"Stunning yet complicated, my all-time favourite kit!"
Tamiya's 1/12 Ferrari 312T is probably my favourite kit of all time, and it is not just because the 312T is a beautiful masterpiece. I first got my hands on one of these about 8 years ago, in 2016, and since then, I have fallen in deep love with Tamiya's old 1/12 series. Well, to be fair, I have had experience with one of Tamiya's early 1/12 offerings - Porsche 910 - way back in 2012. That 910 is a very special model to me (I recently bought another one so I could write a review on it). Yet, it is this very red kit which brought me closer to the delicate world of scale models. Here's a brand new, wrapped box I got in July 2022, and it is placed under our spotlights today.
To my best knowledge, only exported Tamiya models, especially those for the European and North American markets, were wrapped. This particular box was still made in Japan and has a 4800 Japanese Yen price tag printed on it. Out of sheer good luck, I was able to win this 1-Yen-opening-price auction for only 4300 Yen (yay, this auction was listed on my 29th birthday). The above photo shows you the stunning typical Tamiya box art.
Typical presentation style from Tamiya. I did not rearrange all the sprues where they were exactly - this is the reason you don't get to see the middle section completely - what you missed here is really just the accessories and white Ferrari letters. Anyway, anyhow, a box full of goodies.
My goal is to create a PERFECT 1/12 312T model. A reference book is, without a doubt, extremely mandated and appreciated. The Haynes 312T Owner's Workshop Manual I bought several years ago might just be the best other than Joe Honda's 1975 photobook. In this review, you will find me quite frequently making comparisons between kit details and actual photos.
Sprue B contains the rest of the bodywork parts, including the beautifully shaped upper body.
Stunning!
You'll be happy with the results (Yes, back then, I did not do the seam filling on the pipe tips).
There are some 3D-printed brake oil reservoirs on webstores like Shapeways. This kit features just white plastic reservoirs.
The lids of reservoirs are also provided for extra details.
Sprue D features most parts for the extremely detailed TIPO 015 flat-12 engine and the transverse gearbox. Let's take a look at some of the details.
Cam cover. The Ferrari letters are crispy clear.
Front engine cover.
Gearbox rear cover.
Gearbox left side body.
You can use 3D-printed or metal rivets to bring the details of your model to a new level!
More engine parts can be found on sprue E.
This is the base for the distributor and other engine parts. It will be placed on top of the engine.
Highly detailed engine mount bracket.
Injection nozzle plates. It's a flat-12, so you have 12 injection nozzles!
Pedals are much more detailed than Protar or Heller's 1/12 kits.
They are also surprisingly accurate, although the thickness is terrible, and the textures are missing. BBK offers some photo-etched parts to help those who are more strict with their creations (although they offered a textured gas pedal, which, at least, wasn't being used in this reference photo).
Parts 34, 35, 36, and 37 will be built into a fairly sophisticated injection pump tower.
It will sit next to the distributor. You will then need to connect 14 cables to it :D
312T's shift knob. It is only a part of the complete shifting system.
Yet another sprue, sprue F, for all the beautiful mechanical parts.
Upper cockpit plate, beautifully recreated.
Shift rod joint.
The shifting system is faithfully recreated.
Brake air ducts will need some basic filling and sanding to remove the seam line. Very straightforward.
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Or, if you want, you can buy 3D-printed parts from Indycals, which recreates their translucent nature. I did it several years ago. They look fantastic after weathering.
Here comes the last gray sprue. More mechanical parts!
Suspension front member.
This part is labelled "front brake part" on the instructions.
You will need to add your own cables here for dampers and brakes, as the tubes that come with the kit will be used for the engine and the radiators, mostly the rear part of the car.
Here's a front view of the model I built years ago. It is never complete, though...You see that the plastic parts here really offered a great start for players to decorate. For me, cables and tubes from MFH, TopStudio, and other third-party manufacturers will be generously used.
312T's unique rear calliper and exhaust pipes housing.
Front wheels. Note that these scary ejection pin marks are only on the side of the wheels, which will be facing inward. They will become invincible when putting on the car. Not surprisingly, the air valves are missing.
I found these reference pictures from a listing on Bring a Trailer Media, LLC. Earlier in 2024, this individual seller was selling this pair of 312T rear wheels that were used in the mid-'70s. Interestingly, this pair was sold for 1700 USD. Tamiya's rear wheels are fairly correct.
Again, out of sheer luck, I was able to get a brand new set of 312T metal wheels from TeamToys in 2016. I got it only for 6000 Japanese Yen, instead of the marked 16800 Yen on the box.
Here are some open-box photos I took in 2016.
This wheel kit faithfully replicates the real structure of 312T's wheels.
Air valves and beat stoppers are also included, although Tamiya's wheels feature a more accurate beat stopper base, which is missing in this metal wheel kit.
Temporary fitment. The rear wheels here are featured differently from Tamiya's offer. Note the tires have all the letter details.
It is also correct. Also, note that these two reference photos show no sign of beat stoppers on both wheels. Hmm.
Thankfully, the seller included this excellent reference photo - 20 inches, it seems. That's about 50.8 centimetres, and on a 1/12 model, your tire size should be around 4.2 cm.
From left to right: Tamiya, TeamToys, MFH P34 rain tire. TeamToys and MFH offer the right size, and Tamiya's rear tires are indeed too small.
I understand that it might be difficult to get the metal wheels (Acu・Stion's 300-dollar metal wheelset is discontinued for now). Tamiya's wheels and tires are also nice. Especially the tires, as you can see in the above photo. You just need to paint the GY marking white.
Left: Tamiya tire and wheel. Right: TeamToys tire and wheel. The metal wheel's finish is a bit rough, which is kinda historically correct, I guess? lol
The size difference is obvious.
It can be installed on the car just like the OEM wheels and tires.
Sprue H is chrome-plated, and the plating will be immediately washed off. Too shiny, not good! BUT, you might not want to wash off the plating on the front and rear wings, as it can be hard to paint chrome on these parts unless you have AK super chrome!
Details on the brakes are fine.
Unfortunately, there is no clear part for the braking light, and you will have to paint this part yourself (in its defence, it is not hard). The protective meshes are missing for all the ram pipes (in comparison, Tamiya's 312T4 offers the meshes).
I do not know why there isn't an I sprue. Here is the J sprue, the first black-plastic sprue.
The details on the dashboard and the steering wheel are okay if you scroll up and check the pedals reference photo again.
Using parts 45, 46, 47, and 48 provided can build you a nice screwdriver.
Sprue K. What I often did in the past was to not paint these parts; instead, I sanded and polished them as the colour was pretty good already. But now I will paint them to give'em a more metallic finish.
Sprue L provides all rubber parts except the tires.
All the metal springs and screws are labelled M parts on the instruction. A small tweezer is also provided but will be ignored for very obvious reasons.
Finally, the last sprue - sprue N - the transparent sprue! You can use the two N1 parts underneath the chassis to support the heavy model. Otherwise, the plastic rods will be stressed too much. How thoughtful!
The OG decal belongs to the trash bin, unfortunately, but not surprisingly. I got my Cartograph printed years ago, along with the missing GY decals.
That's all you get out of the box! You might be asking, since this kit is old - will they come together nicely, or will a lot of effort needed? Well, let me share with you some of my two cents. This particular kit, Tamiya's Ferrari 312T, is generally great to work with. Take a look at the following construction photos I took years ago (I apologize for the photo quality as I didn't have a great camera back then):
The engine was painted with TS-17 aluminum, and the gearbox with TS-87 champagne gold (the misfocus in the last photo is embarrassing, ugh).
A weathering wash is absolutely necessary for historical cars like this one. Depending on personal choice, it can be light or strong.
The fitments here and there were generally pretty good.
The chassis was painted with TS-83 Metallic Silver. For the body, I applied TS-8 Italian red directly on light gray primer in order to achieve a darkish red colour, which catered to my personal preference.
It looked DEEP and rich.
I did a ton of small details painting, and the results were incredibly rewarding.
Even though I was only using kit-provide cables, the results were astonishing.
The wide, big, and, most importantly, correct TeamToys tires made the car look aggressive and powerful.
Here, this is where I stopped 8 years ago. I did not bring this one to Canada for fear of breaking it during transportation (I instead took away the four metal wheels). But now, I can start this kit fresh, and I will see what I can do with my favourite kit of all time!
Yes, this kit is highly complicated and requires tons of effort and patience, but at the end of the day, the rewarding results will bring a big, big smile to your face!
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