2015 Fiat 500 Replica

[Jim Whalen]

I haven't posted one of my builds on here for a while so I thought I'd put my latest build on here.  This is a replica of my daughter’s first, and current car, a Fiat 500 which we helped her to get as a new car in 2015.  She named the car “Paola” which is a feminine name of Italian origin meaning small and is a name for a baby that will always be your baby even when they get older.  The kit is an Italeri one and has been converted in the following manner to replicate the car: changed to right-hand drive, 3D printed wheel trims, the oval tailpipe has been changed to a round one, the rear head restraints have been removed, a smaller aerial has been made from plastic rod as the one in the kit was too big, grooves were filed in the roof to take rubber strips that are depicted by tape which has been coloured with a black sharpie, the wipers were changed to right-hand drive with the holes in the cowl changed accordingly, the side mouldings have been removed with the doors and body work being reshaped to depict the correct variant, with the final touch being the addition of the correct registration plates.  The colour of the car, Fiat Bianco, was mixed by Zero Paints.  The rest of the colours on the model were airbrushed using Tamiya lacquer paints.  I will make a base for it and give it to her as a Christmas present.  She doesn't know about the build so it should be a nice surprise for her.

[NOBLNG]

It’s a cute little car. Nice job on the modifications, I’m sure your daughter will appreciate it.

[Jim Whalen]

6 hours ago, NOBLNG said:

It’s a cute little car. Nice job on the modifications, I’m sure your daughter will appreciate it.

They are nice little cars, I like the retro interiors they have (here's a progress picture showing the interior).  They’re easy to manoeuvre and drive in the city yet feel stable at 70mph on the motorway - I can see why they’re popular cars.

Edited December 7, 2023 by Jim Whalen
adding a picture

[Jim B]

Nice little Fiat.  Well done.

[karbuildr]

Very nice build, neat and clean.

[Tom Geiger]

Great model!  

And here on the other side of the pond, my daughter bought a new 2012 Fiat 500.  Her's is white with a beige convertible top and interior.  She took care of it all these years,  driving it 140,000 miles without any major issues.  She now has an 8 month old daughter, and got the mom car Honda CRV.

The Fiat hung around for a while, but she finally made the decision to sell it. She and her husband detailed it and managed to get $5000 for it!  It was sold to an older couple.  The wife had a very similar car that was recently totaled and wanted to replace it.  On to a new appreciative owner!

[Yeah Nah]

Neat little Fiat! I'm sure it will be appreciated by your daughter.

[rrb124@sbcglobal.net]

Big Fiat fan here. Bought a new 73 and a new 75 in the past. The color on your model really shows the good design lines of the Fiat 500.

[Jim Whalen]

12 hours ago, Jim B said:

Nice little Fiat.  Well done.

Thanks Jim - there were a few fit issues, but not too many.  I find that models that have one piece of plastic to represent all the windows often don't fit where they should so splitting them into two pieces often solves the problem.

10 hours ago, karbuildr said:

Very nice build, neat and clean.

Thanks- over the years I have developed a clean building style, one of these days I will have to have a go at weathering.

8 hours ago, Tom Geiger said:

Great model!  

And here on the other side of the pond, my daughter bought a new 2012 Fiat 500.  Her's is white with a beige convertible top and interior.  She took care of it all these years,  driving it 140,000 miles without any major issues.  She now has an 8 month old daughter, and got the mom car Honda CRV.

The Fiat hung around for a while, but she finally made the decision to sell it. She and her husband detailed it and managed to get $5000 for it!  It was sold to an older couple.  The wife had a very similar car that was recently totaled and wanted to replace it.  On to a new appreciative owner!

Thanks Tom!  That's a nice story about your daughter's Fiat 500 - she must have lots of memories with it having done all those miles in it.

6 hours ago, Yeah Nah said:

Neat little Fiat! I'm sure it will be appreciated by your daughter.

Thanks!  I'm confident that she'll like it - the model will also serve as nice reminder of her first car when she moves onto her next one.

[louis Carabott]

Sweeeet ....Love this

[Rattlecan Dan]

Nice work there Santa! Daughter must be on the "nice" list. Very fine modeling.

[slusher]

Great little Fiat!

[Jim Whalen]

On 12/8/2023 at 9:02 AM, rrb124@sbcglobal.net said:

Big Fiat fan here. Bought a new 73 and a new 75 in the past. The color on your model really shows the good design lines of the Fiat 500.

Thanks for the reply.  I always thought Bianco was a pure white until I was helping my daughter wax her car - when putting the wax on I realised it is a slightly creamy white - on the model you can see the difference between the bodywork and the front registration plate.  It is a popular colour on them - you see plenty on the roads.

On 12/8/2023 at 9:47 AM, louis Carabott said:

Sweeeet ....Love this

Thanks!  Italeri have captured the look of the car.  I think it may be the same moulds as the Fujimi kit as they say made in Japan on them.

16 hours ago, Rattlecan Dan said:

Nice work there Santa! Daughter must be on the "nice" list. Very fine modeling.

Thanks!  There are few things I would like to have done better but we're never completely happy with our own work as model builders - it must be the artistic temperament in us.

6 hours ago, slusher said:

Great little Fiat!

Thanks!  I was surprised with the number of changes I had to make to get it to look right but it was worth it as it definitely looks like her car.

[Bugatti Fan]

Hi Jim

That's a really nice little 500 that you built for your daughter of her own car. I'm sure that she will be over the moon when she opens the package at Christmas. Have you placed it on its base in a nice little display case for her?

It was nice to catch up with you briefly at Telford on the Sunday.

All the best. Noel

Edited December 9, 2023 by Bugatti Fan

[PappyD340]

Very nice!

[Jim Whalen]

22 hours ago, Bugatti Fan said:

Hi Jim

That's a really nice little 500 that you built for your daughter of her own car. I'm sure that she will be over the moon when she opens the package at Christmas. Have you placed it on its base in a nice little display case for her?

It was nice to catch up with you briefly at Telford on the Sunday.

All the best. Noel

Hi Noel, it was nice to see you at Telford at Scale Model World.  They've got a picture of your Janis Joplin 356 in the SMW report in the current issue of Airfix Model World.  It is definitely an eye-catching model with brilliant paint work.  I have a Tamiya display case for my daughter's Fiat that I am planning to put some kerbing and tarmac on to make it look like the model is parked on the road.

21 hours ago, PappyD340 said:

Very nice!

Thanks Larry!

[Bugatti Fan]

Hi Jim.

Thanks for the tip off about my Joplin Porsche featuring in the SMW report in Airfix mag and thanks for the compliment about the paint job. I will see if I can get a copy of that mag asap.

What you are proposing to put in the case with your daughter's Fiat 500 model sounds like just the job.

Cheers Noel

Edited December 10, 2023 by Bugatti Fan

[spencer1984]

Great looking build! I have a black 2015 in the driveway, and one ofthese days want to recreate it in 1/24.

[ChrisR]

Looks great!

[Jim Whalen]

On 12/14/2023 at 4:55 AM, spencer1984 said:

Great looking build! I have a black 2015 in the driveway, and one ofthese days want to recreate it in 1/24.

Thanks Bill!  I'm sure you're aware of how tricky it can be to get a flawless black paint job - they show up every little flaw...

18 hours ago, ChrisR said:

Looks great!

Thanks Chris!  It makes a real difference when you get the correct registration plates on as well - it turns the model from being a one of a certain type of car to being a model of a specific car.

[spencer1984]

On 12/15/2023 at 4:31 AM, Jim Whalen said:

Thanks Bill!  I'm sure you're aware of how tricky it can be to get a flawless black paint job - they show up every little flaw...

That they do. Fortunately, the 1:1 doesn't exactly have a flawless paint job, so I have a lot of wiggle room when it comes to the model! ?

[Jim Whalen]

Here's a picture of the Fiat 500 on the base that I made for it.  It was built onto the base for a Tamiya display case so that it could be protected easily from dust, etc.  I wrapped up the base in Christmas paper and then placed the model onto it once my daughter had unwrapped her present and was wondering why I had just given her a model car display base for Christmas.  I told her to read the name plate and then produced the model - she was really pleased with it.