Italeri | Fiat Mefistofele 1/12 Plastic Model Kit Unboxing |

Exclusive Preview for Newsletter Subscribers 07 June 2022
BJ has a close look at the beautiful Italeri Fiat Mefistofele in 1/12 scale.
This big kit is multimedia consisting of lots of injected molded plastic, rubber, vinyl hoses, fabric, twine, metal screws, and water slide decals.
Features include full engine detail with hinged bonnet panels, individual link drive chain, interior detail. A wonderful kit for the advanced modeller looking for a long project.
More information:
www.hearnshobbies.com/products/italeri-fiat-mefistofele-1-12
The Fiat Mephistopheles (known in Italian as Mefistofele) is a one-off racing car created by Ernest A.D. Eldridge in 1923 by combining a Fiat racing car chassis and Fiat aeroplane engine. The name is from the demon of the same name. The name alluded to the infernal noise emitted from the unmuffled engine, and it was "baptised" by the Frenchmen.
Eldridge broke the World Land Speed Record on 12 July 1924 with the Mephistopheles, by driving at 234.98 km/h (146.0 mph) in Arpajon, France. The last car to set a land speed record on a public road.
The Mephistopheles was created by combining the chassis of the 1908 Fiat SB4 with a 6-cylinder, 21.7 litre (21706 cc) Fiat A.12 aeroplane engine producing 320 PS (235 kW; 316 bhp).
Mephistopheles was restored over 5 years, with another example of the same engine, and returned in 2011 with a display at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
In 1922, Duff had replaced the pistons with lighter ones designed by Harry Ricardo. With co-driver L G Callingham, Duff finished third in a sprint race held in May, turning a lap at 107.10 mph (172.36 km/h). However, the FIAT’s engine blew up spectacularly during a longer race, with parts flying in all directions. Duff decided that the FIAT was not worth his time, and he sold the damaged, 14-year-old car to Ernest Arthur Douglas Eldridge.
Eldridge had started racing at Brooklands in 1921 behind the wheel of a 1907 Isotta Fraschini Grand Prix car powered by a 488 cu in (8.0 L) four-cylinder engine that produced around 100 hp (75 kW). Disappointed by his lackluster performance, Eldridge decided to modify the car with a six-cylinder, inline Maybach AZ engine that displaced 1,251 cu in (20.5 L) and produced 180 hp (134 kW) at 1,200 rpm. The Isotta Fraschini car required extensive modifications to support the large Maybach engine, which originally powered an airship. The modified car was known as the Isotta-Maybach, and Eldridge debuted it in April 1922. Eldridge found success with the Isotta-Maybach and was able to lap Brooklands in excess of 100 mph (161 km/h).
In search of more power, Eldridge was able to acquire a war-surplus FIAT A.12bis engine, a type that powered various Italian aircraft during World War I. The six-cylinder, inline A.12bis had two intake and two exhaust valves for each cylinder, all actuated by a single overhead camshaft. Two spark plugs were fitted on each side of each cylinder. The engine had a 6.30 in (160 mm) bore and a 7.09 in (180 mm) stroke. The A.12bis displaced 1,325 cu in (21.7 L) and normally produced around 260 hp (194 kW) at 1,700 rpm. Eldridge had made some modifications to the engine, including improving its ignition system, and his example produced 300 hp (233 kW) at 1,400 rpm and 320 hp (239 kW) at 1,800 rpm. Rather than modifying the Isotta-Maybach, Eldridge sought a new chassis for the engine and purchased the FIAT racer from Duff as the basis for his new project. The Isotta-Maybach was sold to Loftus Claude Gerald Moller Le Champion, and Eldridge focused on his FIAT racer.
In order to fit the A.12bis engine, Eldridge added about 17 in (432 mm) to the FIAT racer’s chassis. Some sources state that this section was originally from a bus frame, but it is more likely that the metal was supplied by the London General Omnibus Company and that it was not from a scrapped bus. A new, more enclosed body was made to cover the longer car, but the transmission and chain drive were retained. The car used a 176 lb (80 kg) flywheel, and the clutch had 57 plates. The underpan was extended the entire length of the car. Eldridge’s 300 hp FIAT was 16 ft 8 in (5.09 m) long, 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) wide, 4 ft 7 in (1.40 m) tall, and weighed approximately 3,858 lb (1,750 kg). Mounted on the car’s 21 in (533 mm) wire wheels were 33 x 6 in (838 x 152 mm) tires.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_Me...
oldmachinepress.com/2021/02/2...
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[@tomrundell1755]

Very nice 👍

[@cratecruncher6687]

Tarquino Provini (AKA Protar) designed this kit back in the '90s I believe. I had one of their version. The wheel/spoke sprues were pot metal. So was the body and frame. I'd much rather tackle those parts in plastic!

[@HearnsHobbiesMelbourne]

Yes, the plastic is much easier to work on. Here is my video about re-spoking the wheels with wire: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6DYoad8bKmff80

[@ashedits4_]

Cool

[@HearnsHobbiesMelbourne]

Cheers!

[@josemanuelmartimartinez6169]

Como lo llevas yo lo he empezado ahora

[@HearnsHobbiesMelbourne]

The build is coming along nicely. You can see my wire wheels in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6DYoad8bKmff80 Good luck with your build!