Buildin' the Bugatti! Special Hobby 1/72 Bugatti 100 racer

Aircraft
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Several years ago I did a build where I was Doin’ the Dornier, now it’s time for Buildin’ the Bugatti!

This is not my ordinary kind of subject even if I have done at least one that is a bit racer like before!

It all started as an idea from two of my friends here in Stockholm so immediately two 1/48 kits and one 72-scale kit for the children’s table were bought :grin: . The model is brand new but especially in 1/72 scale the parts are rather thick, I guess it stands out a bit extra since the model is so small. The canopy is however thin and clear and that bodes well for the final result! And there are no decals, another big “+” in my world :grin: !


Boxart is, as usual, really nice. It isn’t realistic though since the original aircraft never flew. It was hidden away in France when WWII started in what I think was a near-complete condition. It then changed hands several times after the war, ending up (still never flown) at the EAA museum in the US where it still can be seen today.

During the 2010s there was a flying replica built that sadly crashed with lethal consequences during it’s third flight. I get the impression that flying characteristics were “marginal” and I am almost sure that the tragic flight was supposed to be the last one, afterwards it was supposed to be grounded and put into a museum.


Box contents! The resin parts are various intakes with nicely done louvres, exhaust banks (one on each side, asymmetrically on the fuselage) and the gear wells. I’ve also bought a tin of Zero Paints “Bugatti Blue” that will be interesting to try out!


A nice and thin canopy.


Canopy masks, the only after market stuff that was available when I bought the kit about a month ago.


I’ve started this one doing a bit now and then when my other projects wait for paint to dry or glue to settle. Note Gunze paint tin for size comparison, this isn’t a big model!


Fairing the resin into the plastic takes a bit of work, I wonder what it will look like after a coat of primer?

:raising_hand_man:

Magnus

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Another delightful kit from the folks at Special Hobby - following with interest Magnus :slightly_smiling_face:

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Looking forward to this one.

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Nice work so far and interesting choice for a build. I always enjoy seeing different aircraft built so that we all get a chance to experience what some of these looked like when they were still in existence. I’ve never been to the EAA museum, but I’d like to make my way there some day.

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@Russelle I appreciate that you are so positive but the subject is a lot nicer than the model in this case. I’m already beginning to despair!

@Spitfire @mrintense56 It’s a cool and unusual subject, these kinds of aircraft are usually only available as resin kits.


After a first coat of primer, there was a lot more work to do! I’m happy that it is such a small model.

:raising_hand_man:

Magnus

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No worries Magnus. The beauty of model building is we get to bend the kits to our will. I am sure you will prevail in the end. I personally like the challenge of taking older or less the well engineered kits (within reason!) and making them look better. It helps me to get better and I get more satisfaction.

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Huh…well that lessens my desire for this kit. Probably still get it eventually but not right away.

Your work looks great though.

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@mrintense56 & @Spitfire The lack of detail on the real-life machine (it is aerodynamically very clean) makes this less of a problem but I wished they had tried just that little bit harder. According to my friends who does the 1/48-kit it isn’t much better. But it is still buildable and will result in a model that looks distinctly different from everything else :slight_smile: !

Three rounds of primer with more filling and sanding in-between but finally I was at my first mile stone: trying out that blue paint!

Zero Paints: Covers well, nice to spray, can be thinned using Gunze “flattening”. Sprays best through the big-bore airbrush (0,3 mm needle). I did one pass with just the thinned paint that I then polished carefully. Second time was paint with a lot of Mr Paint gloss in it, leaving me with a shiny surface that isn’t car-shiny but still a good bit glosser than my warbird-building comfort zone usually allows :grin:

:raising_hand_man:

Magnus

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I’ve been slow on the updates lately but now it’s finished!

The last major hurdle was finishing the canopy. I tried using Bare Metal foil but it is difficult getting all the thin frames to stay put when handling the canopy. I did a re-start, removing the foil and using the masks I bought with the kit instead. With the masks in place, I painted the frames using MrP “super silver” and it looks decent I think. I checked the fit of the canopy right at the start of the project, widening the fuselage a bit using bits of plastic card, so gluing the canopy using white glue was a breeze!

This isn’t a super-kit and I’m the first to admit that I also could have tried a bit harder harder but it’s finished, it’s a beautiful Bugatti-blue and it looks fast :slight_smile: . What’s more is that there isn’t anything else in my collection that even remotely looks like this one!

It is difficult to make the model look interesting since it was so aerodynamically clean, there is almost no surface detail. I tried to do a bit of shadows around the few panel lines there is but I’m not really that happy with the result.

Enough complaining, it has now moved to it’s rightful place in the collection!

:raising_hand_man:

Magnus

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Looks good and definitely stands out!

I’m still tempted by the 1/48 version….