Alpha Model Ferrari SF90 Stradale

[harti20]

Hi all   

 

After having finished the Skyline and because I lack motivation to continue on the McLaren Senna, I took the Ferrari SF90 from the stash   

 

A few parts for the interior are painted already, they will still get some decals and PE parts, then they are ready for assembly. First the middle console, which isn't really available in this color scheme from Ferrari. In fact everything would be one color, but I decided to add some color to it. On the original part the main color would be black, but here I opted to use Zero Paints' Dark Interior Grey to see something from the interior once the kit is finished.

 

Dashboard is finished too in regard of the painting. Here I mostly stuck to pictures of the original  

 

Now let's move on the the body. For this I used Zero Paints' 2K Etch-Primer, as I already had some good experiences with it with resin kits. Also this time I got a very smooth surface. But as the primer has a quite dark shade of grey, I decided to first paint everything in black, as the roof and some other parts will be black anyway in the end. As I wasn't sure whether it would be possible to use Zero Paints over Tamiya Acrylics, I used the black from Tamiya's laquer line (LP-5).

 

After that, the parts that needed to remain black have been masked off. These parts where I thought it would be easier to do it the other way round (first paint red, then mask and eventually paint black) I did without masking and will do it later

 

Subsequently everything was painted with Tamiya LP-11 Silver to have a light base for the following layers

 

Once the silver had dried, I used Zero Paint's pink primer which was quite a PITA this time. I spent a whole afternoon only painting the body in pink. Again and again the airbrush spit large blobs of paint on the body, which had to be sanded smooth afterwards. By sanding I also removed the paint around the blobs, in one case down to the bare resin. So I always had to repaint the spots around these blobs in silver to have an even base for the pink. Applying the primer was easier when I thinned it down with some Mr. Color Levelling Thinner, but then the coverage was almost zero, so I used undiluted primer in the end, controlling the needle tip of my airbrush every few seconds to see if there was some paint buildup already. Here you can see, how the body looked most of the time

 

But at the end of the afternoon I finally had an even, smooth pink surface and let the body dry over night

 

Today I painted everything in red. This time I didn't use the traditional Ferrari Rosso Corsa, but Ferrari's Rosso Fiorano, which was applied in about 8 to 9 very thin layers. After the second to last layer I sanded everything smooth again with some 4000 sanding sponge. That's how it looks right now. The A pillar and the window seal will have to be repainted, but as there are other parts which will need some black paint, I can fix that in one go.  

 

 

So much for the start to this W.I.P. I hope to have piqued your interest and am looking forward to your comments, critiques and plaudits 😉
Urs

Edited August 6 by harti20

[keefr22]

Always enjoy watching your builds Urs, so I shall be here till the end!

 

Your paint is already looking good, you'll soon sort out any touchups needed!

 

Nice looking model of a good looking modern Ferrari!

 

Looking forward to progress!!

 

Keith

[harti20]

Hi all

 

On 06/08/2024 at 22:23, keefr22 said:

Always enjoy watching your builds Urs, so I shall be here till the end!

 

Your paint is already looking good, you'll soon sort out any touchups needed!

 

Nice looking model of a good looking modern Ferrari!

 

Looking forward to progress!!

 

Keith

Thank you very much for your kind comment  I can tell that the touchup went well, but I didn't make any new pics to show that, so you'll just have to believe me  

 

 

Unfortunately I didn't have that much time on the work bench as I wanted, also due to my son's school holidays where we preferred to day-trip when the weather was fine. But a few progress can be shown anyway  

 

First of all the door panels have been finished

 

After that I tried to apply the carbon decals contained in the alpha model kit on one of the seats. I don't know if I just had a bad decal day or if the decals really are this bad, but right after applying them, I stripped the seat and started over, priming and painting it. While the paint was drying, I made my own template with the help of the second seat and cut them out. I used alpha model's decals as an inspiration regarding the shape and layout and ended up with quite similar, but way smaller decals. Last saturday I started with one of the self-made decals and it turned out much better. Now I'll have to apply the decal on the front and the one going from one side to the other and look how these turn out.

 

Then the break discs have been painted and assembled

And finally the rims have been painted using Tamiya's LP-63 Titanium Silver. As you can see alpha model provided two different sets of rims which all have been painted, as I couldn't decide yet which one to use. Right now I'm leaning towards the ones on the left side of the picture.

That's it for this week's update  
Urs

[keefr22]

Those bits are all looking really good, I particularly like the finish on the wheels!

 

Keith

[FunkyChiken]

Sweet!

Lovely car and the body is looking good, cant wait to see ot with glosss

[harti20]

Hi all  

 

On 22/08/2024 at 13:08, keefr22 said:

Those bits are all looking really good, I particularly like the finish on the wheels!

Thank you very much  Right now, I'm considering to paint them black with a diamond cut, but didn't decide yet.

On 23/08/2024 at 20:19, FunkyChiken said:

Sweet!

Lovely car and the body is looking good, cant wait to see ot with glosss

Thank you too  But you'll have to have patient, as I'll first have to apply some carbon decals before I can apply the clear coat  

 

This week I finished the first of the two seats. I started decal work on the second one, but after the first carbon decal applied I had to do something else 😉

 

Main work this week was on the engine / engine compartment

 

Here I'll have to apply another decal with the Ferrari logo and attach a cap from PE parts on the round thing in the center

Regarding the firewall I'll check if it can be seen once the model is finished. If yes, I'll apply some carbon as well, otherwise I'll leave it the way it is 🙂 

 

That's it for today's update
Urs

[keefr22]

2 hours ago, harti20 said:

but after the first carbon decal applied I had to do something else 😉

 

I can see why - but that seat looks amazing, excellent work again Urs!

 

Keith

[harti20]

Hi all  

On 26/08/2024 at 20:47, keefr22 said:

I can see why - but that seat looks amazing, excellent work again Urs!

Thank you very much for your kind comment  

 

Once again I haven't had that much build time as I hoped for, but there is some progress anyway I can share with you.

 

First of all, the first two carbon fibre decals have been applied on the body (right underneath the doors on each side)

 

Decaling work on the engine covers started as well. Here I'll only have to cover the areas which aren't visible in the picture

 

Assembly of the engine has been continued

 

and the engine part from my last post was clear coated and the PE parts have been applied (the cap consists of a total of 4 parts)

 

That's it for today
Urs

[Spiny]

Superb work on that engine, at this scale I can't believe how exact you've been with the painting.

[ceeb555]

Oh my word. What amazing detail

LOVE the seats 👍

 

Chris

[keefr22]

Might be a small update Urs, but it contains some more excellent work - you really are the master of c.f. decals!

 

Keith

[harti20]

Hi all

 

On 09/09/2024 at 22:06, Spiny said:

Superb work on that engine, at this scale I can't believe how exact you've been with the painting.

Thank you very much. But painting this engine isn't that complicated as every color (beside of the silvery dots) is a different part.

 

On 10/09/2024 at 12:37, ceeb555 said:

Oh my word. What amazing detail

LOVE the seats 👍

 

Chris

Thank you too Chris. Yes, I do love the seats as well, especially how they even casted the stitching on the edges uf the upholstery. So you only have to apply a wash to make them really stand out 👍

 

On 10/09/2024 at 21:13, keefr22 said:

Might be a small update Urs, but it contains some more excellent work - you really are the master of c.f. decals!

 

Keith

Thank you, but for me the master of CF decals is still Asi Erev. Although he only has a few videos on his youtube-account I really learned a lot by closely watching what he's doing and how he's doing it. Compared to him I'm only an apprentice 😉 

 

Initially my goal was to have this Ferrari finished for the upcoming exhibition at Basel, taking place on the weekend of 12./13. October. In order to get everything done by then, I had to concentrate on the exterior parts which will have to be clear coated. As I am using 2K clear, I can only use it on a friday when my son is at school, so I have the possibility to thoroughly vent the apartment before he comes home. And as the clear also needs some time to cure before I can start sanding and polishing I'll have to do it this friday (when possible).

 

There have been a few CF decals which had to be applied to the body. Some spots I'll have to cover up with some black paint after clear coating to make it less obvious that the decals didn't cover everything. Fortunately (as usual) it is not as obvious to the naked eye as it is on the pictures.

 

In addition to the body, the diffusor had to be covered entierly with CF decals

 

I am quite disappointed by the building instructions for this kit, regarding the placement of the CF decals. There are quite a few occasions where the callouts are just wrong with interchanged decals for the left and right side. Especially on the diffusor I tried to apply a decal for the longest time until I realized that it belongs to the other side...

 

Whenever I needed something else to do, I continued work on the dashboard. Mostly I had to apply decals as well, but at least they've been a little more colorful  

 

And to prevent me from getting too rollicking, I also applied the CF decal on the rocker switch 

 

With all the carbon applied to the body and diffusor the kit is now ready for clear coat on friday. The only parts still missing are the rear view mirrors, which have to be partially covered in CF decals. Unfortunately there haven't been any predefined decals in the kit, so I had to make templates myself. Yesterday I started with the first mirror, but gave up completely bugged out as I managed to cut it wrong three times in a row (first it was too small, on the second attempt the pattern was the wrong direction and the third attempt I seem to have successfully forgotten)... But as they are small and I've made the experience that i's quite easy to achieve a bright shine on a small part, they won't become a blocker for clear coating. There are several parts for the interior / engine compartment which I'll have to clear coat as well, where I'll be using Mr. Color Super Clear, so I can use this for the mirrors as well if needed.

 

That's it for today's update 
Urs

[keefr22]

4 hours ago, harti20 said:

That's it for today's update 

 

And another good one it is Urs! Looking at the c.f. decals on that diffuser, I'd say you've now qualified to be far more than an apprentice! I'm glad the era of cars I mostly build have no, or very little, c.f. in them!

 

Keith