Rosso 1/8 Ferrari 643 rebuild

[rjfk2002]

All I have done so far is spray it flat black (Tamiya spray). Glad to know I haven't done anything so far that needs to be reversed. I have applied the Autograph water slide decals, but I will just avoid polishing those areas! I like your suggestion on starting with the bottoms/interior sides for practice. Do you have any suggestions on brands of polishing cloth/paper? This will be my first time polishing so I want to make sure I'm using the right materials. Are you using the kit metal parts for engine mounts? They are very clean looking in your pictures. Did you clean up with sandpaper and clear coat?

[SeanMAIN]

All I have done so far is spray it flat black (Tamiya spray). Glad to know I haven't done anything so far that needs to be reversed. I have applied the Autograph water slide decals, but I will just avoid polishing those areas! I like your suggestion on starting with the bottoms/interior sides for practice. Do you have any suggestions on brands of polishing cloth/paper? This will be my first time polishing so I want to make sure I'm using the right materials. Are you using the kit metal parts for engine mounts? They are very clean looking in your pictures. Did you clean up with sandpaper and clear coat?

If you have applied the decals, you may have some trouble. Usually with Autograph decals, there seem to be a few duplicates on the sheet. You may damage the ones you have applied, but give it a go. You can always get some more decals.

The polishing cloth an be bought here. http://www.micromark.com/micro-mesh-fin ... ,7601.html
I have had mine for many years. They are not cheap, but are very durable, wet or dry. They will not fall apart with the cloth backing. When you start sanding the weave pattern, you will see the top coat of flat black sand right off without too much work. Once you have the high points sanded, the rest is just polishing the plastic.

I have sanded all of the metal suspension parts, motor mounts, bell cranks, etc to a high gloss. It does not take too much effort, but some of the suspension parts are fragile at certain points. For the suspension pasts, I uses reg sandpaper to take off the black paint and smooth out the rough looking finish. They I uses the entire range of polishing cloth on the suspension parts. They will shine like chrome. But don't bother painting, it will flake right off because they are so smooth. I used gun blue, which turns the metal black. Then I soaked the parts in gun oil to cure them. They look better than any paint you could use. By the way, all of these tricks can be used on the Tamiya 641/2. They are molded in a similar way. I did the same thing with the mounts but was a bit more careful not to round off the edges, you want to keep it flat. I want to drill out the fake bolt heads, but it is a load bearing part of the model and I am afraid that I will weaken the part and it will break under its our weight. I have tried clear coating them, but they turn a weird color and look crappy. As they dull, you can just take 8000 and 12000 grit and polish them again. That, or I may have new ones machined out of aluminum.

[rjfk2002]

Thanks. I ordered the polishing cloth and hopefully will get it in a few days. I assume I should sand in the pattern of the plastic weave (i.e. with the grain). What are you using for the wiring and plumbing? I have the grade up kit which comes with some but I'm wondering where I can get more for either this kit or others. I think there is enough for the main parts of the engine, but no way I can make brake lines if I decide to get that adventurous.

By the way I'm in awe of your build so far. It's giving me some great ideas for my my own. I'm posting my build on another site (scale motor cars) and someone directed me to this site. Glad I found it.

[porsc917]

Hi, I like your progress. Rear/front wings and airbox are very realistic. How do you paint ? Black gloss and clear coat or matt coat?

Thanks

[SeanMAIN]

Hi, I like your progress. Rear/front wings and airbox are very realistic. How do you paint ? Black gloss and clear coat or matt coat?

Thanks

This is from an earlier post about the wings, under tray and under the tub.

It is really simple. It also works in all the areas with the recessed weave pattern, tub, undertray, etc. Shoot it in flat black. Do not shoot too heavy or you will fill the recessed areas with too much paint. Then polish it with 6000, 8000 and 12,000 grit polishing cloth / paper. Do not shoot anything over it, matte or gloss clear. You will lose all of the detail. You can also polish the unidirectional weave on the front and rear wings and on the side of the tub. Use 8000 and 12,000 to polish, but do not be too aggressive or you will rub off all the detail. I would suggest trying that in the bottom front where nobody will see to get the hang of it. It polishes to a very high gloss without too much effort.

Only use flat black and do not clear coat, you will lose all the detail. The airbox was done with this weave.

http://store.scalemotorsport.com/mercha ... ory_Code=4

I used the 1/24 scale decals. I painted gloss black and polished the crap out of it. Then I applied the decals and used a flat clear coat. It looked much better in person, until I dropped it and cracked the clear coat. I have to redo. The airbox is quite difficult because of all the curves. I managed to use only two big pieces. Getting the seam to line up down the center is tricky as is getting it to lay down everywhere. It was trial and error, but I did manage to get it done. Used lots of Microset/sol and a hair dryer. The decals are very thin, you should plan on buying two sheets, you will need them. The thinness is great and tricky at the same time.

Good luck. Feel free to ask if you have more questions.

[Leirodorp]

I really like your rebuild and the mechanics you make are fantastic, well done.
The brakes are fantastic and I would like to know how you did them so I could fix them on my model as well?

However I don't understand why you don't use carbon decals from Scale Motorsport for the wings.
The colour of the kit wings aren't right at all, looking at the various images of the real car.
I did them with the appropriate decals and they look very realistic in colour and texture to me.

I'll keep on following your rebuild, regards, Ronald

[SeanMAIN]

Just got all my parts from TVF1 and thought I should restart this project. The brake hats are a work of art. I am pre-drilling the holes before I send them to have anodized. I thought of painting them, but that would hide all the details. I now have all the parts that were made for the 643 and the end is in sight. If you have this kit, you should have a look at these parts.

I spent a lot of time on the kit disks and would hate to trash them. If you have this kit and want them, please send me a PM. Only the disks, not the upright, caliper or ducts. I can send better pics.

[SeanMAIN]

I Received several kits for the 643 from TVF1 over the holiday and these crappy pics (sorry about pic quality) don't do them justice. I put together the brake kits, the front and rear shocks and the transmission parts. The half shafts are made of steel and can be heat stained with the flame from the stove. I will post better pics once I make some more progress.

I am happy to restart this project and cannot wait to finish this and move on to the F40LM. I received those parts as well. They are equally amazing.

[gp-models]

Parts are looking great, can`t wait to see more of it!

[rjfk2002]

Welcome back. I look forward to seeing this build progress. The parts look great