Airfix Pagani Huayra Gift Set (A55008) 1:43

[Mike]

Pagani Huayra Gift Set (A55008)

1:43 Airfix

 

 

The Huayra was the successor to esoteric hypercar manufacturer Pagani’s Zonda, reaching the market in 2011 in its original form, with only 100 made before other variants were released, very few of which were made before moving onto the next version, to keep the cachet of owning one to a minimum number of billionaires.  In good hands one can reach 60mph in under three seconds using seven forward gears mated to a 6.0L AMG Mercedes twin-turbocharged V12 that has been breathed on to make it just that bit more ridiculously powerful.  Stopping power is equally insane with four-pot carbon-ceramic Brembo brakes that will put the skin from your face onto the dashboard if a cat crosses your path unexpectedly.  The latest version is the Codalunga, with only five being made at an asking price of almost €7.5m once you’ve added tax into the mix.  Affording servicing and fueling a Huayra in today’s current economic climate might make them less appealing, but if you’ve got that much money to spend on a car, a tank of fuel will hardly set you quaking.  How the other half live, eh?

 

 

The Kit

This is another newly tooled kit from Airfix in this wee-tiny scale, and it’s another that contains detail that belies its small scale.  We reviewed the recent Bugatti Chiron, and this kit is of similar quality with plenty of detail throughout.  The kit arrives in a red-themed Gift Set box with integral header for hanging on vertical displays, and inside are two sprues of bright blue styrene plus a bodyshell part, a clear sprue in a separate bag, a bag of four thumb-pots of Humbrol paint, a small tube of glue, and a Humbrol #2 paint brush with a clear tube protecting the orange bristles.  The instruction booklet is tri-folded and inside is a postage stamp-sized decal sheet with the external emblems and instruments on it.  The floorpan, a brake disc and dashboard had fallen off the sprues on my example, so have been photographed with the bodyshell for your information.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Construction begins with the floorpan, which has a diffuser glued to the rear, with the glue points marked out in yellow, which is a new one to me, and seems a good idea.  There are also small shadow diagrams in each step that show where you’ll find the parts on the sprues, which is another time-saver, and is a sign that they’re not resting on their laurels.  The interior floor is glued over the front axle, which should remain mobile if you’re sensible with the glue.  The seats and door cards slot into holes in the floor, then it’s time to paint and detail the dash, which has a separate instrument binnacle and a decal for the Multi-Function Display in the centre of the dash, plus a flat-bottomed steering wheel with all the controls moulded-in.  It glues into the floor in three places, after which the two rear inner arches are glued in, trapping the rear axle in a similar manner to the front.

 

The bodyshell is prepared by adding the front bumper/fender along with some paint, then inserting the single clear part that forms the windscreen, side-windows and rear screen from the inside.  A little pre-painting of the side-windows is required to represent the frame between the glazing parts, but if you use some decal strip instead, no-one will notice.  Before joining the two sub-assemblies the complex exhaust system is threaded through the rear of the lower from the inside, and a brake disc with calliper is fixed to each end of the axles, then more yellow glue patches are marked out to join the top to the bottom.  Flipping the model over, the splitter is glued under the front bumper, with a tiny Huayra decal just above it in the centre.  The wheels are the final main assemblies to be made up, with separate hubs and rigid tyres for each wheel, taking care to fit the fat ones to the rear.  A pair of wing mirrors on long stalks finish the model, fitting into pre-prepared holes on the front wings.

 

 

Markings

Apart from the Huayra decal under the bumper, there is an oval Pagani decal in red just in front of the windscreen, a red dot for the single brake light under the rear, a Pagani number plate in black for the rear, and another Huayra logo for the right rear at a jaunty angle.  The final decals are two more Huayra logos on the sides, just in front of the rear wheels.

 

There is one marking option given on the rear of the box, which is the electric-blue of the box art, but there’s nothing stopping you from painting your model any colour you like, as they’re customised to every purchaser’s desire.

 

 

Conclusion

Airfix’s 1:43 vehicle line is small, but so far it’s a very high quality range that has a lot of kerb appeal, and should build up quickly into a good representation of the real thing without taking up too much cabinet space, and let’s face it, it’s about as close as most, if not all of us will get to owning one.

 

Apologies for the lateness of the review, but I was waiting for a white backdrop to arrive, as the sprues just disappear on the blue one I usually use.

 

Very highly recommended.

 

 

Review sample courtesy of