1/18 Ferrari F40's, LM, GT and IMSA

[Pascal]

Not a lot of diecast projects on this forum. How about I show you guys this little groupbuild (11 Bburago's and 1 Hotwheels Elite) that I'm working on ?

Here we go :

The 1/18 Bburago model :

Two of the 12 will be build as these :






I started with an all-out attack with my Dremel on the chassis :






First try :



Second try :



Third try (and it didn't end there) :







I'm cutting the rear chassis to get rid off those ugly metal tubes that hold the screws. The suspension and rear frame will be scratchbuild to resemble that of a real F40.

The engine/gearbox look awful, to the left is that of the Hotwheels LM, not much better :

The goal is to make it look like this :

I bought a Kyosho F40 and took it apart. Some parts will be copied for my F40 LM's.

The cockpit needs some changes :

I cut the floor out and filled some holes with plasticard :

I sanded the firewall and made a center console (tunnel) :

The front chassis looks like this :

The Hot Wheels version is almost the same, but is has a radiator :

First step is to remove the overscale metal :

The plastic parts get the same treatment :

So everything can be rebuild :

At least that is what I had planned at that stage. Later on you will see that the chassis will be modified a lot more.

Sincerely

Pascal

[keefr22]

Interesting stuff Pascal, those are some big chunks of metal you're working with there - especially if you're doing 12 cars! I started modifying a 1/24 diecast Mk1 Escort a few years back, but didn't get far as it was too much like hard work! Looking forward to seeing what you do with these!

That silver car is simply gorgeous!

Keith

[Pascal]

Thanks for the reply.

Update.

I cut the front part of the chassis, and rebuild it with brass and plasticard :



Left side has received the diagonal piece of plasticard :



It's strong enough to support the weight of the hood :



Dryfit with the other parts :





It's not finished, but there's already a big difference with the original Bburago chassis :

Then I decided to make the front part of the frame out of brass tube :







Took me a couple of hours to find the right dimensions, but it will save me a ton of putty / sanding work.

I wasn't satisfied with the way I made the front part of the frame. So I replaced all the plastic tubes with brass tubes.

Before :



After :



Not much is left of the original Bburago frame :

[Codger]

How do you join brass to zamac Pascal?

[injidup]

Interesting stuff, Pascal, and a nice change from all the resin and polystyrene we usually see. Thanks for sharing!

Edit: Maybe I should look at my 1/18 Lotus Elise and make it more like the real thing!

Edited July 12, 2016 by injidup

[Pascal]

Thanks for the replies

How do you join brass to zamac Pascal?

I use CA or a steel reinforced epoxy called J-B Weld.

Update :

I made another version (3 bis) with a copper plate soldered to the brass tubes :



But then I wondered if the tubes were the right scale, the answer was : NO. So I bought smaller brass tubes, and after a day's work this is the result :





The other 5 Bburago frames will get the same treatment, as will the frame from Hotwheels Elite F40 LM.

I added a few details to the first chassis :





And drilled a small hole in the 2 brass tubes.

Reference picture from Ferraris-online :



The shape is a little different, this will be alterd with the other chassis :



I made the first cuts in the front hood :



Using a resin one from legende-miniatures as a reference :

Fifth and final version of the frame. The rectangular brass tubes will be replaced by ones that are 1 mm higher. Makes them look less wide and looks more like the real F40LM. Version 5 is the one on top :

After hours and hours spent looking at the pictures and drawings of the frame of the real LM, this is what I came up with :



The rectangular brass tube is now a little wider, the frame on top is before the modification :



The rectangular brass tube is now a little longer towards the back :



Normally the copper plate should be where the rectangular brass tubs ends. To do this I would have to rebuild the zamac part of the frame and also the front of the windscreen, but since the copper plate will no longer be visible from the side when the build is finished, I will leave it in place :



I used a file to shape the middle part of the rectangular tube in a diagonal form, just like the real LM. The U-shape supports will be added to the left and right of the diagonal form :





Sincerely

Pascal

Edited July 13, 2016 by Pascal

[Pascal]

It's been a few weeks, but here's an update. This is the result of a lot of hours of testing, modifying, dryfitten, etc.







The white piece of plasticard needs more work :





Sincerely

Pascal

[Pascal]

Update :

 

 

 

 

 

Modification in 3 steps.

 

Step 1 :

 

 

Step 2 :

 

 

Step 3 :

 

 

The plasticard triangles become very fragile after the shaping, they will be reinforced with CA and flour.

 

Most of the work that I've done involves removing unwanted metal and filling gaps and holes.

 

First one is this tube that holds the bonnet in place :

 

 

This was removed with my Dremel and a coat of putty was applied to show where further sanding is needed. The damaged to the louvers will be repaired :

 

 

The rear spoiler has a hole on both sides :

 

 

This was filled with CA and flour and sanded. The rectangular holes are for the extra light for the american version of the F40 :

 

 

The inside of the spoiler has a lot of unwanted metal :

 

 

This was sanded down (this is the spoiler of the GT version , that's why the central part with the louvers has been cut out) :

 

 

The central part of the body received a couple of plastic strips  :

 

 

 

This will help the central part and cockpit adhere to the chassis :

 

 

This little brass tube will fit into a hole that I drilled in the lower part of the body :

 

 

The bonnet also has holes on both sides :

 

 

 

These were filled with a piece of plasticard :

 

 

Glued with CA and flour and sanded to shape :

 

 

Finally the rear spoiler received some plastic strips to help the bonnet align with the spoiler :

 

 

The plastic strip needs some more work to get it right. Hopefully it will help to get a good fit between the rear spoiler and the bonnet.

 

If not, tiny magnets will be fitted into the rear spoiler.

Please feel free to comment.

Sincerely

Pascal

Edited April 25, 2017 by Pascal

[Pascal]

I finally put this project back on the modelling table.

 

Nine of my 11 Bburago F40's will go to the production process. Some pics of the F40 graveyard  :

 

 

 

A couple of years ago a friend of mine made about 30 of these with his CNC milling machine :

 

 

The goal is to make a frame like this one from a Kyosho F40 :

 

 

That's were this project got stuck. I had no idea how to turn those A's into a frame, untill about a week ago : TATAAAA, I have an idea. First step : glue a piece of plasticard - in a shallow angle - on top of the frame :

 

 

Step 2 : connect the A's with some scrap plastic :

 

 

First dryfit shows that there's some tweaking left to do, but the idea seems to work :

 

 

The Kyosho will serve as a donor for a lot more parts, here's a couple of them  :

 

 

Sincerely

 

Pascal

[JeroenS]

Wow Pascal this is some project you have going here. That's a good bunch of them! If I may ask, is there a reason you're doing so many? Or is that just the old "because I can" modelling thing?  

[Pascal]

2 hours ago, JeroenS said:

Wow Pascal this is some project you have going here. That's a good bunch of them! If I may ask, is there a reason you're doing so many? Or is that just the old "because I can" modelling thing?  

Hi Jeroen, there's a number of reasons why I'm building between 9 and 11 F40's at the same time. First of all the Bburago model is very cheap, I originally wanted to modify a couple of Kyosho F40's, but they go for crazy prices. Second, though the Bburago model is a decent model for its age, it's also bad in some areas, so that leaves a lot of room for improvement. Third, I'm 100% sure that when I'm done with these Bburago F40's, I'm never gonna touch one again, so it's basically : build them while I can.

 

Sincerely

 

Pascal

[keefr22]

Great to see this one back on the go Pascal, looking forward to seeing it/them progress.

 

Keith

[Mr Mansfield]

Wow, that’s a full production line going there! Interesting to see how much detail you can get in one of these 

[KonaDawg]

Thats serious commitment. Superb.

[JCH]

I was thinking with 9 swings I'd get one hit.  I'm sure you'll have a much higher hit percentage.  Daunting, but cool project. 

[Pascal]

Been very busy the last week. Everytime that I modifie a piece, the same has to be done to the other 8 Bburago F-40's.

 

My workbench is littered with parts :

 

 

I removed about 5mm from the front part of the frame. Before :

 

 

After :

 

 

I finally cut all the struts from a U-shaped brass profile. Took me couple of hour. Sorry for the lousy picture  :

 

 

The struts are sanded on the top, so that the piece of plasticard fits nicely :

 

 

I'm using this part from a Kyosho F-40 to make some details that will go on to the back of the piece of plasticard :

 

 

Kyosho made the air inlet tubes like this :

 

 

This is a first test on one of the Bburago frames, I might want the alter the shape of the hole a bit because now the tube gets squashed :

 

 

 

I hope that the tube will look like this when done :

 

 

Sincerely

Pascal

[Codger]

A huge task beautifully done Pascal.

[Hamish Salomon]

this is a fantastic build! any updates? I love diecast modifications! and especially on the F40, in any size! 

That grey LM is SO beautiful! 

[Pascal]

Hi Hamish,

 

I should be able to post an update in a few days.

 

The grey / silver LM is not a real LM. It has a mix of parts : LM style rear wing, LM style side naca inlets under the doors, LM style naca inlet and big air scoop on the front bonnet, LM style front splitter and headlights but the rest of the front bonnet is GTE style : vents over the front wheels and small naca inlets behind those vents. It is also an F40 fitted with a catalyst, and that is something that I've never seen on a scale model.

 

What the difference between a non-catalyst and a catalyst F40 ? Well first of all the rear frame is different :

 

Non-catalyst :

 

 

Catalyst :

 

 

 

 

There are a number of different versions of the F40 : prototype, street version (with or without variable suspension, with or without catalyst, lightweight and basic version), LM version (IMSA spec and "normal" LM spec) , GT version (with or without catalyst), GTE version and last but not least all the street versions that have been altered in different ways to improve performance but mostly to make them look like an LM, GT or GTE version.

I'll try to make a different topic with pictures to show the different versions.

 

Sincerely

Pascal

 

Edited June 26, 2020 by Pascal

[Sabrejet]

And the 333SP! Just  bought the book...

[FunkyChiken]

Amazing work here, a group build all by yourself!

[Pascal]

I did a ton of work the last couple of weeks, time for an update.

 

I glued the NACA duct to the front hood, the ducts came out of the part that I cut from that hood to make the large hole for the air inlet :

 

 

The BBurago hole for the headlights :

 

 

I made these bigger for the LM and IMSA versions :

 

 

Before and after family photo :

 

 

Started with this Bburago part :

 

 

 

I removed the grills, tubes and some plastic from the rounded area to the back, and started boxing in the new bigger holes :

 

 

 

Dryfit :

 

 

These parts were 3D-printed. The red louvres are for the GTE version, these were drawn and printend by a belgian friend. The black louvres are for the IMSA version, these were drawn and printend by an italian friend :

 

 

Dryfit with the red louvres and NACA ducts :

 

 

 

Dryfit with the black louvres :

 

 

 

These need a bit more sanding, luckily the dimensions and especially the height are perfect :

 

 

Made a hole and glued in the NACA ducts on the sides of the body (LM, GTE en IMSA versions) :

 

 

These tubes were printed in Italy :

 

 

 

As were these U-shaped brackets that hold the suspension arms. I ordered 100 of these :

 

 

 

Back to the tubes. The first one is glued into the frame and some putty has been smeared to plug the gaps. Needs a little sanding, but it's a major improvement to the first version that I made with the green plastic tubes :

 

 

One side of the tube is more round then the other, just like with a 1/1 scale F40 :

 

 

These are the headlights of the Hotwheels F40 :

 

 

These are headlights from Legende Miniatures :

 

 

The look OK, but they dont have the depth of real headlight. I made these with the lathe. The macro-photo has each of them look a bit different, with the naked eye they all look the same. The first one took a couple of hours to make, now it takes about 20 mins to make 1 headlight  :

 

 

In this photo the left one has a round piece of clear plastic. I will use thicker sheet cause it's barely visible :

 

 

Used the lathe to turn the BBurago tires into slicks :

 

 

Some light sanding is still needed and the sides need to be rounded :

 

 

That's it. Next update will have to wait a few months, because I have to repeat all the modifications to the other 8 F40's.

 

Till next time

 

Pascal

[Codger]

Staggering and brilliant work Pascal. I hope you visit again before two months because I have two questions:

I'd guess by color that your filler of choice for the zamac is J-B Weld. ?

What is your tool(s) of choice for cutting out slots and holes in the zamac body?

Huge wonderful project...

EDIT: I see you answered my guess about the filler earlier on - thanks again for that.

Edited July 3, 2020 by Codger

[Pascal]

Hi Codger,

 

I use these cutting disks :

 

 

They don't shatter like the standard cutting disks. If you use them a low speed they cut slowly through the zamac. If you use them at high speed, they wear out quickly and the diameter becomes smaller. That last thing is an advantage because you get all kind of diameters for small cuts.

 

After the initial cuts with the disks, I use one of these to shape the slots and or holes :

 

 

The final shaping is done with files.

 

Sincerely

 

Pascal

[FunkyChiken]

Stunning!