My sister's Fiat 500C in 1/24

[JeroenS]

Hi all, I built this one as a present for my sister's birthday. She has a 500C which she loves very much and I, never knowing what to give her anyway, thought this was a good way to get her a nice gift and have some fun in the process. It's a good thing I started it way back in December of last year, as I managed to complete it just in time. Of course, it could have been done faster but there's so much other stuff to do 🙂... And, also, there is no kit (that I've been able to find) for the 500C which left me with the need to do some scratchbuillding which takes a little more time. Lastly, I found that when you build a car to match an existing 1:1 scale model, you want to represent it as accurately as possible. Luckily, the Fujimi kit that I used is not at all a bad start, but there are a good many different editions of this car driving the roads with minor differences that you really don't notice until you look at them with a modeller's eye. 

 

Anyway, time to get to the point. This is the kit: 

 

 

It's a great kit, there's not a whole lot of parts but the car is represented quite faithfully. The body captures the shape of the car really nicely and the interior matches that of the real car almost perfectly. The parts that are not up to par are the front seat headrests, which I modified, and the back seat headrest which are really terrible. They are just two flat discs protruding from the seats, Fujimi definitely took the easy way out there. They could have made some extra parts for the headrests without too much trouble in my opinion. On the other hand, it gave me a chance to build new ones which I rather enjoyed. 

 

The front seats themselves are accurate, however not for my sister's car. They are still not 100%, but better once I filled a pattern that was in the seatback and added piping to them under @harveyb258's expert guidance 🙂 

 

I also added seat belts and retainers, for both front and back seats. However, obviously the most work went into creating a "C" worthy roof. I had already decided early on that I wouldn't go as far as opening up the roof, but I did want to represent the soft top as accurately as I could. To do that I cut out a large section of the roof and then used card to create a new section with a slightly different shape and of course the smaller rear window which is typical for the 500C. I then overlayed the roof with a thin layer of Milliput, after first adding some thin strips to represent the roof's supports which are visible through the soft top (well, not exactly visible but you can tell they are there). Finally, I scratched the break light holder which is on top of the roof. 

 

The paint I used is Zero Paints Bianco Gioioso, which is the actual colour of my sister's car. This is a two part pearl effect paint and it went on smooth as silk. It was my first go at Zero paints and I dare say not the last. I also used their 1K clearcoat lacquer which is excellent as well. I polished with Novus nr. 2 which is brilliant stuff. For the chassis, roof, window surrounds, window rubbers and the interior I used Vallejo paints, applied with a brush. Molotow Chrome and a bit of Vallejo Metal Colour for the trim on the body and also on the chassis. The dashboard is part body colour by the way, as is the steering wheel.

 

If you wish to read the WIP thread, it is here: 

 

 

Pictures!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The full album is here in case you'd like to see more pics. 

 

To sum up: it is a lovely kit to build, of a very likeable car. I learned a lot from building it, especially from the modifications I made. As you can read in the WIP, I also learned that you should not throw plastic parts in cellulose thinner 🙂 

 

As a present, the little Fiat was very much appreciated. My sister loves it very much and she was really happy with it. It was with a bit of regret that I had to leave it at her place! Well, as we say here: luckily we still have the pictures.

 

Thanks for looking in, please let me know what you think!

 

[Vince1159]

That's superb,lovely job.....

[Alpha Delta 210]

Wow! That is very impressive. I can understand why you were reluctant to give it away!😉

[harveyb258]

Excellent work, Jeroen. That is, indeed, a lovely little model...I'm glad your sis likes it, too.

 

Cheers, H

[cmatthewbacon]

That looks great, Jeroen. The pictures outside in the sun look like the real thing. And you’ve risen to the extra challenge of building a miniature replica of a specific real one and knocked it out of the park. Well done! 

Best,

M.

[Cooper645]

Congratulations on making your deadline and turning out such a fantastic model. Pleased that your sister also loves it, a very personal gift.

 

🍻 cheers for sharing 

[keefr22]

That's a cracking little 500 Jeroen, really nice work! I bet you're half sorry that your sister loves it, as I'm sure you'd have liked to keep it! Still, I'm sure she'll let you visit it now & again...!!

 

Keith

[Alan R]

Hi Jeroen,

That is such a good build of a great little car.

How did you find getting the body to fit the floor-pan? When I tried to fit mine, I managed to detach the front valance and had to (Very carefully) re-glue it onto the body! I managed it, but had to be careful to to poils tha paint finish.

 

Anyway. I will take away some great ideas when I get around to building the Abarth...

 

Cheers, Alan.

Edited April 21, 2019 by Alan R

[JeroenS]

12 minutes ago, Alan R said:

How did you find getting the body to fit the floor-pan?

Hi Alan, it was indeed a rather tricky move, very tight. I was afraid the front valance would come off! But luckily it didn't. However: after fitting it I realized that the side indicator lights needed to be attached from the inside 🙄

 

So I had to take it off again (which was a bit difficult) and then repeat the procedure of getting the body on the floorpan. 

[Getting Old]

Lovely work, well done 

[Alan R]

Hi Jeroen,

 

I feel your pain.

I have lost count of the number of cars that I have completed. Put the body on, then noticed that I had missed the rear-view mirror for example.

 

Glad you managed to get it off the floor and back on again without too many problems.

 

Cheers, Alan.

[Spiny]

I must admit that I thought you were setting yourself too tight a deadline with this one, so it's great to see that you not only completed in time but also completed to a high standard. Your sister is right to be pleased with the result, and you can be happy knowing it's at a good home.

[JeroenS]

9 hours ago, Spiny said:

I must admit that I thought you were setting yourself too tight a deadline with this one, so it's great to see that you not only completed in time but also completed to a high standard. Your sister is right to be pleased with the result, and you can be happy knowing it's at a good home.

Thanks Spiny. It was indeed quite tight but for me there's nothing like a good deadline (or a new project!) to really get things moving 😋

[ElectricLightAndy]

Great job, the roof came out especially great, nice detailing on the interior too!

 

Andy.

[JeroenS]

Thanks for all the comments guys. Much, much appreciated. 

[Totally Mad Olivier]

Very nice build, Jeroen, for a cute little car!

May I suggest you to precise the scale (1/24, I suppose) in the title of the thread?

 

Cheers, Olivier

[Sabrejet]

Very nice. But the steering wheel is on the wrong side 😉

[JeroenS]

2 hours ago, Totally Mad Olivier said:

Very nice build, Jeroen, for a cute little car!

May I suggest you to precise the scale (1/24, I suppose) in the title of the thread?

 

Cheers, Olivier

Thanks Olivier! The title has been updated, it's indeed 1/24 scale. 

 

1 hour ago, Sabrejet said:

Very nice. But the steering wheel is on the wrong side 😉

Thanks. I double checked with my sister's car, I'm pretty sure I got it right 😉