Ferrari 250LM - Update 10-18
Sept 19, 2020 18:56:52 GMT -4
Post by BERNARD "HOT ROD" KRON on Sept 19, 2020 18:56:52 GMT -4
This summer I got the Modelist Russian repack of the Academy Ferrari 250 LM kit off of eBay. It was well priced but actually came from Russia and so it took 6-7 weeks to get to me. According to the seller, due to Covid, there are currently no direct cargo flights between Russia and the USA. Things must be shipped via western Europe and , for ordinary parcel post, it has added a solid 4 weeks or more to shipping time.
It’s a simple kit, a curbside with a well detailed interior and a nicely molded body. It comes with surprisingly convincing molded plastic wire wheels but the cover illustration on the Modelist release is of what appears to be a modern street version of a 250LM with contemporary rear view mirrors and the Drogo “long nose” conversion with the simpler, wider grill opening rather than the more blunt stock short nose with the brake cooling slots on either side of the more squared off grill opening found in the actual kit. The cover car also has silver “Cromodora” Campagnolo cast magnesium wheels. I liked the look of this combo but eventually decided against the considerable work involved in re-profiling and extending the Drogo nose. The modern rear view mirrors don’t float my boat either. But the solid stance and look of the mag wheels appealed to me, especially when I was able to find some reasonably priced and beautifully cast resin aftermarket 1/24th scale resin Ferrari P4 wheels and tires from eBay vendor jwhi7752. They come from the UK under the name Curbside MasterCasterS and, as I say, they are absolutely first rate. Communication was excellent and shipping time very fast so he is highly recommended. He masters and casts his own stuff and has quite a variety of cool automotive items. His eBay UK page has his completion line whereas, since he must pay a pre-item premium for his USA listing he lists fewer items there. Here’s a link to his UK page: www.ebay.co.uk/sch/jwhi7752/m.html?item=143706523517&hash=item217593877d%3Ag%3Ao64AAOSw9SVeIv7A&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562
As an historical note, there were several 250 LMs run with the Campagnolo mags, their owners finding that the stiffer wheels improved the handling, especially as racing tires were rapidly getting wider and lower in profile at the time (1963-1965). So my indulgence in them isn’t totally off base.
Below is a summary of the initial work I’ve done. As you can imagine the P4 wheels and tires are a bit oversized for the 250LM body so it took some minor fettling to get them to sit nicely under the fenders, especially since I decided to lower the stance about 2 scale inches. I also chose to finish the wheels in the traditional gold “Cromodora” finish as seen on the p3s and P4s/ It should go nicely with the Tamiya TS-8 Italian Red main body color. In the original kit the grill and vent openings are all molded shut with plastic “grills” filling them. These have all been opened up and will have 60-mesh grills inserted. Other than the Campag wheels the car will be largely stock so this project will be mainly about fit and finish.
Thanx for lookin’,
B.
It’s a simple kit, a curbside with a well detailed interior and a nicely molded body. It comes with surprisingly convincing molded plastic wire wheels but the cover illustration on the Modelist release is of what appears to be a modern street version of a 250LM with contemporary rear view mirrors and the Drogo “long nose” conversion with the simpler, wider grill opening rather than the more blunt stock short nose with the brake cooling slots on either side of the more squared off grill opening found in the actual kit. The cover car also has silver “Cromodora” Campagnolo cast magnesium wheels. I liked the look of this combo but eventually decided against the considerable work involved in re-profiling and extending the Drogo nose. The modern rear view mirrors don’t float my boat either. But the solid stance and look of the mag wheels appealed to me, especially when I was able to find some reasonably priced and beautifully cast resin aftermarket 1/24th scale resin Ferrari P4 wheels and tires from eBay vendor jwhi7752. They come from the UK under the name Curbside MasterCasterS and, as I say, they are absolutely first rate. Communication was excellent and shipping time very fast so he is highly recommended. He masters and casts his own stuff and has quite a variety of cool automotive items. His eBay UK page has his completion line whereas, since he must pay a pre-item premium for his USA listing he lists fewer items there. Here’s a link to his UK page: www.ebay.co.uk/sch/jwhi7752/m.html?item=143706523517&hash=item217593877d%3Ag%3Ao64AAOSw9SVeIv7A&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562
As an historical note, there were several 250 LMs run with the Campagnolo mags, their owners finding that the stiffer wheels improved the handling, especially as racing tires were rapidly getting wider and lower in profile at the time (1963-1965). So my indulgence in them isn’t totally off base.
Below is a summary of the initial work I’ve done. As you can imagine the P4 wheels and tires are a bit oversized for the 250LM body so it took some minor fettling to get them to sit nicely under the fenders, especially since I decided to lower the stance about 2 scale inches. I also chose to finish the wheels in the traditional gold “Cromodora” finish as seen on the p3s and P4s/ It should go nicely with the Tamiya TS-8 Italian Red main body color. In the original kit the grill and vent openings are all molded shut with plastic “grills” filling them. These have all been opened up and will have 60-mesh grills inserted. Other than the Campag wheels the car will be largely stock so this project will be mainly about fit and finish.
Thanx for lookin’,
B.
