1977 Lancia Stratos HF - Alitalia Rally Car

This is one that's been sitting stalled in the box for the last 30+ years.  I bought it new, started the build (without the reference of the internet), and when one decal broke up, put it away rather than put it against a wall.  My attention to detail and patience were far less than they are now, so some restoration will be needed where possible.  Use of tube glue is quite evident, dating it as my older work. LOL

I've seen these going for big $ recently on ebay, so I put it in my New Year's resolution to complete.



After having trouble with the first decal, I tried painting the green and red over some of the parts.  It just finished a bath in oven cleaner and primed and it looks OK to proceed.


I picked up another set of decals on ebay, but didn't realize some of the Fujimi models had 'peel n stick' style decals.  I tried one on the backside of a piece and it doesn't look very good.  So, I'll try to scan the remaining Alitalia 'A' that was damaged and mirror it to make a new one, along with the rest of the sheet.

The original Bandai decals - 1977 car.


Replacement Fujimi decals - 1976 car.


Here's a shot of the engine.  My weathering at the time consisted of nothing more than dirtying it up a bit.  Since this won't come apart easy, I'll just leave the internals as they are.  thank goodness I did do a bit of wiring and plumbing back then.


If this is successful, I may match it with the Tamiya Fiat131 Alitalia car that's been sitting in the stash.

Wish me luck as I still hate decalling over difficult curves.
Mike

Nice start.

Looking good Mike I'm sure you'll pull if off and the detail looks good also

Good luck with the resto mike. Cool model.

A resto...any resto is ALWAYS good to see. This is 1 I will watch!!

Pretty much my all time fave of the rally cars. Maybe some day I'll get to building one of the 5 or so kits I have! Thanx for warming a fella's heart in Winter!

I can understand completely Mike. I have a stalled build from 1979. I was 12, it was my first Tamiya kit, and first F1 car. Outside my box on many levels at the time. I need to get new decals for it, and rear tires. lol

Did a little more work on this resto.  Got the white body parts painted with MM Classic White Laquer.


When I looked in the box for the door hinges, I realized part of the reason I shelved this initially.  I cut the doors out to make them functional!  I probably tried to cut the decal too and failed.  At least I did a decent job cutting it.  I'll just have to see what room is available to fashion hinges.

I successfully pried the wheels apart to cover the inner area with BMF to simulate the brake rotors.  Calipers will be scratch built and wheels will be stripped and painted. The residue on them and the tires is from some weathering I attempted back then.


Lightbar and headlights are assembled and painted ready to mount on the hood.


I hope there aren't any more surprises - I don't want to break my resolution so soon. LOL

Thanks all for your comments.
Mike

Looking good.

I hope things go well. The door hinges may be hard to work into it. Very little body plastic between door and tilt front end.

The body panels and light pod are looking good Mike. Those wheels will look gorgeous too when done bright yellow!

I do like the Stratos cars with their unusual body shape and from what I can see from here your doing an outstanding job Mike!

I just got the Revell version which I plan on doing this year so will be watching yours to see what I need to try and get near too by the end

Looks good, Mike!

You made the white look like paint and not plastic. Great job! I never thought of BMF for the rotors but once lightly scratched they do look the part. I hope you get those hinges sorted out.

Well, I restarted this last New Year and I revived it again this New Year.   In our last episode, we cut the doors free of the body to show the detailed interior.  Looking high and low, I could find no place to anchor any sort of door hinges,  so the doors have gone back on.  I was able to recreate the damaged Alitalia "A" for the rear deck by copying the remaining good one and mirroring it in the software.  The color appears a bit darker than the originals.  Aside from those two, I was able to successfully use the old decals by carefully running an X-Acto blade under it after wetting to assure everything was loose from the paper.







Also got decals on the front hood.


So, it's damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead (again!).
Mike

SUPER-R-R-R-R-R!!!!

Gorgeous. I like a Srtatos

Or even a Stratos!!!

Even one of those. lol

Happy return to a cool kit. The decal work is beautiful and involved, I salute your tenacity and care with them.

Great stuff. I'm watching this for tips and tricks for my Stratos when I get round to it.

Mike your decal work is spot on.

Great work on the decals, going to look the business.