Looking for advice on Ferrari Daytona kits

[Giorgio N]

I'm not a car modeller, my only experience has been helping a friend with a couple of kits many, many years ago. Still over the last couple of months I've been bugged by the idea of building a model of a car that the more I see the more I think is one of the pinnacle of automobile design: the Ferrari 365 GTB/4, often but unofficially know as Daytona.

Don't think I have to really explain what I feel about this car, I'm sure most enthusiasts agree that it was one of the most beautiful cars of its days and beyond. That the type also featured a pretty good drivetrain and was a great performer of course does not hurt. I'm sure that many here would love to own one and I feel the same, however I do not think I'll ever be able to afford a real one, so maybe a model could be some sort of consolation...

I've studied the subject a bit and seems that there are 3 1/24 kits around, from Italeri (also reboxed by Revell), Fujimi and Heller/Airfix. I'm looking at 1/24 as I feel that this would be the right scale to make justice to the Daytona. I also have a feeling that anything available in other scales is likely to be resin kits more expensive than the plastic 1/24 ones...

As part of the time spent searching for info I've come across these two builds here:

 

 

 

I like both models, more so as they are in what is IMHO one of the best colours available on the Daytona. Comparing the two I have a feeling that the Fujimi kit better captures the look of the original, particularly in theride height. What do the specialist car modellers here think ?

And most important, how do the two kits compare ? If I understand right the Fujimi kit seems to have more engine detail, but is the Italeri one so much worse ? And what about cockpit ?

And what about the Heller kit ? Is this a rebox of a kit from another company ? Is it their own ? and if so how does it compare with the other two?

 

Then the configuration... if I understand correctly the Italeri kit only represents a later car with painted light covers and features Borrani wire wheels, is that right ? From an old Fujimi catalogue I have there seem to have been several kits of the Daytona from the Japanese company, does anybody know if the various boxes included all parts or only the ones specific to the variant in the box art ? Personally I like the later car on wire wheels most, but since I guess that none of these kits will be easy to find I guess that I may have to accept a compromise should I decide for a fujimi kit. The Heller one seems again to be a late car on Borrani.

 

Well, any thought and advice is welcome ! I've done a quick check on Ebay and found a few kits.. and noticed how the Fujimi kits seem to be generally more expensive than the Italeri ones. In some cases much more expensive.

Not strictly a Daytona, but the same search also brought to my knowledge an even more expensive kit, the SMP24 kit of the Daytona "poorer" sister, the 365 GTC/4. That is a car that I've always liked for some reason, but I'd feel quite hard to justify spending € 345 on a kit of a 1/24 car, even if the kit itself look of pretty good quality

 

 

 

Edited March 4, 2021 by Giorgio N

[Vesa Jussila]

I have built Fujimi kit long time a go and it is nice one.  So I can recommend that. Also @johnlambert have purchased lately this kit so he might have more up to date opinion.

[johnlambert]

Hi Giorgio.  I have both kits waiting to be built.

 

The Italeri kit was also marketed by Airfix.  This wasn't expensive, I think not many people know about this version of the kit.

 

You get a handy guide to the dimensions (I have not checked how they compare to the real thing) and I assume 111 is the parts count.

 

This is the contents of the box.

 

This is my Fujimi Daytona

 

Fujimi box contents, I couldn't find a parts count but it looks like a lot more.

 

I don't want to get the parts out of the bags until I'm ready to start work but here are some more detailed photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To me, it feels like Fujimi has captured the shape better, but I'm willing to listen to alternative views on that point.

 

Some of the Airfix/Italeri bits and pieces.

 

Airfix/Italeri chassis.

 

Fujimi parts.

 

Wheels, Airfix/Italeri on the left and Fujimi on the right.  Only Fujimi gives the option of alloy wheels (which I prefer).

 

Close up of the wire wheels, not sure which ones build up better but you can see that Fujimi (right) has 50% more parts.

 

Also, if you want to build an early Daytona, then Fujimi gives you the option.

 

I hope that gives you an idea of the relative merits of the two kits.

[Giorgio N]

Thanks a lot John ! These pictures are indeed very useful and show how nicer the Fujimi kit is The wheels for example look much better.. yet the Airfix/Italeri parts don't look too shabby either.

The info on the Airfix kit are also very useful: I checked a 1993 Airfix/Heller catalogue and the Heller Daytona according to this has.. 111 parts ! Dimensions are listed as the same 185 X 77 mm, so based on this I assume that the Heller kit is the same Italeri kit included in the Airfix box.

I mention the Heller box because I've found one at what looks like a decent price... that is half the price of the cheapest Fujimi kit I've found, that represents the one-off "Speciale". Other Fujimi boxes seem to go for 3 times as much as the Heller kit...

 

I've also found a Monogram kit of the GTS but I'm not sure if this is a real Ferrari or a model of the Corvette-based replica used in the Miami Vice series.

[Six97s]

1 hour ago, Giorgio N said:

I've also found a Monogram kit of the GTS but I'm not sure if this is a real Ferrari or a model of the Corvette-based replica used in the Miami Vice series.

 

Replica, IIRC.

 

I have the Fujimi Daytona Speciale. I started it around 1990 but never finished it...  the engine and chassis detail is excellent and the wheels and tyres are much better than the ones in the Italeri 275 (the only comparable Ferrari kit I have).  I think my build stalled because the roof didn't fit properly and I seem to recall some problems with locating the body positively on the chassis.  I had similar problems with Fujimi's Countach - engine and chassis was great, but the doors didn't fit.  It was a long time ago though and I wasn't very experienced; probably better to listen to someone who's built one more recently.  :)

[Alan R]

I have only built a few of the Fujimi 'Enthusiast' models over the years (A couple of Porkers and a Ferrari Dino), but here are my observations.

 

• They are complicated kits with very many (some may say too many!) parts, so dry fit and trim (very carefully) before committing to cement.
• They do seem to build up into quite accurate replicas with some care.
• As others have observed, the engine does build really well and the fit is good, though I do remember the Dino exhaust manifolds s were a nightmare!
• Beware the wheels. On all of my enthusiast models, the hubs have moulded on wheel studs (Similar to the real thing, I suppose). You can get an alignment issue when fitting the wheels. Certainly on the two Porsches, I had problems, but the Dino was a lot easier.
• Body fit to the chassis can be an issue, certainly at times with the Dino, I thought that the shell was going to split, but after a bit of wriggling and twisting, it popped into place.

I must admit that with the Dino, I kind-of lost interest for a while, due to the complexity, but I eventually finished it.
here's a link to my build: 

 

Hope that helps,

 

Alan.

[Giorgio N]

14 hours ago, Six97s said:

 

Replica, IIRC.

 

I have the Fujimi Daytona Speciale. I started it around 1990 but never finished it...  the engine and chassis detail is excellent and the wheels and tyres are much better than the ones in the Italeri 275 (the only comparable Ferrari kit I have).  I think my build stalled because the roof didn't fit properly and I seem to recall some problems with locating the body positively on the chassis.  I had similar problems with Fujimi's Countach - engine and chassis was great, but the doors didn't fit.  It was a long time ago though and I wasn't very experienced; probably better to listen to someone who's built one more recently. 

 

I feared this, I remember that when the Monogram kit first appeared it was in a Miami Vice badged box... I'll leave this kit on the shop shelves then.

Good to know about the fit issues with the Fujimi kit... now I'm not a car model builder but I have plenty of aircraft kit experience. In theory I should know how to make these fit, I mean I've built some pretty rough short run kits... still I fear that with a car any problem area may have to be very well sorted as with a gloss surface any blemish would be much more visible than on a dull camouflaged model

 

[Giorgio N]

2 hours ago, Alan R said:

I have only built a few of the Fujimi 'Enthusiast' models over the years (A couple of Porkers and a Ferrari Dino), but here are my observations.

 

• They are complicated kits with very many (some may say too many!) parts, so dry fit and trim (very carefully) before committing to cement.
• They do seem to build up into quite accurate replicas with some care.
• As others have observed, the engine does build really well and the fit is good, though I do remember the Dino exhaust manifolds s were a nightmare!
• Beware the wheels. On all of my enthusiast models, the hubs have moulded on wheel studs (Similar to the real thing, I suppose). You can get an alignment issue when fitting the wheels. Certainly on the two Porsches, I had problems, but the Dino was a lot easier.
• Body fit to the chassis can be an issue, certainly at times with the Dino, I thought that the shell was going to split, but after a bit of wriggling and twisting, it popped into place.

I must admit that with the Dino, I kind-of lost interest for a while, due to the complexity, but I eventually finished it.
here's a link to my build: 

 

Hope that helps,

 

Alan.

 

 

Thanks Alan, your comments help a lot ! I'm getting the feeling that while I should be capable of building one of these Fujimi kits maybe it would be better to start with something relatively easier, more so as ruining a £60 kit is not something I'd be happy with... and by the time I add delivery even the cheapest of the Fujimi kits I've found would cost that kind of money. Mind, I do have a Fujimi 1/24 car kit in the stash but this is the hopefully simpler Fiat Barchetta, that I bought because I had owned a real one and I've yet to build.

[Davie]

The Italeri one doesn't look right from the doors back in the example above. The Fujimi one looks a lot more accurate.

[cmatthewbacon]

To be fair, looking at the rather ancient pictures on my thread above, I can see that the “point and shoot” Canon I was using at the time is doing the Italeri kit no favours shape-wise...

 

I’ll pull out the Fujimi Daytona shell when I have a minute and take a couple of side by sides with the Italeri built up from the shelf, which will be a fairer comparison....

best,

M.

[Six97s]

This thread prompted me to dig out my unfinished Fujimi Speciale.   It was nearer completion than I remembered.  I'm not sure if I wasn't aware at the time this was a one-off, or I just preferred black interiors. 😬   You'll notice in the chassis photo that the wheels are about .040" too wide, leaving a lip on the inside, so that will need correcting before I can finish it.

 

 

 

 

 

[johnlambert]

@Six97s that looks good, I've got the Speciale in my stash too.  I think it was the only Daytona available at reasonable money when I started looking for one.  I was having doubts about whether or not I wanted to build it, but seeing yours part completed actually makes me want to get mine done.

[cmatthewbacon]

Well, @Giorgio N, I haven't got the photos yet, but I have done some measurements... handily, there's a Daytona left profile picture in "The Road Ferraris" that is taken from a distance, and reproduced (by chance?) at 1/24 scale, with a wheelbase of 100mm.

 

There's no doubt that the Fujimi looks sleeker and more attractive.... but is it in the same way that the new Revell E-Type Coupe looks attractive? It's all a matter of millimeters, though.

 

On the whole, the Italeri is more dimensionally accurate. Where they've messed up is the lower side window line, which should be flatter at the back (as it is on the Fujimi) and the height of the side windows, which should be an mm or so shorter. The total height from the sills to the roofline is correct, though. The Fujimi is 1.5mm (ish.... it's more than 1 and less than 2) too short, leaving the windows too short. Most importantly, though, the rear overhang of the tail is 3mm too long (while the Italeri has it right) The combination of the lower height and longer tail makes for a substantially sleeker (better looking) tail end than the Italeri, but it's not actually correct. That upswept lower window line on the Italeri also makes the "haunches" over the rear wheel arches appear much chunkier than on the Fujimi. At the front, the Fujimi has a slightly longer overhang than the Italeri, in front of arches that are further forward. Without actually assembling the complete chassis to find out what the wheelbase is when built, again my impression is that Fujimi has modelled a better-looking but slightly less accurate front end, too.

 

So, in summary, the Italeri side windows throw off the shape and appearance, but dimensionally it's more accurate. The Fujimi has been "enhanced" to be a sleeker looking model, and the window lines look right, but dimensionally it's less accurate. You pays your money and takes your choice.

 

One final thought, though. The Fujimi looks sleek... they way you might want to see a Daytona in your mind's eye. But  one word that keeps coming up in reading descriptions of the Daytona in period is "brutal" (by comparison to the 275GTB generation). I think the Fujimi looks great, but it's a Daytona refined. The Italeri looks more like a bruiser, like it might be describes brutal, so I suspect it captures the essence of the car that people saw in 1968 better.

 

Not that I'm going to get rid of my Fujimi kit, of course -- it's got a tool  kit, of all things!

HTH,

best,

M.

 

 

[Giorgio N]

On 3/6/2021 at 3:38 PM, cmatthewbacon said:

Well, @Giorgio N, I haven't got the photos yet, but I have done some measurements... handily, there's a Daytona left profile picture in "The Road Ferraris" that is taken from a distance, and reproduced (by chance?) at 1/24 scale, with a wheelbase of 100mm.

 

There's no doubt that the Fujimi looks sleeker and more attractive.... but is it in the same way that the new Revell E-Type Coupe looks attractive? It's all a matter of millimeters, though.

 

On the whole, the Italeri is more dimensionally accurate. Where they've messed up is the lower side window line, which should be flatter at the back (as it is on the Fujimi) and the height of the side windows, which should be an mm or so shorter. The total height from the sills to the roofline is correct, though. The Fujimi is 1.5mm (ish.... it's more than 1 and less than 2) too short, leaving the windows too short. Most importantly, though, the rear overhang of the tail is 3mm too long (while the Italeri has it right) The combination of the lower height and longer tail makes for a substantially sleeker (better looking) tail end than the Italeri, but it's not actually correct. That upswept lower window line on the Italeri also makes the "haunches" over the rear wheel arches appear much chunkier than on the Fujimi. At the front, the Fujimi has a slightly longer overhang than the Italeri, in front of arches that are further forward. Without actually assembling the complete chassis to find out what the wheelbase is when built, again my impression is that Fujimi has modelled a better-looking but slightly less accurate front end, too.

 

So, in summary, the Italeri side windows throw off the shape and appearance, but dimensionally it's more accurate. The Fujimi has been "enhanced" to be a sleeker looking model, and the window lines look right, but dimensionally it's less accurate. You pays your money and takes your choice.

 

One final thought, though. The Fujimi looks sleek... they way you might want to see a Daytona in your mind's eye. But  one word that keeps coming up in reading descriptions of the Daytona in period is "brutal" (by comparison to the 275GTB generation). I think the Fujimi looks great, but it's a Daytona refined. The Italeri looks more like a bruiser, like it might be describes brutal, so I suspect it captures the essence of the car that people saw in 1968 better.

 

Not that I'm going to get rid of my Fujimi kit, of course -- it's got a tool  kit, of all things!

HTH,

best,

M.

 

 

 

Thanks a lot, that's really a lot of useful information ! So it looks like the Italeri kit is actually more correct than the Fujimi one and, as you say, better captures the feel of the original car. I'll look for other pictures of the completed model, based on your old pictures I would probably lower the suspensions a tiny bit but I'll check pictures of the real thing carefully before committing to such a job.

Wonder if the other problems of the Italery kit may be corrected... but really I'm not sure if I'd like to work on anything that may result in changes around the clear parts. And then, do I really want to go to such trouble anyway ? Maybe with this one I should just enjoy the kit as it is...

[Mr Mansfield]

Is the Airfix/Italieri one the same as the Revell Daytona? I built one of these when I first got into modelling as a grown up & although the whole thing sits too high & the bonnet doesn’t close properly, I’d love to give it another go now my techniques are better

 

this is how it looked (please excuse the super thick paint, original chrome on the wheels and kitchen foil for the window chrome 🤪)

 

 

 

every time I look at these picture, I want to give it another go, but hopefully it gives you an idea. I don’t think it’s a bad kit, the curve at the back is spot on to my eyes, it just sits too high

[Giorgio N]

On 3/10/2021 at 6:40 PM, Mr Mansfield said:

Is the Airfix/Italieri one the same as the Revell Daytona? I built one of these when I first got into modelling as a grown up & although the whole thing sits too high & the bonnet doesn’t close properly, I’d love to give it another go now my techniques are better

 

this is how it looked (please excuse the super thick paint, original chrome on the wheels and kitchen foil for the window chrome 🤪)

 

 

 

 

every time I look at these picture, I want to give it another go, but hopefully it gives you an idea. I don’t think it’s a bad kit, the curve at the back is spot on to my eyes, it just sits too high

 

Your model looks pretty good !

I believe that yes, the Revell Daytona should be the same Italeri kit. Agree that seems to sit a bit too high, something that I noticed in other pictures of models built from this kit. Hopefully this will be something that can be corrected...

 

I say that can be corrected and not that could be corrected because I have just ordered that Heller kit I mentioned above. As soon as the kit arrives I'll comment on this and post pictures. It will be my first "proper" car model, in the sense that I did help a friend build a couple models in the past but I've not built one for myself yet. Thinking about it, maybe I should start a build thread in the relevant section when I'll decide to give it a go. In the meantime I'll start looking into paint options... will make a change from my usual FS and BS paints for camouflaged aircraft

[Mr Mansfield]

On 15/03/2021 at 22:51, Giorgio N said:

 

Your model looks pretty good !

I believe that yes, the Revell Daytona should be the same Italeri kit. Agree that seems to sit a bit too high, something that I noticed in other pictures of models built from this kit. Hopefully this will be something that can be corrected...

 

I say that can be corrected and not that could be corrected because I have just ordered that Heller kit I mentioned above. As soon as the kit arrives I'll comment on this and post pictures. It will be my first "proper" car model, in the sense that I did help a friend build a couple models in the past but I've not built one for myself yet. Thinking about it, maybe I should start a build thread in the relevant section when I'll decide to give it a go. In the meantime I'll start looking into paint options... will make a change from my usual FS and BS paints for camouflaged aircraft

Yes please do share. I’d love to see how it comes out