Ferrari 158

[2whl]

I'll try to do 3 builds for this GB.  The first will be a Ferrari 158 driven in the North American rounds by John Surtees.  This car was painted in the N.A.R.T. colors.  When I received this kit back in February, I was planning on starting it immediately.  But then the subject of an open wheel build came up and I decided to wait for the start of the GB.

Here's a look at the box and it's contents.

[kyledehart5]

Pole position Paul!! Can't wait.

[handiabled]

You have my full attention with this one!

[sharp]

Looks like a very nice kit! I'll be watching this!

[keavdog]

This will be fun to watch. Great subject.

[project510]

Another superb kit, of course. Cant wait to see another under glass worthy build!

[BattleScale Collectica Show]

I'm looking forward to this too!

[arcticwolf]

My favourite driver, and one of my favourite people. I will be studying this carefully, it will I'm sure be very useful info for something I have been planning to build for a long time. 

[2whl]

Jun 28, 2024 16:19:14 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Pole position Paul!! Can't wait.

Thanks Kyle.  It looks like the grid is filling up

Jun 29, 2024 3:19:38 GMT -5 handiabled said:

You have my full attention with this one!

Thanks Brent

Jun 30, 2024 17:28:17 GMT -5 sharp said:

Looks like a very nice kit! I'll be watching this!

Thanks Mike.  MFH does a great job creating these muti-media kits

Jun 30, 2024 17:31:30 GMT -5 keavdog said:

This will be fun to watch. Great subject.

Thanks John

Jun 30, 2024 17:59:20 GMT -5 project510 said:

Another superb kit, of course. Cant wait to see another under glass worthy build!

Thanks James

Jun 30, 2024 18:11:52 GMT -5 BattleScale Collectica Show said:

I'm looking forward to this too!

Thanks BSC

Jul 1, 2024 10:59:59 GMT -5 arcticwolf said:

My favourite driver, and one of my favourite people. I will be studying this carefully, it will I'm sure be very useful info for something I have been planning to build for a long time. 

Thanks Paul.  I can't wait to see what your plan is.  Let me know if you want to study the instructions. They might help you in your project.



First order of business was to get the main pieces cleaned up and holes drilled.  Then I dry fit them to make sure everything was squared away.






MFH calls for the chassis interior pieces to be polished.  The piece on the left is untouched white metal.  The piece on the right was sent through my polisher.







All of these pieces got sent through the polisher.  To keep the damage down due to pieces hitting each other, the larger ones were done one at a time. 






I just realized that some of you might not know what I'm talking about when I say I put pieces in the polisher.  It's a machine that has magnets in the base which are spun around.  The pieces to be polished are put in a plastic bowl with steel pins.  The swirling action that results hammers the pins into the parts and gives them that shiny look.  When I got the machine I decided that there where not enough pins for that large of a bowl, so I ordered more along with some burnishing compound.
The fourth picture is of the machine in action.  It creates quite a 'head'.  I usually wait for the foam to subside to get the parts out.






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[project510]

Very interesting, thanks for sharing. Could you not produce the same result with a Dremel and some polishing compound? Your polishing machine means less manual labor, but I would be willing to guess the more expensive route haha. Very cool to see. Its like the tumbler polisher I got from Harbor Freight.

[2whl]

Jul 1, 2024 12:50:50 GMT -5 project510 said:

Very interesting, thanks for sharing. Could you not produce the same result with a Dremel and some polishing compound? Your polishing machine means less manual labor, but I would be willing to guess the more expensive route haha. Very cool to see. Its like the tumbler polisher I got from Harbor Freight.

James, the first MFH kit I did called for the interior parts to be polished just like this one.  At that time, I was using a brass brush and #000 and #0000 steel wool, followed by Simichrome polish.  But it was a time consuming job and very dirty.  My fingers would be dark grey in no time at all.   Then a friend who had a smaller machine brought it to a club meeting so I could see how it worked.  I was sold on the idea and bought this polisher.

[project510]

Building as many of these kits as you do, I would have made the same investment!

[kyledehart5]

Nothing beats the polished metal look of polished metal. Lol. Cool to see the tumbler in action.

[2whl]

I got the engine pieces together and prepped them by drilling all the required holes.   Then I primed as much of the white metal as I could with the sticks I had.






This is the paint I use to prime my white metal with.  It's pretty aggressive stuff, so a paint mask is a must.  It seems to stick better than Tamiya or Mr Hobby metal primers.

 



Then it was time to paint and assembled the main engine block.  Lots of rivets and fittings.




227

[chrissmith]

Off to another fast start Paul….looking good, great explanation on the tumbler. Well worth the investment 😉

[Steve Zuleski]

Wow, this is awesome. Bookmarked. That's a pretty penny for this kit, woof!

[kyledehart5]

Amazing work, as ever Paul. Engine is already shaping up nicely. Thanks for sharing your primer of choice too. That’s good information.

[406 Silverado]

This is going to be such a detailed out engine Paul. Looking forward to seeing the paint and detailing that you'll be adding to it.

[jeaton01]

Great detail. You have the build process down!

[project510]

The engines on these kits look so real it makes you think if you add fuel and spark that they would start up haha.

[2whl]

Jul 3, 2024 14:19:29 GMT -5 chrissmith said:

Off to another fast start Paul….looking good, great explanation on the tumbler. Well worth the investment 😉

Thanks Chris.  I think I had polished two cars before I got the tumbler.  Couldn't be happier with the purchase.

Jul 3, 2024 14:22:49 GMT -5 Steve Zuleski said:

Wow, this is awesome. Bookmarked. That's a pretty penny for this kit, woof!

Thanks Steve.  It might be a pretty penny, but it's worth it.

Jul 3, 2024 20:10:22 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Amazing work, as ever Paul. Engine is already shaping up nicely. Thanks for sharing your primer of choice too. That’s good information.

Thanks Kyle.  It's amazing the products you can find to build models with when you go outside of the model industry.

Jul 6, 2024 9:32:51 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

This is going to be such a detailed out engine Paul. Looking forward to seeing the paint and detailing that you'll be adding to it.

Thanks Joe.  

Jul 6, 2024 10:27:15 GMT -5 jeaton01 said:

Great detail. You have the build process down!

Thanks John.  It took me a couple of kits to get the steps of the process worked out.

Jul 6, 2024 10:34:12 GMT -5 project510 said:

The engines on these kits look so real it makes you think if you add fuel and spark that they would start up haha.

Thanks James.  I'm still looking for 1/12th scale gasoline.



I spent the last couple of days doing some painting.  I got the fuselage bulkheads painted and also finished off the dash.  Once that was done, I could assemble the interior of the monocoque.






The instructions call for the blue on the sides to be Tamiya TS-15.  I did a spoon test.  I actually looks like a closer match in person.






The sides where sprayed out of the can, and added to the chassis.






 I also got the upper cowl painted and tried it out on the chassis.






The wheels are supposed to be a light blue.   I started with the lightest blue Tamiya had in a spray.  I thought it was too dark, so I custom mixed a lighter color using Tamiya's LP line of paint.   It's their white with about 5 drops of blue.




336

[kyledehart5]

Perfect shade you created on those wheels Paul!! And I like the choice for the main blue too. This is going to be a real looker with this color combo. Unique too and you know I love that.

[handiabled]

Fantastic work! Love the engine and paint work! I have to claim ignorance on the polisher. I've not run across one of them before.

[2whl]

Jul 7, 2024 0:35:19 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Perfect shade you created on those wheels Paul!! And I like the choice for the main blue too. This is going to be a real looker with this color combo. Unique too and you know I love that.

Thanks Kyle.  The reason I chose this livery was because it was a Ferrari that wasn't red.

Jul 7, 2024 2:08:57 GMT -5 handiabled said:

Fantastic work! Love the engine and paint work! I have to claim ignorance on the polisher. I've not run across one of them before.

Thanks Brent.  The only reason to know about the polisher is if you do a lot of white metal.  Pretty much everyone I know who is a hard core MFH builder has one.



I started out assembling the front bulkhead.  Then I c/a'd it to the chassis and add the front uprights.









Before I started adding more to the engine, I got it's supports fitted.


418

[buddho]

This is gorgeous work...what a project!🤓

[kyledehart5]

Wow, just wow. The tub and suspension components are looking amazing. I love the shocks and springs.

[2whl]

Jul 7, 2024 19:16:18 GMT -5 buddho said:

This is gorgeous work...what a project!🤓

Thank you, Dan

Jul 8, 2024 5:43:40 GMT -5 kyledehart5 said:

Wow, just wow. The tub and suspension components are looking amazing. I love the shocks and springs.

Thanks Kyle.  It's to bad that detail will be almost hidden.


The fuel lines come out of the bottom of the injection pump and were a pain to install.  I glued them to the engine, then placed the pump in place to see how long they needed to be.  I must have taken the pump off and on a least a half a dozen times before I was satisfied.  Once I had them the length I wanted, I glued the pump in place.  Then I reached in with a pair of tweezers to put the lines into the pump









I also got a start on the trans.


470

[project510]

Incredible work as always. The engine details on these kits is such a joy to watch come together. Great work on the wheels, going with the LP paint was a great idea. It looks exactly like powder coated wheels of that era. Very cool.

[2whl]

Jul 8, 2024 11:17:31 GMT -5 project510 said:

Incredible work as always. The engine details on these kits is such a joy to watch come together. Great work on the wheels, going with the LP paint was a great idea. It looks exactly like powder coated wheels of that era. Very cool.

Thank you James.  Then you should like this update.....the wheels/tires are finished.








I got most of the rest of the engine together.  Now it's time to fight some spark plug wires.





504

[deafpanzer]

Great work on the engine!!