Octavian

Much appreciated.

Chris, Many thanks; there were a few moments of frustration with the wire lacing, but I think I have the hang of it now. I'm glad the rust tip is helpful; I was pondering how to get a true rust look, when the obvious occurred to me: "why not use rust?" Ockham's Razor at work. All best, Andrew

Codger, Many thanks. I do have my sights set on doing a Pocher at some point in the future (gulp). Having never done one, I can't say from experience, but they look more labor-intensive and difficult than a MFH. The sense I get from studying your Pocher thread is that they require a greater DIY mentality, and more engineering ingenuity. There is definitely some of that in this MFH kit, but so far it's pretty much come together without much need for out-of-the-box thinking (both literally and figuratively). Thanks as always for the comment. I hope you are doing well. Best, Andrew

I'm late to the party here, but I have enjoyed catching up on the build so far. Beautiful work, and can't wait to see how it progresses.

I have one completed wheel. Here is a brief time-lapse series of photos: This was fun to do, in a very tedious sort of way. I won't say I'm thrilled to have three more of these to do, but so it goes. Breaking them up in between other work on the car seems a good idea, so that it isn't a solid week or two of nothing but this. Subsequent wheels should go much quicker now that I have a feel for it. As with the whole kit, the engineering here by MFH is superb. They come together quite easily once you have the feel of it. I have also been working on painting and detailing the exhaust. Here are a few pics: I've used Mr. Weathering Color (multi black), Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color (brown), and some rust that I swiftly made by soaking some old scalpel blades in a bath of hydrogen peroxide, vinegar and salt. The blades began to rust almost instantly, and after 24 hours, I had plenty of rust to apply in small bits as needed. Till next time, Andrew

An amazing car; I will look forward to seeing how the build progresses.

Ron, Amazing work, as always. I'm continually impressed with your ability to solve these sorts of practical problems and find solutions that are not simply workable, but that look fantastic in the process. Best, Andrew

Ok, back into the fray. Work has been demanding lately, but I have been chipping away at bits of the project here and there when I can. I have made a bit of headway. Getting the carburetor built was the next order of business on the engine. Here is a partial section, with Weber decals applied. I was trying to get a more matte surface for these pieces, so I went with vallejo metal colors; a mist coat of "copper", covered with "dull aluminum." I applied copper directly to the gasket near the bottom. Here is the carburetor nearly, but not completely assembled, on the block: Some detail pics: You can see the tiny PE "springs" here; not as convincing as actual springs, obviously, but they look pretty good, especially when seen with the naked eye. The engine is nearing completion! Still a good bit more to do, but the major pieces have now come together. I have been planning my approach to beginning work on the chassis, and in the process of organizing pieces, discovered that a few were missing from the kit. I emailed Kyoko Hiro, from MFH who takes care of customer support and she very kindly (and very swiftly!) mailed the missing pieces to me free of charge. She was wonderful to work with; kind and very accommodating. She even included this paper crane in the package! This level of attention and care to customer concerns speaks volumes about the high quality of MFH as a company. In related news (it is related to the GTO, I promise) I built a little model tractor (Porsche Diesel Junior 108) with my nephew (age 10) to show him what building models was like; we had a fun time, and it was an excuse to test out the paint I am planning to use on the body of the 250 GTO: The paint here is Zero Paints "Rosso Chiaro" (Ferrari 20-R-190). I was uncertain about which paint to get for the car, as there seems to be some uncertainty (at least as far as I was able to find) about the exact paint used on the '64 GTO. The shade is apparently "Rosso Cina," but I couldn't find a Ferrari "Rosso Cina" in the Zero Paints database. I contacted them, and they were very helpful, indicating that there were two possibilities; there is a shade from that era called "Rosso Cina" used by Fiat, and apparently it wasn't uncommon for these companies to borrow each other's paints at times, and there is also "Rosso Chiaro," which the gentleman from Zero Paints indicated is often used in restoring 250 GTOs. I bought both, and tried the Fiat paint first; it came out very orange, and not at all like the color I want, so I tried the Rosso Chiaro on this tractor, and I like the results. So, thus shall it be for the Ferrari. Work on the wire wheels proceeds slowly. Not terribly difficult work but slow and tedious. Thanks for reading; I hope this finds everyone well. Best, Andrew

Amazing work in every regard; just superb.

Chris, Many thanks; I appreciate it. I have cleaned up the leads a bit and I think they look much better, but the stiffness of the wire still makes them look a bit unnatural to my eye. I think I will try a different, more flexible, wire. The wheels are definitely fun, though tedious. Thanks again! Best, Andrew

My mistake; I was in the "ultra thin insulated wires" section, and .28 was the largest it was showing me.

Ron, Thanks for this. The biggest ones I am seeing on the site are .28 mm; do you think that will be too thin? That is less than half the width of the ones I am using now. It would likely be easier to work with, but I'm worried it would not be substantial enough and would look out of proportion. Perhaps not, though. I have never worked with components like this before, so it is all new to me. Best, Andrew

Danibear, To follow up, I tried out the Zero etch primer again, thinning further as you suggested, and I got great results. Thanks again for the info! Best, Andrew

Hello everyone, I have made a bit of progress on the engine, some of which I am pleased with, other bits not so much. Here is the engine as it currently stands: I have mainly been working on the wiring; getting the HT leads in place was exceptionally difficult, and I had to start over a couple of times after bad initial attempts. I'm not entirely pleased with how they look right now. They don't look terrible from a distance, but closer up: They look a bit of a mess. The leads coming out of the distributors look worse, I think, than those going from the tube to the engine block. Part of this can be remedied with some clean-up (which I haven't done yet, as evidenced by the gunk on that right distributor and on the wires), but part of me wants to rip the leads out and start over. They are from the MFH box, and are .6 mm wrapped wire. Is there any easier type of cording or wire to use for this sort of thing? The rigidity of the wire made it more difficult, it seemed to me, rather than less. Honestly, I struggled with this part of the build; it was the most difficult part for me so far, by a wide margin. Any advice on how to do this better would be greatly appreciated. I needed a break from engine work after that, so I have just begun the intricate process of making the Borrani wire wheels: These should prove stress-free... (ha).

Ron, I do have some Iwata brand lube that I use on the airbrush; good to know it's multi-functional! Thanks, Andrew

Jo, Thanks for the tip! Ron mentioned using dish soap as an option as well; I will experiment with these options. Best, Andrew

Michael, Thanks for the post, and the kind words. With such small bits, breakage is all but inevitable. What is more irritating is how quickly some of them lose their sharpness, just worn down by the white metal. You may be right that quantity over quality proves a more economically sound plan. Best, Andrew

Ron, Thanks for the heads up. The one I have has four different chucks, including a 3.2 mm, so it should be no problem. All best, Andrew

Ron, Thanks for the link to the drill bits; I will order a set (spares are definitely a necessity). Codger, From one Yankee to another, many thanks for these tips; I like the Neanderthal method, and it should be a good counterpoint to the Cro Magnon approach I have been taking! Yours is high-tech compared to my caveman technique, which consists of pouring out a puddle of gel and applying with a toothpick. Lots of new things to try out! All best, Andrew

Ron, Thanks for this; I appreciate the links. I have a Tamiya pin vise that is working well for me, though some of the drill bits I have seem to be very sub-par. I will pick up some tungsten bits; I imagine those hold an edge longer. Some of the ones I have are being eaten up quickly working through the white metal. Thanks, as always, for the words of encouragement. Best, Andrew

Kenneth, Thanks for this; I found myself shortening the rivet shafts as well, so I didn't have to drill as aggressively; as you say, about 1.5 mm was plenty to get a secure insertion. As far as paints go, I am using a variety; some Tamiya acrylic, some Vallejo metal color acrylic, and for the body, Zero Paints. I am always open to experimenting with different types, however, so I keep the Mr. Color option in mind. Many thanks. Best, Andrew

Nick, Many thanks for this. I will go pick up some of the medium CA; that sounds like a good thing to experiment with. The gel is a bit thicker than is optimal, so I will definitely give the medium stuff a try. I appreciate all of the tips, and I will incorporate them into my technique; thanks so much. All best, Andrew Great, thank you!

Ron, Many thanks for your reply and advice. I did prime the pieces, with Mr. Surfacer Primer, airbrushed on with an Iwata Eclipse. The paint was Tamiya Acrylic, also airbrushed on. It's possible that the issue was the CA smudging and causing the problems. I use thick CA, the gel type. I know that many modellers favor the ultra thin stuff, but I can't seem to control that at all, and it dries so fast that it doesn't give much time for adjustment. If I'm out of the loop here on how to use the thin stuff effectively, any advice is very welcome. Thanks for your kind words; I am learning a lot as I go, and really enjoying the kit. Best, Andrew

Danibear, Thank you so much for taking the time to register just to share this! That is very kind of you, and I truly appreciate it. I had found it odd that it ended up that rough; I am very relieved to hear about the proper way of doing it; I have quite a lot of it, so I was disappointed to think that I wouldn't get to use it. So there is no need to thin with any other sort of thinner, is that right? Just extra thinning with the hardener? Thanks again, Andrew

Codger, I've had similar experiences with gloves; they wrinkle and fine tactile sense is diminished. I will aim to tweeze whenever possible (new verb). Thanks for your feedback; always greatly appreciated. All best, Andrew