1/24 Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale

Hi guys,

It has been quite some time I haven't build any car models so I take this as my initial project to start back on auto modeling. It started when a friend of mine sold me his 360 Challenge Stradale transkit by MSM Creations as well as the Acustion PE parts. I was thinking of just keeping it first but I was too tempted to start building it back that I start on this last weekend.

AcuStion 360 Stradale PE set
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg01001.jpg

MSM Creations' Challenge Stradale transkit
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg01004.jpg

I've read in here various views from other modelers on the MSM transkit and I think I've got all the informations needed to handle this build.... not!!!

One good thing on this transkit is I got the updated seat which is the CS seat and not the full bucket seat included in the earlier batches. The bad thing is, I think the ones I got maybe is from the last batch that the casting result is bad. It needs a lot of cleaning up. Shown below is how the casting looks like.

Door panel
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg01005.jpg

Centre console (soft detail)
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg01006.jpg

Front bumper
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg01009.jpg

Wheels
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg01011.jpg

Apart from all the cleaning that needs to be done let's just hope I have enough motivation to complete this build at least in 2008. :icon16:

Ok, now is the build progress. Let's start up with the body. First the Tamiya Modena bumper must be separated from the body to be replaced with the Challenge Stradale's bumper. Using Crazy Modeler's saw, I carefully scribe according to the bumper lines and remove the ones on the Tamiya's.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg01017.jpg

The bumper has some scribing on it which represents (I think) the headlight washer panel what I do is I just rub some pencil carbon onto the panel and rescribe the panel back and making it deeper.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg01030.jpg

Then I dry fitted the resin bumper to look at the allignments... Oh no!!! the bumper is warped!!!...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg01018.jpg

No worries, a dip or two in the hot water and some carefull massaging gets the bumper into the shape it is intended to. Perfect fit!!!
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg01026.jpg

The side skirts are also slightly warped but I don't need to use the hot water treatment for this, just some minor force is sufficient to get the sides in place.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg01019.jpg

The sides does need some plastic cards though.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg01028.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg01027.jpg

Temporarily dry fit using blue tack to see the overall of the car.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg01025.jpg

That's all for now. More updates later.

Ahh another 360 CS! I'll be watching your build for sure, I wish you much luck with yours...you will see, like me and others, that the MSM tk is crap..lol.

Anyway good luck with the build, I'm looking forward to more progress...I'm in love the the Challenge Stradale

Gray

Yea good luck for you 360 CS! i will be following this too.. and im gonna build this soon without the transkit!

Ro

The challenge stradale is definitely worth the effort to make. love that car. I made that car also after buying the transkit from MSM. the result is in my sig. I ended up only using the seats and wheels from the kit for mine since my parts were so badly shrunken. good luck. with a little effort, you can make a great model. I'll be keeping an eye on this one.

Hi,

a nice car, but another when I see the resin quality :banghead: - why don´t you send the stuff back th get better quality for your money??

MSM kit is crap, everyone that has ever had one agrees. Sad thing is that they sold out every run every time?! When it gets down to it the only part that was salvageable was the front bumper. Too bad we ALL couldn't get our $ back on that turd. Good luck, it is a fun build. Once I graduate in three weeks I am back to that build. Well, back to every build and then some. Good luck, I will watch.

Thanks for all the replies guys.

stryfe101: I'm building this car with the guidance from all the CS build-ups from this forum, at least I know what to look out for in with the MSM transkit.

vrossi85: Thanks. I will be building this using the transkit and I might build another one from scratch without the transkit.

COZMO6476: Yup, I've read your build up and will use it as a guidance in building this CS.

sportracer02: I'm not sure if I can get a better replacement from them. Besides I got this cheap from a friend...:icon16:

Enzoenvy1: Thanks. I'm quite lucky because apart from the cleaning that needs to be done and the problematic rear bonnet, all the other parts are still usable.

More progress... Shown below is the difference between the Tamiya ones (in red) and the MSM ones.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg01023.jpg

Dry fitting the rear bonnet/hood.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg01020.jpg

Well known problem.... the rear bonnet/hood is too narrow from the actual ones. It is 1mm less than the actual area (which is quite huge).
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg01021.jpg

This is how the bonnet should fit.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg01022.jpg

Since the rear bonnet/hood can't be corrected, I will have to use the Tamiya ones and modify it to the Challenge Stradale .

In order to change it to the CS's I have to add some plastic strips for the raised portion of the spoiler. When that is done, I apply some putty and sanded it down to get the correct shape.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg2002.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg2003.jpg

I have got the shape done and just some shaping needs to be done. Well, the rear spoiler is done and it looks good to me. I sprayed some primer to get the overall look and it looks ok. Still needs some minor fillings and sanding though.

Below are the comparison between the MSM's and the modified Tamiya ones. The rear spoiler is done and it only needs the holes on the side to be drilled plus the two bars across the bonnet.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg3009.jpg

Test fitting... looks good...
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg3010.jpg

Finally, the overall look.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg3013.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg3012.jpg

I've glued the front bumpers and side skirts. I glued using super glue and filled any holes visible with epoxy.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg3003.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg3004.jpg
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg3005.jpg

For your guys' information, I have to spend about nearly an hour to clean and sand off the bumper to get it smoothed. Below are the bumpers after being worked with. Looks much better....
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg3014.jpg

I have also started on the rear modification.

First is the rear number plate area. The CS has an angled shape number plate which is different from the normal CS. What I done is I remove the plastic bit by bit until I get the desired shape and sanded it smooth. It still needs some smoothing works though.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg3007.jpg

I have also extended the rear skirting but I just started. I layer some 0.5mm plastic sheet to get the shape and sanded it smooth. It still needs some sanding though.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg3008.jpg

Now the oil cap area. The CS has a different shape oil cap and it is included in the MSM's transkit. This requires the existing oil cap to be removed and using the usual drill-cut-file-sand method, I remove the existing oil cap.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg3006.jpg

The replacement oil cap is glued onto a thin plastic sheet to ease handling as well as to give much more surface coverage for the glue so that the oil cap will sit perfectly in the hole.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg3001.jpg

Some glue applied and the oil cap is placed in the existing hole and the replacement is complete. All it needs is some filling to reduce the gap.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg3011.jpg

I have decided to sand off the side indicators and will be rebuilding it using clear sprue to get it to look much more realistic. I just sand off the molded-in indicator and drill the area as indicators where the lens should be at.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg3002.jpg

coming along well man, I need to get back to work on mine. I'm not totally sure, but the tamiya enzo I think includes an extra set of the amber side markers in the proper shape, I've noticed it on the kit I have and have looked the instructions over and over to find another location for the 2 extras....I've drilled the holes on mine as well, and if those fit, i'm going with them.

I hope you have continued good luck with the build, I'll get back on mine soon..


Gray

coming along well man, I need to get back to work on mine. I'm not totally sure, but the tamiya enzo I think includes an extra set of the amber side markers in the proper shape, I've noticed it on the kit I have and have looked the instructions over and over to find another location for the 2 extras....I've drilled the holes on mine as well, and if those fit, i'm going with them.

I hope you have continued good luck with the build, I'll get back on mine soon..


Gray

Thanks for the suggestion Gray. I'll check my Enzo kit later.

By the way, anyone here knows how do I fit the rear bonnet grill for the AcuStion set for the Challenge Stradale? It's the one shown with the red arrow.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/Meshpic.jpg

Do I need to remove the whole area (highlighted in yellow below) and replace with the PE part or should I just sand off a bit of the molded-in plastic grill (so that the PE will sit flush) from the Tamiya rear bonnet and glue the mesh in place before drilling the four holes? Hope someone out there can answer this for me.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/Meshpic2.jpg

Thanks.

Imran

coming along well man, I need to get back to work on mine. I'm not totally sure, but the tamiya enzo I think includes an extra set of the amber side markers in the proper shape, I've noticed it on the kit I have and have looked the instructions over and over to find another location for the 2 extras....I've drilled the holes on mine as well, and if those fit, i'm going with them.

I hope you have continued good luck with the build, I'll get back on mine soon..


Gray

Those will fit that. I had 5 enzos then and I used all the spare for my 6 modenas.

Those will fit that. I had 5 enzos then and I used all the spare for my 6 modenas.

6 Modenas? where might I be able to see them....I loved your 4 Enzos


Oh and Imran, first your welcome, and second so far as how to do those grills...I taped them up to my hatch and drilled little holes around the openings into the plastic, I then used my p/e saws to carefully cut them out, then filed the holes somewhat smooth, very time consuming, but it looks decent...what I plan to do is carefully use some mr dissolved putty on the p/e to fill in the mesh part then cover it with cf decal....then install mesh under it so it looks like the real deal, so far as sanding the hatch down a little..I'm thinking it might be a good idea, although the acustion grills are pretty thin as it is..

Good luck

Gray

6 Modenas? where might I be able to see them....I loved your 4 Enzos


Oh and Imran, first your welcome, and second so far as how to do those grills...I taped them up to my hatch and drilled little holes around the openings into the plastic, I then used my p/e saws to carefully cut them out, then filed the holes somewhat smooth, very time consuming, but it looks decent...what I plan to do is carefully use some mr dissolved putty on the p/e to fill in the mesh part then cover it with cf decal....then install mesh under it so it looks like the real deal, so far as sanding the hatch down a little..I'm thinking it might be a good idea, although the acustion grills are pretty thin as it is..

Good luck

Gray

Thanks for the tips Gray.

This means that the rear vent should be solid and not as per the AcuStion part is it?

I guess what I should do now is just sand off the molded-in grill from the Tamiya hatch, use the AcuStion part only as a guidance for the location of the four holes and use thin plastic sheet to level off the sanded part.

I'll be continuing this build soon. Stay tuned... :icon16:

Thanks for the tips Gray.

This means that the rear vent should be solid and not as per the AcuStion part is it?

I guess what I should do now is just sand off the molded-in grill from the Tamiya hatch, use the AcuStion part only as a guidance for the location of the four holes and use thin plastic sheet to level off the sanded part.

I'll be continuing this build soon. Stay tuned... :icon16:

Yeah, That pretty much what I meant...if you need any reference photos of the car...I've got a ton of them that I can load up to rapidshare..

Good luck

Gray

Thanks Gray for the offer. I'll let you know if I needed any reference.

I need help with the builds... It is currently slowed down due to not having the right material to continue. I am currently looking for a mesh with circular holes like the ones Alex (360 spider) used for his Challenge Stradale build. I went to my LHS which is a K&S Engineering distributor but they didn't have the mesh that I was looking for and I don't think they will be getting in new stocks soon.

Anyone here know where can I get the mesh on-line?

Thanks...

I think you can get it from tower hobbies online..you'll have to by more of it, but you'll never run out of nice p/e mesh..lol

www.towerhobbies.com

or you could try hobby link japan...they stock some different brands of p/e mesh, or www.stradasports.com carries some as well...look for the crazy modeler mesh there..I think they offer it in circular holes..I'll have some update shots of my 360 CS up in my thread soon...

Gray

I think you can get it from tower hobbies online..you'll have to by more of it, but you'll never run out of nice p/e mesh..lol

www.towerhobbies.com

or you could try hobby link japan...they stock some different brands of p/e mesh, or www.stradasports.com carries some as well...look for the crazy modeler mesh there..I think they offer it in circular holes..I'll have some update shots of my 360 CS up in my thread soon...

Gray

Thanks for the links Gray. I'll take a look and hopefully I can get it soon.

Ok, some minor update here (and I do mean minor).

I have sanded all the excess plastic on the rear bumper as well as puttied the rear license plate area to remove any holes or scratches.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg4006.jpg

I have also added some details on the rear bonnet. Some underside detail is added. The detail is added using 0.25mm plastic sheet and also from the picture you can see that two horizontal bars is also added to replicate the Challenge Stradale's rear bonnet. All the additions (for now) are using plastic sheets.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg4002.jpg

When that is done, since the Challenge Stradale is using a different exhaust set-up than the usual Modena, I've also added the insulation that is added on the CS for the racing exhaust version. I'm not sure whether my eyes are playing tricks on me or what but it looks like it is slightly off-center. Can anyone confirm this (looking at the picture :D )?
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg4004.jpg

Shown below is the upper part of the rear bonnet that has been puttied to remove any existing gaps and has been sanded smooth. The two horizontal bars still needs some cleaning and tidying up to be done.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg4005.jpg

Since the rear bonnet is about done, I move to the dashboard next. The first physical difference that is visible between the CS and the Modena is its air-condition vents. The modena has a grill vent (as shown below) while the CS has a five-spoke vent. This needs to be scratchbuild (like most of AF'ers that builds the CS has done) as I don't want to spend extra only to buy photo-etch vents which does not look 3-D.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg4001.jpg

To replace the Modena air-condition vents, I remove all the molded-in vents on the Modena dashboard using drill and circular files before smooth it using sandpaper. Shown below is the picture of all the vents has been drilled (sorry for the dark picture). The vents will be scrathbuild soon.
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y223/druid_99/Challenge%20Stradale/CSProg4003.jpg

That's all for now.