YOUR CUSTOM MADE LAMBORGHINIS

There is a lot of people on here that collect die cast not limited to Ferrari. Even me, being a hard core Ferrari fan, I have few models that are not Ferraris. Actually the only other models that I have more than a handful of are Lamborghinis. And being the way I am, I just can not leave some things unchanged.
So here is a thread where we can all share our Lambo models.
To kick it off here is a project I am doing for a customer. The Gallardo SE, done the RIGHT way.

 

What better way to start a project, than tackle the biggest issue first. The engine hood.
First you need to cut a hole in it-duhhhh.
But here is the cool part. You build up material for the sides of the hood. In this case I used styrene square rod.
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Then you have to to file it all into shape. It is kinda like sculpting......
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Then you need to make a frame for the "glass". For this I used thick sheet styrene....
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Then again you need some-(understatement warning!)sanding......
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Then you have yourself a genuine SE hood. Now all it needs is some primer, sanding, more primer and some black paint+ clear cote of course. Then it would be ready for the "glass", but this would be the very last thing going on with the model. Which would probably happen tomorrow.
I'll post more pictures of the interior, wheels/brakes and body work tomorrow.
Please post pictures of your Lambos and any questions/suggestions you may have.
Rock On!!!

 

Actually, most diecast are made from alloys that have NO aluminum. This is exactly why they are hard to cut. But this is why powertools were invented. If you plan on modifying diecast, a Dremel power tool is the best investment you can make.

 

As promised here are some more pictures of the progress. These pictures were taken just during the test fitting of the parts. The custom hood still needs some sanding and a clear coat and the body is still lacking the paint on the louvers plus it need to be polished.
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I believe I forgot to tell you that the mirrors are also not yet done. Anyway......................
The wheels needed to be sourced from a Spider which is an easy swap, except that you need to pay for a whole another model that you are going to have with totally wrong wheels after that, but this is a whole different conversation.
The brake calipers are painted orange and the wheels are painted the correct metallic shade.
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It is really late so you'll have wait 'till tomorrow for the interior.
I hope that these kind of step by steps are helpful.

 

Just as promised, the interior.
First off the gauges in the dash. The correct once had to be sourced from the Spider also. However the part that sits in the dash is molded way too thick. It is over 2mm and it sits awkward in there. So the corresponding part from the Spider needed to be "massaged" to fit better.
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Thanks to a "little bit" of sanding the "new" part is less that 1mm thin which would allow it to fit properly. While you are doing this with some proper technique you can get the manicure on your hand done at the same time.
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The difference between the Regular seats and those in the SE is the piping that matches the exterior color just like some of the panels in the interior. Going into>you have to mask off the doors and paint their inserts body color< would be a waist of time so straight to the piping.
You need a piece of wire in your choice of color (read body color) and a vise with a drill bit matching the size of the wire.
WARNING!!! Those drill bits can be dangerous! First of all they are very brittle and very easy to break. They are not cheap either. They would also go through your skin like it is butter. Thrust me on this one- going to the emergency room at 1am because you have a hair thin drill bit in your finger, that went all the way to the bone and broke inside is definitely NOT fun. Watching the doctor remove it is downright gruesome too. Anyway...
You drill little holes in each end of every strip of "piping" and then stick one end of piece of wire into one of each pair of holes.
Wow, that sounds confusing even to me, but here is what it looks like.
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Then you get your best toothpick out and with it apply a thin line of CA (high grade superglue) on the edge on the seat where the piping would lay and tuck in the loose end of the wire in the corresponding hole. The end result should look something like this....
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Then if you have any access glue showing you can touch it up with some semi-gloss black paint.
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All you need then is do drop the seats in the interior tub
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