Alright, let me tell you about this Bugatti Type 35 project I got myself into. It wasn’t like I planned this big thing, you know? I saw a picture of that car, the classic French racing blue one, and just thought, “Man, that looks cool.” Really old school, pure racing machine. So, I figured, maybe I could get a model kit, try putting one together.
Getting Started
Finding a kit wasn’t too hard, actually. Found one online, a 1/24 scale I think. Looked decent enough in the pictures. When the box arrived, I opened it up right away. Lots of plastic parts on sprues, mostly blue plastic which I guess saves some painting, but I knew I’d repaint it anyway. The instructions looked… well, they looked like model instructions. Lots of arrows and numbers.
First thing I usually do is wash all the parts. Gets rid of any oil from the molding process, helps the paint stick better. So, I spent an evening just carefully cutting pieces off the sprues, trimming the little nub marks, and giving everything a gentle wash in soapy water. Spread them out on paper towels to dry. Felt like I was prepping for surgery or something.
The Build Process – Putting it Together
I decided to start with the engine. Seemed like the heart of the thing, right? Man, those parts were tiny! Trying to glue together the engine block, the supercharger… fiddly work. Dropped a piece on the carpet, spent like 10 minutes searching for it. Almost gave up, thought I’d have to scratch-build a replacement or just leave it out. Found it eventually, thank goodness.
Next up was the chassis. That went together a bit easier. Like building a little ladder frame. Then attaching the suspension bits, the leaf springs and axles. You start to see the basic shape coming together. It’s pretty satisfying when bits actually line up like they’re supposed to.
Painting the body was the bit I was looking forward to but also dreading. That Bugatti blue is specific. I tried mixing some paints, did a few test sprays on spare plastic. Took a couple of tries to get a shade I was happy with. Masking off the areas not to be painted was a pain, using tiny strips of tape. Got some paint bleed under the tape in one spot, had to carefully sand it back and touch it up. Always happens.
- Engine assembly – fiddly!
- Chassis build – more straightforward.
- Body painting – getting the blue right was key.
- Wheels – those iconic alloy wheels needed careful painting.
- Final details – decals, tiny steering wheel.
The wheels were interesting. They have a very distinct look on the Type 35. Painting them to look like alloy, then doing the tires. Getting the decals on straight was another challenge. You soak them in water, slide them into place… and hope they don’t tear or fold over. Had one of the racing numbers wrinkle up on me, had to gently smooth it out with a wet brush.
Thoughts During the Build
You know, while I was putting this thing together, piece by piece, I really started thinking about the actual car. Like, how Ettore Bugatti and his guys designed and built this back in the 1920s. No computers, no fancy simulations. Just skill, intuition, and probably a lot of trial and error. Building the model, even a simplified plastic one, gives you a tiny bit of appreciation for the real engineering.
It’s so different from modern cars. Everything is exposed. You see the engine, the suspension, the simple cockpit. It’s purely functional. Made me think how brave those drivers must have been, racing these things on rough tracks with basically no safety features.
Finished… Mostly
So now it’s sitting on my shelf. It’s not perfect. If you look close, you can see the little flaws, the touch-up paint spot, maybe a decal that isn’t perfectly aligned. But it looks like a Bugatti Type 35, definitely. That blue color really pops.
It was a fun process, mostly. Frustrating at times, yeah, especially with the tiny parts or when the paint didn’t cooperate. But seeing it come together, from a box of plastic bits to a recognizable shape of such a legendary car, that felt pretty good. Makes me want to try another classic racer model now. Or maybe just find a car show where I can see a real Type 35 up close. That would be something.
