Pocher Aventador Roadster 1/8 kit build incl. LEDs

[roymattblack]

That's really odd...

I wouldn't have thought that the front end of the roadster kit is any different to the coupe - Mine went together flat and tight.

Could there be anything you have done or altered at the front that might be interfering?

Roy.

[Danny_G]

Hey Roy, I already wanted to ask you how yours has turned out but wanted to check your pictures first. Glad you took the time and posted one by yourself.

That looks really neat and clean, I have seen others who had a similiar gap as I have. I checked the bottom but I guess I need to check also the area under the hood, because the only thing which could really cause this is that the front is not all the way down.

Thank you again. This helps alot.

[rjfk2002]

I recall having a similar issue on my coupe. Check the wheel wells. Mine hit the base plate and caused a fit issue. I had to trim them back a bit and then the base plate fit. There was no gap on the spoiler and the wheel wells were flush too. If memory serves me right it wasn't a ton of material that had to trimmed off - just a few millimeters. I hope that helps. The lighting effects are really great. Looks like the real car!

[Danny_G]

Thanks a lot rjfk, will check this asap!

@Pouln, what would you say if I'd use a transistor on either side to switch on the interior lights and so prevent the other door light from turning on?

This way I'd have galvanic separation between both sides:

(I know that LEDs use the diode symbol but that's neglectable, left the resistors away also)

Need to solder a test setup. I have also pretty much no space left in the car to stuff anything, need to check where I could put those.

Edit: Just soldered a test setup, above schematic works!!

Edited June 2, 2016 by Danny_G

[Pouln]

Yep, this would light up the interior light when both doors are open.

in my set up no circuit would be closed when both doors are closed, so no battery being drained, but, yes, big disadvantage is that it doesn't work with both doors open.

Edited June 2, 2016 by Pouln

[Danny_G]

Looks like this is one of my last posts in this thread. I'm pretty much done.

• Could resolve the issue with the gap in the fronit spoiler. I carefully cut the borders of the wheel wells with a scissor but that didn't help much. Then I decided to give the old fashioned way a try: force. I manually pressed the front between the headlights together and with a subtle 'crack' noise the two parts came firmly together. Problem solved.
  Guess the problem was here:
  
  
• Applied the test setup I soldered to the car. Interior and door lights work fine now, only some minor tweaks remaining like the intensity of the door lights.
  
• Need to attach the rearview mirrors, the covers for the wheel axles and a number of decals. Also need to check why I have so many double-sided tapes left.
  

With all the cabling vanished in the interior and the lighting working so perfectly I'm almost starting to ask myself why this took so long

[Danny_G]

I know I'm 1 year late with my build but as promised I wrote a synopsis of my deep dive into modeling after so many years for those who might care:


Synopsis

It was a wild ride. The past months were filled with joy, happiness, enthusiasm but also sometimes anger and desperation. Pretty much according to the pareto principle, 80% goes easy and uses 20% of the workload, while the remaining 20% require 80% of the workload. Sometimes I was carried by success and sometimes I had to bite on my teeth and really fight for it.
There are difficult things which may be also risky (risk of fuxor) but more or less simply need to be done, so it’s only a matter of time and effort to invest. That’s part of the job. But then there are those things who seem simple and suddenly go awkward and seemingly pulling all the energy accumulated by previous successes.
I don’t give up easily but after I had a dent in a freshly painted cockpit part for the fourth or fifth time in a row within a few days, it was enough also for me. The more passion you invest the more it raises the fear to screw something up that makes all the previous work lost & meaningless.

So it was always important to keep the final goal in view, the completion, as far away as it may have often seemed. Improvise, adapt and overcome, when things go really wrong, this is the only thing that helps. Perfection is sometimes simply not possible, that’s one of the lessons learned.

When my normally very clean office was filled with parts so there was absolutely no space left I could put anything, closets couldn’t be opened because large boxes blocked the way, and everything of the model was under construction and took its time, while other things couldn’t be completed because they were waiting on what I was working on with no goal in sight, no light at the end of the tunnel. There were days despite all the little accomplishment when I was asking myself what the hell I was doing here. All beginnings are hard, and if you’re going to paint your interior in all details, decide for a demanding color scheme and want LEDs all over, it really is and it takes quite some time until you see a first result like a completed passenger compartment.

Now, all this is forgotten, a thing of the past, all that remains is the exhilaration & joy of the completed work.




Statistics:
Used time: close to 550 hrs (work on the project excl. forum posts and shopping for material)
Additional parts added: 500+ (150 for detailing, 350+ in electronics)
LEDs added: 30
Power circuits: 3
Parts total: 1300+
Exotic materials used: parts from a cigarette box, from 2 computer mice, from a red pen, from 2 cheap sunglasses, from Display port-, LAN- 32amp- and ipod earphones cables, a black Gopro cover sticker, a video card fan, gift wrapping ribbon, as well as from several packagings e.g. yoghurt cups, blister and more


Positives:

• Having the possibility of building additional parts with material only limited by ones imagination
• 98% of all parts fit really well, Pocher did an exceptional job here, I kept being amazed how certain assemblies fit perfectly together
• The paint job on multi-color pre-painted parts is exceptional as I think for a mass produced item
• Compared to an Amalgam model which is about 10 times the price, the Pocher issue can keep up if you add some specific detailing (IMHO)
• The provided supplement material, like the sheet of double-side tape (DST). Awesome stuff with really great sticking capabilities while almost transparent and ultra-thin. Kept every spare inch. Very useful.
• The quality & number of the photo-etched grids.
• The original licensing (Lamborghini of course, but also Pirelli, Ohlins)
• All the things I learned about electronics, painture, the insights on the Aventador’s innards

Negatives:

• I had a number of body parts which seemed to be already used (dirty) and/or had odd markings on them
• Paintwork on some plastic body parts compared to the corresponding metal body parts looks off by rather 5 shades than one, at least on my issue.
• I don’t get why Pocher made certain parts in silver which should be black (e.g. seatbelt locks) and other parts in black which should be silver (e.g. air intake valves). All these are in clear view in the finished car. It’s a pity for all who believe in a ‘pre-painted’ kit (probably not the folks in this forum).
• There are highly detailed areas in the engine room which will forever vanish behind covers while the level of detail in the cockpit is rather average, except for the central console which is made awesome.
  There are also a number of missing parts (actual door releases, switches on the other side of the steering column, valves in the rims and more). Also the steering wheel could consist of one or two more parts which would have made detailing a lot easier.
  Funny thing is that Pocher offers the missing tyre valves (ZR-03) as spare parts with no to be released date.
• The size of the front brake rotors & calipers which are 10% too small as mentioned before.
• I would have loved if the Roadster had its own name plate, not simply the nameplate of the Coupe. Acceleration is also 3.0s for the Roadster, not 2.9. But that’s probably really nitpicking.
• Sorry, one more: A-screws. Such a thin thread on big screws that go into soft die-cast metal, this is not a good idea. I killed half a dozen of A-screw threads, incl. both front wheel axles. Thank god some PC case screws with sharp strong threads are more than an equivalent for replacement.

Dropped ideas:

• Anti-theft LEDs in the doors using an ACL flasher (too many cables along the door hinges, also battery draining and not corresponding with other electronic functions)
• Further lighting of the center console, e.g. the big knob
• Using buttons of the RHD dashboard to build the 3 missing buttons on the other side of the steering column
• indicators (added some on one side but were not visible due to the strong xenon LED)
• Painting the stitches (my color choice does not have these; they are also missing on the dashboard, so if you add stitches to your seats you should add them on the dashboard as well, can't be ordered separately in reality)
• Adding Tremonia- or Tommaso's transkit, reasons as mentioned in the thread

Things I couldn’t have done this without:

• My lens lamp, maybe two thirds of the entire construction has been conducted with the help of my lens lamp.
• My Dremel 4000 and various bits. Bought it used once, barely used it before, was an indispensable help in countless situations
• Big kudos to Tamiya: awesome masking tape, awesome 0.5mm drill bit, awesome fine brush, awesome paints, never failed me, all highly recommended.
• My hot glue gun: hot glue was very useful in a number of situations, also for temporary attachments, as fill-up material, as light disperser and much more

Other tips and hints:

• As glue, I used successfully UHU plast (for polystrol) for all plastic parts. For anything else I highly recommend vast use of super glue, don't waste your time as I did with anything inferior. Many grids I also secured with hot glue.
• I used cocktail sticks extensively as tools. The bamboo wood is sturdy but still not so hard it would scratch your parts.
• I 'scratched' however my bonnet windows with cotton sticks, couldn't remove the (very fine) traces to this day. Cotton sticks also tend to leave their fibers all over. Check with magnifying glass and generally use with extra care (or not at all, use a soft quality cloth instead).
• For handling of all wires and makeshift hoses in confined spaces, a short wire with one end formed as a small hook was extremely useful.
• Light, light, light: black parts and black screws in black corners. If you plan to build this, make sure you have several spot light sources available. I was often using half a dozen lamps on my two workplaces at once and still had to use a flashlight on certain occasions.
• Screws: I was always worried I'd run out of screws. Let me tell you that there is plenty of every screw. In the end I had some left of all.

Many thanks to:

• Roy (roymattblack) for being my inspiration in the first place and all feedback
• Wayne (larchiefeng) for all the help, encouragement and feedback provided
• Same to Pouln, rjfk2002, Codger and everyone else who followed my work, commenting or silent
• Paul Koo for his set of decals (yeah it was 20 bucks but thank you anyway, I can only estimate how much time it took to make those)

Useful external links:

• Pocher video: Aventador complete assembly time lapsed (downloaded this, was useful every now and then)
• Pocher video: Aventador rear hood attachment (rear part in general)
• Pocher video: Aventador door assembly
• Pocher site: updated PDF manuals
  
  real world:

• Aventador Roadster Review by autoevolution.com with 117 hi-res hiqh-quality photos (great help)
• Eurospares.com parts catalogue
• Youtube: 2012 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 Start Up, Exhaust, Test Drive, and In Depth Tour
• Youtube: Aventador Roadster POV Driving and Roof Removal
• Edmunds.com: 2012 Lamborghini Aventador: Suspension Walkaround
• Enfa international for highly detailed pictures of parts
• some guys Photobucket: Detailing - Reshal Lamborghini Aventador

edit: forgot about one of most useful ones:

• Aventador Inventory list from autographmodels.de - very useful for finding parts in Pocher's absolutely unlogic parts reference system

Check out the 'final' build in my new thread over at 'Ready for Inspection - vehicles'.

Edited June 8, 2016 by Danny_G

[Codger]

Compliments for creating and sharing this very extensive review. Like the model, no corners cut and no sins hidden in the closet.

This will be a huge aid for any contemplating ownership.

Very classy of you Danny. Bring on your next Pocher - hopefully, a classic.

Cheers,

C

[Pouln]

Thanks Danny for taking us with you on your journey and for sharing all the ideas, pointing out sources for information and for taking the time showing us what you were creating.

I made a lot of notes for my own roadster build sometime in the future.

[Danny_G]

Thank you guys, I was a noob and had very ambitious plans. In this regard I'm really happy that I managed to work this out without major disasters. I did write about the mishaps and downfalls also so none thinks stuff fell somehow from a tree. It also helped me to read about other people having issues so you don't feel like you're the only one.

Mr. C held the 'beware of mission creep' sign up at the right time. I had little experience but became aware that not everything that would be cool to add should also be added, that red lines must be drawn.

So what's next? I'm really not into classics. I respect everyone who does but that's just nothing for me. Once knew a guy who owned about 6 or 7 classic cars, among them a badass Chevy Montecarlo. When one day he had to go to a city 2 hours from here he asked me if I could give him a ride because none of his cars was fit for the motorway… However I do understand the passion & the emotions, the adventurous nature, attended the British Classic Car Meeting in St. Moritz a while ago, but it's just not my thing. I prefer new. So no, I won't build a classic.

The Huracan? Not sexy enough I think, also the available colors, red, yellow? No thank you, and I don't believe it will be as detailed as the renderings show. However the blue Roadster is very cool; so maybe at a later time. I am also tempted to turn mine into a Pirelli 50years edition, so there is no lack of plans.

Work on mine has also not stopped, still working on the front insigna. Just made my first domed decal yesterday using glue.

But I guess I might do other stuff first, want to add LEDs to my closets drawers. Might also add LEDs to my 1/18 LaFerrari and maybe some minor enhancements. Once I start a bigger project I let you guys know.

And by the way, I have some spares for the Coupe, like an entire set of bonnet windows, bonnet cover, rear window, also RHD wipers. Anybody who needs anything can contact me.

Edited June 6, 2016 by Danny_G

[Danny_G]

Ok, maybe this is one of the projects which actually never ends as well.

I continued work on the front emblem, trying to make my own decal because the one from Paul with the clear tape seemed a bit simple so I thought there is still room for improvements. If you remember I was able to peel off the dome from the original decal but didn't like its height and in the process of pressing it together to make it bit larger and flatter I sort of destroyed it ( looks frosted now).

So I experimented with doming the decal myself and found out that it works best with my model builder glue, UHU plast spezial. This glue actually dries crystal clear:

some prototypes

The dome does not always turn out evenly but the great thing about this method is that you can simply add another layer without any visible trace which I find amazing.

The default Pocher emblem is 8mm in height, while Paul's is probably more then 10mm if I remember right. I'm now using a self-printed one that is about 9.5mm in height:

The dome is pretty flat and thus not sticking out as the default one. Really like this and will keep it this way.

Edited June 9, 2016 by Danny_G

[roymattblack]

A fabulous result which is richly deserved after all the monumental work you've put in.

If my Aventador helped get you started, I'm grateful.

Looking forward to your next beast.

Ever thought of a big scratch-build?

I'm sure you're more than capable.

Roy.

[Danny_G]

Yeah, funny what the google find of one of your pictures has sparked in the end … But thank you for the compliments, I appreciate them very much!

Looking back, I have exaggerated regarding the time I invested in the project. It's simple math: more than 200 hrs per month, that is more than a second job … But I wanted to get it done, also because I felt constricted by all the material laying around in my homeoffice. Now if I had a separate room (it's called 'hobby room' around here, don't know how you guys call this in Britain, either a place in the basement or some people like my R/C helicopter building friend have even rented space), I could & would have taken it a lot easier.

Working too much and too long is likely the cause of many errors & mishaps, because after 10-12 hours (on weekends) concentration is fading.

But like I said in the other thread, no master has fallen from the sky, so I learned a lot and still need to learn a lot. Building from scratch I'd say is Champions League, for this I need to get into Premier League first

[Pouln]

great result with the Lambo shield. perfect in size and thickness.

So, what else can be bettered?

[Danny_G]

The decal of the main display is coming off at one point. I don't know if that is caused by the heat of the SMD? I admit I didn't add any ventilation. Need to reattach it and make sure I don't leave the lights on for too long.

I'd like to add air valves to the tyres. I think they may be part of the Tommaso transkit because I have seen people having those. In my opinion Pocher should send them to all Aventador owners for free since they simply forgot to add them while they are in the manual (step 37).

I'm also scratching my head what I could do about the side panels near the air intakes which are so off in color. I'm wondering whether I should get replacement parts and hope they look better? That semi-matt pearl paint, there is no way I can reproduce it, tried that before.

Something else I did already improve without notice is the power supply. The 9V battery of the steady plus had died also pretty fast, so I soldered a new connection to the main power supply (6x AA 1.5v) which now feeds all circuits.

Edited June 9, 2016 by Danny_G

[Flipper]

Hi there, first off what a spectacular model, many congrats on the finished product, now I don't know if you've been asked this already but where did you get the female/male connectors for your wiring.

I'm currently building a 1/24 scale Ferrari, which will have a very basic system, and these connectors would solve a lot of issues for me.

I got my lights from a company called JS Minatures.

Cheers

Edited June 17, 2016 by Flipper

[Danny_G]

Thank you for the compliments!

These are JST connectors, apparently very popular in R/C cars. Found them by coincidence on a local auction platform here in Switzerland, but they are sold everywhere, like here or here.

However I think they are by far too large for a 1/24 scale model, they took already too much space in the 1/8 Aventador. It may not matter in a R/C car which is more or less hollow but in a detailed car you only have little space to route cables. There may be smaller JST plugs since this is apparently a large manufacturer.

What I liked about those connectors is that they are very solid, almost impossible to tear out a cable.

[Flipper]

Cheers Danny, one of my friends is also building a rather large kit, and I think these would do.

I will not need that many, only for the front and rear lights, and some lights for underneath.

I'll now get some and try them for space.

Cheers

[Danny_G]

I have never been a fan of black rims, have my third white car and although everyone is like: 'on a white car you need black rims' I never fell for this. I like being different.

So I'm tempted to get silver rims on my Aventador:

The thing that is holding me a bit back is that I'm unsure whether I should order them from Pocher (about 110 €/CHF incl. shipping, vat, customs stuff) or whether I should try to respray them

[Codger]

Do it. Shoot yours with Spaz Stix Chrome. Or Alclad white aluminum.

[larchiefeng]

Since Alclad requires a black undercoat for a chrome or high gloss metallic finish, I think that I'd try to shoot a rim with Alclad using the black finish as the undercoat. If there is a spare spruce in the kit that has the same finish try shooting it first

[Danny_G]

Chrome would be too flashy. No it should be the same silver aluminium look the wheels from the blue Aventador Roadster (HK103) have.

I would have preferred to stay with Tamiya paints. Not sure if I should go with TS-17 (silver aluminium), TS-30 (silver) or TS-83 (silver metallic) spray can. Sorry if this sounds like a stupid question, but would you sand the rims before?

[larchiefeng]

In that case, I would probably lightly sand them with a not too aggressive grit foam sanding stick, just enough to knock the sheen off, and then paint as usual by starting with a primer coat and then whichever color you decide on.

[Dr. Fiat]

This is a first-rate build that I will be referring to when I finally get my blue Roadster. I should be receiving Tommaso's transkit in a few weeks, then on to get the kit when the funds appear. I have really been enjoying all of these threads- this is the best site in my opinion!!

I have never been a fan of black rims, have my third white car and although everyone is like: 'on a white car you need black rims' I never fell for this. I like being different.

So I'm tempted to get silver rims on my Aventador:

The thing that is holding me a bit back is that I'm unsure whether I should order them from Pocher (about 110 €/CHF incl. shipping, vat, customs stuff) or whether I should try to respray them

Danny- what do you think about the yellow calipers on the blue Roadster? I really love the yellow ones, and it looks phenomenal on your car. Thanks!

Darin

[Danny_G]

Hi all,

I had a really rough time at the office the past half year and during some time did barely more than work, eat & sleep for weeks. Things are getting better now and I found the time for an update.

 

Thanks to Brexit and the exchange loss of the british pound I had decided to order the silver rims instead of painting my black ones in silver:

 

 

Color of rims is a taste thing, I like them both ways. With silver rims (as in real life) I love that the wheel itself becomes more visible/apparent. 

 

I'm fully aware that this is the cheapo way and not what modellers do but I regard myself as a not too ambitioned hobbyist part-time modeller, not a crack modeller. Also now, I can switch rims which is pretty cool.

 

Although I admire the looks of the new Aventador S, I still love this model and have never regretted the time I spent building it. 

 

 

@Dr. Fiat: sorry for not answering. I think yellow calipers would look good on a blue Aventador. You could add other details in yellow like yellow seams on the seats.

Edited February 25, 2017 by Danny_G