Pocher 1/8 Lamborghini Huracan LP-610 conversion LP-580 Spyder

[MODEL A MODEL]

[kon_gee]

For the Brake rotors the difference between the Carbon LP-610 (2nd pic) and the Steel LP-580's (1st pic) are significant in appearance right down to the drilled hole patterns! I did rework the discs from the model as to keep the original fitment with the mating parts in the kit. I first had to remove the disk bolt pattern from the Pocher discs enough to make the surface flat. I rigged up means to spin the discs with a drill to achieve this using a file and sandpaper. Then I fabricated new rings from sheet plastic and glued them in place. For the discs I measured the real discs and then measured the Pocher discs. I had to make a few adjustments to make it workas I drew them up on the computer but the appearance is very close to the real discs. Not only are the front and rear discs completely different sizes but the drilled hole patterns are different front to rear too. Next I scaled the drawings and loaded them into my Cricut machine and cut the discs out from chrome foil vinyl sheet. I made two complete sets as one set was used as templates to reshape the outer disc diameters to the new shape. The Cricut machine did a great job cutting and it even cut out all of the drilled holes in the discs which are .030 dia. After reshaping the discs I removed the chrome vinyl and then applied the 2nd set for the finished discs. Again I rigged up the discs to my drill and spun them and using 800 grit sand paper I scored the discs much like brake pads do on real discs. This gave the desired look so the discs cast light much like real discs do. Then a little black paint rubbed on the disc surfaces filled in the drilled holes and "stained" the chrome vinyl just enough to bring out a little more realism.

Gary

[kon_gee]

More Disc pics

[kon_gee]

Fabricating a Performante style rear wing for the 580 spyder. The Performante version of the Huracan has a rear wing that is unique to that version. The performante wing is part of the ALA (Aerodinamica Lamborghini Attiva) system which is basically active aerodynamics with hidden ducts and acuators that change downforce to best suit the needs of the driving conditions.. The mounting area for the wing on the Performante is dfferent than with all other models so in order to have a Performante "style" wing on any other model one must get it via aftermarket sources. Basically for the model this wing is a 1/8" scale of a replica Performante style wing!
To fabricate the wing I made a Negative mold of the show side of the wing from urethane board. Then I wrapped the edges of the mold with aluminum tape to create a 1/8" high dam. Then I mixed up some fiberglass resin and laid down 8 layers of glass to make the wing. After demolding I used body filler to thicken and shape the underside of the wing which is basically a curved upside down airplane wing profile. Then I started fabricating the brackets from 1/4" thick aluminum sheet and mounted them to the body with screws . After completing the brackets I used JB Weld epoxy to bond the brackets to the wing.

The wing itself will be wrapped in carbon fiber decal sheet and the brackets will be painted black matching the real aftermarket wing.

Gary

[MODEL A MODEL]

West Epoxy ?

[kon_gee]

The epoxy is JB Weld which is available at most automotive stores. It is slow setting but it bonds really well. I actually used the same epoxy and squeegeed it into fiberglass cloth to bond all of the spyder elements of the rear clip together.

[kon_gee]

The wing is ready for carbon fiber decal sheet and clearcoat!

[kon_gee]

I have my Perormante style wing finished! Fortunately I had just enough of the Scalemotorsport carbon twill weave decal left over from my Aventador project to get the wing done. Also in the pics is a real world comparison between the full scale and the 1/8 scale wings.

[kon_gee]

Finally PAINTED!
I usually enjoy painting model car bodies as it brings a true preview of what the finished model will look, I say usually enjoy because this time I had to fight through each step of the process. In this case after primer my plan was to use real automotive basecoat / clearcoat to complete the job. This in part because on my earlier Aventador build (same color) I used a single stage automotive paint and I found that it was somewhat translucent making it very difficult to get consistent color without putting too much paint on for a model car. After wet sanding and washing the primed parts with mild soap and water it was time to paint! While the color coverage took three coats it covered much better than single stage but the 2 stage paint seemed to be super sensitive to everything! There were a few spots where the paint fisheyed. I made sure there was enough paint in those areas to sand later. I was told by the gentleman who mixed the paint to be sure to sand the base coat before applying clear coat so I thought I might get away with the fisheyes. I clearly needed to sand anyway but even this process proved to be problematic. The only thing I did different was use 800 grit sandpaper vs 400 grit in order to keep as much paint as possible over the sharp body lines. With all of the fisheyes completely sanded away the clear coat sprayed beautifully but soon after spraying it would find some of those tiny fisheye spots plus a few new ones making the surface look like it had even more dings in it. In short I stripped the doors and started over. I also needed to completely redo the hood two more times! In the end I still got one super tiny fisheye in the clearcoat on the hood which happened over a perfect untouched primer coat and three perfect untouched coats of paint!. I think my big mistake was not putting fisheye additive in this paint and clearcoat. Fisheyes are new to me and I have never used fisheye additive before but I will rethink that in the future.

[kon_gee]

I added some extra details to inside surfaces of the Doors and to the underside of the hood. Real Huracan's do not have clearcoat on the underside of the hood and with the issues I had painting the hood I was rather content with not clearcoating the underside! Interestingly there is no latch detail on the hood with this model !! I will need to add this detail but I am not sure just yet how much clearance is available to do it?

[MODEL A MODEL]

Nice! -and "fish-eyes" are a mystery of painting! So many possible problems. So many possible contaminants!

But your work looks really great!

[kon_gee]

Thank you!
I have spent my last few years away from building models as I was building a new home. I did learn a little about newer paints from the floor finishing guys that the US Fed gov. had tightened VOC regulations for paint manufacturers and oil based polyurethanes fell under those new regulations. We had over 3000 sq ft to cover and they used 1qt cans because they said the 1gal. size cans of the same product are made with a completely different formula in order to meet regulations where as the quart size cans sneak through a loophole. The flooring guys also pointed out that many paints (especially spray cans) now include "primer" in the paint which is a shift due to the Fed regulations too.
My painting issues have not been limited to the automotive paint and I have found that some spray paints these days (not model paints) are not even compatible amongst there own line up of paint! In particular I sprayed some parts black and then clear coated them with the same brand from the same lineup and the high gloss clear coat sprayed like a glass finish but dried dull and textured like it dissolved into the color. More coats helped but as you would expect, the texturing from the first coat propagated through giving shiney but unsatisfactory results. My solution was to let the parts dry for a couple of weeks and then wet sand them smooth for a final coat of clear over smooth sanded clear. This process proved me wrong too! The same clear from sprayed from the same can actually caused the sanded clear under it to crackle!! I ended up stripping those parts with a mild lacquer thinner and started over with different paint! I am still in process with that. It has been very frustrating as I have never seen paints react so badly. I have always been careful with paint selection in the world of model building and I do test spots since the styrene plastics often react badly to (non model) paints. In the past I aways found that if you can get primer or color on without any reaction to the plastic you were good after that.

[kon_gee]

Moving into the interior. As an interior option Lamborghini offered a package on Huracan's called Q-Citura which is basically hexagon style contrast cross stitching on the seats and doors. When this option is combined with their two tone interior package it creates a stunning interior.
After a few failed attempts to replicate the hex pattern on the seats including an actual attempt with a local embroidery shop (See pic) I finally settled on using my Cricut cutting machine to cut patterns out of iron on transfer sheet and I transfered the cut patterns to actual vinyl material. Also through trial and error I figured out how to peel away the finished surface of the vinyl fabric from its thick backing so the vinyl is now super thin and pliable. I am still waiting for some vinyl low luster spray to apply to the seats to knock down the sheen in order to look more realistic as the real seats don't have any sheen.

[kon_gee]

It surprises me that some of the fine details of this kit are better than the Aventador model but at the same time some details are missing completely like the boot latch. Given the fact that space for a latch is very tight it took a bit of trial and error to get the latch to fit. This added detail is much less 3 dimensional than the real latch though but the boot can still close! On the interior there is an impression on the upper portion of the door panel. This is the location for the upgraded Sensonum sound system speaker yet there is no speaker grill detail for it in the kit like the big grill below it. Likewise the Sensonum sound system has badges on each speaker throughout the interior and that detail does not exist either. I assume that the impression molded on the door was a mistake as no other upgraded sound system exist so the door panel should be smooth and flat across this space. In the case of my model I am adding the Sensonum details. Another detail missing is the steering column's tilt lever yet the impression for it is molded into the column. There are more details specific to the spyder like a much shorter arm rest on the center console and a small tray behind it. Also for the spyder I was able to utilize the coupe headliner and modify it in the area of the windscreen so that it replicates the more compact details of the spyder very well. This required cutting out a section from just outside the sun visors, sliding it forward about 1/4" and regluing it back to the headliner before cutting it away as one useable piece later. After much more trimming it duplicates the spyder very well in this area.