1/20 Fujimi's F187/88 Italian Gp winner
Posted: Tue Apr 23, 2024 7:09 pm
Hi folks,
Finished this one a few weeks ago, but it was started back in 2010. When I bought the kit I felt very disappointed by the errors Fujimi left in the beautiful shape of the F187, specially the too dropped nose and the too large mirrors.
As soon as I started playing seriously with 3D printing some years ago, I did a scan of the kit and modelled a new nose cone. It took nine versions to get the one that is in the final assembly. I decided for a removable nose cone and the front bulkhead when I gave up on the idea of detail the engine - the mistakes Fujimi did there would make me do a entire new rear end, and I have too many kits waiting on the shelf...
I did a bit more extra parts in 3D, like the seatbelts, the roll hoop, the small electronic box under the roll hoop, the window frame for the small window on the engine cover, and the pedals which are visible through the hole of the front bulkhead. I did a part to insert the front suspension lower arms, so I filled the holes on the monocoque and used a Ka-model PE for the metalic inserts where the suspension connects to the car.
The tyre markings where painted using masks that I did in 3D. That's because the PE masks sold for kits of that era do not take into account that the front tyres are of a smaller diameter than the rears. The masks aren't perfect, I had to do a lot of retouching, but the result is OK.
I'm not a good photographer, so one painting effect I did is barely visible in the pictures, but I liked a lot. I've painted the exposed CF of the wings and other details with a kind of bronze paint, then covered it with thin layers of very dark grey. The parts show a slightly yellowish shine that gives the impression of the mixture of CF and Kevlar that was common in cars of that era.
The mrlbr decals are from a Museum Collection sheet. The Fujimi decal sheet didn't age well, I had to cut the "Enichem" from an old Tamiya sheet.
Well, that's it. Back to the workbench as soon as possible...
Finished this one a few weeks ago, but it was started back in 2010. When I bought the kit I felt very disappointed by the errors Fujimi left in the beautiful shape of the F187, specially the too dropped nose and the too large mirrors.
As soon as I started playing seriously with 3D printing some years ago, I did a scan of the kit and modelled a new nose cone. It took nine versions to get the one that is in the final assembly. I decided for a removable nose cone and the front bulkhead when I gave up on the idea of detail the engine - the mistakes Fujimi did there would make me do a entire new rear end, and I have too many kits waiting on the shelf...
I did a bit more extra parts in 3D, like the seatbelts, the roll hoop, the small electronic box under the roll hoop, the window frame for the small window on the engine cover, and the pedals which are visible through the hole of the front bulkhead. I did a part to insert the front suspension lower arms, so I filled the holes on the monocoque and used a Ka-model PE for the metalic inserts where the suspension connects to the car.
The tyre markings where painted using masks that I did in 3D. That's because the PE masks sold for kits of that era do not take into account that the front tyres are of a smaller diameter than the rears. The masks aren't perfect, I had to do a lot of retouching, but the result is OK.
I'm not a good photographer, so one painting effect I did is barely visible in the pictures, but I liked a lot. I've painted the exposed CF of the wings and other details with a kind of bronze paint, then covered it with thin layers of very dark grey. The parts show a slightly yellowish shine that gives the impression of the mixture of CF and Kevlar that was common in cars of that era.
The mrlbr decals are from a Museum Collection sheet. The Fujimi decal sheet didn't age well, I had to cut the "Enichem" from an old Tamiya sheet.
Well, that's it. Back to the workbench as soon as possible...