Italeri Alfa Romeo roadster 8c 2300 1/12

Hang there Paddy, didnt you build one of these a while back ?

Well yes i did as it happens, but i had problems with shattering parts due to the spirit based washes i used, ill fitting hood, again my fault and i also auctioned it off for Charity so i dont have one of these for myself.
Here is the first attempt



Now i am going to try again to build a model to keep for myself for my retirement collection.

this time it will be a blinged up. I plan to build it as a ferrari badged Alfa in a much brighter Ferrari/ Italian red,
3D printed wheels and a little more chrome. so basically as a Modern restoration rather than a factory fresh finish as before.

Some people don’t know that Enzo Ferrari started out as a racing driver for Alfa Romeo.. Enzo began his relationship with Alfa Romeo in 1920, when he raced in the Targa Florio road race in Sicily. He went on to win several important races and became the director of Alfa Romeo's racing department, Scuderia Alfa Corse. In 1939, Ferrari left Alfa Romeo to establish his own independent racing team. Scuderia Ferrari was Alfa Romeo's official racing team for most of the 1930s. The agreement between Alfa Romeo and Scuderia Ferrari stated that Alfa Romeo would build a certain number of racing cars, and Scuderia Ferrari would participate in all the races

So you see its not too far fetched and here are a couple with ferrari badges



Resin wheels are from a guy who is 3D printing them in the UK, these allow you get more accurate spoke sizes of about 7-8 mm rather than the kit sizes of 12mm to scale



You will need to make your own spokes but you can buy suitable 0.3mm wire on e-bay and in most model shops from albion alloys.

The rim has a frame on the back, its shows where to thread the first spoke for each row and also has a centre (that you cut off later) to hold the hub



Half way


And completed


These are approx 1.5 inches dia and there is 6ft of wire in each one.

One of the problems i had with the first bild was parts that were screwed together where the screws used (self tapping) tended to expand and burst there holes. The other problem was nearly all the external body fixings were lock wired and this was extremely difficult to replicate in this scale however the guy that makes the wheels also makes some 3D printed square head bolts with a hole through them for wiring



We shall see how i get on with these , my only reservation at this point is how fragile these will be if you tighten a wire through them ?

Pulling up a seat.

Ha ha yes i dont want to bore people with repeat builds but hopefully this will differ from the last one enough to make it interesting.

Anneal the wire for the bolt heads Paddy. Make it soft and it will not try and break the heads.
That wheel is nuts!
I have one of these in 1/8th scale from Pocher. I built the yellow and blue one (like you have) years ago and it was such a pain. I have put them off till I want to fight with the big kits.

I enjoy all kinds of model making! I'm in!

I ran into a small problem with the wheels
the spoke nipples are really small with a 0.3mm hole through them for the spoke.
The ones i have ar a mix of clear and blocked and i cant clear them, they are to fragile to put a drill down. so i am short of nipples.
I have contacted the guy and he say he will send so,me more and its a problem with the cleaning alcohol being slightly unclean and forming a bubble in the hole and the 3D printer then printing over the bubble. I'm sure that means something to someone ......but not me



you can see here some have a hole and the others are plugged ? This 100x magnification....lol they are small

this is a completed wheel with a kit wheel both in primer



I did wonder if the spokes were no on the thin side but i found a picture of the real thing and they are much thinner than a modern spoke wheel ie: e-type or MBG.



Anyway i am getting there



Just not sure about colour yet, some are black, some are red and a few seem to be silver ?

I think by the time you prime and paint the thickness will match.

Those wheels are looking really good Paddy!

Quite nice to get these out of the way but actually, far from being the chore i expected, they were actually quite therapeutic



I finished these in Silver because i am doing a Ferrari finish and they used silver, Alfas used black but nothing was set in stone. I have just never seen a Ferrari with black wheels .

I'd be bonkers.

Absolutely Out-friggin'-standing!

Point is though Chris , i just stick these things together. Its people like you and the guy that designed and printed these wheels that put n the hours of work that give us these cottage industry kits that the big suppliers would never touch. To see the satisfaction you get in your post today on your confederate raider thread is just brilliant