-painted from the factory, including all the suspension arms).
So I sanded and filed to smoothen it out ready to re-paint.
After primer and re-painting semi-gloss black, the ends were masked and the tips hit with a quick squirt of SMS Stainless Steel.
The front shock & linkage assemblies are cast and plated as one piece, which is rather boring.
They also have significant mould lines. I removed most of these to have a smooth surface on the main cylinder and tapered areas.
After a coat of primer they were hit with gloss black
The black was then masked to add SMS Super Silver and Tamiya Titanium Gold to various areas.
They were then finished off with a little wash and the grey sticker from the kit.
Ignition box was painted semi-gloss black then the mounting straps masked off and sprayed Tamiya Rubber Black.
I cut a lot of the kit’s original fittings off the ignition box so I could add some leads (not provided in the kit) to up the detail.
Other side with Magneti Marelli identification (which is provided as a sticker, not a water slide decal). Yes, the white leads are not the correct colour (will be fixed later in the build).
Front suspension hardware, ready for fitting. All of these part are metal and pre-painted or treated (except for the pushrods which were re-painted earlier)
The fit of the suspension is mostly pretty good. The big issue was selecting the right screw! There are so many different sizes and shapes and it felt like any part that had two or more screws (such as this upper wishbone), every screw was different!
Upper and lower wishbones on as well as the steering rods. The steering is operational on this model, but the suspension is fixed in place and does not work.
Shocks mounted, fixed to the dashboard bulkhead via screws.
Bell-cranks are secured by the nicely done brass screws which simply screw into their mounts by hand. I had to play around with the clearance of the top pushrod mount (ie, drill the hole a little bigger) so the holes in the bell-cranks would align with the pins on the parts. A little wash is required on the small plated struts.
Upright/brake assemblies fitted. The instructions called for the blue temp stickers to go on the sides of the calliper. I’ve since found there should be Brembo branding there, but the kit does not include the markings.
Next step is to start on the engine, so I threw the monocoque in the photo booth for a couple of shots, because once the engine goes on the back, it’ll be so big it won’t fit in the booth!
Now on to the big V12 power unit and semi-automatic gearbox. The parts are cast in black plastic and not intended to be painted. However, I want a more realistic look. It would be almost impossible to paint this properly once it was all together with the suspension etc attached, so I need to collect and prepare all the pieces that require paint before any of the suspension and supports can be added.
The the parts that make up the engine and gearbox castings were painted a mix of semi-gloss black with some light gun-metal added.
These are the internal supports that run from the gearbox to the bodywork that runs inside the rear tyres. The parts are plated but heave heavy seam lines down the middle, so I scraped and sanded the upper surfaces to reduce the line, then sprayed with SMS Aluminium colour (see below).
Some of the main rear suspension parts, almost ready to be added to the gearbox. Some of the pickups were masked and sprayed gold, the CV-joints were done in Tamiya Titanium and bell-cranks on the pushrods sprayed in SMS Steel.
These parts were then mostly fitted into place with small screws.
Top of the bell-housing/transaxle casing clicks into place with just one screw. It has lots of holes to locate many more parts that fit on top later in the build.
Another hole that required drilling out. The metal engine mount brackets that screw to the cam covers have locating posts underneath, but they need a hole to locate in…
Cam covers were sprayed a metalized black, then the centre strip masked to be sprayed semi-gloss black…
…and look like this once fitted. The back of the engine block and ‘V’ section with cam covers was a tight fit.
Kit parts cut off the sprue ready to fit
But rubber black paint and dark wash lifts the realism.
Pulleys and alternator now added to the front of the engine. Unfortunately, this will be mostly hidden once assembled.
Oil tank and rear anti-roll bar fitted. The white hose from the oil tank will either be painted or replaced with a black rubber item.
I don’t know what this part is, but it’s supposed to have wires coming out of it! There is no wiring included in this kit, so I drilled holes in the end of each outlet and CA glued a length of tie wire.
The unit was fitted and the wires aligned to (hopefully!) clear the rear shocks/springs which get added later in the build. Plumbing (not included in the kit) has been added to the gearbox oil cooler.
The body panels that run inside the rear wheels are cast metal and pre-painted. Unfortunately there is some flash that needed filing off.
The kit includes silver stickers for heat shielding on the floor and monocoque, but not for the inner surfaces of these panels. The foil from a tub of butter is perfect, glued to the red painted surface (which was lightly sanded prior) with Kristal Klear, then trimmed.
The foil settled down really well, followed by some semi-gloss black on the edge.
These panels mount to support struts that come off the gearbox, but they don’t sit in position very well. Mounting pins were filed thinner to give some room for adjustment.
I temporarily screwed them to the floor tray and mounted the top bodywork to help alignment while the glue cured.
The main body is heavy. It’s diecast metal and comes pre-painted. The rear pushrod and spring assemblies are on the left, ready to be fitted.
Once the pushrods are screwed in place, it’s time to finish the rear suspension with the uprights and driveshafts. Again, these are secured by small screws.
With the rain light and jack point added to the gearbox, the rear end is basically done. The kit includes double-sided adhesive film to stick the rain light to its housing. Unfortunately its stickiness is not-so-sticky (presumably due to age) so I used Kristal Klear.
Next job is the fuel and induction system
The kit did not include any Brembo branding, however the after-market replacement decals we finally sourced from Belgium did! So, the temperature stickers that were applied earlier were carefully removed and swapped for Brembo logos.
The parts for the fuel/intake system. Kit instructions call for these to be fitted to the model as is, but there are some improvements to make here first.
Fuel rail had heavy mould seams down each side, so the plating was stripped, the seam removed and pipes smoothened.
Fuel/Intake parts ready for assembly. Bare Metal Foil was applied to the outside of the airbox base (top of pic). The fuel rail was sprayed Alclad Polished aluminium (having prior been prepared with primer then gloss black). Clear blue on the fittings give them a metallic anodised look. Red and silver was brush painted on the 24 injectors.
Underside of the intake assembly, prior to fitting to the engine.
Intake assembly fitted, held to the engine block with four screws that go down the inlet trumpets.
The exhaust system does not get fitted until later in the build. I want to add plumbing to the engine that’s not included in the kit, and need to check to make sure I don’t cause a problem for later, so just dry-fitting here. The exhausts actually need a lot of work as they have heavy mould lines that need to be removed.
I’m waiting for some after-market tubes and cables to arrive, so can’t go any further on the engine for the moment, so start preparing other parts for later in the build. This is the main floor which required a few pieces to be glued in place, heat shielding applied to the inside plus a couple of 4.5mm holes drilled so the model can be mounted to a base if the owner chooses to do that at some stage.
Another test fit of the engine to the floor with right-side the exhaust pipes.
The fire bomb mounts to the underside panel of the monocoque. I’ve added chrome strips so the mounting straps contrast with the bottle. I was going add lines to the fittings, but the seat will eventually cover most of this and the fittings and pipes would not be visible.
Radiators screw to the base. I’ve added wash to the lower cooler to add contrast. Undecided whether to add a little into the fins of the top section.
Another element that will be almost invisible once assembled is the pedals. I painted these with metallic colours, then dry-brushed some silver to give the appearance of wear from the driver’s boots.
The seat is pre-painted and pre-flocked to simulate the suede finish. All that was needed (other than trimming some flash from a belt hole in the seat) was to thread the seat belts (a woven material with sticky backing) through the buckles. I wondered why Rosso had not metal-plated the buckles, but when I look at period photos (as opposed to pics on the internet of the car as it’s run and presented these days), black is correct for 1991.
