Mondo Motors 1/18 Pagani Zonda F coupe improve/modify

[StratosWRC]

I love the little pouches! You're taking your time with this build and really perfecting it, like it should be.

[Zondaracer]

Thanks guys. Glad you like it. Such a terrific hobby.

[[KRAFTIG]]

Such a terrific hobby.

It really is!

[Zondaracer]

Update 8 May 2015
I adjusted the canopy so it fits now. Because I decreased the gaps by lowering the doors and clamshell to the main bodysill, the canopy wouldn't fit.
But now it does:

The lower edge of the rear quarter window is in line with the edge of the clamshell and the airgap between the rear window and clamshell is visible.

Todo jobs on the canopy are removing the outside masking and tint the roof and rear window. Prior to modelling the internal frame of the canopy I had painted the masking on the inside.

On the picture of the real car Pagani's vision can be seen. He wanted the glass to flow over the car as 1 visible piece. Therefore all masking of the model glass must be on the inside too. I'll sand it off with 1200 grid paper, then polish it with 2000 grid paper and polish it with 3M Finesse It.

On the inside you can see the frame. Sanding is finished, just a matter of a bit of detailing and eventually paint it blue:

Adding thickness to frames and roofstructures greatly enhances the realism of the model.
Maybe not visible, but I decreased the edges on which the glass will be glued. Those edges were quite wide because they had to contain the studs of the glass. My windows will be glued. On the roadster you can see I overlooked this and the masking stripe is way too thick at the A-pillars.

The only way of getting the canopy to fit was to glue a 1mm shim on the mounting studs:

But now it didn't fit between the interior tub and the diecast parts. I solved it by lowering the tub on the bottom plate. I removed all ridges and protrusions. But now the interior parts were sitting too low. I had to raise the seat and doorsills with 1mm plastic strips:

Else there would be a big step between the diecast sill and interior sill (will make a better pic. of it).

I also raised the dashboard slightly by glueing strips on its mounting edges:

This will decrease the gap between the dash and the window.

[StratosWRC]

Good update. Lots of tips to note for future

[Zondaracer]

Yes it's a diary for me as well. Quite handy when I start building the 760RS eventually. I lost a lot of time since I did the sills now 3 times. Hope to finish the fit of the canopy this weekend and then do the wheels. That's the last bit prior to a full testbuild and starting the detailing process.

[StratosWRC]

760RS?! Whoa, looking forward to that

[Zondaracer]

Yes I bought 2 Cinques for another coupe and roadster. 760RS is firm, roadster not yet. Hesitating between a Cinque roadster (there is a nice metallic red one) or the 760AG (love the blue carbon fiber). The idea is to have a proper hinged clamshell and detailed engine bay, but not sure yet if I can pull that off. That's why I take a step by step approach with modelling, because I have seen too many project ending in nothing (including a few of my own).

[StratosWRC]

Yeah sometimes ambition overtakes skill, but I can't imagine you having that problem!

[Zondaracer]

Update 28 May.
The filling, drilling and sanding continues. Would be nice to get some paint on the model by now, but the prep work needs to be finished first.

I opened the piece of plastic that should be the engine:

and after cutting and sanding:

Next step is to build a v-shaped insert from plastic card to give it the visible depth. On my next Zonda project I hope to get a complete engine in the back.

Nose section was finished. Side walls were installed to split the nose in 3 sections. The mounting studs were thinned to make them less visible through the mesh (one of my mistakes on the Roadster). Simple rads were made from plastic card (these Evergreen plates have a ribbed pattern already) to block see through view.

The side walls line up with the struts in the nose. I made sure there is still enough room to fit the mesh in between:


Front discs were modified. They mount vertically on the hubs on a hexagonal stud:

Obviously this is wrong. The front calipers are canted downwards by about 20 degrees. So I reprofiled the holes in the axles and now they have the proper angle:



I did a ride height and alignment check. Ride height seems about right (can be easily adjusted with a shim under the hub if necessary) but the right hand wheel is sticking out too much. I discovered that the right hand turret (on which the hub swivels) is 0,4mm out. I'll correct that later by removing some material from the wheel mounting flange. I checked my Cinque models and on all my Zonda's the left hand wheel is nicely tucked in while the right one sticks a bit out. Anyway I will do the final adjustment when the rear wheels are finished.

Rear wheels on the MM Zonda's are a pain in the bud. They are fastened directly to the diecast body, but the rear fender sits too low on the tyre:


To solve this I modified the disc brake/hub (1 part). I drilled a new hole about 3mm higher and removed the "roof" from the stud. As lower support I glued in a few styrene strips:


Now the wheel can be mounted lower:

Although difficult the wheel can still rotate.

The centre hole of the disc was widened from 9 to 10mm. This allows the rim closer to the disc brake:

(opened the spokes on all rims as you can see).

The present position of the rear wheel is now like this:

I might drop it a bit, easily done by removing a bit of material from the small styrene plates I glued in as lower support.

As you can see the wheel is sticking out. I'll correct that as last. This weekend I will widen the rims and thin the wheels (else they wouldn't fit inside the tyre anymore).
Next update will show the finished wheels and engine insert. Hopefully all fits with the final assembly test. That should be the last bit of the first build stage. It's almost time to get my hands dirty with paint, glue and carbon!

[[KRAFTIG]]

Looking good!

[StratosWRC]

I hate taking wheels off too cause every manufacturer seems to have a different way to do it. Some are so difficult, you just basically break it off. Nice update! Loving the details.

[Zondaracer]

I hate taking wheels off too cause every manufacturer seems to have a different way to do it. Some are so difficult, you just basically break it off. Nice update! Loving the details.

Yes it can be a pain, but these MM wheels are just rubbish with the wheels directly bolted to the body. For the next 2 Zonda's it will be a major job to correct this. Not only do I have to make resin rims, but the wheels, hub and suspension as well. I bought a few F50's for it, but these parts are so crude, it would be an insult to use them for the Zonda's. Anyway problems to crack in the coming winter, although I will start rough bodywork on the Cinques in a few weeks time.

[StratosWRC]

Ah, it's all part of the fun, right?

[Zondaracer]

Ah, it's all part of the fun, right?

Yes, wouldn't miss it. Finding solutions to improve a model is a very mind stimulating. And at least this won't break the bank as did my now shelved kitcar project.