Carbon decal or just black?

[ferrarissimus]

Building my actually Ferrari 310 in scale 1.12, I looked for the right carbon decal pattern in my literature and internet. Analyzing the pictures it was really hard to find any pattern. Mostly the carbon structure is just black. Especially Ferrari left there wings in naturally carbon while most other teams painted them in sponsor colors. Even on photos from near you can hardly identify a carbon pattern. Comparing the size of a front wing on a photo with the size in scale 1/20 or 1/24 it is complete black and even in 1/12 is not really a structure visible. So from 1/8 or greater in my opinion carbon decals are ok. but only in decal scale 1/20or 1/24.
Carbon floor structure of the Ferraris in the last years show a coarser checkered pattern, that is visible in 1/20 or 1/12.
What do you think? Just black or a out of scale decal pattern?

regards ferrarissimus

[gp-models]

I would go for Carbon decals, maybe 1:24 High definition from Scale motorsport which appears a bit darker, know what you mean with out of scale pattern.
From a distance they appear more black too, but comin close shows the pattern which can be toned down with a smoke layer for example. I think it will give your model a special look in comparsion to the base model your using, so i vote for carbon

[vadim]

Comparing the size of a front wing on a photo with the size in scale 1/20 or 1/24 it is complete black and even in 1/12 is not really a structure visible.

That's right Sure, we can find some rare examples with a well-recognized carbon structure, which "work" even at 1/20 or 1/24 scale, but for the most cases, "just black" or "specific black" fitted much better.

[lep]

If you search for some Tamiya CF decals they will do exactly what your looking for. Used them on an F93a and was quite happy with the results. These are printed by Cartograph. They are high quality and can be handled easily, however are extremely thin looking good. I suggest a semi-gloss finish on them.

[stubeck]

Carbon fiber has changed considerably throughout the years. I wouldn't be surprised if the F310 had some parts painted black, where now it might be CF covered with a clear coat to smooth out the aero. https://binged.it/32k9mLZ shows that the front wing has a checkered pattern with a matte finish, but the end plates look to be painted black

You have a few choices:

Use a pretty carbon fiber decal with a glossy finish. It may not be 100% authentic but it will look awesome.
Use a realistic carbon fiber with a matte finish. This is more accurate, but won't look as good.
Simply paint it flat black. Likely the most accurate finish, and the easiest to do, but if you're going for competition wins it will hold you back.