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Ferrari 712 Watkins Glen 1971 (Mario Andretti)


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Edging onto the starting grid is this

 

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/ma-scale-85-ferrari-712-m-1010--1072520 

 

And now you know as much as me!! No, that's not right, because I know what it looks like

PXL-20210317-120548479.jpg 

 

And now you know as much as me! Quite possibly more, though I have heard of Andretti. I got this because it was bundled in with the Porsche 910 that I built for the 10th Anniversary GB. As such I didn't necessarily want it, and when I looked inside the box I wasn't sure I wanted to build it.. Largely because of what's not in the box, namely any instructions. Anyhow, now's the time and I think I can figure out where most of it goes. There again if anyone has got a copy of the instructions I'd be thrilled.

Plenty of shiny red coming up and not on a fire engine

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That looks lovely - can't help with the instructions, but some nice images that may help here;

 

https://www.ultimatecarpage.com/cg/625/Ferrari-712-Can-Am.html

 

..and the contact details for the owner of the company is on their website here;

 

https://www.mamodels.com/contact-us/

 

HTH 😃

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13 hours ago, Jinxman said:

That looks lovely - can't help with the instructions, but some nice images that may help here;

 

https://www.ultimatecarpage.com/cg/625/Ferrari-712-Can-Am.html

 

..and the contact details for the owner of the company is on their website here;

 

https://www.mamodels.com/contact-us/

 

HTH 😃

That's awesome, so many photos that I should be able to figure out what goes where from them.

They're still going? That's splendid news when so many of these little firms have gone under.  Whatever would've  happened in a real competition, I predict now that your Beamer is going to be superior to my effort.  Contacting the local hobby shop for a click and collect on some Tamiya Ferrari red- though it's tempting to go into the car accessory shop (which is 20 miles nearer) and ask for some Ferrari touch up paint😃

42 minutes ago, CliffB said:

It looks like a super little kit (subject of course, to what the surfaces of the white metal parts look like :winkgrin:).

 

Cheers

How about if I just describe them as 'not pristine'- think that's suitably vague!!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks to @Jinxman for the details of MA Models, not only is Mike still going but he's emailed the instructions across to me in double quick time. Two sets actually because he changed the casting over the years and I don't know which version I've got. A full assessment will take place tomorrow.

 

While waiting I'd been indulging in whatever the resin equivalent of sprue-fondling is, and looking at pictures on the Internet. As has been highlighted in the various threads featuring resin biplanes and their struts, resin isn't the best material for thin sections and the very rear of the body has broken, so at the very least I'll need to splice in a piece of strip plastic there. The casting in general doesn't look too bad- what I thought were nasty dimples are really locating holes for the tripod that supports the rear view mirror.

https://www.ultimatecarpage.com/img/Ferrari-712-Can-Am-5720.html 

It a good general view, The rear view mirror is certainly prominent but I can't help but wonder how effective it was!

 

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The wit is over. Perhaps not surprisingly I've got the older version but all parts are present and correct, along with what appears to be a bonus piece but I'll see if we need that later🤪- a reference to my favourite The Far Side cartoon

https://images.app.goo.gl/pzstQCE2zsVY1EYLA 

 

So...

PXL-20210330-175047610.jpg 

Eat my (resin) dust, it's the back end of my Ferrari innit😉

Andretti managed fourth placed finish at Watkins Glen, so some people saw his rear, though apparently he lost some of it it, along with spinning so maybe this is more of the rear than there should be on an accurate model.

The point is though that the little stubs near the top should go all the way across. Not too worried about that once some plaststrut in spliced in. What I'm not so sure about is how to handle the rear vents. Hopefully you can make out that they're grooves inwards on this, but it seems they should really go outwards; if I've anything thin enough I'll not so much fill them in but 'bulk' them out.

 

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Et voila...

PXL-20210407-161918911.jpg 

..because I don't know the Italian equivalent.

Where would we be without Halfords grey primer? In a pickle in my case, so a blend of white and grey primers until I can restock but it gives the idea. Pleased with how it's come out. Hoping to speed up the rate of progress now that the body-work is straightened out (the front looks good enough to me).

 

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There is progress

PXL-20210413-140110158.jpg 

The exhausts are a curious off-white- I guess the original system was asbestos (this being back in the day). Pleased with how it's going, there are flaws, but a balance of my inability and the casting. eg didn't realise until it was too late that the air intake atop the cylinders is too narrow, so its a case of rebuild (nope), line up the cylinders with that or put them correctly on the engine block. I went for align with the intake because it's more visible.

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Looking good so far but MA kits are a bit rough round the edges! I've only just recently come across group builds but I have displayed this very same car in the vehicle section. Mines an old 1/43 metal Meri  kit in the ready for inspection a little while ago. Good luck with this one.Chris.

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On 4/15/2021 at 9:31 AM, Kitkent said:

MA kits are a bit rough round the edges

But I'm a bit rough round the edges to if we're honest about it!

 

On 4/15/2021 at 9:31 AM, Kitkent said:

I have displayed this very same car

So that's what it's meant to look like! Nice work and helps me with the decal placement when I get there. Mmmm, a fire extinguisher in the cockpit next to Andrettit's seat, whereas this version comes with a second seat which I didn't think was right, I'll see what I can do. I'm finding it hard to get images of the original rather than in it's later Privateer days.

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9 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

This looks suitably challenging. Nice improvements/repairs...

 

Regards,

Adrian

Thank you, though I'm not in your league.

The time has come for some serious pondering and head scratching; time to prepare for final assembly

PXL-20210417-145858897.jpg 

 

The main problem is how to fit the roll bar, it goes without saying that the instructions are illustrative only, there's nothing that might be mistaken for a locating point, and the bracing arms are too long and will need to be trimmed, once I've half a plan for how to get it in place.

 

So far though I'm pleased with how it's going

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After a night of pondering (why waste time sleeping?) I think that all I can do is just plunge in and hope for the best; maybe in a day or two though as I think the J39's tender will be the focus of attention today.

 

As it happened, there was a modern black Ferrari giving it large in a local car park yesterday, being a generous type I found myself thinking, 'Mate, most of the young men round here drive tractors that cost more than that, come loaded with way more tech AND don't have a problem with the speed bumps in this car park- now go and get yourself some proper wheels!'

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As YOU all know (and I keep forgetting), resin is really brittle

PXL-20210423-194516922.jpg 

 

Hopefully you can't see the join right at the front, I'm glad to say it's even harder to see the right way up. So, I've taken the plunge and started on final assembly, which was how I came to snap in the first place- no more dry runs in case it happens again, next time it's with the CA applied. A bit crude but front axle now wedged into what seems to be the correct place. Next comes getting the engine and cockpit unit married up with the body and we'll be on a roll.

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There's a wheel in every corner now

PXL-20210428-153922250.jpg 

which was not as easy as it sounds, or should have been. But they're on now, alas getting the body on chipped the paint on the air intake, so I had to touch it up. I'd like to think it'll get easier but I've a feeling that it won't

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On 4/28/2021 at 9:04 PM, Jinxman said:

That looks great, which reminds me I need to pull my finger out..... 😊

Thanks. It is, in al honesty it's a bit of a brute. The most enjoyable bit has been the Revell Italian (saves on licensing fees I guess) red which is a lovely finish!

 

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Not many people know this... Determined to save weight at every opportunity, Enzo left out the dashboard, gauges and steering wheel

PXL-20210430-145309168.jpg 

 

I really, really wish he had because it would have saved me this, 'Doh!' moment and being distracted from working on fitting the roll-bar. Normal service will be resumed shortly, actually the way this build is going this is pretty much normal service.

 

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1 hour ago, Mjwomack said:

Not many people know this... Determined to save weight at every opportunity, Enzo left out the dashboard, gauges and steering wheel

Sounds like the kind of thing Mr Chapman would consider...

 

It's looking good, as long as you can get those bits fitted. 😉

Anyway, enough chitter-chatter, must press on!

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Relieved to report that the instrument panel went in very smoothly. In a neat twist of fate, it turns out that if I'd fitted it when I meant to, then it wouldn't have put it in the right place. At leat now it's in plausibly the right place.

PXL-20210505-161115106.jpg 

Roll bar also cut down to size (literally) and fitted. Found I had a spare set of seat belt parts so I used that instead of the rather crude decal.

 

Can't pretend that I'm on the home straight, but I do at least feel that I'm through the nasty chicane and should be able to put the pedal to the floor pretty soon.

PXL-20210505-161152829.jpg 

 

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In the time it took me to fiddle around with the 'front fins', I've slipped to half way down page 2; not that a podium finish was ever a chance. End of my pondering was that the white metal parts from the kit was less than unworkable and I decided to make my own from 20thou sheet.

PXL-20210512-172732647.jpg 

Still a lot of tidying up to be done, but I assure you it was better than what I started with. Clean the fins up some more and then it should be decals time and it'll start to look like a car and hopefully not one from the Wacky Races

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