1968 Ferrari 312 F1 French GP winner 24th sc

[absmiami]

Long Story short - bringing this project back from the crypt - this is a rare color photo of the French Grand Prix winning Ferrari 312  in 1968 - Jacky Ickx [spell that 3 times fast]  at the wheel ...  the kit's kind of rare, too ...

[absmiami]

About the kit - Model Factory Hiro kits focused on 24th sc way back when - their sports car kits are still 24th scale (along w 12th) - but they quickly abandoned 24th scale open wheelers in favor of 20th scale - but not before making 3 Ferrari 312 kits - i bought the French Grand Prix winner and set about making my first MFH model …

[Pete75]

Excellent. That's a good looking Ferrari ? 

[absmiami]

So i worked for months on the sub- assemblies - pix to follow - painted everything - and began to apply the decals - right side tub markings on without drama - and then on the left side …

[absmiami]

Which is where disaster struck - i placed the numbers - got some dinner - came back two hours later to admire my work - and realized that the two and the six were 8 to 10 scale inches too far down the tub - so far out of line that the 6 would lay under the trailing arm mounts - oops

[absmiami]

This is where the markings should have been - and the decals were dry and snugglled in place ….

[absmiami]

So what’s a poor boy to do ….  ??

didn’t know so I stuck it back in the box and it took a nap - a long nap …

[afx]

Looks to me that the numbers were placed on the 1:1 haphazardly to begin with. 

Frustrating, but I would move forward with the build.

[absmiami]

Well i have …

the project took a rather long snooze -  the kids grew up - went to college - graduated - got  engaged - got married  (number two is getting  married in a week) - whilst working on the Barquetta, i noticed  the 312 box begin to twitch, and then tremble - i think it was jealous - so i grabbed the forlorn 312 tub and got back to work …. I couldnt remove the engine compartment - but i managed to mask everything with some 3M parafilm - and i sanded off the numbers, stripe, and paint, down to the primer …

[absmiami]

New coat of Tamiya primer …

[absmiami]

And some old stock Model Master Italian red enamel ….  Nice and smooth - but a shade darker than the original red - maybe i used MCW Way back then - dunno - anyway the transition to the adjoining painted surface is decent - think I’ll go with it … don’t tell the judges …. 

[absmiami]

New markings from the remains of the MFH decal sheet - and i got another set of markings from Lemans Decals - just in case …

[Pierre Rivard]

Funny...when I look at the real car pictures, they're further back on the right side that the left side. You are brave to take that on. Nobody would have noticed.

[absmiami]

probably should have just mailed it to Pierre  for the re-paint ...

anyway ...

my trips years ago to the Cavallino events in Palm Beach Gardens [at the now closed Moroso Raceway] also yielded a couple of chance encounters with a '68 312 F1 ...  don't think it was the French race winner - but it was restored to that spec ... these are large files - so I'll post them one at a time ...  

[absmiami]

and ...

[absmiami]

and

[absmiami]

this is such a great looking F1 that I barely paid any attention to the GTO neighbor ...

[absmiami]

Some of the old sub-assemblies that have been patiently waiting their turn …

[absmiami]

As you can see - the level of detail was as great as in the later 20th sc kits - i wasn’t crazy about the cockpit parts but it was the best 24th sc open wheel kit then produced …

[charlie libby]

wow andrew glad u kept going . awesome model

[Rattlecan Dan]

Your dedication to realism and detailing is always so incredible, always fantastic. Great story, pics, and info as well. Thanks for all the generosity.

[Rich Chernosky]

Andy,   this is such a cool post.  Being a great F-1 fan and Ferrari to boot.  That kit is such a treasure. I would kill to have one of your rare F-1 kits.....oh wait..!!!!

[absmiami]

There’s a straight line there somewhere …

[Pg265]

Hi,

Cool!! A312F1!

Surely one of my all time favorite Ferrari F1 of that era!

I love the 67, built several and still have two more to do,  but the 1968 model is beautiful!

Can’t wait to see more.

Pascal

[absmiami]

Pascal - paint is dry and ill be applying the left side markings shortly - but i cant help but ask you for your thoughts on MFH - as you are clearly familiar (very) with them …

.   Thought 1 - do you think that MFH would have sustained their world wide success if they had stuck with 24th scale for their grand prix cars - rather than fallen in with Tamiya in 20th scale ??  -

thought II - have you built any of the MFH 24th scale sports car kits ?  Ive got a couple in the planning stages …