Italeri Fiat Mefistofele - In the box

[roymattblack]

I decided to open the box for a good peep today....

Everything looks to be extremely well moulded and there are quite a few sprues of parts - several in one bag a few times so the pictures might look as if there isn't a lot, but there is!

The wire wheels are just about the finest moulded plastic I've ever seen.

Four layers, 8 spokes per layer.

These wheels will NOT need re-lacing with wire to make them look better.

If it were at all possible, I'd get another set for my 1/12 Bentley - they are the same size.

Strangely, the instruction book, whilst very high quality with glossy full colour covers, looks as if the images are photo copies of the old metal kit.

Text, call-outs, numbers etc - all extremely sharp.

Illustrations - greyish and blurry. They almost make your eyes hurt as they seem to be out of focus.

This one will be going away for a while, but I thought some of you might like a look....

Roy.

[Codger]

Thanks for the peek at this exciting kit. Couldn't you splash some glue on a few parts before hibernation??

[D1fuN0]

Very impressive Roy, cant wait for mine to arrive...

Steve

[vinnie the panda]

Looks great, like to see it built.

[Kawacrossa]

Cheers for the wee look, i want this even more now!

[Will Vale]

Mine turned up today! I concur with Roy - moulding looks good although the style and layout of the sprues gives it away as being quite old.

Good stuff:

Lots of detail, sharp edges and some very fine pieces for linkages and things. There is a little flash in places and some sink marks and minor mould slippage on e.g. the leaf springs. It looks pretty comparable to the re-released Tamiya YZ250 which is probably my closest point of reference, and probably better in places.

The parts breakdown is really sensible - large one piece body panels mean it should be really easy to paint the bodywork, and no joins to clean up. There are some weird sprue attachments where long parts or thin edges are attached to the side of the sprue and will need to be removed very carefully. Especially on the curved ones where a razor saw can't be used.

There's a big box of screws which is nice enough to be re-used afterwards, with the compartments labelled too! I think that's a great touch. All the screws are flat head so care will be needed not to strip the tiny ones, I think they look less out of place than Philips heads though. Endearingly, the box has had some of the partitions snapped or ground out to fit the contents, I suspect quite a bit of manual labour goes into packing these kits. Oh and watch out, the partitions are notched so the smaller screws can migrate between compartments!

Also very nice - die-cut acetate or similar for the windshield and instrument glasses, which also includes a stencil for applying the "FIAT" letting to the radiator.

Less good stuff:

Unfortunately there are quite a lot of "flatten the pin with a hot screwdriver" joints in the steering, and the prize for the maddest detail is assembling the working chain from four layers of rollers and plates, also using the hot screwdriver. They're set up so that you do it all by combining the sprues, and then release whole lengths of chain at the end. Which should make building easier (possible?) but cleaning up the parts harder. There are also a lot of pins to deal with!

I'm also a little bit nervous about the rubber dampers which mount the body to the frame - they're built up from thin layers threaded onto a screw which is then screwed into a plastic star (I assume representing a spring to keep them in compression?) It seems like the kind of joint that could easily go wrong - e.g. stripping the thread from the thin plastic part.

The wood grain on the firewall and floors is a bit dodgy but should be easy to improve, and the handful of plated parts will want the chrome removing to deal with seams.

The instructions do indeed look like they're scanned from a paper copy and updated in places, but they're perfectly clear and readable.

I don't think any of the drawbacks are that bad, and in some ways (melting pins) they add to the "heritage kit" appeal. It also appears to be a lot of motor for the price. I got mine from Modelmakershop in Austria, no connection but good service.

Cheers,

Will

[Gardengnome]

I got this kit about three weeks ago and have made a start on some sub-assemblies. Italeri really haven't exerted themselves and the instructions are basically photocopies of the original Protar - warts n' all. For instance there's a glaring error on the first page (Panel 5) showing the front suspension assembly being fitted to the beam axle back to front.

The screws do have to be fitted with care and require sensitive handling to 'feel' when they're about ready to strip. I don't think it's too much of an issue though because once parts such as the scissor-like dampers are in place they can't move so you can just run a little thin cement into the assembly and set it rigid. I've done this with the wheels - there are two long screws through the centre of each and four shorter screws in the rim covered by the tyre. The instructions suggest you file the protruding points off the latter before fitting the tyres but if the rims are cemented after assembly the screws can be safely removed. The front and rear halves of the beam axle can be treated likewise.

My main concern is that the plastic suspension, steering links, wheels etc. will be rather more fragile than their metal predecessors and even without the weight of the die-cast body/chassis will require careful handling.

If anyone else has started building the FIAT I'd be interested to hear what they're thoughts are.

[colin]

Hoping there might be some after market stuff for this shortly, especially the chain, photo etch like the Tamiya RC166 bike

[Madmonk]

Thanks for the quick reviews.

I built the original Protar kit many, many moons ago and the chain and steering linkage was the same, pity they haven't taken the opportunity to update it.

The kit is still very very good.

Cheers,

Warren

[dbostream]

Looks like a nice kit, I want one. Unfortunately it is too expensive for me.

[larchiefeng]

I like the subject matter but, I'm on the fence as to whether the $200+ price tag is worth it. So, I really would like to see a build process on this kit. We need one of you guys to build one and take us through the good, bad and ugly of building this monster Fiat.

Wayne

[roymattblack]

Mine will be some way down the line I'm afraid.

Currently I have the Heller 1/8 Citroen on the go, and my 'scratch' D Type nearing completion.

Next will be a scratch Aston DBR1 or maybe a Tamiya 1/12 F1 car - I have about 6 to choose from.

Mind you, I'm also contemplating a 1/8 E Type lightweight roadster.

Captain Nemo's 'Nautilus' keeps peeping at me though, as does the Batmobile...

Sigh...

Roy.

[larchiefeng]

I hear you Roy! So many kits so little time. I've got a Tamiya Porsche 935 that I'm making as the red Paul Newman Hawaiian Tropic car. It's almost finished but, it got moved aside for the Pocher's. I'm looking forward seeing the Citroen progress and the scratch builds.

[Gardengnome]

A few observations for those not familiar with the original; The Mefistofele was a one-off special built by Ernest Eldridge primarily for an attempt on the land speed record in 1924. The chassis came from a FIAT SB4 Corsa built in 1907 and the 21.7 litre engine is a FIAT A12bis aero engine, said to be from an airship. It isn't really a FIAT product as such though they now own the car and seem happy to take credit.

The kit represents the car as it is now (or was, in 1975), not as in 1924 when it was painted black and the rear bodywork was somewhat different. On the record attempt it actually carried a passenger (though he was more in the nature of a human fuel pump!) so there must also have been a second seat too. I'm happy with building it as at present but if you want to build it as it was in 1924 a bit of research is in order.

The kit is very detailed with even the cables and such behind the dash represented but, oddly, there's no fuel tank. A video on the 'net shows it being refuelled through an opening in the floor but, as it has a full underbody, the tank's been omitted, which is unfortunate. Personally I think it's over-priced, especially as Italeri have done so little to update the kit. On the other hand, where else are you going to get a model of this demon?

Oh, and throw out the supplied crank handle, Mefistofele could never have been started that way. See how it's really done at http://video.motori.it/fiat-mefistofele-vs-fiat-500-twinair/

[Haddewade]

It's a nice kit with a lot of detail, i think the woodwork schould be in real wood and the engine needs a lot of rework to make it presenteble. Also the wireweels need to be reworked to look nice. About the chain fitting i have the idea of making the tip of a round soldering iron hallowed so the rivet can be reproduced by light heating en forming it. (i hope that works)