AM02-0053 Ferrari Laferrari Aperta built by DH Modelworx

AM02-0053 Ferrari Laferrari Aperta built by DH Modelworx

I’ve never built a full resin kit before, so wasn’t too sure what this would be like as it’s a kerbside kit. But the level of detail and quality of the resin casting really is superb, and as you can see even the some of the smallest of items have been cast.

Although I don’t normally decide what the next build is before I finish the current build, this one has to be done next.

It will be painted predominantly with Zero Paints - Automotive Model Paints, with the main colour being Rosso Corsa.

Hi there folks here’s the first update on the 1/24 ALPHA Model’s Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta AM02-0053.

Right first off, I’ll address some comments that stated why I just didn’t cut the roof off the Tamiya Ferrari LaFerrari. Yeh I could have done this, but when you look at both models there’s so much more to it than just cutting the roof off.

Also this model in a lot of ways so far is so much more detailed than the Tamiya one, with some of the issues in the Tamiya kit negated in this one. Unlike some of the other Alpha Models, this one comes with a lot of engine detail, which I’ll come to in later build updates.

In relation to the preparation for paint, the panel lines were of a decent depth, and required very little clean up. Once this was done, the full shell was first sanded with Tamiya Sponge 600, then 1000 grit. This was done with water to cut down the dust, plus I wore my face mask.

Considering some of the resin parts I’ve worked with in past I was really impressed that there were no areas on the shell that required additional work.

The car was then primed in white. Now I had originally planned to paint the car red, however I’ve done a Tamiya version in red, so decided in this Zero Paints - Automotive Model Paints Giallo Triplo Strato, which translates to triple layer yellow.

This laid down great without any issues, the photos just don’t do this colour justice.

Next up is masking up all the black areas, which will either stay black or be covered in carbon fibre decals.

As always cheers for popping by for a look.

That’s the interior finished on it. Although there isn’t as many parts to the interior compared to the Tamiya version it’s no less detailed, with some lovely detailed parts on the dashboard especially.

First off all the parts were soaked and washed in soapy water which I found easily removed any release agent which may still be on the parts. This is a process I do on plastic kits as well.

First up were the seats, now the kit comes with decals for the seats in either white or black to replicate the piping on the seats.

I wanted black seats with yellow piping, so I couldn’t use the kit decals. To get round this I first primed and painted the seats with Tamiya X-8 lemon yellow. I then cut strips of Tamiya tape about 0.5mm and applied them over the yellow. Yeh this wasn’t the easiest thing to do.

The seats were then painted with Zero Paints Black Leather paint. I then added some Hobby Design seat belt attachment points and some seatbelts using 2mm Black Dress Makers Ribbon.

Now onto the steering wheel, this is where this kit really exceeds all expectations. The kit comes with carbon decals for the steering wheel plus all the switch gear.

Once these were applied they were coated with Zero Paints Diamond Finish 2K. Once this was dried I painted the left and right sides of the steering wheel and airbag with Zero Paints Black Leather.

The dashboard was next. The kit carbon decals were then added. Like the seats I wanted a yellow pin stripe. I then applied the yellow decal stripes from Hannants yellow decal stripe kit. This section was then clear coated as per the steering wheel. The rest of the dash was painted with Zero Paints Black Leather, Textured Black and Tamiya LP-5 Semi Gloss Black.

The door cards were also decaled with the kit carbon decals, and clear coated the same way as the steering wheel. Once the 2K was dry I masked off the two panels and painted them with Zero Paints Textured Black. I then painted the PE speaker grills and glued them on.

The main tub and switch gear were then decaled with the kit carbon decals and clear coated again using Zero Paints Diamond Finish 2K. The central arm rest etc, were also masked off and painted with Zero Paints Textured Black.

To add a final touch using some Zero Designs Black Self Adhesive Flocking Sheet I made up some car mats adding some spare Ferrari logos to them.

I couldn’t resist mocking the interior up the shell.

Next up is the engine, and onto finishing up the shell.

As always cheers for popping by for a look.

The engine from Alpha Models is very nicely detailed even on parts that will never be seen. One of the many neat touches are that the coil packs come as separate pieces which really aids painting.

The kit also comes with carbon decals for the plenum and oil reservoir cover. The red stripes for the plenum and oil cover were changed to yellow using the Hannants Yellow Decals. Both the plenum and oil reservoir covers were clear coated with Zero Paints 2K Diamond Finish.

The engine was painted with Zero Paints Aluminium and the gearbox with Zero Paints Aluminium.

I then added some extra wiring, with some black wire from my spares box for the plug leads, and the orange wire coming from what was left over from one of my previous LaFerrari builds.

Yeh some folk will say there’s not much to the engine compared to the Tamiya version, but at the end of the day this is a kerbside kit, with just the top part of the engine on display through the engine cover. So what there is, is more than adequate.

That’s the main body of the LaFerrari finished apart for the side mirrors and the wiper arm.

First were all the areas that needed to be painted Matt Black, these included the window trims, and areas behind the various vents. This was done using Tamiya LP-3.

Next up all the photo etch was painted, I find this easier to do by wrapping some Tamiya tape round an old sanding stick then sticking the PE to the tape.

The inserts for the headlamps, now these include tiny PE parts that I just didn’t fancy trying to glue down, so I painted and masked them off which I think turned out ok. The headlamp glass and rear lamps were then installed.

The windscreen and rear engine cover was then glued on with Bob Smith Industries Super Gold CA Glue. I’ve left the screen protection covers on it until the model is completed.

So now it’s onto the wheels, brakes and undercarriage.

First up instead of using the kit decals for the Ferrari emblems on the the bonnet, doors and wheel lock centres I used the embossed ones from E.Jan (MFH).

Next up the wheels were painted Tamiya X18 Semi Gloss Black then clear coated with Zero Paints Diamond Finish 2K Clear Coat. Tyres from Hobby Design were then added.

It was then onto the brakes the centres were then painted black, and the retailing tabs bent over, using a sharp blade I then scraped the black paint of the tabs. The brake discs were then painted with Zero Paints Carbon Ceramic effect paint.

The brake calipers were painted with Tamiya X-8 Lemon Yellow, and then clear coated with the Diamond Finish 2K.

The wheels, brakes were then mounted to the car, Alpha use a clever system which allows various heights for the ride height, of course I’ve placed then at their lowest setting.

The rear defuser was then carbon decalled with the kits decals, and also clear coated.

One final part is the wiper arm and blade. Now my clumsy fingers ain’t good at small detailed PE parts, so I raided a spares LaFerrari kit I have, and used the wiper arm from that.

So that’s the car built, I’ll post up the final build pics soon, along with the summary and my thoughts on the kit.

Hi there folks, here’s the finished build photos of the 1/24 Alpha Models Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta.

This is my first full resin kit which was kindly supplied by Alpha Models for me to build. All the paints was also kindly supplied by Zero Paints.

The kit although classed as a kerbside kit, really is superbly detailed and well engineered, going together as it should.

The resin castings required very little clean up, with only some of the panel lines needing to be scribed out, so other than that after a quick sanding to the shell and wash it was ready for paint.

The car comes with excellent quality decals, including the carbon decals which honestly puts some major model kit suppliers to shame.

The one point I was sceptical about was the glass areas, coming as flat pieces. But honestly these fitted effortlessly, and the inclusion of protective film really was a bonus, especially with my past record of getting marks on such pieces.

The car was painted in Zero Paints Giallo Triplo Strato, and cleared coated with Zero Paints Diamond Finish 2K. Other than correcting a few dust marks this is straight from the airbrush.

So other than a few choice upgrades which I’ve listed on the build up, that’s the build done. I’m hoping to build another Alpha Models kit in the near future.