Ferrari F138 - Fujimi - 1/20

[VinBizz4786_]

Hello There,

 

 

 

I know I've made myself desired (nope), and in order to satisfy your desperate requests (still not) to see your favorite modeler come back (not) to amazed you with his talent, he's making his big comeback with a subject he never tried but which he's been passionate about for the last 2 years, the Formula 1.

 

 

 

But before that, a few little details;

 

 

 

1) I actually already tried to build a formula 1, a Benetton B194 from Revell, but the kit was so bad (I weigh my words), that I quickly gave up.

 

 

 

 

2) Sorry for my long absence; I started architecture school in September, and those who are in the field must know how time-consuming these studies are.

 

 

 

 

3) I quickly lost interest in the quality of the kit, but we'll get to that later.

 

 

So, the formula 1 in question chosen is probably the one I find the most beautiful, so a Ferrari (besides I'm Italian)(equality with the SF 71H of 2018), the Ferrari F138 of 2013, driven by Fernando Alonso and Felippe Massa.

 

 

 

 

Honestly, this long and high nose, which gives an aggressive look, is just sublime, great art as only we Italians know how to do it (despite the racing strategies...)

 

 

 

The kit will be the one of Fujimi, one of the only brand to produce a large quantity of different Formula 1 models, with in addition Carbon Studio27 decals and photoetch, always from the same brand

 

 

 

 

 

 

The assembly starts classically with the cockpit, the steering wheel and the pedalboard, nothing incredible
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The steering wheel is painted and receives its decals (maybe it would have been better to paint them)

 

 

 

 

 

 

And that's where the fun begins, if the parts seem to be correct in appearance, the fitting is just disastrous, and each part requires hours of mastication and sanding... Not ideal as a first F1 model Just the assembly of the nose with the rest of the car was a horror, and the traces of putty prove it

 

 

 

 

 

 

The main part of the body is assembled, and we can see that a lot of work will be necessary to obtain a smooth and flawless surface (yes, because some parts are scratched as well...)

 

 

 

 

 

 

The following picture was taken yesterday evening, after already 3 weeks of chewing and sanding the kit (which must have lost several grams), and which has already received 4 coats of Primer to locate the defects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The good news: I'm starting to see the end of the body sanding

 

 

 

The bad news: The fit with the floor is more than disastrous, and there will be a lot of corrections to do...

 

 

 

 

Otherwise, I put the carbon decals on the floor, which was not an easy task, because there are a lot of strange shapes, and more than 200 decals to put, but with a little patience, I can see the end

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is how it should look like:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And if ever, the car will be the one of Felippe Massa, at the Singapore Grand Prix (I dream to go to this race at least once in my life)
Have a nice day.

Best regards
Vincent

[Redstaff]

Hi and welcome back  

I've never built this one, but I have built a few Fujimi F1 kits and I have never had one that doesn't have fit problems

Where as the Tamiya F1 kits go together so much better, but they are usually of older periods of F1

 

Good luck and I'll be following along

 

Ian  

[malpaso]

Looks like you’re making a nice job of the model.  Personally my favorite F1 Ferrari would be the 312T but that’s probably more down to being a teen in those years (had to read mags and newspapers to follow as F1 banned on TV in UK because of sponsors at the time!).

Good luck with architecture studies, I don’t remember having much time to model anything other than our design projects then, but it’s resulted in 30 odd years of mostly gainful employment (with a few less happy times when construction shrank for a while).

regards

Will

[Neddy]

You have my sympathies.  I've only ever built one Fujimi kit (the Miura in my avatar) and I found the fit and finish to be supremely awful.Still, these things are sent to try us and it looks like you're fighting it every inch (2.4cm) of the way.  Good luck with the rest of it.

[Spiny]

Even if it is a struggle (judging by all the work you're having to do to get it right), it looks as though you're making a good job of the build and I get the feeling it's going to turn out right in the end.

 

I do have to disagree with you about the real thing being a good looking car though - I feel that this is one of the ugliest generations of Formula One with the wide low front and narrow high rear wings reminding me of a suckermouth catfish in racing car form!

[Vesa Jussila]

You are making good job with this kit and I hope you can get floor properly in place. Other vice car can be a banana.  Steering wheel looks good. 

[VinBizz4786_]

Hello there,

 

 

 

Just because a diorama is finished doesn't mean I'm resting on my laurels, so I've rolled up my sleeves and continued working on this terrible Ferrari model.

 

 

 

I've stripped and reworked some parts for better assembly, and there's still a lot of work to be done before the paintwork is acceptable, but overall, all the components are there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's all for today

Have a nice day

Vincent