Kit: 1/24 Model Factory Hiro Ferrari F40 GTE Igol ##27 & 44

Pros: This is one detailed kit! I didn't count the parts, but there are easily over 400 parts, maybe more! Most of them are white metal, and that made assembly a bit of a nightmare! Body moldings are super clean inside and out, absolutely no flash in my kits. Beige resin is top quality, and castings are almost perfect - few very small bubbles and imperfections - but all were taken care of with simple cleanup. Surface on all body panels is very smooth and shape is spot on (except for the front cowl - more on that later). Decals are made by Cartograf, and sheet is big and very colorful. Decals are thin and perfectly registered, with very little clear film around the edges. They are also very opaque, and work perfect with decal setting solutions. All correct markings for all versions provided on the sheet. Main photoetched fret is also great. Ever since MFH has released 275 GTB/C kit, all their photoetched parts come on a rubber backing, and this makes them so much easier to remove and work with. There is no need to file off the attachment points too. Just peel and use. Both rear and front suspensions are very detailed, same goes for almost any area of the kit. Nice and clear instructions, great packaging.

Cons: White metal is very hard to clean and Hiro's castings are not the best - mold lines on delicate parts, casting defects on small parts and flat surfaces. In addition, fit of these metal parts leaves a lot to be desired - I had fit problems on almost all stages of assembly. Many parts had to be modified, bent or otherwise altered to fit. Most holes were not drilled or way too small. Front cowl shape is a bit off, which makes completed model look a bit off (nose is not down to the ground as much as it is on the real car). Lack of C/F positioning in instructions, sparse English directions. Price is high, but that was expected from a limited release kit from Model Factory Hiro.

Verdict: Definitely not a kit for a beginner, and even an experienced builder will face many problems during assembly. I have modified the model quite a bit, so I'm sure assembly would be a bit easier if built out-of-the-box. This is possibly the most detailed kit of a racing F40 ever made and looks absolutely terrific on the shelf when finished. There is something magical about it when you look at the model with all the cowls open.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into by starting this double build! Model Factory Hiro kits are wonderful, but it takes a lot of work and patience to make them look good. I set out to do that, times two, and add more aftermarket stuff while doing it. Sounded like fun!

I started by ordering two kits, both IGOL sponsored cars #27 and #44. Striking IGOL livery is one of my favorites on F40 GTE, so I wanted to do it justice. Zero paints were bought for the body, and several sheets of various composite decals from SMS and KA Models for decaling.

For internal wiring I decided to try some of the new Top Studio wiring sets which included nicely molded resin connectors of various sizes, wire, and some shrink wrap. I also acquired some Sakatsu fittings of various sizes for engine and cooling system plumbing. That was the start.

Body is assembled from both resin and white metal parts, but the rest of the kit is mostly white metal. Resin castings were pretty clean and crisp, and except for the cockpit, rather thin. Took some time to clean up though. Metal parts were rather bad, and required lots of block sanding.

When everything was prepped, cut, sanded, adjusted and fitted together, I dry-assembled everything to make sure it was ready for primer and paint. Lots of time was invested in making the parts look and fit good, and I was doing it times two!

A coat of gray and white primer, then two coats of Zero yellow, then masking with BMF (to avoid the paint edge), then two coats of blue. After the paint was dry, I took the masks off and sprayed a light coat of clear to seal the paint. it looked good, but matt.

Few more coats of clear, and paint started to sparkle. I continued adding more coats until I was satisfied  with the depth of the shine. Then I repeated the process for the second body.

After clear was completely dry, I sanded few small imperfections with 2000 sandpaper, then followed with 3M polishing compound, and Tamiya Fine. When paint looked nice and smooth, I waxed both bodies with Treatment model wax.

Decals were next, and they were excellent. Even the very complicated green portions over the nose of #27 car, and blue over the engine lid were relatively easy to apply.

Testament to excellent Cartograf decals. They react so well with Microset and Microsol, and opaque to cover any paint lines.

Completely decaled, polished, and test fitted #27 body. Unfortunately, I totally forgot to take pictures of completed #44 body. With both bodies completed, I moved on to the internals - engine and chassis.

Engine block was put together, cleaned, all imperfections sanded with needle files, sanding sticks, and sandpaper. Hiro castings are rather rough, and it always takes lots of work to make them look good.

Finally, block was cleaned with steel wire brush to bring out natural metal sheen. I decided against painting the block, as it looked so good as is.

Similar cleaning technique was used on most of the white metal engine parts - clean, sand, use wire brush. Here you can see gigantic GTE intercoolers, and intake manifold.

Small engine parts were also cleaned, sanded, pre-drilled.

Cam covers were cleaned, primed, and painted red from a distance to simulate rough casting texture of the real covers. The effect was less pronounced than I hoped for, but still looked good.

Then covers were drilled for spark wires, wired, and mounted on the block. I also added intake manifolds, oil filter, front block cover, and engine mounts.

Then I assembled alternator, generator, and attached all pulleys to the front cover. Belts were made from thin self-adhesive rubber-like tape that was provided in the kit.

Second engine block was assembled identically to the first one. Building two of the same made it easier as far as painting and assembly. It made it much worse as far as parts cleanup, as I had to do it twice!

Chassis parts were all warped, pitted, scratched, and generally very rough. Took quite a bit of block-sanding, then sanding with needle files, and various sticks to make them look presentable.

Finally, after hours of cleanup the parts were ready for primer, and I sprayed two thin coats of Tamiya Metal primer, followed by a coat of gray primer with light sanding in-between.

Then all these parts were painted with Tamiya semi-black paint from TS line, decanted and sprayed with an airbrush. This will be base for carbon fiber decals from SMS.

Chassis plate, rear diffuser, and front plate were covered with carbon fiber decals and left to thoroughly dry before clearcoating.

Model Factory Hiro self-adhesive heat shielding was applied to the parts of the engine bay on the chassis plate

Front section of the chassis was also detailed with carbon fiber decals. This part will be visible when front cowl is taken off the model, and needed to look realistic.

Rear diffuser was also detailed with MFH self-adhesive heat shielding material. Then I carefully cut the holes for the air-jacks and screws that hold the diffuser in place.

Finally, when decals were completely dry, I sprayed few coats of clear and polished chassis to make C/F look smooth and nice.

With chassis plate ready, it was time to get back to the engine. Enhaust manifolds were painted with various Model Master buffing metalizers and lightly weathered and buffed for natural look. I also painted the intercoolers with MM Aluminum and lightly buffed them.

Intake manifold and exhaust manifolds were glued to the block, and engine was test fitted to the chassis to make sure that everything aligns right and nothing needs to be adjusted for clearance. I also test-fitted rear diffuser.

Rear suspension arms, exhaust system, turbos, and blow off valve were all assembled together and installed on the chassis.

The exact same procedure was done for the second chassis. It was time to work on the rolling stock - brakes and wheels for the chassis.

Rotor hats were provided as a rather rough castings, so I clamped them into my Dremel and smoothed them out with some coarse sanding sticks.

Original part is on the left, two sanded parts are on the right, and one "in-process" part is still on a Dremel shaft.

Once the hubs were ready, I glues photoetched rotor sandwich (two rotor faces and one "vent' slice) to them. Then I spun them in my Dremel while touching them with fine sanding stick to create lightly worn appearance.

Rotors were painted with various shades of MM metalizers. Calipers were painted with Alclad Pale Gold, and fitted with solder brake lines. Axles and center nuts are Acu-Stion items.

Completed set of brakes awaits their installation to one of the models.

Wheel inserts were rather rough, so the first thing I did is sand them and make sure they fit inside turned rims provided by MFH. Tires were also sanded using the method from my tire scuffing tutorial. I also used Sakatsu turned tire valves.

The wheel inserts were all cleaned up, primed, painted and clearcoated. I also pre-drilled them for the tire valves.

I had to enlarge the openings in the wheel centers for the axles so they would fit Acu-Stion items. Then everything was assembled together and decaled.

Brakes were test fitted inside the wheel to make sure that they fit right and nothing interferes with the brakes and wheels spin free.

Set of four wheels and for brake assemblies ready to be installed on the model.

Once the brakes were ready, I continued with engine assembly. Using Pro-Tech excellent braided lines, and various sizes of Sakatsu fittings....

...I plumbed the turbos, and blow off valve. Then I installed air boxes and intakes, wheel hubs, brakes, and intercooler support framing.

Shocks were assembled from kit parts, though I had to cut he springs and shorten the absorbers to make them properly fit on the suspension.

Similar "surgery" was performed for the second chassis, and both were ready for the rest of the engine accessories.

Took a while to clean the frame. Quality of casting on some parts was simply horrible. Intercoolers were detail painted and pre-drilled for wiring. Boots were made from red electric tape. Still missing the clamps in this picture.

Intercoolers and upper frame were finally installed on the engine block. Parts fit was rather bad, and I was very careful not to break prior assemblies while pushing the frame down.

Air jacks, rear space frame, and suspension stabilizers and links were also installed at this time. I had to fabricate several links from thin wire as parts supplied in the kit were simply out of scale and unusable.

View from this angle shows the stabilizer assembly very well. Luckily, after some work, everything aligned really well.

Finally, spark pug wires were attached to the coil packs, engine cooling system plumbed, and all little nuts and bolts on the engine picked out and small pieces detail painted and weathered.

Radiators, together with few other things, like expansion tanks and air jack line fittings, were wired using Pro-Tech braids, and Sakatsu fittings.

Rear bumper/tray was covered with carbon fiber and heat shielding from the inside. Good thing MFH heat shield conforms to crevices so well, as working over those louvers was a nightmare! Followed by C/F application to those same louvers.

Finally, everything was put together. Radiators, jack fittings, and rear tow hook were installed on the bumper, and bumper was screwed to he chassis from underneath.

Rear diffuser followed next, together with rear bumper guard, expansion tanks, some additional piping, clamps, and few little touches here and there.

Then the same exact procedure was done for the second chassis. Knowing where everything goes surely made it easier to put it together the second time around.

Another view of the completed engine bay of #44 car.

To avoid complicated masking, front and rear cowls were preliminary brush-painted black from the inside. Additional coats later on will help eliminate some of the brush marks.