Hasegawa 1/24 Scale Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa By Gerry Nilles

Introduction

When one hears the term, classic Ferrari it brings to mind a collection of benchmark, beautifully designed high performance machines. Among this collection, there are certain models that for one reason or another just seem to stand out above the rest, if that is even possible. For example, the 308 GTB made famous by actor Tom Sellick in the television series “Magnum P.I.”, the unmistakable styling of the “Dino” 246 GT and GTS, the classic 1962 250 GTO, and the subject of this review, the 1958 250 Testa Rossa.

The Ferrari 250 TR came about because of World Sports Car Championship rule changes announced in 1957. At that time, the governing organization stated that beginning in 1958 the “Sports Car” category would be limited to engine sizes of 3000 cc or smaller. Having won the championship four times in the previous five years, not including their subsequent win in the 57 season, Ferrari was not about to relinquish its domination of the category.

Ferrari started work on a new “Sports Car” design immediately and in May of 1957; the first prototype was ready for preliminary testing in competition. The second prototype soon followed and ran at La Mans. By the end of 1957, Ferrari was ready with its new 250 Testa Rossa for the 58 season. Garnering its name from the brightly painted red cam covers on the newly designed 2953cc V-12 engine the “Testa Rossa”, which is Italian for red head, was indeed a thing of beauty. The very distinctive and sleek body, designed by Scaglietti, was low with a sloping nose and cut away front wheel arches known as “Pontoon-Fenders”. However, this was not just another pretty face so to speak. Not only did the 250 Testa Rossa win the ‘58 World Sports Car Championship but also the 24-hours at Le Mans which that year was dominated by bad weather.

The Kit:

Typical of Hasagawa the kit consists of eight separate trees of finely detailed flash and sink-mark free parts. The body, which is comprised of three pieces in order to accommodate the “pontoon fender” design, along with the hood, cam covers, scoops, and other miscellaneous small parts come molded in white styrene. This feature is convenient considering the fact that several of the twenty-one copies built had color schemes that were not red. The four trees that contain the chassis, suspension, engine/exhaust system, and interior come molded in black, with the final two accommodating both the chrome and clear parts.

Although a nicely detailed kit, including the engine, there is not an inordinately high part count and as such, assembly does not appear overly complicated. The instruction sheet, along with the systematic painting and decal placement guide, is relatively easy to follow if studied prior to starting assembly. This advice is especially appropriate when applied to the smaller parts. However, I do need to mention that the appropriate use of alternate parts B5 & B7 (side scoops), and the door hinges being moved to the outside along with the placement of the third #5 and decals # 9 through #21, are missing from the instructions. At least this deficiency seemed to be the case with the kit I purchased.

Markings:

The kit comes with a single decal sheet that includes the instrument panel dial faces, both as a cluster (#1) and individually (# 13-17), several sizes of Ferrari logos (#2,4,10, & 19), seat belts (#7 & 8), numbers for three different cars plus several other unidentified instrument faces, and markings. As noted above the placement of decals #9 through #21 is not included, at least in my kit, as is the third use of decal #5. Obviously, some of these unidentified decals are self-explanatory regarding placement, such as the alternate instrument panel dial faces, but some are not. Other than that, the decals look to be of good quality.

Conclusion:

This is a Ferrari classic of classics and long overdue as an injected molded kit. I commend Hasagawa for its insight in doing it. At first look, this appears to be a very well done kit with construction being strait forward and little if any complicated assemblies or sub-assemblies. The only negative, and again this might be just my kit, is the lack of instructions regarding the use of decals #9 thought #21 and the use of alternate parts B5 & B7 (the side scoops). I am guessing that at least one, maybe even two different paint schemes accompany the three different sets of racing numbers and use of the alternate side scoops.