My Scale Modeling Weblog

LP560-4: Headlights 2

2011-03-12T02:22:00.000+08:00

After constructing the right head light from scratch, a bit of experience was collected from that which really shortened the time spent for the left one(comparing with 2 days shortened to 3 hours):

Some more details needed to be thought out and executed before they were finalised. Just put fit them to the body and see how they looked like:

I hope that the headlights could be finished before the next update

LP560-4: Headlights 1

2010-09-16T02:01:00.000+08:00

I think one of the reasons for so many unfinished LP560 is the head and tail lights.

Comparing the Gallardo's and the LP560's and, of course the Fujimi's, I'm sure a lot of modellers were put in a cross road: whether 1, use the Fujimi ones (poorly scuplted even for the Gallardo, not to mention for LP560); 2, scratch built them or 3, let go the project and convince myself that I've built an LP560...

I took the 2nd approach: scratch built! Practicing my plastic board was one of the techniques that I would like to enhance in this project, so why not give it a try.

Referring to the actual headlight, it was a pretty complicated one:

Cut up some plastic boards and tubes to test out the actual sizing of the headlights. They were so damn small that I've mocked up 3 to 4 samples before one that I thought was close:

Enhanced the shape a bit more and tried to do a fitment test on the body:

the original headlight from Fujimi was so "impressive" when the pictures were put side by side...

Going to construct the other side with similar methods and see how it should be finally fitted.

Stay tuned.

LP560-4: Interior 1

2010-06-05T16:42:00.000+08:00

Started the interior work. A few modification of the interior would be done:

1, reshape of hand brake

2, open up the "holes" on the dash and panels

3, make the seats a bit more slim, racing and realistic

4, take the nera colour tone and setup

The original seats were a bit dull and "thick" on the side and "thin" on the central parts,some changes to be done on them:

Steering wheel was reshape to mimic the real one:

As mentioned there was one missing air-con outlet PE part, so only 4 were drilled.

Lots of work to be going on...

LP560-4: Chassis

2010-03-02T16:05:00.001+08:00

Started working on the chassis including the drive train and the chassis:

As usual, only a bit of dry brushing for weathering purpose.

LP560-4: some supplies arrived

2010-03-01T15:36:00.002+08:00

Ordered some of the detailing parts for the build:

Lamborghini metal transfer from Hobby Design:

PE set for Gallardo also from Hobby Design:

First time using PE disc brake set especiallythe parts are so damn small. Extra attention has to be paid. Started going with the disc brake:

A few notes about Hobby Design's PE set:

1, Missing parts. Gallardo should have 5 air-conditioning outlets, but the PE set has only 4

2, Instruction is poor. They are providing 2 sizes of the brake disc. Honestly, you can't tell the difference by bare eyes,but when you completed and fix it on the wheel, you then feel it:

To conclude, HD committed some unforgiveable wrongs. I would prefer CrazyModeler's PE sets.

LP560-4: Engine and the Bay 1

2010-02-28T01:35:00.003+08:00

Fujimi really did a lousy work on the engine and the engine bay, only 3 to 4 parts totally for the engine (of course it is already much better than the curbside ones...)

The LP560-4 engine bay is basically a redesign of the V12 engine, placements and shapes of the components are quite different from the predecessor...

The Gallardo's:

The new LP560-4:

Since the placement and arrangment of the engine bay components are quite different between the 2, so some rebuild should be unavoidable:

Based on the old one, cut it into 2 and reshape the cylinder covers:

Then I had to finish the engine compartment cover ...

LP560-4: Diffuser

2010-02-23T01:12:00.003+08:00

I found the diffuser at the chassis from Fujimi is a bit small and thin, decided to thicken and reshape it a bit.

All the diffuser lines are removed. a new face was recreated:

When the new diffsuer was taking shape, it was fitted to the body to check for the exact shape to be sanded:

Seemed ok. After a series of sanding and puttying work, the diffuser finally looked like a stronger diffuser... using the foam board to simulate the actual diffuser shape. After sanding, they should be looking good...

Stay tuned...

LP560-4: Bumper & Intake 6

2010-02-21T01:05:00.003+08:00

Some minor sanding work has been done on the intake and the bumper:

Also some minor changes to the tail light on the body:

Hope to get some more done in the coming days...

LP560-4 Project Resumed!!

2010-02-15T00:57:00.003+08:00

It has been 3 months after my last update to my modelling blog. What a shame!

Anyway, life has been getting back to normal and some time can now be squeezed for my primary hobby... hope to have some updates.

stay tuned...

LP560-4: Bumper & Intake 5

2009-11-26T21:14:00.000+08:00

There werer still some minor modification on the sides of the bumper. The openings were done and some efforts was needed to shape them up:

Hope these vents can be done in a couple of days when layers of putty are dried completely.

The diffuser had not be completely designed but may finish the independent interior and engine first...

LP560-4: Rear Bumper 2

2009-11-23T19:54:00.002+08:00

Since the kit based on was a Fujimi Gallardo "Deluxe Version", came with some PE upgrade parts such as the brake disc, license plate and front/rear grille. But the new Gallardo would be much different from the old at the rear, so try to look up see if there is any after-market LP560 parts such as the rear grille, only the Acu Stion PE which doesn't really help:

Anyway, I go for building from plain hexagonal meshes. In an LHS, picked up the Hasegawa ones, seems the scale (large size) is pretty close to the one needed. Give it a try, why not?!

A template on the mesh had been made and thinking of how the grille to be installed on the tail...
Refer back to a extra high definition picture taken closely at and thru the grille, some supports were at the back to mount that mesh on. So decided to build something like that. If it's too obvious, these would be trimmed:

Finally the rear end of the body was trimmed. Diffuser would be a tough task and need some planning before hand...

LP560-4: Rear Bumper 1

2009-11-22T19:11:00.001+08:00

Some works had been started on the rear bumper of the body.

- the 2 vertical connection of the grille were removed

- the tail lights were widened

- original tail light vertical parts were removed

- the license plate area removed

It's debatable whether the license plate area to be removed. I'd struggled for a while but finally decided to cut it out. The reason was the the whole panel of the exhaust and the part can be done via a single back panel of styrene board, the measurement can be easier and much aligned, I hope :)

Of course, the basic work needed to be done on the body such as the deepening of panel lines, removing mold lines and flattening of parts with shrinkage when molding. Work goes on...

LP560-4: Bumper & Intake 4.1

2009-11-10T18:57:00.004+08:00

it's been a long time since last update due to the attention paid to family and work. Happy to get back to my bench.

The front bumper was nearly done since last update, the last bit was to add the lower lip between the new intakes:

When the front is nearly ok, the rear bumper was started. Having looked up some detailed picture of an LP560-4, it seems that to mimic the real one, quite a lot work to be done to make it realistic.

- fill up the ridges right above the tail light
- widen the tail lights
- re-do the tail lights and the "sockets"
- re-do the tail grille with mesh
- re-do the tail pipes and license plate area
- re-do the diffuser and modify the rear end of the body to meet the diffuser

Let's get some work done.

LP560-4: Bumper & Intake 4

2009-10-04T02:11:00.001+08:00

A little update. Another effort of puttying and sanding.

Also open up the side brake intake on both sides, some plastic boards have to be prepared to simulate the brake intakes shapes. Some more work to be done.

This build is a detail comparison of the older Gallardo with the new LP560-4. Higher degree of accuracy and planning should be readied. Actually I started the rear of the body, quite a lot have been changed, even the chassis and the body are going to gether differently than the old one.

Recently, only a tiny little part can be done every other day even on weekends... really want to spend say a whole day on this but seems not possible...a modeler's dilemma.

LP560-4: Bumper & Intake 3

2009-10-01T01:19:00.001+08:00

Another little update to the bumper...
Lower part of the bumper was chopped off and the intakes on both sides were fixed to the bumper. Using AB putty, the new bumper/intake sides are ready.

With the some priming and sanding, the basic shape is there. A lot of work to go...

Here's a pic of the underside of the intakes...

LP560-4: Bumper & Intake 2

2009-09-23T00:02:00.006+08:00

Little progress on the bumper and intake.

Last week did one side, and today, use some plastic board to do the other side. Found the intake should be slanted enough to be realistic, but there are some placeholders for the chassis which cannot be easily removed nor relocate. Tried to sand it as slant as possible...

Hopefully I can start puttying the front skirt this week and the intake and take some time chop off the center part of the bumper and replace it with some PE grille. After that the side intake can be prepared...

LP560-4: Bumper & Intake 1

2009-09-16T01:57:00.004+08:00

Refer to the picture grabbed from the Internet, the front bumper is much different between the 2009 version of LP560-4 and the original one came in with the kit.

Without further ado, mixed some Tamiya AB Putty, and make the new front-bumper.

After the putty cured and sanded, the shape is pretty much there, the detailing work will be continued when the new grille and the air intake area to be rebuilt.

LP560-4: Planning

2009-09-06T01:55:00.003+08:00

Found an old kit on the shelf: Fujimi's Lamboghini Gallardo. Why not do a quick one....

Looked up some reference info from the Net. 2009 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4. Not much to be modified, but it is quite a challenge as I'm going to paint it in White which I've never tried before...

Project put on hold...

2009-09-05T01:32:00.000+08:00

due to health issue, a lot of works had been doing was put on hold, including the blog update....

finally, i'm back to the bench and the computer to have some updates.

The previous seats and ISF projects are put aside as waiting for some materials to be delivered.

Racing Seat: further templating

2009-08-01T21:47:00.000+08:00

Not much progress with everything, not having the right time and mood...Anyway, I finally fine tuned the graphics and the template of the seat.

Having it scanned and digitised, I can scale it up or down to fit my need. The original one is in roughly 1:6 scale, and the last one about 1:30. With these, printing and stenciling can be done anytime.

Racing Seat: Initiation & templating

2009-07-26T11:42:00.000+08:00

In the midst of the ISFC project, an interesting new project (at least to me...) came to my mind when surfing the internet for references:

Scratchbuilding a 1:6 racing seat with Logitech GT steering wheel and pedals.

The scratchbuilding project required some planning before it actually kicked off:
1, sizing - base on a Sparco, RECARO or other seat ?
2, cover materials - should it be flockings or real cloth or carpet type materials?
3, base materials - should it be styrene board, epoxy, or even by resin casting?
4, Steering wheel details - the level of details?
5, Pedals details - total scratchbuild?

Before answering these questions, some information was collected from RECARO website about their product. I chose the RECARO Profil seat as the blueprint of the build.

by scaling down the actual measurement down to one-sixth, a draft stencil was created on cardboards. By rough manipulation of the paper card boards, a rough prototype was done

Considering the later "production" stages, hoped that the seat can be produced from a single cardboard template such that by folding and heating appropriate corners, the real shape can be reproduced. Base on the 1st prototype, removing all the tapes and staples, 2nd prototype is on the paper:

The 2nd prototype is closer to the real one in terms of dimension, inclination, width and thickness. Expecting 2 more rounds before a version is ok for me.

s204: some more pictures...

2009-07-05T18:20:00.000+08:00

Having been waiting for the sun coming out from the bad weather and typhoon. Some outdoor pictures could finally be taken.

s204 : Finally Completed

2009-07-04T23:39:00.005+08:00

s204: Interior (6) + others

2009-07-04T22:58:00.008+08:00

When the seats and the carpets were ok, finally completed the steering wheel. To make it more realistic, leave the steering wheel molding line there, painted with flat black, and then drybrushing bright red to the molding line. Hope to represent the signature red stitches for S204 limited edition.

The reference of the S204 aftermarket wing should have the brake light, Scratch built it by using the transparent left over materials, cut, filed, sanded, painted and glued to the back of the wing.

Windows are also prepared and painted flat back at the inside

When everything had come to the finishing point, take a look at what had been done so far.

As everything was ready, it was time for final assembly and the minor touchups.

s204: Interior (5)

2009-06-21T01:08:00.004+08:00

The carpet prepared previously are finally stuck to the floor of interior. Honestly, the initial measurements of the carpet are pretty sloppy.

I was pleasantly suprised by the outcome. There are only a few small trims and they all can flatly laid even on the curved surfaces.