1/24 MFH Ferrari 315S - 1957 Mille Miglia

[Sabrejet]

This is Model Factory Hiro’s 1/24 scale kit of the Ferrari 315S/335S, which comes in three separate iterations: Version A (1957 Mille Miglia #532 von Trips & 1957 Le Mans #7 Hawthorn/Musso); Version B (1957 Le Mans #6 Hill/Collins & #8 Lewis-Evans/Severi) and Version C (1957 Mille Miglia #534 Collins/Klementaski & #535 Taruffi). I chose kit Version C because I was lucky enough to see the 535 car a few years ago at the Concours of Elegance and I think it’s probably the best-looking of all Ferrari’s 1950s sports racers. Well apart from the 375MM Plus, but since MFH doesn’t do a kit of that, here we are.

 

Here is Taruffi in #535, leading home von Trips in #532 on the 1957 race.

 

 

And the same car a couple of years ago at Hampton Court. Random fact: in August 1964 this vehicle changed hands for $3500; in 1998 it was bought by the current owner John McCaw, who paid $7.5 million for it. I doubt you could buy it for less than £30 million in today’s market. Oh for a time machine!

 

 

All of the 1957 cars differed to some extent and #535 was unique in having a periscope air intake on the left-hand door. Unusually for MFH, they have made an error in their Version A kit: Mille Miglia car #532 is modelled with prominent louvres in the rear wings and photos of that car during the race show that it didn’t have these fitted. I think they are correct for the LM car however.

 

Back to the 1957 Mille Miglia, the #535 car is notable as the race winner, being driven solo by Piero Taruffi. Sadly it was to be the last competitive Mille Miglia following a tragic accident: just 40 miles into the circuit, the Ferrari of Alfonso ‘Fon’ de Portago burst a tyre and hit a telegraph pole before running into the crowd. Both de Portago and his navigator Ed Nelson were killed, along with ten spectators. De Portago’s car was a 335S, #531, which MFH doesn’t cover in any of the kit versions.

 

The car I’m modelling (chassis #0684) is a 315S, as was the car of von Trips at the ‘57 Mille Miglia. If my Ferrari calculator is correct, that means it had a 3.8-litre V12, whereas the 335S had a 4-litre.

 

Unfortunately, I was in such a rush to get started on this that I didn’t take any photos of the constituent parts, but I will make sure I do in future instalments! Here are some from MFH’s website:

 

White metal bits:

 

 

Resin:

 

 

Photoetch & turned aluminium:

 

 

I was a bit dubious of the 3D-printed wheels, but need not have worried: they are exquisite!

 

 

Decals:

 

 

So Stage 1 of the build is the engine, which comprises 107 parts: three resin (cylinder blocks and crankcase); 31 photoetched and the rest in white metal. A length of 0.4mm nickel silver wire is provided for the throttle shaft and a mix of lead and copper wire was added for ignition leads. MFH recommend Mr Color Silver No.8 for the rocker covers and though the restored car exhibits silver-coloured items, period photos show them to be a darker shade, so I opted for Mr Color No.28 Steel instead.

 

Crankcase with cylinder blocks and cam covers fitted. Plug leads are lead wire with 0.4mm brass tube ends, painted red-brown.

 

 

The Weber carbs are delicate castings and have to be installed with PE heat shields between them; also note minute throttle levers and throttle shaft added.

 

 

Then distributor caps and inlet trumpets + PE mesh grilles fitted. This engine had two distributors running 12 spark plugs each in twin-plug heads. The distributors each ran six leads to each head so that in the event of a failure, the engine would run. Likewise, each distributor was fed by two coils, so loads of wiring to do!

 

 

And that wiring done, as well as a few more ancilliaries added: water pipes, dynamo etc. The distinctive cross-over of plug leads can be seen; I made a jig to wire the distributor caps before adding them to the engine. 

 

 

And a £1 coin to show scale.

 

 

Finally I forgot to add the oil fillers (polished aluminium), so a quick view to show that.

 

 

Please fire away with questions and comments; not sure when the next instalment will be, but Step 2 is front suspension... 

Edited October 10, 2019 by Sabrejet

[JeroenS]

Well, just one comment for now: wow, nice engine!

[Schwarz-Brot]

Rare to see the small scale mfh kits being built. I will follow closely. What you show looks to be well worth the invest.

[Ian T]

I’m so impressed with this already, I’ll be watching!!

[Northern Dan]

That's a beautiful looking kit even before it's assembled. Looking forward to seeing the progress. The engine looks great. 

[Sabrejet]

I’ve decided to postpone Step 2 (front suspension) for a bit, since it mounts onto the main floor plate RE1 and this item is covered in Step 3 (rear suspension) and it seemed to make more sense to do Step 3 and then be able to fit the front suspension on the whole assembly. I’m sure it makes no difference…

 

So this is the main floor plate RE1 with the engine mounts at the top left and the hole for the rear-mounted diff just to the right of centre.

 

 

And these are the main rear suspension parts, including diff and gearbox in resin at bottom. Because the rear dampers attach to parts of the main chassis frame; and that in turn attaches to the cockpit rear bulkhead (large white resin bit), those items are included in Step 3; ditto the propshaft tunnel, which is the L-shaped white metal item bottom right.

 

 

And though it doesn’t look like it, these are the same bits, cleaned up and with the gearbox and diff glued together middle top.

 

 

And then most of the same bits under a coat of primer. It always amazes me how good scrappy-looking white metal bits look under a coat of Halfords’ finest.

 

 

So. Houston we have a problem. Luckily I took a few photos around the car when I last saw it, and on perusing them I noted something: on the restored car, the engine starter motor is mounted off the back of the engine, but is clearly visible inside the car (circled) – it has a starter handle (arrowed), a bit like older Italian cars up to the FIAT 124 (if I recall correctly) EDIT: It was the FIAT 126, not the 124 and the starter looks almost identical! 

 

 

So a bit unusual, but nothing new. But is that a modern feature because MFH model the starter motor (M17 and E4) as part of the engine bay, and hidden under the prop shaft/transmission tunnel item (circled, and just visible behind the LH distributor drive):

 

 

 

And this is a view of the 'as-kitted' transmission tunnel fitted on the model:

 

 

Well luckily I found a photo (credit: Revs Digital Library), which shows a period shot and the starter is indeed inside the car, as is the starter handle:

 

 

So I have no idea why MFH modelled it that way (a different, restored car used as source data maybe?), but the way MFH model it, the driver wouldn’t have been able to reach the starter handle without getting out of the car and opening the bonnet. In any case I need to modify the kit parts and this is what I aim to do: cut away the shaded part, fair the resultant hole and then mount the starter and handle onto the back of the engine (through the cockpit opening) once it’s fitted in the car.

 

 

Hopefully it will all meet up in the right places…

 

Edited October 13, 2019 by Sabrejet

[Sabrejet]

Random I know, but here is a 126 starter motor; it's cable-operated rather than hand-operated but pretty similar:

 

 

[Sabrejet]

So....back end bits painted:

 

 

Then the transmission tunnel chopped:

 

 

And a quick check to see if it will all make sense and look OK:

 

 

I think we have a plan!

[Sabrejet]

Couldn't resist having a look at those 3D-printed wheels: I was a bit concerned that they wouldn't have the finesse of individually-spoked versions, though in this scale they would certainly be better than the 2D of photoetch. They are easy to remove from the build support, and I know from experience that they've been printed at an angle to get the best compromise of detail, minimal build support etc:

 

 

The detail is pretty impressive...

 

 

And just to see how it looked, I put on a coat of Mr Color No.8 Silver. I'm not going to prime these items as I think I'd lose some of the refinement under two coats of paint. So far I've only done one wheel, just in case, but I need not have worried. I reckon they are going to look pretty darned sweet.

 

 

[Sabrejet]

Trans tunnel remodelling ongoing: needed a bit of filler, which I have still to sand flush:

 

 

 

And then front suspension done:

 

 

 

And back suspension & bits added, plus front suspension assembly attached:

 

 

 

 

 

I usually like my modelling to be slow and savoured, but I just can't put this down,   Comments most welcome.

[Schwarz-Brot]

Love the details these kits show. And it is a brave move to chop up such an expensive kit in search for detail and realism only few would even notice.

 

Are the 3d-printed wheels supplied with the kit or are these aftermarket parts? I always thought MFH wheels had to be done with wire.

 

The suspension looks to be mainly white metal? How strong is it? Did you paint these parts as well?

[Sabrejet]

11 hours ago, Schwarz-Brot said:

Love the details these kits show. And it is a brave move to chop up such an expensive kit in search for detail and realism only few would even notice.

 

Are the 3d-printed wheels supplied with the kit or are these aftermarket parts? I always thought MFH wheels had to be done with wire.

 

The suspension looks to be mainly white metal? How strong is it? Did you paint these parts as well?

Yes the 3D-printed wheels come with the kit. I do like the hand-strung wheels but they seem to add a lot of cost to a kit - maybe £100 on a 1/18, if the price of the aftermarket MFH GTO wheels are anything to go by. The trans tunnel bit had me really wound up so I just had to do it. I also notice that MFH models the throttle pedal between the clutch and brake pedals and I think this is correct in-period. The restored car has a conventional layout with the throttle at the right, and I think that's a sensible modern revision. Since I can't locate period shots showing the pedals I'm going to stick with the kit on that one.

 

Suspension at the front is all metal; just the gearbox and diff at the back are resin. I've painted all items whether they are resin or metal. However there is a nice metal steering wheel boss, which is polished on the actual car, so i think I will most likely polish the kit part too.

[harveyb258]

Lovely work on a lovely kit.

 

Just a small point....should there be telescopic dampers inside the front springs????????????

 

Cheers, H

[Sabrejet]

2 minutes ago, harveyb258 said:

Lovely work on a lovely kit.

 

Just a small point....should there be telescopic dampers inside the front springs????????????

 

Cheers, H

No - the dampers are lever-arm Houdaille type; they work off cylindrical dampers and lever arms, a bit like MGB etc. The lever arms are fitted on the rear dampers but still to be fitted on the fronts.

[mustang1989]

This is one helluva build!! Good grief look at all that detail!!!

 

[Sabrejet]

Bit of progress: cockpit bits:

 

 

And I couldn't resist having a go at the steering wheel, which is a spoked item, sandwiched between two white metal rings M107 & M108:

 

 

And it looks like this finished:

 

 

 

[Onezonedrone]

NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICCCCCCCCCCCCCCEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! 

[MR2Don]

Aw, this is getting beyond a joke. You're so close to having me throwing everything I've got up against the wall and going off in a huff! The front suspension is what did it, those joints!!!!! Absolutely brilliant.👍👍👍👍👍

[Sabrejet]

On 24/10/2019 at 18:30, MR2Don said:

Aw, this is getting beyond a joke. You're so close to having me throwing everything I've got up against the wall and going off in a huff! The front suspension is what did it, those joints!!!!! Absolutely brilliant.👍👍👍👍👍

You're too kind: if it looks good, then praise to MFH. If it looks ropey then that's my input!

[Sabrejet]

Bit more done. Trans tunnel modified, painted and with the gear selector assembly installed: the shaft goes to the rear-mounted gearbox:

 

 

Then in no particular order the fuel tank assembled (main parts are white metal, over a resin support). I've also got the engine bulkhead installed, plus the trans tunnel. The fuel tank nicely hides most of the stuff I made for the rear suspension/diff etc. Ah well - I know it's under there...

 

 

I left the tank in rough-buffed natural metal, then gave it a dark wash and then a coat of Mr Color gloss.

 

 

 

Then a few of the cockpit bits going together. I've noted a few paint chips etc where things rub as I'm checking fit of the body shell, so I will tackle those when it all fits OK. So far I haven't dropped it, but it's come close!

 

 

 

 

[Schwarz-Brot]

The metalwork looks stunning. Too bad it hides many of these fine details. But then again, it is beautiful in its own right, so too bad it will be hidden under the bodywork. 😉

 

[CrazyCrank]

incredible detailing at this scale, my jaws on the floor 😲

[Sabrejet]

Progress is a bit slow at the moment but I have managed to get the brake drums painted and fitted and the rear end (spare wheel attachment frame) is coming along. Also got the starter correctly installed on the modified transmission tunnel and a few other bits. I hope to post some more today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Sabrejet]

Well here is the rear frame assembled; it's white metal and quite fragile.

 

 

Then attached & painted. Final look too at the rear suspension, which is going to be hidden under the fuel tank. No way of avoiding that since there is a strap which attaches to the frame and retains the wheel/tyre, so chassis and tank are joined.

 

 

Then tank epoxied in place...

 

 

 

...and tank straps attached (photoetch).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Few more bits added to the cockpit, including the starter cables.

 

 

And then finally, the strap added to the spare wheel/tyre:

 

 

 

Tank filler neck will be fitted once I can put the body in place and position it exactly.

[Alan R]

That really is a remarkable piece of craftsmanship.

If I had the dosh, I would get one right now...

 

 

Cheers,

Alan.