Bburago 1:24 1995 Ferrari F40 GTE- Le Mans

This diecast kit by Bburago (cod. 5542)represents one of two modified F40s by Luciano Della Noche in association with the Italian Ferrari Club with the technical support of engineer Guliano Michelotta who was responsible for the F40's IMSA racing efforts in the US that ended in 1990. This was the second of the two cars that was driven by Italians Mancini and Monti from the Ferrari Club Italia-348 and a young Englishman named Ayles.

This is a fascinating kit by Bburago that provides many suprises... most good some not. The body casting is finely finished and painted in a virtually flawless Ferrari red which is quite an improvement over my FM version whose orangy red paint thins out on the angles. The engine and drivetrain is superior in detail to the FM iteration also. The glazing is crystal clear and distortion free. A real plus for viewing the engine and interior. The interior is also suprisingly detailed including 4-point harnesses with "Sabelt" labels, a much more accurate console including a chrome shift gate. The only complaint here lies with the steering column which is too small in diameter and because it links directly with the steering mechanism as designed, it is angled slightly towards the driver's door.

For this model, Bburago has had to abandon the ubiquitous spring loaded dogleg hinges for an intersting sliding hinge system that allows the door to clear the overhanging hood/fender of the F40 and still allow tight shutlines. The only downside is the adjusting screw head that actually had to protrude thru the inner door panel. I'll probably punch out nylon mesh and make them look like speaker grills.

he real downer here was the wheels and tires. The wheels and Pirelli P-Zeros match the FM front wheels in diameter but are poorly modeled. Worse yet, Bburago provides four front wheels (245/40ZR17) instead of providing a pair of larger wheels for the rear (335/35ZR17). After a futile attempt to find a junker FM Ferrari I could strip, I turned to eBay. Amazingly, in 23 minutes, I won a 1/24 Fujimi plastic kit for $10. The wheels are outstanding. I had to tap them because I swore they looked like alloy. The Pirellis are incredibly realistic with their finely reproduced directional treads, and best of all... I managed to adapt these puppies to the Bburago with relative ease.

Now the real reason I'm hooked on these Bburago kits.... the livery. I wish these pictures could do this car justice, but the conversion to digital from analog not only loses resolution, but the color is not true either. This car is obviously done in Italian colors and the green on these digitals is not dark enough. It's actually a park green. The Cartograph decals are just phenomenal in their strength and opacity and both are needed for this model. Adapting the green livery to the front end was a particularly daunting task and required multiple melting and resolidifying with Solvaset and water until the transfers were adequately adapted. This is the one caveat that should come with this model. Be prepared to cut, sand and touch up with matching paint. Many of the decals are cut and pieced to maintain continuity in the sharp recesses of the intakes and some, like the "41" and the flag on the hood, are not. Patience is a virtue and I spent a few evenings on the livery alone. Once the transfers were laid down, I sealed them with self leveling Future Floor Finish which, after a day to cure could be polished to a sheen with Novus2 and 3M Hand Glaze.

There's work to be done with this kit, but the results are well worth the effort. How much do I like this diecast?. I have one display case dedicated to 1/24 Euro sports and GT cars and there's only room for one F40. The FM went back in its box.

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