Frida

About This Project

Built as a surprise birthday gift, this project recreates my girlfriend’s real Fiat 500 “Frida.” The goal was to capture the personality of the actual car as accurately as possible, from its distinctive blue paintwork to the details we know from seeing it every day. A personal project that combines realism, craftsmanship, and a meaningful story.

Full Story

“Frida” is both the nickname of my girlfriend and the personalized license plate of her Fiat 500, finished in the distinctive Dipinto di Blu color. Shortly after Tjaša bought the car, I took a photograph of her standing beside it. That photograph eventually became the reference for a surprise birthday gift. A birthday gift that arrived more than a year later.

Because the real car was parked in front of the house throughout the project, every detail was easily available for comparison. To achieve the desired level of realism, the model underwent numerous upgrades and corrections.

The interior received extensive attention. The rear seats were rescribed, while the front seats were heavily reworked to replicate the correct stitching and upholstery. The headrests were scratchbuilt, and details such as seatbelts, roof grab handles, speakers, coat hooks, and the rear window brake light were added.

To improve painting control, the body-colored dashboard insert was carefully separated from the dashboard assembly and later reinstalled using a custom mounting system made from Tamiya two-part epoxy putty. To reproduce the unique Dipinto di Blu finish, the paint was custom mixed by a local automotive paint supplier.

Several exterior details were recreated from scratch. The speedometer chrome trim was formed from tin wire, while the door handles were reproduced through a custom molding process so they could be installed after painting and polishing. The car’s glass sunroof required cutting away the original roof section and creating custom molds to vacuum form a new transparent panel, which was then sanded, polished, tinted, and clear coated.

Since the scene was based on the original photograph, the driver’s door had to remain open. This required the construction of functional miniature hinges and extensive adjustment work to achieve a convincing fit.

The kit wheels did not match the real vehicle, so the correct rims were designed in Cinema 4D and printed on a Solus3D resin printer. The taillights were upgraded using colored films, tinted UV-curing resin, and additional detailing techniques.

The digital sculpting of Tjaša’s figure and her favorite handbag was outsourced and later printed on my Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra. The figure was painted using Tamiya and Vallejo paints, with skin tones refined using Abteilung oil paints. The hair was created from individual yarn fibers, glued in small groups and styled by hand.

For the finishing touches, subtle mud splashes were added around the wheel arches using AK Interactive weathering products. As a personal detail, I also created a scale replica of the key cover I had previously given Tjaša as a gift, together with its original packaging.

Model: Fiat 500 (Fujimi 12362)