Words and photos courtesy of Michael Rogus

 

The car is very well packaged, with the front hood separated from the car, and secured within the Styrofoam packaging.  This model is a true work of art, and one of CMC’s finest.  The model is composed of over 1,600 parts, and this is quite evident when viewing the car.  The Ferrari red paint is rich and just as nicely applied, smoothed and polished as would be on the real car.

The front fascia is beautifully done with accurately detailed headlights and a replicated Ferrari emblem, as opposed to a decal or paint.  The hood simply latches onto the car and is secured in place with two included very tiny lateral screws.  Upon viewing the separated hood, the rivet detail starts to surface, as every panel on the body and underside has extreme rivet detail.

Starting with the front end of the car, the detail is astounding.  The rivet detail continues on each and every aluminum panel.  CMC used a nice solution for all of the air ducts, being a dense metal spring.  This gives an accurate representation of metal ducting, as well as allowing it to bend and move with the steerable wheel assemblies.  Copper wire was used to replicate metal hard lines from the master cylinder and pumps.  The rotors, wheel hubs are all metal, and the entire assembly is robust and tight as it moves.

The small details continue as you dig deeper into the model.  In front of both doors are opening reservoir caps, as well as even smaller opening panels in front of the windshield, which show additional fluid reservoirs.  Speaking of the windshield, the wiper is one of the best on any 1/18 model.  Made up of multiple metal linkages, and a wiper blade, it looks exactly like the real full scale wiper.

The doors open simply and smoothly, on two small metal hinges.  A small latch lifts and allows the door to freely swing upwards with a smooth motion.  An additional feature is a small wire preventing the door from fully swinging forward, most likely a feature of the real car.

The aluminum paneling continues on the door sills, as well as driver’s side gauges, and air ducts within the paneling.  The interior features excellent detailing with red upholstering and the iconic Ferrari metal steering wheel.  The dashboard is detailed with additional gauges and riveting.

Opening the passenger door reveals more aluminum paneling that is so perfectly replicated.  Fuse boxes and additional electronic modules are also located on this side.  Moving back, the rear hood is held in place by two small metal latches, that despite their size, actually lock and unlock the hood pretty securely.

The engine details are amazing, a CMC standard.  First glance shows the detailed intake manifold with 12 velocity stacks and additional metal ducting.  Only criticism would be to make the springs a bit denser, as they open up quite a bit when the hood is fully opened.  This slightly takes away from the metal duct appearance.

The hood is held in the open position by an included metal hood prop with a small fork end that rests on a frame linkage.  The other end, however, just wedges under the bottom of the hood, so care should be taken when handling, as the prop can just slide out from under and the hood will slam.

The exhaust manifolds are beautifully executed, as well as every plate and pan that’s bolted to the engine.  CMC has replicated every single bolt on all of the plates and engine pans within the compartment as well as under the car.

Removing the rear wheels reveals the detailed rear rotor assemblies, which look just as nice as the fronts.  The wheel nuts are a bit of a chore to put back on, as they’re set pretty far inside the deep dish wheels.  The included wheel nut tool helps tighten it securely.  Additional metal hosing for brake cooling is perfectly replicated.

The underside of the car is a work of art, simply put.  All metal paneling with riveting is extremely realistic and the finish is superb.  A few small screws in the front, mid and rear really hold everything together, and the car has a very solid feel.

The wheels were a bit of a pleasant surprise once they were removed.  Made from all metal, the wheels have a very solid and heavy feel, there is absolutely no plastic.  The real rubber tires make this wheel/tire package an excellent replication of the real deal.  Added metal hub rings and valve stems set off the little details when under close examination.

From fit and finish, to overall detail inside and out, this is likely one of CMC’s best creations, and well worth the steep price tag.  Each and every time this model is closely viewed, new details and features emerge.

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