1/20 Fujimi Ferrari 126C2 with KA Models/FMD and MFH detailing sets

[Canuck63]

Hi all,
this is my first venture into the World of F1 modelling,and being a lover of everything Ferrari I couldn't help choosing my favourite F1 Ferrari driven by one of my favourite Ferrari drivers ever,i.e. Jilles Villeneuve.
The Fujimi kit is a sweet little kit,it's not overly detailed,not as nice as a Tamiya,an Ebbro or the Hasegawa F312T but a nice model nonetheless.
It's got its share of innacuracies (the rear wing being the most noticeable!) and it's thick-eared in some areas but I'm confident that it could be turned into a show stopper.
After searching long and hard for one I finally found a MFH transkit right at the source,it was one of the last ones,i.e. minus the resin lower body, while the PE rim "stars" and a few other bits and bobs were made of white metal and not turned/machined aluminum anymore.When the Holy Grail finally arrived I discovered that it was missing its PE frets,renderin it just about useless.An e-mail to Hiro-san got a fast reply from his daughter,they will look for some spare PE frets but even if they won't find them I'll have four beautiful wheels,many detailing parts for the engine,decals,rear wing and an upper resin body too!
The MFH monocoque is actually the slightly modified Fujimi monocoque cast in white metal,mine was so badly pitted that a morning spent trying to polish couldn't solve the problem,therefore I'll either use it after filling all the pitting with several WET coats of ZERO etching primer and painting it Alclad Polished Aluminum or I'll use the original plastic parts duly modified.
The FMD detailing set has been a total disappointment as far as the white metal parts are concerned;for starters the rims are but the Fujimi parts horribly cast in white metal while 99% of the remaining parts are just about useless,being either badly cast copies of the fujimi parts or marginally detailed ones,marred by misalignments of the molds.The PE frets,on the other hand,are quite nice and there's even a PE monocoque to "wrap" the plastic one into and hide its unsightly horizontal gap!
All in all I think that I'll build this kit as a "curbside" detailing ONLY what will be seen from the outside and will save the useful bits from the two sets and the others that I'm about to purchase for a next superdetailing project.I've got a MFH 126CK in the stash and that will come to the rescue as well,supplying the masters for a few parts I need that will be cast in resin.
No pictures so far but I promise they'll come soon...stay tuned!
Cheers Manu

Edited May 20, 2015 by Canuck63

[Canuck63]

A little progress,not too much but it's a start!I've dry-fitted the upper body to the lower and assembled the engine block.The fit of the body is very,very good and nearly Tamiya-like.The engine has given me a little headscratching because a few parts didn't align well,but I've managed to make them fit quite nicely.I've primed the engine with Alclad Magnesium (without primer!) to make blemishes stand out and to have a good base for the lighter color(s) that I'll use later on.I've diverted somewhat from the instruction because the rocker covers didn't align well and with hindsight it's been a good move because the top has required a little "persuading" to click into place" and it would have been harder doing that with all the other parts parts fitted to it!
The last photo shows the chromed part after being soaked for a few hours in oven cleaner.The rims are not that bad and would look quite convincing once painted!
Cheers
Manu

Edited May 17, 2015 by Canuck63

[Sgt.Squarehead]