Post by Transmission on Feb 23, 2015 12:14:18 GMT -5
My first topic on this forum and this is the plan: I am going to build John Surtees' 1964 title winning Ferrari 158 and simultaneously (why not start with two?), the Ferrari 1512, sometimes called 512. The latter is an evolution of the 158 (= 1.5 litre V8) with a 12 cylinder engine (so 1512 = 1.5 litre V12) and was introduced for the last two races of 1964 and then raced for the entire '65 season.
The 158 was the more successful car, winning the German and Italian GP's and subsequently the championship for John Surtees. The 1512 finished several times on the podium but unfortunately never won a race.
The kits are from Penelope Pitlane and I plan to add some additional detail along the way.
For the 158 I have chosen John Surtees' Monza Grand Prix winner with the No.2 and for the 1512 I will build the No.17 that finished second in the 1965 Monaco Grand Prix driven by Lorenzo Bandini.
Starting point:
I started with the 158, first cleaning the body and removing rough edges. Then I opened the air vents on the sides of the nose since this is a very characteristic feature of this car. I also drilled the cylinder heads to give it more power, uhhhh detail and depth . I removed the gearbox for now as it rubbed against the gears. I will reposition it later as part of the rear suspension.
The Penelope Pitlane kits are quite nice but I am not very happy with the wheels supplied in the kit. Comparing them with pictures of the real car in 1964 or '65, they seem too narrow and have no profile.
Searching in my Spare part box, I found a set of BRM classic wheels and found them to be much better looking in terms of size and tire tread.
I have decided (for now) to use the BRM tyres, the PP wheels at the front and Fly Classic front wheels at the back. I will rework them a bit later.
Another issue is the lack of space for a full driver figure.
The narrow but long engine that came with the kit is great but it's position in the PP chassis is very far forward. Therefore there is no more room for a full driver figure which is a shame 'cause a full driver makes the car look much better. So I decided to shorten the engine shaft so I can position the engine more backwards. I will probably glue it into position.
As you can see, it makes quite a big difference.
This meant I had to remove the rear mounting post for the body to fit. I will create another way to hold it into place. On the right you can clearly see the gain I made by this.
Looks a lot better so I will also do this operation on the 158!
A few weeks ago, I got a nice present from my wife for my birthday. This great book (almost a bible!) on all the Ferrari Grand Prix cars up to 2004. Great pictures, technical drawings an blue-prints. And to my great surprise and pleasure, I discovered that the blue-prints in the book are scale 1/32! Very helpful indeed!
Cheers
René
The 158 was the more successful car, winning the German and Italian GP's and subsequently the championship for John Surtees. The 1512 finished several times on the podium but unfortunately never won a race.
The kits are from Penelope Pitlane and I plan to add some additional detail along the way.
For the 158 I have chosen John Surtees' Monza Grand Prix winner with the No.2 and for the 1512 I will build the No.17 that finished second in the 1965 Monaco Grand Prix driven by Lorenzo Bandini.
Starting point:
I started with the 158, first cleaning the body and removing rough edges. Then I opened the air vents on the sides of the nose since this is a very characteristic feature of this car. I also drilled the cylinder heads to give it more power, uhhhh detail and depth . I removed the gearbox for now as it rubbed against the gears. I will reposition it later as part of the rear suspension.
The Penelope Pitlane kits are quite nice but I am not very happy with the wheels supplied in the kit. Comparing them with pictures of the real car in 1964 or '65, they seem too narrow and have no profile.
Searching in my Spare part box, I found a set of BRM classic wheels and found them to be much better looking in terms of size and tire tread.
I have decided (for now) to use the BRM tyres, the PP wheels at the front and Fly Classic front wheels at the back. I will rework them a bit later.
Another issue is the lack of space for a full driver figure.
The narrow but long engine that came with the kit is great but it's position in the PP chassis is very far forward. Therefore there is no more room for a full driver figure which is a shame 'cause a full driver makes the car look much better. So I decided to shorten the engine shaft so I can position the engine more backwards. I will probably glue it into position.
As you can see, it makes quite a big difference.
This meant I had to remove the rear mounting post for the body to fit. I will create another way to hold it into place. On the right you can clearly see the gain I made by this.
Looks a lot better so I will also do this operation on the 158!
A few weeks ago, I got a nice present from my wife for my birthday. This great book (almost a bible!) on all the Ferrari Grand Prix cars up to 2004. Great pictures, technical drawings an blue-prints. And to my great surprise and pleasure, I discovered that the blue-prints in the book are scale 1/32! Very helpful indeed!
Cheers
René