Bugatti 100p - Special Hobby 1:72

[kiseca]

I picked this one up as a quick, simple kit to put together quickly before starting my next complicated, large build... and boy, did I misjudge this kit.

 

It's tiny. I mean really tiny. It makes a 1/72 Spitfire look like it's a scale up. There isn't a lot of detail to worry about, and there aren't that many parts. But it's far from simple. It's a new kit so I was expecting it to go together like modern production kits do, but this isn't a modern production kit. It's limited volume, probably limited budget, kitmaking and it fought me all the way to the finish with ill fitting parts (nearly all of them), a lack of locating references particularly in the cockpit, and some really fiddly resin bits that were easier to superglue to my fingers than to the aircraft.

 

So all in all a frustrating build for which there is no WIP because it would have just been repeated posts of 🤬.

 

It gave me far more hassle than that well known box of trouble, the Tamiya Sea Harrier, and for fit and finish was about on a par with a 1986 IL-2 from ZTS Plastyk... I was expecting even small volume production to have moved on since then.

 

Anyway, once it was together and painted that lovely shape was worth it. It was supposed to be a quick build to show off the shape on a shelf, not a detailed, realistic project (kind of hard to tell what would be realistic about an aircraft that was never completed and never flew anyway) so here it is in all its very glossy glory. Paint is glossy Tamiya Brilliant Blue from a rattlecan, with Vallejo gloss varnish on top.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wasn't expecting this to be a large aircraft, of course, but I was still shocked by how dainty it is. It's dwarfed, particularly in wingspan and area, by a Spitfire. However, I thought this was a more interesting comparison:

 

 

Both of these models are 1:72 scale, single seat, twin engined aircraft. Both have forward swept wings. Both were, as far as I am aware, one-offs.

 

The Bugatti is less than 1/3rd the length of the Berkut and has a full wingspan similar to one of the Berkut's wings. It wouldn't look out of place perched on the Berkut's back like a parasite fighter or a Space Shuttle on a Boeing 747.

 

It very nearly fits under the Berkut's fuselage and between the nose and main landing gear. If it weren't for the  propellors, it could reproduce that Fast And The Furious truck stunt and zip right under the Russian jet.

 

Anyway thanks for looking, hope you enjoy the pics.

Edited December 31, 2022 by kiseca

[Viking]

Lovely! very interesting little aeroplane. I'm not surprised it never flew, but it is a shame.

 

Cheers

 

John

[Hopesdaddy]

Nicely done, its a shame the real one was never built since it looks like it would have been a blast to fly.

[Darwinism]

Great work kiseca.
 

Coincidentally I finished the same model yesterday and can confirm the challenges with fit - did you enjoy filling the trenches that are the wing/fuselage join!?

 

Your end result is way superior to the one I managed!

[kiseca]

59 minutes ago, Darwinism said:

Great work kiseca.
 

Coincidentally I finished the same model yesterday and can confirm the challenges with fit - did you enjoy filling the trenches that are the wing/fuselage join!?

 

 

That gap was a highlight for sure!

 

I did get some pleasure from that build, in the same way one might get some pleasure from hitting one's head against a wall: it's nice when it stops 😄

 

The Gaps on the leading edges were another highlight, as were the gaps on every join in the tail assembly, the fact that the top and bottom of the wings aren't exactly the same shape, the gearbox in front of the cockpit that doesn't fit with any other part, the propshaft covers with no guide slots to say how far forward or back to put them, the landing gear that doesn't fit in the well and the landing gear door which doesn't fit on the leg when it's attached to the wing. And don't get me started on the resin parts.

 

Apart from that, it's not bad at all.

[Sky Keg]

It`s hardly surprising why some claim that they have seen a UFO especially when something as unique as this flies by.  Very nice.  

 

Mike

[kiseca]

1 hour ago, Sky Keg said:

It`s hardly surprising why some claim that they have seen a UFO especially when something as unique as this flies by.  Very nice.  

 

Mike

I guess, until you can identify it, if it's flying, it's a UFO 😄

 

Totally space aged shape!

 

Also I should add some balance to my comments about the kit. 

I've been very hard on the quality of the kit on this thread but if someone fancies a 100p, the Special Hobby ones are the best available options, and the fact that it shows off all the best lines of the Bugatti that nearly flew makes it worth the effort IMO. I'm very happy with the end result and none of the issues were difficult to overcome, just frustrating for me.

 

So despite that experience I went ahead and ordered their 1/48 version too, so I can go through all that drama again! I know it will turn out a larger (but still small), equally attractive version of one of the most strikingly pretty aircraft ever built.

Edited January 1, 2023 by kiseca

[Black Knight]

Very nicely done

Nice choice of blue

[k5054nz]

A beautiful build that betrays nothing of the troubles that beset you. Bravo, and what a great colour match! I'll take that recommendation on board for my own.

[Neil Lambess]

Several replicas have flow and some have crashed ...is the sh kit based on a replica ? It matches their photos and colour scheme closly

[kiseca]

As far as I know, one replica has been built, it flew and crashed. It had two 4 cylinder motorbike engines. Its colour was based on that of the aircraft at a museum in Oshkosh, which is the real thing. That one has never flown. It was painted during a restoration and there is some debate about whether it is the original intended colour. Bugatti Blue is usually a lighter shade but someone on BM has posted images of original painted fabric skin from before the restoration, and that is quite dark blue. It's on Mike's WIP thread about the 1:48 model:

 

 

I don't recall if Special Hobby based theirs on the original or replica. Both would have been potentially accessible.

Edited January 2, 2023 by kiseca

[kiseca]

13 hours ago, k5054nz said:

A beautiful build that betrays nothing of the troubles that beset you. Bravo, and what a great colour match! I'll take that recommendation on board for my own.

The colour choice was a compromise actually. I needed a bright, vibrant blue for another WIP after I failed to get a good finish with Vallejo flourescent blue, and I wanted simple reliability from a rattle can. So it was either Tamiya french blue, or Tamiya brilliant blue. I thought the french blue would end up a bit too pale and not have enough... pop, I suppose. The brilliant blue looked a bit dark but on the WIP it was going to be one coat over a white primer so I thought it would work.

 

I didn't need the whole can for that and have no other kits that would want or need brilliant blue so I just used what I had left on the Bugatti, this time on a grey primer (I considered a black undercoat too) and I was happy enough with the result. In strong light it is lighter than it looks in the photos but it came out better than I was expecting. It might need to be a shade or two darker to match the real thing, or it might not. I find it depends what photo I am looking at. And french blue (or Bugatti blue) has as much claim to authenticity anyway. So it was hard to pick the wrong shade when noone seems to know for sure exactly what colour the original was going to be. The only sure thing is that it would be blue.

Edited January 2, 2023 by kiseca

[MACALAIN]

Well done.

 

Alain

[Alan P]

Che bella! That is one superb design. Dainty is the right word, fantastic little model.

[Noel Smith]

Built one.   It was fiddley!

They could have supplied decals for the pseudo racing aircraft scheme shown on the box.

[georgeusa]

Just looked at the finished 1/48 version of this aircraft in another RFI.  This one is done just as nice, but in the finished colors.  From the pictures of both finished kits, there is not a whole lot of difference, other than the paint schemes between the looks of the finished model.  Well done on both fronts and equally well done on yours as this is a much smaller canvas to work with.  Thanks for sharing.

[AdrianMF]

Your model looks gorgeous. Beautiful result from a horrid kit.

 

I bought myself one for Christmas and it went to the back of the stash after I had cut out and rest fitted some of the parts.

 

I have built and fixed some shocking kits in my time, but I can't actually bring myself to forgive Special Hobby for this kit. They must know that it doesn't fit at all, and they should have more respect for their customers than to foist such a poorly fitting collection of parts on them.

 

So even more respect to you for pulling out such a fine result!

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

[kiseca]

6 hours ago, georgeusa said:

Just looked at the finished 1/48 version of this aircraft in another RFI.  This one is done just as nice, but in the finished colors.  From the pictures of both finished kits, there is not a whole lot of difference, other than the paint schemes between the looks of the finished model.  Well done on both fronts and equally well done on yours as this is a much smaller canvas to work with.  Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for the kind words. I hadn't seen the 1/48 build in RFI so I went over to have a look. That is a great looking build with the bare wood and metal finish for sure.

[kiseca]

1 hour ago, AdrianMF said:

Your model looks gorgeous. Beautiful result from a horrid kit.

 

I bought myself one for Christmas and it went to the back of the stash after I had cut out and rest fitted some of the parts.

 

I have built and fixed some shocking kits in my time, but I can't actually bring myself to forgive Special Hobby for this kit. They must know that it doesn't fit at all, and they should have more respect for their customers than to foist such a poorly fitting collection of parts on them.

 

So even more respect to you for pulling out such a fine result!

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

 

 

I confess mine nearly went in the bin on a couple of occasions. I couldn't see how it could even be a useful paint mule when the major bits wouldn't even fit together without surgery. It certainly wasn't the "quick build between bigger projects" that I was hoping for. But when it was together and that simply beautiful shape came out, it was worth it, and as rough as it is, there is no better kit of the 100P out there.