From Box to Beauty

A Ferrari SF71H Build — Chapter 2: Unboxing & Kit Inspection

After opening the product package, take out all the parts bags and the main body components. Before we go any further, a careful inspection is essential — a quality 1/20 build starts with a quality check.

Step 1 — Inspection After Transit

Since the product may be damaged during transportation through the logistics company, you must first check whether the parts are defective. Pay special attention to the nose cone, brake-duct assemblies, wheel rims, and the small rear-wing endplate vanes, as these are the most easily damaged in transit.

After confirming that the parts are not damaged, please check whether the etched brass sheets are bent and whether the water-slide decals are stained or finger-printed. After confirming that all standard items are normal, you can start the preparation work for production.

Step 2 — What Makes This Kit Special

Alpha Model provides a wealth of carbon-fibre decals on a large number of parts, including the steering wheel, shift paddles, centre console, instrument panel, rear diffuser, and floor — basically the same as the real car. The kit's decal coverage on the SF71H is exceptional: more than 200 individual carbon decals cover almost every visible surface.

In addition, the main and passenger areas of the cockpit — details such as the seat-belts, the harnesses, and the floor straps — are also enhanced with brass photo-etched parts, and a variety of sponsor decals are provided to choose between Vettel's #5 and Räikkönen's #7 configurations.

I believe the effect will be amazing after the production is completed. Let's keep going!

Step 3 — Mold Quality & Cockpit Detail

Alpha Model's products have precise mould opening, especially in the production technology of the car casings. The body shells have precise shapes, smooth surfaces without burrs and shrinkage, deep engraved lines, and sharp edges. These features greatly reduce the difficulty of production and are very suitable for newcomers.

The kit not only has traditional brake-disc and interior details, but also includes a completely detailed suspension assembly, a fully built turbo-hybrid power-unit housing, and a complete set of Brembo-style brake callipers for modellers to build. There are a large number of detailed reference photos of the real car available online, and after the production is completed, you can see the engine through the open top of the engine cover.

Each car has its own unique colour matching, and players can also colour it according to their own preferences. Before production, you can refer to photos of the actual car and mark the colour of each part on the product manual to facilitate later colouring.

Step 4 — Tools You Need

In the process of making the Ferrari SF71H, we need to prepare some necessary tools in advance, such as:

• Outline pen (marking / scribing tool)
• Paper sandpaper (various grits, from 800 to 2000)
• Sponge sandpaper
• Instant glue (cyanoacrylate, thin and gel viscosities)
• Tweezers (fine-tip and PE-specific)
• Marking knife
• Hobby knife with fresh #11 blades
• Photo-etch bending pliers

Having tools that are handy and feel good when making can help players create high-quality static models more easily.

Step 5 — Cleaning All Resin Parts

Use dish soap or other resin-cleaning fluid to clean all the resin parts. Because there is a layer of grease release agent on the surface of the workpiece, if it is not cleaned and directly sprayed, problems such as fish-eyes and lack of paint adhesion will cause discolouration. After cleaning, just let it dry.

All parts are clean, dry, and ready. Up next: Chapter 3: Car-Body Treatment — where we shape the SF71H's signature body lines.

— Build by Break Wong

From Box to Beauty

A Ferrari SF71H Build — Chapter 3: Body Treatment — Sanding & Scribing

The SF71H's body is the heart of this build: deep, sculpted sidepods and a shark-fin engine cover. To make it shine, we need to start by treating the shell properly — flattening any minor mould-seam issues, deepening the engraved lines, and sanding the surface to a flawless finish.

Step 1 — Inspect & Flatten the Bargeboards

First, observe various parts of the car shell. Generally, there will be some unevenness at the bottom of the complex bargeboard area. You can first use sandpaper to polish and level it. After making sure there are no problems such as missing material, move on to the next step.

Step 2 — Deepening the Panel Lines

Use a 0.15 mm calibre scoring knife to deepen the scoring. Although the engraved lines on the car shell itself are relatively clear, we need to manually deepen them again. This is to make it more three-dimensional after the production is completed. We can also consider not bleeding the lines and using natural shadows to show the texture of the engraved lines.

Technique — pressure from light to heavy: When carving, you need to pay attention to the intensity from light to heavy. First, gently draw 2 strokes along the carving line, and then slowly apply pressure. This gives you the cleanest, sharpest, and most consistent cut.

Technique — curve handling: At the arc position, you can use the elbow hook knife to deepen the carving line. If there is no hook knife, when using a straight-edged scoring knife to deepen, do not carve out of bounds to avoid more trouble, and pay attention to the angle of the knife head — do not carve the curved score line into a straight line.

Step 3 — First Sanding Pass

After adding the deep lines, first use No. 800 paper sandpaper to polish and level the entire car shell. This will increase the sharpness of the entire car. The position of the engraved lines will be more obvious, and the position of the large plane will be smoother. In the later stage of painting, the effect will be better with varnish.

During the polishing process, be careful to use light force on the arcs and protruding parts to avoid grinding away the complex details — the mirror stalk, the T-cam, and the shark-fin leading edge are all easy to accidentally round off.

Step 4 — Progressive Sanding

After levelling, use 1000 and 1500-grit paper sandpaper to remove the thicker scratches, and then use 1500 and 2000-grit sponge sandpaper to polish it again. Use high-grit sandpaper and apply a little more force — this will make it easier to polish off the rough scratches.

Only after the surface of the workpiece has been properly treated will the painting effect be better.

⚠️ Safety Warning: Be sure to wear a proper respirator during the polishing process. Resin dust is toxic — pay attention to protection!

The body is now scribed and sanded to perfection. Up next: Chapter 4: Pre-Assembly & Color Preparation — where we dry-fit the parts and lay down our base colours.

— Build by Break Wong

From Box to Beauty

A Ferrari SF71H Build — Chapter 4: Pre-Assembly & Color Preparation

Before we commit to glue, a careful pre-assembly pass saves us from costly mistakes — and gives us a clear roadmap for the painting process.

Step 1 — Cutting the Gates

Use nozzle pliers to cut off the nozzle of the part bit by bit. Do not cut off the entire nozzle at once to avoid missing material.

Step 2 — Dry-Fit by Part Number

Assemble the polished parts according to the part number in the instruction manual. Alpha Model's mould opening is very precise, and every part can be assembled directly, with perfect fit and reasonable gate position.

In addition, the dry-assembly can also let players know the order of some parts during the assembly process, so that they will not install the wrong parts during the final assembly.

In the process of polishing the nozzle and the dry-assembly, be careful not to use excessive force to cause damage to some very small parts. The parts are easy to fall apart when clamped with tweezers. Parts that are not easy to clamp can be assembled with a dispensing pen.

The adhesive used in the dry-assembly can use blue-tack glue (butyl rubber cement) — temporary, repositionable, and won't damage the parts.

Step 3 — Planning Your Colour Palette

Referring to the actual car drawings, you can determine the colour of each component, and choose the appropriate paint for spraying based on different colours and glosses. The SF71H is dominated by deep red, but there are significant matte-black areas (the engine cover, parts of the floor) and white Mission Winnow branding panels.

If you want to paste water stickers on the instrument panel, centre console, and door interior panels, you need to use semi-gloss black (Gunshi C92) as the base, which can effectively avoid colour leakage from the background through any micro-gaps in the printed decal.

Step 4 — Priming Etched Metal Parts

For metal parts such as the photo-etched brass sheets, after using 800-grit sandpaper to remove the thick oxide layer on the surface, you can use Gunshi SF287 No. 1000 water-based surfacer for primer.

This water-based surfacer can provide strong adhesion to the metal surface. Be careful not to cause the paint to fall off with the slightest touch after it dries — let it cure properly before handling.

[Image 10: The fully primed PE parts — ready for their final paint coats]

Now we have a clear roadmap of every part, every colour, and every base. Up next: Chapter 5: Interior Detailing — Part 1 — where we paint and detail the cockpit components.

— Build by Break Wong

From Box to Beauty

A Ferrari SF71H Build — Chapter 5: Interior Detailing & Decal Application

Now we move to the detailed work — painting and detailing the small cockpit parts, and applying the hundreds of decals that bring the SF71H to life. The build is roughly 60% decal work, so we'll take our time here.

1. The Steering Wheel — A Decal Showcase

The steering wheel is the most visible cockpit piece, and the kit handles it well. After a base of semi-gloss black, the printed decals bring the display, the buttons, and the rotary selectors to life.

2. Seat Belts — The Driver's Harness

The kit includes beautifully moulded seat-belt buckles and harness straps. The actual cloth part can be replaced with a 2 mm woven tape, and the Ferrari shield on the buckle can be added with a tiny sponsor decal.

3. Sidepod & Body Decals

The Mission Winnow branding, the V-Power logos, the Kaspersky logos — these are the SF71H's identity. Apply them with care and patience, checking reference photos for exact positioning.

4. Floor & Underbody Decals

The underbody is the most demanding decal area. The carbon textures differ in direction across the floor, and the texture alignment is critical for realism.

Technique — carbon decal direction: Real autoclaved carbon has a strong directional weave. When applying decals to a curved surface like a sidepod or floor, always align the weave along the dominant flow line of the surface. A decal applied "against the grain" instantly looks wrong.

5. Engine Cover & Shark Fin

The engine cover and shark-fin are decal heavy and require patience. The Ferrari shield, the Ray-Ban logo, the V-Power branding — every one of these goes on with the softener and is set with a low-heat heat gun.

The body is fully decalled. Up next: Chapter 6: Wheels, Suspension & Final Assembly.

— Build by Break Wong

From Box to Beauty

A Ferrari SF71H Build — Chapter 6: Painting & Varnish

Now for the most dramatic moment in any car model build — putting colour on the body. The SF71H's deep red deserves nothing less than a flawless finish. Let's go step by step from primer to final varnish.

Step 1 — Inside the Shell: Matte Black

Matte black (C-33) is used on the inside of the car shell to improve the look and feel. Since black decals have an irregular curved surface, be sure to use a decal softener to soften them when posting them, and then set them before applying them in water.

Step 2 — Masking with Curve Tape for Sponsor Logos

For the white Mission Winnow areas and other sharp sponsor boundaries, we use Tamiya 87177 curve masking tape for masking. Because the curved tape has a slightly lower viscosity, press it tightly before spraying.

Step 3 — Primer Layer

The body shell is first primed with gray resin water-based surfacer, and then a thin coat of fine grey primer is applied to even out the surface.

Step 4 — Ferrari Rosso Corsa Red

Finally, it is sprayed with Ferrari Rosso Corsa Red. We recommend using Gunshi C-185 Pure Red for the closest match to the 2018 spec.

Step 5 — Amino Varnish (Clear Coat)

If you are looking for a mirror effect, you can spray amino varnish. We recommend using Glasurit BASF 447 varnish for an automotive-grade finish.

⚠️ Technique — Amino Varnish Application:

• You need to pay special attention to the amino varnish during the spraying process.
• Spraying too much at one time will cause accumulation at the edges.
• If the engraved line is shallow, it will also fill up the engraved line, thus losing the better texture.
• Especially the positions on both sides of the line need to be paid more attention to.
• Once the paint output of the airbrush is large, it will cause varnish to accumulate on the edge of the plane.
• If there is no way to accurately control it, you can use sandpaper and polishing paste to polish it after it dries.

The beauty of a model is not only reflected in the colour or gloss — it is composed of many details. To make good-looking and reasonable works requires a lot of effort and careful craftsmanship.

Step 6 — Light Details & Brake-Duct Interiors

The interior of the front brake-duct assemblies is matte black for depth. Note that the inner side of the taillight (rain light) is also black.

The interior of the headlight units (if the kit moulds them) is matte black, and if you feel it's not easy to cover with the airbrush, you can use water-based paint for pen-painting.

The body is now finished in Rosso Corsa red, with deep gloss and clean panel lines. Up next — the final chapter: Chapter 7: Final Assembly & Showcase!

— Build by Break Wong

From Box to Beauty

A Ferrari SF71H Build — Chapter 7: Final Assembly & Showcase

This is it — the final chapter. Every painted part, every decal, every polished surface comes together to become the SF71H. Let's bring it home.

Step 1 — Front Wing Installation

The front wing endplate lower element needs to be compared in advance and bent at a small angle. Alpha Model is accurate in mould opening, and you only need to compare the slots.

When dispensing glue, it is recommended to use jelly-like instant glue for bonding — its high viscosity prevents it from running into the panel detail. Pay attention to the amount of glue control.

For the small wing-tip pylons, you can use colourless transparent UV glue. Even a trace amount of glue overflow will not be visible under the cleared body. Just wait for the position to be adjusted, and then use the ultraviolet lamp to solidify.

Step 2 — Rear Wing, Rain Light & Italian Flag

The rear wing endplate decals and the Italian flag decal on the rear light assembly need to be carefully aligned. Be careful not to deform when removing them from the decal sheet.

Step 3 — Suspension, Wheels & Final Mounting

The suspension components are mounted to the chassis tub with small CA drops, and then the wheels — fully painted, decalled and protected — are pressed onto the hubs.

Step 4 — Aerial, Mirrors & Final Touches

The last few steps are the small details — the antenna, the wing mirrors, the T-cam and the onboard camera housings. These small parts add disproportionate realism to the final result.

— The Finished SF71H —

And that wraps up this 7-chapter build of the Alpha Model 1/20 Ferrari SF71H. From a sealed box to a fully detailed Rosso-Corsa Ferrari of the 2018 season — every line, every decal, every coat of clear earning its place. Thank you for following along!

Thanks,
Break Wong