Kit: 1973 Ferrari 312P

Scale: 1/43

Kit Number: 30

Manufacturer: F.D.S.

Price: $18.00 (back in 1985)

Media: White Metal/rubber

Decals : three versions

Date of Review: 30 March, 1996

Comments:  As you may have read in another review, I like race cars.  I especially like Ferrari race cars, a passion shared with millions of people around the world.  From time to time, I have built a few 1/43 cars. All of them have been white metal and most of them have been some type of Ferrari F.1 car.

This is the first Ferrari prototype racer that I have built.  It is from the 1973 Nurburgring race, back when they used the long circuit with its hundred corners and awesome jumps.  To me, it seems that 1966-1973 were the golden age of sports car racing, with an active Can-Am series in the US and the equally exciting world sports car series in Europe.  This was the time of Porsche 908s and 917s, the Can Am Chaparrals, the Ford GT40s and the dominating McLaren M6's.

White metal kits are actually pretty easy to build.  The most time is spent cleaning mold marks, filling pits and ensuring a smooth finish.  The interior can easily be brush painted as this one was in black with leather seats and tan seat belts.  There is no dash, but it is so well hidden that it is not missed.  In fact, you can see from the cockpit through to the wheel wells and out of the car.

After all the bits were cleaned, they were all primed with Floquil white figure primer.  Then the wing, carburetor intakes, and exhaust headers were painted white and left to dry.  The roll bar was painted flat black, the engine (as it is) was painted silver, and the wheels were painted gold.  The rest of the parts, except for a small lip that was masked off at the very front,  were painted Ferrari Red (actually Testors red).  Once all the parts were painted, assembly began.  I used super glue, but epoxy would have worked just as well. The engine, exhaust and wheels with tires were attached to the chassis pan.  The upper body received the roll bar, wing, rear view mirror, and engine intakes.

The last  assembly required is attaching the chassis pan with the upper body.  Final painting included silver gas caps, black light cavities  and intakes, and the white stripes on the aft engine lid. The car was then brush painted with Future floor wax (leaves no streaks; dries clear).  The FDS decals were then applied minus the white circles which were badly yellowed and replaced with ones cut using a compass.  

The car represents that driven by Brian Redman and Jacky Ickx and makes for a colorful addition to any model collection.  One of these days I'll try a resin kit in 1/43 as I understand they are really nice.  I have a GT40 and a Porsche 962 somewhere in the bottom of the box.