So I think it's time to get this beast started!
The manual guides us starting with the interior, but unfortunately just at the start I encountered my first problem. Left and right seats differ slightly, and similarly front and right seat bases are a bit different. It's only a slight difference in the profile, and the seat controls should be on the opposite sides, but it's enough for the cushions to not fit snugly when paired with the base.
In my kit, unfortunately, the I received two left bases (the cushions are correctly left and right). The problem is currently being rectified by Hornby's customer service, so instead of focusing on this part of the build I moved to the stage that will require the most work and customization - engine.
Lamborghini installed a 'classic' for this category of car V12, 6.5l DOHC engine with direct fuel injection. It's an impressive power factory, squeezing 700bhp at 8250 rpm, with impressive torque of 689Nm at 5500 rpm. All that allows the car to reach from 0-60mph in just 2.9s, and reach official top speed of 350km/h or 217 mph (unofficial reports mention 370km/h or 230 mph). You can be sure such unit has to be big, and it's beautifully reproduced in the kit.
The way the kit is produced, it can be mostly built without painting, if someones standards are low enough. I decided to fully paint the engine, and if you ask what about the interior - the answer is, we will see. If I can match the colours I definitely will.
Looking at the pictures of the 1:1 engine, first thing I noticed was the peculiar look of the engine block, cylinder heads and the crankcase. It's not the typical metallic looking aluminum, but something much more glossy with a lot of depth to it. I think it's just lacquered, which gives it its unique look. I'll try to reproduce it by giving the engine a few coats of Alclad Polished Aluminum, then finish it with Alclad Klear Kote Gloss. Normally I should be finishing the metallic Alclad colours with an acrylic-based clear, like their Aqua Gloss because the solvent-based Klear Kote affects the metallic shine of the underlying base coat. But in this case this is exactly what I wanted, and you can see the effect on the pictures below:
Next comes the top air filter cover. Pocher wanted to make things easier for the builder here, and they have prepainted the logo in silver. Unfortunately the rest of the cover is just a standard issue black plastic, while the real thing is made of some composite that looks almost like a granite, giving a feel of weight and solidity. Fortunately the transkit I'm using offers a replacement photo-etched logos, so the moulded-in will have to go. Sanding stick reporting on duty! Apologies for the quality of the next few pictures, I had to hurry with the glue here. It will get better soon.
Here you can see one of the logos gone and the target area heavily brushed with Tamiya Extra Thin. There's much more glue than normally would be used, the trick was to literally dissolve the plastic surface.
Then the photo-etched logo replacement was pressed into the softened plastic, deep enough that the base layer of metal was flush with the surface of plastic cover:
Primed... You can still see some of the edges of the photo-etched plate, the process wasn't perfect, but it won't matter in a minute.
Alclad Jet Exhaust to give it a bit of internal depth, it has a lovely very fine mica effect to it:
Then a very light semi-transparent layer of Vallejo German Grey to give it all the right tone:
Next step was to load the airbrush with Vallejo metallic aluminum, turn the air pressure as low as possible for the paint to start sputtering, and mist the assembly from afar to give it a coat with very fine silver dots:
The end effect, after giving it a coat of flat clear and sanding off the paint so the surface of photo-etched metal can show - you can see it here for one of the logos:
And here completed cover, with both logos sanded, carbon fiber insert added, and finally (2nd picture) some screws (aluminum, blackened with a Gundam marker - which turned out perfect, not like painted but oxidized metal):
I treated the cam covers in the same way, but unfortunately they didn't turn out as good as the top cover. The misted-over silver dots are a bit too big and too sparse, probably due to a slight difference in air pressure. I wanted to start over with them, but then I realized they will be located deep in the bowel of the engine compartment, in shadows and partially obscured. So if I leave the effect scaled up, it will be visible just the right way in these conditions. At least I hope so. Anyway, it stays this way so far, especially since I have added a lot of photo-etch here:
The colors above are a combination of Alclad Aluminum + Klear Kote Gloss for the cylinder heads, the process described above for the cam covers, Alclad Steel for fuel rails and Tamiya Rubber Black for the air ducts. I think it looks ok.
More photo-etch added, together with first few of the 84 tiny bolts that need to go here (I'm drilling the holes as I go; it will take a lot of time to finish this part):
Next part I worked on were the air intake ducts. They are nicely moulded with almost no mould line, and the shape is quite impressive - it probably involved a lot of thought on how to mould this thing in one piece. The only thing the ducts were missing, was the ribbing clearly visible on the pictures of 1:1 engine. To replicate this feature I used a bit of thin wire:
Painted black:
And the last bit are the air intake valves housings. They were moulded in one piece, but I'm replacing the control unit on the side of each with photo-etched replacements with much more detail:
This is just a preliminary picture, as the housings (at the top) should be done in polished & lacquered aluminum, and the control unit cover - in black. More pictures will follow shortly.
Thanks for dropping by and commenting - any constructive critique is encouraged! :)
Any images I post on my personal builds are free to be used and shared under Creative Commons Attribution license, which means you can do what you want with them, on the condition you mention I'm the author.
Happy building :-)
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