Best starter 1/8 model kit

[larchiefeng]

I know that you occasionally commented on my F-40 build so, you have some idea of what gets cut out and what will remain.

Most of big modifications take place on the front and rear frame and suspension parts. The engine gets a lot of upgrades but not much cutting. The body is kind of up to you and how far you want to go I.e. opening up the louvres or not. That was one of the harder things to do in order to get them all the same. If you do decide to cut them open, you will probably have to deal with the possibility of damaging the paint on body around them. Also, be aware that the metal on the body is very thick and it’s going to take a lot of work to open each one up. I had to use carbide discs on my Dremel and this where you run the risk of damaging the paint if, it gets away from you.

Because you have the more rare yellow body F-40, you run the risk of not being able to match the paint. Also, the paint is an automotive type finish that is kind of baked on and is pretty thick. I completely stripped all the red paint off to do a color change repaint on mine. In retrospect, I now think that, I should have not stripped it and just used what was on there and sanded it down and used it as a base coat for the new color. I also learned that regular model paint was not a good idea to use on the body; I should have used standard automotive paint for the metal body.

Anyway, these are just a few small things that I learned during the conversion process.

[Cratecruncher]

For the original poster, if your desire is to tackle the Bugatti T50 and your skills and budget are up to it, I'd say start your search and look to acquire a pristine model in box for $1000 to $1250.  I have built the Bugatti as well as the Pocher F40 and Alfa Monza and the Bugatti is very well engineered.  I found the F40 went together well but lacked detail while the Monza was a nightmare to fit together - avoid that one for now.  Life is too short to build stuff you don't like.