# Protar/Revell 1/24 Ferrari 250 GTO



## Modlerbob

The 1:1 car has long been a favorite of mine since watching them race in the 1960s. I've had several slot cars representing the type. I bought the Protar (an Italian model company) kit over 25 years ago and have made attempts to complete the build on several occasions. The plastic was hard to work with and they tried to make the kit have as many moving pieces as a 1/12th scale kit. On top of that the body had some serious sink marks to deal with. Recently I decided to either finish it as best as possible or throw it away. Once I got started I found that several key parts had disappeared from the box but what I had finished looked so good that I explored the internet and found that Revell had released what looked like the same kit and the price was low enough that I ordered it. It is the same kit with some improvements. The body has no dimples or sink holes to deal with and the plastic is of a higher quality. The chrome plated wire wheels are brighter and the tires are better. Also there is a set of racing decals with this kit whereas the Protar kit was of a street vehicle. So I am now well on my way to completing the model. I have decided to challenge myself a bit and do one of the competition cars that is painted a medium metallic blue with a white racing stripe that flares out in the front of the car. If I had a plumbing and wiring diagram I would add those details under the hood but once it is all closed up I doubt whether such detail could be seen. Here are some images of the progress so far.


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## Ian Anderson

Now thats a presentation, "ALL RIGHT BOB",...Killer build, I See no reason why this shouldn't be One of the best This site has to offer as well here, Nice choses as well.




Ian


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## steve123

Beautiful build! Love what you have done, but why not red valve covers?
Steve


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## Modlerbob

Well, not that they are necessarily correct but both instruction sheets called for them to be black. I wish I had a book on the car that has photos.


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## steve123

I used to work for an exotic car dealer ,and all the ones we had had red valve covers.....I'll dig you you some shots.
Sorry I cant find 'em....And sorry to armchair quaterback your build.








And we only had one or two of the Marenello Maidens at one time..











Steve


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## Modlerbob

Hey, I'd love some photos of 250 GTO's under the hood. One can only put so much faith in what a set of instructions tell you. i do know that the modern Ferraris for the most part have red valve covers and I took no offense at your advice.


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## Modlerbob

I made some more progress today finishing up the chassis/interior and getting the initial paint on the body. I used the new Model Master Lacquer. This time from a rattle can. It's called Nassau Blue Metallic. I sprayed a couple of real light dust coats and then two more cover coats waiting 5-10 minutes between applications as suggested on the label. It then says to wait at least 2 hrs. before applying the clear gloss coat. The color dries to a smooth semi gloss finish. I peeled away the mask for the stripe and discovered some bleed through that needs cleaning up before proceeding.


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## Modlerbob

here's the body with the overspray and run unders cleaned up. It's ready for the clear coat. After that there is a red decal stripe that runs along the edge of the white racing stripe that ought to be a PITA to install.


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## steve123

She's looking great. I'll dig up some pics of 250 motors...

Here is a great site:http://www.topspeed.com/cars/ferrari/1962-1964-ferrari-250-gto-ar3278/picture46862.html

Well,slap me and call me Sally!









Good thing you didn't re-paint....sorry man!



Steve


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## Ian Anderson

Beautifully work on that body as well Bob, I MEAN NICE CLEAN work..Sweet color and masking job there to, As well as the rest of you work is OUTSTANDING.


Ian


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## BolianAdmiral

Nice... beautiful color you chose!


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## scottnkat

You know, this is a car I have always wanted a model of but have never gotten. I love watching this build. You're doing a beautiful job. Love the color!


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## Modlerbob

Adding the seat belt decals on my last project produced a result that was less than satisfying so I tried something new. I applied the decals to some aluminum foil, let them dry and then carefully cut them out. The foil allows the seat belts to take on a natural looking drape instead of clinging to the seat. Here are the results.


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## scottnkat

good idea with the foil - I'm going to have to remember that


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## Ian Anderson

I agree, I LIKE IT A WELL Bob, thinks for the idea there as well, thats thinking, no doubt about it,...Bend them anyway you like when there on that foil, that can only help out thats for sure,...WHERE DID YOU LEARN THAT ANYWAY ?, or did you think that up, on your own..



Ian


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## Modlerbob

Ian, I learned it adding seat belts and shoulder harnesses to model airplanes, my true modeling arena. Here are some images of the 99% done model. A few notes about the kit first. The white racing stripe is supposed to have a red edge but the decals provided were too short. I'm going to look for some red pin striping tape my next trip to the hobby shop. The kit suspension was designed to be semi-functional which results in the car sitting way too high as it doesn't put enough weight on the springs to make them compress as they should. I haven't figured out a good fix for that yet but that is why the wheels are not permanently attached with the knock off hubs still to be added. Even with those problems overall it looks better than I expected.


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## scottnkat

Looks great, man - you've done a fine job and should be proud


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## Modlerbob

Thanks Scott,

Here are the final images. But first a few thoughts. I cannot recommend this kit to anyone unless they really want a model of a 250 GTO and want to build it themselves. Revell improved the old Protar kit but not by much. It is truly a PITA to build. Gunge Sanyo has a curbside kit of the same car with a less detailed chassis but the body is as good or better and the kit is easier to build. If I were to build it a second time it would certainly come out better looking as I now know where to make changes that would improve the appearance. The front sits way too high because of the nature of the working front suspension and the fact that the weight of the model is not enough to give it the proper stance. So here it is after starting on it over 20 years ago.


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## Ian Anderson

Your a model airplane modeler are Bob, ......HUMMMMM,..Well This is good news to me, I may have something for you if you are interests, I have so much stuff storage right now I cant get to QUICK, and The sun HAS JUST STARTED to come out this week, giving me time to get to it, AND A LOT OF WORK TO DO AS WELL NOW, ...lol..Well today really is the first sun I HAVE SEEN,..lol..And I have my hands FULL with weed eating, 10 acres right now AND ALL DAY TODAY,,.AND AGAIN ALL DAY TODAY TOMARROW,..lol,...And so on....But,..
In one of the storage's HERE A T MY HOUSE I have,... I'm not sure, If there are 50 of 100, Kits I picked up in one of my ON THE STREET HUNTS two years ago I do every summer, estate sales that is..
Still Sealed Rear old kits,..Of all kinds of OLDER PROP PLANE KITS,.not sure who made them right now, Or what they are for sure for details to give you on them, I stuffed them Way in the back AND that's where there Still at today,..
So today, I will try and Dig them out along with some other treasures I'm looking for in there,....And if you wont them I will post pictures for you here OR WHERE YOU SAY.., and Maybe we can come up with a trade, I really don't wont money for them bob, I have enough of that, But I build 1:24 and 1:25 scale kits my self, AND I KNOW YOU KNOW THAT,...lol,...So, maybe we can make some sort of deal here mister Bob, I don't wont hem my self, and I'm sure there VERY REAR AS WELL, and all in Killer shape,...COMPLET AND SEALED,..at least 20 years old as well,...Let me know ,....
Oh and that GTO is SO VERY NICE MAN,...Killer job,..SWEET... and yes Get some Red Pin Striping, I get it on line my self and I have all kinds of sizes and colors In stock for my own use as well, LOVE THE STUFF..but support you local hobby shop as well, THATS IMPOTENT, someone has to do it,...lol.....
LET ME KNOW ON THE KITS, give me reason to DIG THEM OUT,....I need the push,...Because when I dig them out, (MAYBE TODAY) I will give you FIRST CHOICE ON THEM IF SO, Just because your One of us,..then its off to the sale section here if not,....BUT THEN AGAIN, there are some fools over there I don't like right now, including there Mod,....lol....So Maybe E-Bay even if not you...I DONT WONT THEM BOB, and if you do THERE A KILLER FIND,.....A treasure really for some one like you,......Take care of are OWN FIRST I SAY....just ask the others, I'm always trading with them,...we all in this together here,..SO, you may have First Pick because of that here bob,...I would like to drop them in ONE LOT REALLY....Sorry for the Hijacking this post as well Bob,...KLLER BUILD HERE on that (GTO) BOB,...Very nice work indeed,....YOUR A MASTER BUILDER FOR SURE..




Ian


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## machgo

Excellent looking Ferrari you got there! The decal "meatballs" look very good. They don't show any signs of the beautiful blue showing through. Did you spray white in those areas and I missed it?

The "missing" red pinstripe doesn't detract at all, IMO. Nice!


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## steve123

Great job Bob! You might have better luck finding narrow tape at Hobby lobby or michaels... You did a wonderfull job!

Are you still unhappy with the ride hight? you could try cutting a coil or two off the springs or compressing them with vise grips and superglueing them together.

She's pretty!

Steve


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## Modlerbob

I finally got hold of the red tape I needed to finish this project. Here is the final result.


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## dreadnaught726

Beautiful! This is my all time favorite Ferrari. I remember watching them race back in the day and actually had a chance to sit in one.


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## chevy263

Awesome build on a great car the 250 GTO is one of the greatest cars ever built. Thanks for the pics. I need to get the kit.


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