Ferrari 328 GTS

[galaxyg]

I am of that generation where the 328 GTS is the answer to the question "What does a Ferrari look like?".  That and it's similarity to to the 308 (Magnum's car), the 512 BB and the 288 GTO makes you wonder if Ferrari could've got stuck in the same groove as Porsche - making every car look basically the same. Fortunately not, as I have several other quite different Ferraris in my stash too - a 612 Scaglietti, a F40, a F50, a F430 and a F430 Challenge..(Plus a built Testarossa and 599 GTB)   I have built this same 328 GTS kit once before, about 35 years ago. I don't have that one any more, but I am certain this one will turn out better.

 

 

It's a nice kit, and even comes with a PE fret and a detailed engine.

 

Attaching the front bumper-sill will make putting in the PE grille more awkward later, but the idea of gluing and reinforcing this once painted makes me sense spurting glue related trouble there.

 

Later it will Tamiya Italian red, but briefly for now it's Barbie pink primer.

Edited July 29, 2022 by galaxyg
addition

[Lucky13]

Nice start. I've built one of those about 25 years ago and as far as I remember, it was a really nice kit that exceeded my abilities at the time. I will be following your build for sure. 

On the pink primer, my personal opinion is that it is just a gimmick that Tamiya has found to make extra money. 

Considering that I used to own a 1:1 of this exact same car in the colors of the box art, it is crazy that I never attempted the kit again. As a matter of fact, I have never built a single model of a vehicle I have owned. 

Edited July 29, 2022 by Lucky13

[FunkyChiken]

I'm following along, I'm of that age too, and love this era of Ferrari. 

[keefr22]

8 hours ago, Lucky13 said:

On the pink primer, my personal opinion is that it is just a gimmick that Tamiya has found to make extra money. 

 

It's apparently what Ferrari do (or did) on the real thing!

 

Keith

[Vesa Jussila]

Nice project and for me this looks real Ferrari. This is real classic.

[Lucky13]

2 hours ago, keefr22 said:

 

It's apparently what Ferrari do (or did) on the real thing!

 

Keith

No, they don’t. The automotive paints used on 1:1 cars have coverage that would be consistent over any color primer. Especially rosso corsa. Tamiya’s idea behind the pink primer is to create the ability to lay much thinner coats of paint with better results. Which is great. If you are using their spray cans for method of painting. When using quality automotive paint through an airbrush, the pink primer becomes nonsensical. I have about five or six original Ferrari reds that my local PPG dealer mixed for me and cut down ready to spray. After the second coat there is zero difference in the finish color, wether its over black primer or white. There may be three reasons why there may be differences in color on a model based on primer. 
1. Paint is too thin and therefore semitransparent. (Definitely not the case with solid colors like rosso corsa)

2. Paint is too hot and attacks the primer underneath just enough that primer pigmentation bleeds into paint color. 
3. In case of Tamiya spray can clear coat, or automotive spray can touch up clears (very popular option on models in US) the top coat is so aggressive that sometimes the color of the plastic bleeds through the primer and paint after the clear is applied. 
   Which brings us back to best primers. It is nasty stuff to work with, but 2K primer is what I like to use in most cases. It will stick to anything; it will not attack anything because it’s not solvent based, it will seal whatever is beneath it and it will never bleed into anything. It is a very light grey and it can be used all the same under yellow, red or black. It’s just pain in the behind to mix up and clean up your airbrush and you have to take some extra safety precautions. But it is what is used on the 1:1 cars and it is absolutely unbeatable. If you fancy so, it could be tinted too. 

Edited July 29, 2022 by Lucky13

[galaxyg]

In the world of Tamiya rattle cans, TS-8 Italian Red sprayed over pink primer instead of grey primer gives a brighter, richer red - not quite as bright as TS-49 Bright red (which seems too bright for this purpose) , but certainly brighter and to my eyes, more 328GTS-like.   So it is on the back of my test spoons anyhow and so it will be on the car itself.

[Lucky13]

Just as a reference, all the models bellow were painted by me, over the exact same primer. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 29, 2022 by Lucky13

[Lucky13]

7 minutes ago, galaxyg said:

In the world of Tamiya rattle cans, TS-8 Italian Red sprayed over pink primer instead of grey primer gives a brighter, richer red - not quite as bright as TS-49 Bright red (which seems too bright for this purpose) , but certainly brighter and to my eyes, more 328GTS-like.   So it is on the back of my test spoons anyhow and so it will be on the car itself.

Tamiya rattle cans are actually a very accurate representation of real automotive colors. Their italian red is what any automotive paint store can mix you as Rosso Corsa with the paint code 322, which would be an accurate representation for the standard Ferrari red. It was used on Ferrari F1 cars up until the Schumacher era. The reason why Ferrari changed the color was TV screen technology. For some reason on TV their cars appeared to be darker red than they actually were. So Ferrari created Rosso Scuderia, which on TV appeared to be what Ferrari wanted their cars to look like. In person it is a much brighter almost orangy red. Hence Tamiya made their TS-49 Bright Red, to go with their new at the time Schumacher F1 kit. Same goes for their various yellows and blues, which match the Mansel era Williams colors and more recently their Orange Metallic, which is the factory match for the Subaru (Toyota) BRZ kits. 

  Did you say spoon tests? I love spoon tests...LOL

[keefr22]

4 hours ago, Lucky13 said:

No, they don’t.

Well I was first told it way pre-internet by a friend who was a professional classic car sprayer and told me that's the way the factory painted the things. Read lots of similar info on the internet saying the same since. Never having painted a real Ferrari I personally wouldn't know, nearest I got was respraying the wife's Opel Kadett orange. Don't recall what colour primer I used.... 🤣

 

Impressive line up of spoons...!! 

 

Anyway apologies galaxyg, back to your build...

 

Keith

[Lucky13]

1 hour ago, keefr22 said:

Well I was first told it way pre-internet by a friend who was a professional classic car sprayer and told me that's the way the factory painted the things. Read lots of similar info on the internet saying the same since. Never having painted a real Ferrari I personally wouldn't know, nearest I got was respraying the wife's Opel Kadett orange. Don't recall what colour primer I used.... 🤣

 

Impressive line up of spoons...!! 

 

Anyway apologies galaxyg, back to your build...

 

Keith

As much as I love Ferrari, and I truly do, the truth is that back when 328s were being built things were definitely lacking at the factory and cars were built pretty much according to what day of the week it was and how much vino did Luigi and Guido have the night before. This is why for example dealing with electrical problems was every Ferrari mechanic’s worst nightmare. They were all wired differently with different color wires or whatever they had handy and however they felt. Same goes for their paint and body work. To this day Ferrari does not use color died primers and neither does pretty much any manufacturer, as it is not necessary. The main purpose of primer has nothing to do with colors. 
   Anyway, like you said, back to this build, which I am interested to follow. I apologize for somewhat derailing it. It was not my intention. 

[dbostream]

On 7/28/2022 at 11:15 PM, galaxyg said:

Just put clear on it now and you have a winner.  

[dbostream]

5 hours ago, Lucky13 said:

 Awesome builds, what car is this?

[Lucky13]

2 hours ago, dbostream said:

 Awesome builds, what car is this?

It's Ferrari 599 GTO in Giallo Tristratti and carbon rocker panels.

[gamblor916]

Back to galaxyg's build it's a pretty car back when Ferrari posters were on the wall. The 512BB and 288GTO were just drop dead gorgeous.

[Bengalensis]

On 28/07/2022 at 23:15, galaxyg said:

Later it will Tamiya Italian red, but briefly for now it's Barbie pink primer.

 

This will be nice, looking forward to more 328 progress 👍

[Jochen Barett]

Tan or black interior?  (just slap some good old (30 years+) Humbrol #19 enamel on the outside and forget about any primer)

 

Fun fact: The electrical switch for the adjustment of the rear view mirrors is very familiar to BMW e30 series drivers.

[colin]

I hope galaxyg hasn't been put off by the thread hijack 😉😁

[galaxyg]

Meanwhile, back at the 328 GTS Build...

 

The main engine block. The plating makes it harder to assemble despite removing some plating on joints, and part of me wishes I'd stripped it and just repainted. Anyhow, I got there in the end and then with some dark brown Tamiya Panel Line Wash and a spray all over of matt clearcoat, it's looking more like the slightly grimy engines I've seen in my reference pics.

 

 

 

The seat backs are clearly visible in the GTS open-roof version, so these will need some attention.

 

 

 

And the assembly of the dashboard feels a little flimsy, so I've reinforced that with some square section rod.

 

 

21 hours ago, Jochen Barett said:

Tan or black interior?

 

Here's your answer   Tan. Although not a really orangey one, more of a sand.  Tan and black interior is more of a contrast than red and black or black and black. A red/tan/black 328 GTS is my ideal colour combo.

 

[keefr22]

Nice work on the engine, looking really good after the panel line wash. 

 

Like your interior colour choice too.

 

Keith

[Bengalensis]

Good to see progress, it's coming along fine! The chosen colour combination will be beatiful. I have always prefered black interiors in these cars, but some 1/1 scale confrontations this last winter/spring has really made the tan in red car grown on me a lot.

[Anteater]

The last really good looking Ferrari?

 

(yes)

[Lucky13]

Looking good. Red with the black on tan interior is the classic Ferrari combo. And believe it or not, even tho it is by far the most mass produced, it demands a premium when buying pre owned. So you really can't go wrong with it. 

By the way, the best thing I have found to use on interiors is SEM paint. SEM makes spray can paints for vinyl, leather and carpet for the 1:1 automotive industry. It is designed to stick to pretty much anything and to dry with realistic leather finish. Best part is that it works best directly on plastic, without any primer. It would eat most other paint, but it would withstand most other paint. They make a color that matches the classic Ferrari Beige to a T and a can would last you for a whole lotta model interiors. Not bad for the price of can and a half of Tamiya paint. And it does not rub off, when handled, like most flat hobby paint. Just check our local automotive stores. 

Are you detailing the motor or you're going for an out of box build? 

[galaxyg]

On 8/2/2022 at 8:23 PM, Lucky13 said:

Are you detailing the motor or you're going for an out of box build? 

I'll be adding some more details.

 

Further construction of the engine. The exhausts look very clean, but a coat of Tamiya Smoke makes for a lot better finish.  I've used the supplied red leads on the engine. I've seen people have wired this in their builds, but I've also seen real engines where the wires are held in something approaching this level of tidiness. So I'm going for tidy.

 

 

Both sides of the engine - this is all the parts that Hasegawa supply and it does make for an enjoyable build, as much as the engine in Tamiya's 959. I will be adding more to this yet. Not sure how much but at the very least, an oil filter as it's very prominent on the real thing.

 

 

The exhaust box, weathered.

 

 

Some more parts added to the chassis.

 

 

Some self-adhesive fabric for the interior, since it'll be open and clearly visible. And I don't have a lot of this fabric left and no idea where to get more.

 

 

Edited August 5, 2022 by galaxyg

[Anteater]

Beautiful work on the HT leads. Neat is almost certainly most prototypical for one of these.