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 Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,827 Points: -13,348
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Hello all,
Hasegawa 1:20 Ferrari 312T2 "1976 Japanese Grand Prix" (Kit #20243)
This is a fantastic kit from the Hasegawa stable and one which I have been after for quite some time!
Comprising a total of 191 parts, which is a lot for a 1:20 scale kit, there is a wealth of detail available to build a museum quality model straight out of the box and the mouldings are very crisp with virtually zero flash or sink marks and any ejector pin marks that are present seem to be in locations where they won't show when assembled, which saves having to fill and sand them out followed by trying to reshape any lost detail. There are 12 sprues in total, 2 red plastic, 2 black, 1 white, 5 light grey, 1 chrome and 1 clear plus a pack of 4 vinyl tubes for the wheel hubs and a set of beautifully moulded 'rain' tyres as was used in that famous race at a rain soaked Fuji in the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix! The tyres can be seen in the photos below and have very little in the way of a mould seam around the perimeter, which means a simple rub with some 2400 grit 'Micro-mesh' and they'll be ready to go.
One surprise for me was that the chrome sprue only contains the front and rear wing elements. As the wheels on this car are predominantly of a polished metal appearance I would have thought it obvious to include the wheels on the chrome sprue, but instead they are moulded within the light grey sprues? A bit odd but not a problem as I would have stripped the chrome anyway and resprayed them using 'Alclad II' metal paints for a more realistic look. The only thing that I dislike about this kit is the sprues that are moulded in either red or white, particularly the red! It is a throwback to the old 'Matchbox' models when they tried to mould different parts in several colours to negate having to paint the finished model, something which I think was aimed at less experienced or younger modellers, but for me, not necessary and I would prefer all parts to be moulded in a neutral grey plastic. The clear parts are suitably thin and very well moulded though the small windshield will need a thin airbrushing of clear blue to bring it to the correct colour for this car. A nice touch is that the brake ducts and induction fairings are moulded on the clear sprue which will allow for replicating the semi-transparent fibreglass mouldings of the real thing. A simple mix of clear orange and yellow with a matt coat over the top should be close enough to look right. The clear sprues also contain 12 semi-spherical moulding for the mesh covers which are seen on the induction trumpets, which I presume Hasegawa has supplied for the modeller to lightly airbrush a brass colour over the top but I will probably not use them, preferring to mould some from scale brass mesh instead. Also included is a beautifully printed and comprehensive decal sheet which is perfectly in register and with good opacity. Markings are supplied for car #1 as driven by Niki Lauda and car #2 as driven by Clay Regazzoni. A separate sheet includes the 'Goodyear' logos for the tyres which are reverse printed and designed to be rubbed down onto the tyres much like the old 'Letraset' style of lettering? A nice touch is the inclusion of the letter 'L' and 'R' on this sheet to denote left and right tyre fittings as is often seen drawn onto the real tyres.
I intend to build this kit maybe later in the year or possibly early 2019 to which I will be adding it to a plinth alongside my Tamiya 1:20 'James Hunt' McLaren M23 and possibly a couple of figures of both Hunt and Lauda, as a tribute to the two of them in that fantastically dramatic 1976 Grand Prix season. Some of you older members may recall my starting the McLaren M23 build a few years back, but it never got completed? I will finish that before starting this Ferrari kit.
I also have the 'Hobby Design' Detail-up set of etched parts for this kit though they were intended for the 1976 Monaco GP winning car. The only difference is in the shape of the front and rear wing endplates so should be ok as I can make my own from thin sheet brass or aluminium. Also included in the set are some tiny (microscopic!) rivets, which will likely be very difficult to fit, so I may or may not use them when the times comes! Included in the etched parts is a set of masks for the 'Goodyear' tyre logos along with the 'L' and 'R' markings for the tyres allowing these to be airbrushed onto the tyres instead of using the kit decals, again, a nice touch! The complete detail set can be seen in the photos below
Thanks for looking.
Kev  ModelMania attached the following image(s):
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 Rank: Super-Elite       Groups: Registered
Joined: 28/07/2014 Posts: 4,269 Points: 12,713 Location: Scotland
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Looks a great kit Kev and the extras aswell  love the etch for the tyre stencil   regards Phil COMING SOON =1/72 Italeri diorama`s Battle for the Reichstag and Stalingrad battle at the tractor factory 1/16 Trumpeter King Tiger with loads of extras ON THE GO= refurbishment of 1/25 Tamiya tiger 1 , amt Star trek kits and space 1999 models
So Much to Build,But What a Hobby!
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 Looks a nice kit with the bonus of your favorite red plastic, the extras look good too Current builds:-C57,Zero, Lamborghini Countach, Caldercraft HMS Agamemnon,Robi,R2-D2, MFH Cobra .
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Nice looking kit, and some great extras. Mark
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kit looks great with the extras “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”
-Mark Twain
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Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,827 Points: -13,348
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Thanks for looking in and leaving your comments Phil, Andy, Mark and Jase, much appreciated as always.
It really is a lovely kit and can't wait to start it but I'm going to have to be patient and get some other builds finished first!
Kev
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