Hobby Design Murcielago LP640 Transkit

I ordered the new transkit on ebay and received it today. Initial impressions are very good! I think the castings are accurate and well done with minimal flash. I bought mine for $70, and when you compare it to the SLR convertible transkit, which I also bought for $65, its a very good deal. There's a lot more parts to it then the SLR, which I think should be priced around $40. Not sure about the parts fit, as I don't have a donor Murcielago kit yet, but hopefully HD has corrected their resin shrinkage issue (also, I took Alex Kustov's advice and bought it as soon as it came out).

HD is sure producing a lot of items! If they get big enough, maybe they should produce styrene-injection instead of resin parts!

:useless: :)

I knew I'd get a comment like that, lol. It is. Here you go for now. Photo courtesy of resinkit-us on eBay. I'll try to take my own, detailed photos later tonight or tomorrow when I can borrow a friend's camera (as I don't have one yet...I know, I'm lame).

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x82/BVC500/4415228497_ca81efd880_o.jpg

Thanks!

HD's 599xx kit is spotty at best and the wheels were useless....but I have most of their latest wheel sets and they are 100% improved in every way.

Yeah, I've read a lot about the 599xx. If there is no resin shrinkage, which I won't know until I get a donor kit, then this transkit is a big improvement, and seemingly accurate. Here are a few more impressions after looking more closely.

1) Clear resin rear light covers are nicely done, though the surface is a little rough. It will need to be polished smooth and/or cleared. Photoetch parts are used to replicate the starburst pattern of the lights.
2) Kit includes engine bay frame for murcie roadster.
3) Instructions are partial. Nothing indicated about exhaust tip and wheels, for example. No matter, though, because its easy enough for a skilled modeler to figure out what to do.
4) Rear bumper arrived broken where rear light background meets bumper proper, but any easy fix.
5) Clear part for engine lid. Flimsy clear sheet but easier to deal with then thick acetate, and looks more realistic.
6) Very impressed with the wheels. They look difficult to make and cast! Minimal flash and surfaces are very smooth.
7) Front and rear bumpers nicely done, especially impressed with the rear bumper. Minimal prep required.

Looks good.Could you post a link to the ebay store that you bought it from? Thanks

Nice, I have no idea why Fujimi didnt make the LP640, I just brought the Murcielago kit over the weekend & the parts are all seperate, bumbers, sideskirts & engine cover, they could have eaisly made up a few new spruces for the LP640!! Might have to get this transkit,

Wow! I haven't seen this one. I've only seen the Gallardo Superleggera transkit. I'll have to put the LP640 transkit on my list.

You guys mind me asking a general Fujimi Murcielago question while we're on the subject?

If not, thanks and here it is:

Do any of these transkits (or did Fujimi themselves) make provisions for correcting the suspension track widths on the model? Got the first issue of the kit and thought it was just gorgeous - till I mocked up the suspension and found the tires sitting wa-a-ay inboard of the body work, more like a '50's Buick than any modern exotic.

Doesn't look that hard to fix it yourself, but kits that don't need adjustments like this tend to rotate ahead of it in the ol' building triage...

Doubtful, unless somehow the wheels have spacers built in. They don't, though. Never built a Murcie, but from builds I've seen, there's a lot of little corrections that need to be done. Hoping to get my hands on a donor kit soon for a reasonable price. Weird thing is, I never see Murcie kits on eBay that are in the states!

You guys mind me asking a general Fujimi Murcielago question while we're on the subject?

If not, thanks and here it is:

Do any of these transkits (or did Fujimi themselves) make provisions for correcting the suspension track widths on the model? Got the first issue of the kit and thought it was just gorgeous - till I mocked up the suspension and found the tires sitting wa-a-ay inboard of the body work, more like a '50's Buick than any modern exotic.

Doesn't look that hard to fix it yourself, but kits that don't need adjustments like this tend to rotate ahead of it in the ol' building triage...

They do need a bit of a spacer but no transkit is going to allow for such a simple fix. Also Fujimi got the windshield surround trim wrong.

Their kits are better now but when they made the Murcie kit they were still in quality transition.

Yup, the circa 2004 releases were still a little dicey, weren't they?

I wasn't thinking spacers, which would throw the steering poses off, so much as hacking and splicing extra material to space out the suspension arms and tie rod ends a bit further. Problem wasn't quite as drastic in the rear, iIrc - been a few years since I pulled it out of storage.

Anyway. LP640 bits get more and more appealing as I look the pics over.

http://124.207.107.8/mxbbs/home/attachment/201003/24/20_12694451202c4U.jpg



That looks a bit like it was left parked in the bad side of town. :lol:

Are there anymore more detailed photos? Lights , bodykit shape , engine hood + clear parts etc.

Sorry for the delay. I was waiting for my Murcielago kit to arrive, and use my brother's camera. Here are some shots and observations:

Clear resin will need to be polished to be smooth and shiny.
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x82/BVC500/DSC_0961.jpg

Rear bumper looks great, but instructions don't tell you that you have to remove the taillamp backing because the two-part taillamp won't sit flush if the backing is still in place. No shrinkage on rear bumper.
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x82/BVC500/DSC_0966.jpg

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x82/BVC500/DSC_0974.jpg

Instructions don't tell you that you'll have to remove some of the rear fender to attach the side skirt.
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x82/BVC500/DSC_0981.jpg

Front bumper may have experienced a little shrinkage on each side. It's a little short as it meets the wheel well.
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x82/BVC500/DSC_0986.jpg

Minimal flash on wheels.
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x82/BVC500/DSC_0996.jpg

Mirrors look great but be careful removing mold-attachment point, as they are brittle. Also seen here is the tailight bucket, whose recesses are filled with photoetch to create the Lambo lights.
http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x82/BVC500/DSC_1012.jpg

Thanks for the review and pics.

I wish Fujimi would update their tooling - I like the original Murcielago but compared to the updated versions the original looks bland and old and boring.

Cool thank you for the review. What is weird is that kit is pretty new and already there seems to be shrinkage? Maybe they didn't mold them right.

In the photo, I had not snapped the front bumper fully in place, so it looks like a lot of shrinkage, but once I had it correctly in place, its really not too bad. Will still need a little addition on each side.

Also, realized that this will need the roadster's seats, as the coupe seats are original murcie style (differences mainly lie in headrests design). The LP640 adopted the roaster's seats.

Despite a few issues, must say that I am quite impressed with the quality of moldings, and the thoroughness of the transkit.

I too have problems with front bumper fittings... and my engine hood warped and ill to cut off the center piece , leaving the sides and re-make the center with plastic. Alot of work has to be done to really complete it. It seems like they just make the parts without thinking or trying to actually put the kit together

It seems like they just make the parts without ..... or trying to actually put the kit together

Hi,

yes I think, that is the point and if I remember, someone else wrote this concerning the bad quality of their 599XX transkit.

Shrinkage of the resin parts is possible, but not so much.

Neverless, it seems that they did not learn from the numerous mistakes in their 599XX transkit.

Granted I've only done a preliminary fitting, but I wouldn't be too harsh right out of the box. All transkits require some work. I think Hobby Design has made many improvements in a short amount of time. The parts are smooth, sharp, accurate and require minimal cleanup.