FINISHED!! 1/43 1956 Ferrari 290 MM

[tatocorvette]

Hello,

   A good friend of mine sent me this:
It is an all metal, 1/43 scale, 1956 Ferrari 290 MM. 
My understanding is that Ferrari built only 4 of these cars in 1956. It was designed to compete in the Italian Mille Miglia (1,000 miles) race.
Eugenio Castellotti won the race in one.  Juan Manuel Fangio finished 4th in another 290 MM.  All top five were Ferraris.

Back to the model: It is a F.D.S. Automodelli made in Napoli Italy.  No idea on when it was manufactured as there are no dates anywhere. By the look of the information sheet, it must be several decades old.  Could not find any info on this manufacturer but it seems it is no longer in business. 
No instructions needed as there are only 4 parts not counting wheels and tires: Body, chassis/interior, steering wheel and shifter.  That's it.
It is a humble simple kit. Perfect for a fun project.




















I think I want to do Fangio's version.  Or maybe Castellotti's version. Not sure yet.

Thanks,
Ismael

[tatocorvette]

Hello,

  Removed mold lines.  Turns out the metal is very soft.  Probably softer than plastic.  The panel lines are almost non existent. tried to deepen them but there is basically no groove to follow. 

Cleaned and lightly polished and sanded the body. This will be a bigger challenge than I thought. The casting is very rough. This will take a ton of bodywork to fix.



















Thanks,
Ismael

[tatocorvette]

Hello,

  Just as I suspected. A light mist coat of self etching primer and the panel lines are already disappearing.



Thanks,
Ismael

[2whl]

Mar 10, 2023 18:45:19 GMT -8 tatocorvette said:

This will be a bigger challenge than I thought. The casting is very rough. This will take a ton of bodywork to fix.

Thanks,
Ismael

From what I've heard, that porosity is characteristic of early white metal kits. I have a feeling that once you get the body looking good, you will have lost the panel lines.

I'm loving the subject.

[Chris K. Hale]

Ah Yes good old FDS kits, either Great or Awful!! Some mostly in their full detail F-! kits are really Great, but their sportscar and passenger kits not so much. I bought 35 of them at a show in Ventura Ca. from a Doctor who was selling his collection...$5. each .I tried to build a few but most I sold on Ebay and in Europe they go for Big Bucks most of them went for around $125. each. Made a few bucks on that.. Any scribing of the panel lines You kind of have to do pre-primer and I would use the Tamiya Metal Primer it is etching and clear so thin coats work best and you can still see what you started with... I still have a Lancia D50 that I am upgrading with Tameo Wire Wheels I was waiting to post that one when I get to the wheels.. Good Luck On this one. I would have put it away before I proceeded from the point you are at.. Chris

[tatocorvette]

Thanks guys!

  By now you should all be aware I'm not normal 

Repeat with me: PPSRQR

Putty
Primer
Sanding
Rescribing
Question your mental health state
Repeat

After 3 cycles we are here






Thanks,
Ismael

[Chris K. Hale]

Well now that's some progress... getting there. note my signature when questioning my sanity.. Chris

[tatocorvette]

Hello,

  Happy it is going in the right direction. Once the top front is done I'll work the back, the sides, front and back.











Thanks,
Ismael 

[kyledehart5]

So tiny. Looking really nice

[arcticwolf]

Ismael, I have booked you in the room next to mine at the loony farm. I believe Chris is down the hall.

[tatocorvette]

Hello,

  Looking at references, there are a lot of little details that are wrong.  In their defense, this was probably mastered half a century ago with little access to reference material or the real car.

  Can you tell what has been eliminated, what has been re-scribed and what has been newly scribed?



Let me help you:  



Lost count but this is probably the 10th repeat round or so.


Thanks,
Ismael

[Chris K. Hale]

Mar 12, 2023 16:16:37 GMT -8 arcticwolf said:

Ismael, I have booked you in the room next to mine at the loony farm. I believe Chris is down the hall.

I believe they will have me Chained up in the Basement........ Help send Food!!!! Chris

[tatocorvette]

Hello,

  Digging a bit deeper in research, Fangio's car did not use a "tonneau cover" while Castellotti's car did.  That kind of forces me to do Castellotti's car instead of Fangio.   Looking at some pictures, I conclude it was most likely aluminum because of these  little louvers that look like inverted scallops.  Fiberglass was in its infancy and it was definitely not fabric.






So I added those.


See it? yes, there!


Thanks,
Ismael

[sam]

Are you going to open it up and build a engine for it? 😃

[arcticwolf]

I must have been a beautiful view over that hood.