I am usually an aircraft modeller but I saw a Italeri Lancia Stratos kit at the LHS. I am thinking of buying it (it’s priced at € 15,-)
Is this kit any good for a first time car modeller?
I know the basic of modeling (glueing, filling, painting etc) but are there special things I need to know about car modeling?
A “first time car modeler”?
Hmmm…I would think that Italeri’s kits are going to be a bit complex for a “noob”. The decals alone on this kit might be formidable?
I would hone your skills on a standard few AMT/Revell 1/24 kits first–some that you wouldn’t mind half-ruining if you do.
I myself am in the same boat–I’ve mostly done armor and figures, but have started 3 different cars so far, and finished one. Two others are 80% done.
YOu have to learn to work with gloss paints, which can be a pain…then there’s applying Bare Metal foil…Detailing the engines with plumbing and wires. Doing flocking (simulated carpeting) on the interior…depending on what genre you’re used to building, your learning curve will be on a varying curve of progression. For me, these car models have really been a learning experience. I can hardly wait to get back into an “easy” tank build!
Gotta say though; the Charger 500 I finfished looks great sitting on the shelf! Good luck!
I was shopping around for a Lancia Stratos kit last year. All of the reviews I read said the Hasegawa kit was considerably better.
I bought the Hasegawa kit which is a very nice kit, so saying the Italeri isn’t as good is a long way from saying it is terrible. I don’t recall there being a huge price difference between the Hasegawa and Italeri kits which made it easy to go with the better reviewed kit.
That is a very good point, the body is painted white, all the color is provided by decals, lots of decals.
If you are looking for a rally car to start out with I am just finishing (it has taken me 4 months to get around to putting the tail lights and bumpers on [:O] ) the Tamiya Renault Alpine 1600. Great kit, one of those kits they warn you not to shake the box because it might build itself. [:D]
I can do decals (ever seen how many “no step” decals are on an aircraft model)… but flocking? what’s that?
“Flocking” is fine colored powder that you use to simulate the carpeting inside a car, on the floor. You can get it at your LHS if they carry it; if not, www.detailmaster.com carries it, among other online places as well…
See it here?
Carpet? Wow, I have never put that in a jet fighter! [:P]
But I don’t think I will need that for the rally stratos, I think rally and race cars don’t have those kind of luxuries.
Very true, sir! [:D]
I would say “go for it” then!
Yeh, I think I will add this one to the stash.
Mine didn’t turn out that well. I used white glue over painted plastic about the same color as the flocking. I spread the white glue with a brush then piled on the flocking and tamped it down with the butt end of a #2 X-Acto knife. I let it dry a few minutes then inverted the floor pan over a sheet of paper to catch the droppings and tapped the bottom to shake off what didnt stick to the floor. Mine looks like 70s shag carpet what did I do wrong? Am I not holding my mouth right?
The kit is a rebox of the old entex kit, and is way overpriced, has no engine detail and the interior is also not very accurate. I even still has the original molding flaws. I bought the original about twenty years ago for $6.00. The only good thing about it is the decals are excellent, and fix the funny typos in the original kit decals.