Ferrari 312T - 1976 Brazil GP

After finishing up the Tyrrell it is time to jump into another historic F1 build. Until now I have been building only Tamiya kits for 10+ years but decided to give a Hasegawa a try. I received the kit from Hobbylink Japan. www.hlj.com Speedy delivery times meant that I have been able to start right away.

This is the kitset I am building: http://www.hlj.com/product/HSG20252

The kit is a comprehensive 1/20 and first impressions are good. Fitment on the engine block is fantastic. Minimal seams and quality product have left a good first impression.

Progress will come regularly as this is just a fantastic kitset to build.
Comments and critique very welcome. Engine is coming along nicely, have drilled out space for some basic wiring as engine looked bare. Will be a mainly OOB build although where required additional detail will be done.

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nice wiring to the engine at this moment..

Sorry, I don't like to be a "teacher" but there is something wrong in that engine.

I post a pair of pics of the 312T of the time, I seem could be useful for you:
http://www.f1m.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/node-gallery-display/users/u3313/gallery/ferrari_312b3_-_1974_season/motore_01.jpg

http://www.f1m.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/node-gallery-display/users/u3313/gallery/ferrari_312b3_-_1974_season/312_t_n002.jpg

Kind regards.
Edgardo

very nice start.also cool pictures from Montecarlo. keep on posting ;)

Thanks for the comments.

As far as the engine goes, I am leaving off the trays in which the trumpets sit, it is listed as optional in the instruction manual and allows more of the engine to be viewed when the framework is on it.

Apart from that I am unsure what else is so different about it, perhaps because it's not completely finished is the reason it looks a little off? :) Those pics show a few differences for sure, if anyone knows please chime in. Thanks for the pics too, they are a great help for working on the cockpit. :)

I found this pic, and this is the engine I am recreating (and which was supplied with the kit)

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Will be back onto this one tonight, so hope for some additional progress photos soon!


Regards

WRCfan

The difference amog those three pics is that the engine is alone or mounted.

What I could see in the whole pics is that the wiring is black and not blue!

A part of that, good job.

Ed

Ahh yes the engine might look more normal after it is attached to the chassis. :)
As for the wiring, I have run out of black and blue was the closest after red and yellow haha. Will be mainly displaying with cowling on so shouldn't be too much of a worry.

A little progress has been made. The diff and suspension has been started. The difference with this kit was that the air intakes for the brakes were moulded in clear.

I painted 2 coats of clear yellow onto the parts and once dried lightly sanded them to make them flat. I am happy enough with the final result as most of the intakes are covered by rear cowling.

Comments and critiques are welcome as always.

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Sorry for being late. The distributor cap is different. That seems to be the most obvious engine difference to me.

A little update. I have finished working on the suspension and have butted everything together. Once again fitment has been amazing, everything just lines up beautifully.

Next stage is the exhaust's, the kit calls for pure white so that is how they will be done, I will give them a matte finish and possibly some light smoking as pure pure white will look a little odd.

Comments welcomed!

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That engine looks gorgeous, looking awesome so far!
- Tomo

A tad more progress. Exhausts have been assembled, painted, slightly weathered and attached to the engine. Unlike the Tamiya kits where the exhausts are made of 5 pieces, Hasegawa kits have managed to do this in 2 pieces. It wasn't the usual headache which was nice.

Monocoque has been painted and assembly begins tomorrow.

Comments welcome as always!

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I think your engine looks great so far..!! No problem about the blue wiring. It adds a little colour to the engine. When I build I sometimes use a little 'artistic license' as well on various parts, so maybe the model is not 100% accurate, but it looks good in my opinion..

WRCfan - I agree with Steve - a little artistic license is fine - looks very good for 1/20 - I think when it's all done no one will pick out the wire's blue color - John

Thanks guys! I agree. Artistic license is good and the engine is a little more colourful. Thanks for following and I hope to have more photos up later on today!

Aaron

Another day with the Ferrari today. Have assembled the basic section of the monocoque. Sprayed in a basic silver with the first bit of red paint coming in during this stage.

The floor and top lined up very well, and once the cement has cured I will be doing a small amount of additional detail work. Next up is the front suspension setup.

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Wonderfull job so far! Thans for sharing you build.

A little progress tonight. Wheels have been assembled and will move to tyre decals tomorrow along with front brakes.

Hasegawa have both front and rear wheels set as a 2-piece rim which means no masking off the front wheels for the gold spokes. Painting was a breeze which was great.

More progress photos coming tomorrow!

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Have continued on a little with the Ferrari again. Now that things are starting to really take shape, the monocoque will soon be joined up to the engine.
Have buttoned up the front suspension and brakes. Now it's time to get into the cockpit area.

Comments welcome!

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Moving onto the cockpit although thinking to change the belts to something photoetch now...

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Wow, quality build and quality pictures! Love how the engine looks.

Nice build indeed. I have this one in 1/12 scale from Tamiya in my to-do pile. This thread will be a nice reference guide!

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I have hit a slight snag, I thought I had sufficient photoetch belt supplies although I realised they were exhausted on the P34 I recently finished up.

Rather than order a single set from HLJ (www.hlj.com) and ship from Japan I will build with the kitset belts and then replace them upon placing a future order with HLJ (www.hlj.com).

I did check about possibly picking up one set in NZ, although every single hobby shop is out of any 1/20 photoetch belts and the wait is 8 weeks according to the supplier in NZ. Ouch!

WRCfan - here in the USA people complain if a supplier cannot ship immediately?? - fully understand the seat belt issue - no worries it will not detract from your build - John

Cheers John! Yeah it's a little snag but nothing major. The belts are nice and with a slight bit of detailing they will look nice in the car too. Nothing is impossible and once all the cowling is in they won't stand out much at all.

Building models is all about improvising. That is what makes it so fun! :)


Aaron

Some work has been done on the cockpit. Belts supplied OOB were painted and aftermarket decals were added. Pedals, extinguisher, seat and gauge-cluster was painted and finished up. Next step is to look at adding some wiring to the kit.

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Soon the bigger pieces start getting put together and we will have some real shape to the model.

Aaron

Progress has been slow although I have found a couple of hours tonight to button up the cockpit. Basic wiring has been laid and now it's time to move onto the rear wing stay, and then join engine and monocoque together.

Comments welcome as always.

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Looking great!

It looks flawless, very nice!

Very nice build. Also very clean but I think you have to reconsidder the safetybelts. Ferrari used blue ones from Arexons and they did that well into the eighty's. If I'm not mistaken the first Ferrari with red safetybelts from Sabelt was in 1990. Keep up the good work.

Eric

really a nice clean build WRCfan - I'm not so sure that the seatbelts need to be correct?? I think they look okay red - Only an aficionado would be able to spot that that they are incorrect in color - John

Hi guys, but are we modellers or what?

This building is nice, clean, and so on...but one of the main purpose of the modeller is the fidelity of the model to the real car!!!

I don't agree with the "artistic license" mentioned some post before: it could be left to an actor or a poetry.

A modeller has to make a kit as close as possible to the real car.
If the title is "Ferrari 312T - 1976 Brazil GP", the model has to be referred to that car and to that GP.

If you like blue wires or Sabelt red seat belts no problem, but the 312T at the 1976 Brazilian GP had not blue wires and Sabelt red seat belts, since it had Klippan blue seat belts with 6 point (and no 4):
http://www.f1m.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/node-gallery-display/users/u3313/gallery/b.r.m._h16_-_real_car/312t_1_lauda_lb76_03.jpg

Therefore the title may be: "Ferrari 312T replica".

Kind regards.
Edgardo

Hi guys, but are we modellers or what?

This building is nice, clean, and so on...but one of the main purpose of the modeller is the fidelity of the model to the real car!!!

I don't agree with the "artistic license" mentioned some post before: it could be left to an actor or a poetry.

A modeller has to make a kit as close as possible to the real car.
If the title is "Ferrari 312T - 1976 Brazil GP", the model has to be referred to that car and to that GP.

If you like blue wires or Sabelt red seat belts no problem, but the 312T at the 1976 Brazilian GP had not blue wires and Sabelt red seat belts, since it had Klippan blue seat belts with 6 point (and no 4):
http://www.f1m.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/node-gallery-display/users/u3313/gallery/b.r.m._h16_-_real_car/312t_1_lauda_lb76_03.jpg

Therefore the title may be: "Ferrari 312T replica".

Kind regards.
Edgardo


Edgardo - I think many purists on this forum might agree with you but there are many more modelers that do not - call it artistic license or just a matter of using what you have to build the model of your dream, while exercising one's skills and sharing them with the members of the forum. I for one prefer to see the product of each assembled model as an individual piece - while there are those that produce masterpieces like Jaykay and Scale Builder just to name two - that are miniature replicas in every way- those models are few and far between. Much more often and individual are the models that are built like this Ferrari of WRCfan's. I think WRCfan has done an excellent job with what he has, and his skills are definitely better than mine when it comes to clean builds. In addition he has nearly completed this model in very short time and should be commended for sharing it with the rest of us, not belittled by a few inaccuracies. I have yet to see a model produced that did not have some inaccuracy - we each work with what we have and the skills we develop along the way. I say kudos to WRCfan - please continue to share your adventure in this build with the forum - I for one will continue to follow it and I believe that there are many more like me. With all respect to Edgardo - I would have to disagree with his comment on this build and artistic license. - John

Hi everyone, thanks for the interest in the build. In regards to the harness there are a couple of problems here. For F1 purists Hasegawa has moulded a 4 point belt, and the instructions called for it to be painted red, which we now know to be wrong. I had searched briefly for photos of the kits however I couldn't find one with the belts in it, and gut instinct told me to run with red and Sabelt.

I am happy with the final result of the belts as they are well moulded, and once set upon the black seat, they stand out nicely. Knowing what I know now would be great to have known before I painted them but will leave the belts as is.

Onto the progress. The body panels were painted today and are curing. I washed the panels in a light soapy solution and rinsed them off before shooting the red. Wheels have had the decals applied as well and I will add the valves next.

Comments welcome as always!

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Dear John, may be you did not understand what I would say.

I wrote that this building is good and clean, and my compliment to WRCfan.

What I wanna say is that the purpose of a modeler is to make a scale model, i.e. a little copy of the real car, at the best of our own skill.
JK and other are on another planet, even if every modeler would be like him I guess.

BTW the "artistic license" doesn't exist if you are doing a specific model: the real car is the 312T which run at Long Beach in 1976, so I have to make the same car and not another one since I like other color of the seatbelt, another mark of the seatbelt or another color of the wires.
Another thing is: "hei guys, I'm doing a Ferrari replica" without specifying any race...you can make what you like.

Try to say "artistic license" to the modelers which make planes or tanks of the Second World War, or those who make soldiers or ships.
The same has to be for the modelers who make racecars!

If you don't understand that you are not a modeler but a guy who make toys: that's the difference!

I'm making models for over 40 years: the first kits were done in few hours, without painting, the glue was visible, and so on.
Then one learns, following other modelers suggestion...but I seem that here the suggestions seem to be a bad thing.

The purpose of the wip is not only for receiving "Superb, amazing, nice work, and so on" but for listening the suggestion of the older modelers.

And doesn't not exist that one say "the instruction say to paint in that manner so I paint in that way": before beginning a model one need to research all the pics (even asking to the other friends of the forum) and then verify the instructions and pieces with those pics and only at the end it is possible to begin the kit.

Such a discussion is not the first time on the modeler forum...it is a neverending story.

Have a nice day.
Ed

Edgardo - as I stated in my earlier posting "I disagree respectfully" let's say we leave it at that - John

OK John I agree with you

I have just received this kit from Scott at HLJ quite cheap & am looking forward to getting stuck in & see how it compares to Tamiya's T3. I have a couple of questions which someone may be able to help me with: Ferrari used a red during this period which seems to have more of an orange tint to it. Does anyone know of an acceptable way of duplicating this - save shopping from hiroboy? Edgardo's pic of Niki's car at Long Beach seems to show the aluminium tub as quite bright & shiny. Would this be correct for all the T cars of this period - or for that matter ANY of the F1 cars of the period - rather than a matt appearance?

Nice work btw WRCfan.

TIA guys

Seamus - I am always in question about using pictures to determine the color shade for something on a model - the general color eg. blue - red - green etc. is okay, but too many times I've used a picture and then found later the shade was wrong. Pictures depend on lots of parameters - lighting - amount of light - f-stop on the camera shadows etc. I think you would be okay to use Tamiya's "italian red" spray "TS-8" and spray it or decant it and airbrush it. That red has a fair amount of "orange" in it in my opinion - much more than the newer Ferrari reds or Ducati reds - hope that this gives you some options - John

Thanks to the weekend more progress has been made. Engine was mounted to the chassis, rear wing stay has been completed, and now the bodywork is starting to go on. Finally now it looks like a F1 car!

I have dry fitted the panels and the fitment is looking very good. Minor work will be needed. Currently the rollcage has been sat in place and glued together. Next step it to paint this once the glue has gone off.

Thanks for watching!

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For Seamus: I agree with John for the Italian Red.
I discussed many times with other Italian modelers and surely for the B and T series the color was the same.
To be correct, during the '70s used the FIAT ROSSO CORSA 120 (I found it by Talken). Last year I bought a ROSSO FERRARI by Arexons which match very well the real color.

As to the chassis, at that time it was a riveted aluminium: so not so shiny as a chromed surface but surely not matt.

Ed

WRCfan - you are doing a hell of a job on this basically out of the box build. Very clean indeed. - John

Hi guys, but are we modellers or what?

This building is nice, clean, and so on...but one of the main purpose of the modeller is the fidelity of the model to the real car!!!

I don't agree with the "artistic license" mentioned some post before: it could be left to an actor or a poetry.

A modeller has to make a kit as close as possible to the real car.
If the title is "Ferrari 312T - 1976 Brazil GP", the model has to be referred to that car and to that GP.

If you like blue wires or Sabelt red seat belts no problem, but the 312T at the 1976 Brazilian GP had not blue wires and Sabelt red seat belts, since it had Klippan blue seat belts with 6 point (and no 4):
http://www.f1m.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/node-gallery-display/users/u3313/gallery/b.r.m._h16_-_real_car/312t_1_lauda_lb76_03.jpg

Therefore the title may be: "Ferrari 312T replica".

Kind regards.
Edgardo

Rather touchy, uhh :smokin:

Have worked on the body and rear wing section tonight. It is almost complete. Just needing windscreen and wing mirrors attached. Next stage is decals. The body fairing has fitted very well and I am impressed with the overall quality.

It's night so the light in these photos is horrible and will shoot some in natural daylight before the decals are applied.

Comments welcome as always.

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Looking really good. The pin-strip decals on this really take some patience but the result is great.

Excellent work WRCfan, i am so glad that we are getting so many new kits to work with. I like what you have done so far and i always use the guide "Build for yourself" if you are happy with it then that all that matters.

Thanks for the kind words everyone. Shunter I agree. There is always going to be inaccuracies in kitsets, and as long as the kit replicates the real version according to available detailing parts, and conditions then that is all that matters. It is a hobby for me and I build for the love of building kits.

Today has been another big push in progress. I started out applying the decals and have managed to do the whole kit in one session. I was looking at it when plain red and white and it looked very boring. Once the pinstriping white went on then it started to look like a Ferrari F1 machine.

Decals were painful at times, however with perseverance everything came together nicely.

Comments welcome as always!

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WRCfan - any special tips for doing the "pin striping"? I can see how it would be easy to tear the decals - John

Looks like it came out fantastic - John

Pin striping could be a nightmare for sure. The decals are very thin which is great for realism and there are no borders so fitment is great.

My main advice is to apply them to the surface with plenty of water so you can shift them into position easily. I found they stuck to the painted surface very quickly which made things tricky in certain parts.

The longer ones I cut into pieces which made them much more easy to manage. A 12cm long piece of pin striping is never going to go on well in one piece...haha.

All in all, it worked better than I initially thought. Will be shooting the car in daylight tomorrow and making a finished thread with pics :)

The kit is finally finished! Now I am just waiting on some more natural lighting to shoot it properly for the 'completed' forum. In the mean time here is a teaser of the finished 312T.

Aaron

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Hey Aaron - that came out nice - a good clean simple build - not over laden with PE and all that. The paint and decal work came out very good. I have the 1/12 Tamiya 312 to build and I can only hope that when I get to it - I can build it as clean as this and not get too involved with all the extras. I'm currently working on 5 different kits and it seems like I never get anywhere because I'm always waiting for something to add to the details - I get all caught up in that and never get them finished. You started this and went from "box" to "finish" quite fast in my opinion and it came out very well done. Kudos Aaron and thanks for sharing - John

P.S. how did you "glue" "bond" the chromed reflective parts like the wing surfaces without getting glue or solvent bonding solvent on the areas that are visible - John

Thanks John! I wanted a clean, but slightly detailed build so just played things by ear as I went along with the build. It was a great kit to begin with so just a tinge of additional bits was the right amount for me personally.

Have just cleaned the camera lens tonight so had a quick play around too.

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Aaron

THAT'S a nice photo. Especially since the bodywork hides so much detail.

Aaron - how did you make that "superimposed" picture? - John

Aaron - how did you make that "superimposed" picture? - John

Hi John. What I did was fix the model down with and using a tripod and shutter release cable took one photo with the bodywork on the car. Then without moving the model I removed the cowling and shot another shot.

In photoshop I overlaid the 2 photos and made the one with the cowling opaque so it then becomes see-through. Allowed the detail to be seen while the overall complete model with cowling as well. :)

@Greg, thanks for the kind words. As a photographer I was wondering whether I could pull this effect off with a small model as I do it with certain cars when I shoot them for magazines. Seems the size was not an issue :)

Thanks for the explanation Aaron - I thought maybe your camera had that capability - I should've known it was "photoshop" - John

Haha, I do wish the camera had that ability, lining things up and all the processing. Being able to do it in one-shot would be great!

Although in 10 years we probably will be able to do this... ;)

Aaron - many years ago - I used to play with 35mm slrs and take a picture then rewind the film and shoot on it again before developing and it made a "superimposed" look - that why I thought maybe with today's modern RAM memory digital cameras I thought maybe it could be done with the camera. I still am hoping for a Canon T3i this Xmas so I can take pictures of my models in progress and post them. Can't wait to see your photos in the "completed" section - John

Congratulations, Aaron!! Nice car, clean work and perfect finish!

great looking model, man :)
The final pics are really professional.Also with the modelling "licenses" is a stunning and clean build up.
Very Nice. !

Very nice work WRCfan.

One quick question - well 3 really: judging by the photos, it looks like you didn't fit the 'pan' under the intake trumpets. Hasegawa show this as an option in the instructions - does anyone know which races this would have been fitted? What was its purpose? And would it have been made of fibreglass?

Cheers