Benetton-Ford B188 Build starting

Hi Everyone, I'm thinking about starting a build on the Tamiya, Benetton-Ford B188. Not much out here on this kit that I can find.

I'm new at this so bare with me on the posting of pictures.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/01Kit.jpg

I have had this kit for quite some time. Not many parts actually. Mostly a good paint job and a few detials parts here and there to spruce it up.

Lets see how this thread goes and happy reading.

gmd72858

Here are a few snap shots of the part trees.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/02parts01.jpg

As you can see, not many parts.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/02parts02.jpg

This car is going to require some sanding and front suspension modifications.

The instructions show how to assemble the front suspension. Not a great sub-assembly and it makes the chassis look terrible when built.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/DSCF5988-1.jpg

Here is a shot of the chassis and one of the front suspnsion side panels. Nasty fit issues here for sure.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/03front01.jpg

When the front is built up per the instructions, it looks like this image below.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/DSCF5983.jpg

You can see by this picture, that a lot of filling and sanding is needed.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/03front02.jpg

Think about trying to install the front suspension clip, fill the seams, and sand the parts without breaking the suspension parts? No way.

I'm going to cut the front struts and slip them into the chassis after all the sanding is done. It'll be a bit tricky but it can be done.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/DSCF5984.jpg

Here is a shot of the suspension side panels glued in place and the side pod air inlets.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/03front03.jpg

Next step, filling and sanding.

Nice subject, don't see many of there some up.

I built one of these when it first came out, I built it straight as per the kit instructions, will be interested to see how you handle inserting the front suspension parts after fitting the monocoque sides.

Love the paint job on this car, just IIRC a pain to mask and spray.

Looking forward to seeing more

Happy modelling
Ant

Cant wait to see more

I have the same kit and intend to build it as soon as I have some time to spare. Maybe yours will give me inspiration to start. It´s a Beautiful car.

Thanks for the heads up Ant on the brokn image link. I believe I have it fixed now.

Well, the sanding and filling is done in the monocoque and it's looking prety good. I decided to work some of the simple items first like the tires, front and rear wings. I'll be posting some more progress pictures this wek. Be on the look out.

I also built it years ago .I'll be interested see how you go.The masking is pain in the..

Well hello again to anyone who may be looking in on this post about my Benetton B188 build.


I’ve decided to build this kits front end differently than the kit suggests. I’m planning on cutting the front struts/wishbones and slide them into the monocoque. Then, I’ll support the members on the inside of the chassis.


I’ve thought this one through a bit, and since I will be chopping up the front suspension somewhat, I’ll set this up so the front wheels can’t be turned left or right.
First things first …. Filling and sanding.


Here are a few shots of the wing sections and pan. As you can see the usual molding “dots” that have to dealt with.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/filled01.jpg

this shot might not be so clear but I thought I would include it.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/filled03.jpg

This is the wing sections with most all of the sanding done.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/filled02.jpg

the rear diffuser area

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/filled04.jpg

here are a few shots of the monocoque after I have sanded off the bulk of the putty. I use the Squadron shop fast drying white putty.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/chassis01.jpg

here is the other side of the chassis.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/chassis02.jpg

and a bit closer.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/chassis03.jpg


Now you can see the results of some light primering and sanding

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/chassis04.jpg


I also like to use a filling compound that is a bit more liquid. I prefer the Gunze Sangyo filler. I use the 500 grit type. It works grea for fillin in areas like where the side pod meets the monocoque.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/chassis05.jpg

not too bad huh? I think it will look MUCH better when all done. At least we won't have to look at the parting lines on the side panels.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/chassis06.jpg

More info to come soon. I'm going to shift over to some of the simple stuff like the tires and wings.

I plan on showing a really simple tire sanding tool i use in my building.

To be continued: . . .

Enjoy gang and happy building !!

Great work Greg filling all those sink marks is never any fun I will have to get some of that Gunze Sangyo filler and give it a try.

Howdy! This will be very interesting Topic to follow :smile:. I've never seen a Build of this Model Kit anywhere.

I plan on showing a really simple tire sanding tool i use in my building.



Ooh, that sounds interesting, can't wait to find out more :smile:

Looking forward to following your progress on this. I too built it many years ago OOB. The masking was fairly complex, but very enjoyable. It is one of the prettier cars of it's generation.

TIM

Hello again everyone. I hope you are finding some of my pictures informative and helpful.

I mentioned at the end of my last post, that I would show you a simple tire scuffing tool I have made. I‘ve been using this thing for some time now and it works pretty well.

All you need is a variable speed drill and some flat washers, a bolt or screw and a hex nut.

The size of the hardware I used to make this tool is good for 1/20th and 1/24th scale tires. If you are going to scuff tires for a larger scale, 1/18th or 1/12th, then I would just scale up the hardware accordingly.


You could use Metric or American Standard hardware. I went to my local Home Depot store and bought my selection of flat washers, a hex nut, and a long screw. I took a set of Tamiya tires along with me from one of my F1 kits, so that I could pick the correct sized washers that I needed.


This is a simple screw, washer and hex nut hardware stack up, and it cost me all of a $1.50 US to make. REALLY SIMPLE and CHEAP!!


Here is what I use and the quantity:

Large flat washer, qty 2 ( rear tires, approx 1.25 outside diameter )

Medium size flat washer, qty 2, ( front tires, approx. 1.00 diameter )

Small flat washer, qty 2, ( needed to help align screw when tightened to tires)

Screw, ¼-20 x 2.00 long, qty 1, ( I used a flat head screw so it self aligns to the smaller washer )

Here is a shot of the hardware I used.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/tiretool01.jpg

And this is another shot built up.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/tiretool02.jpg

I felt the outside diameter of the washers was important because you don’t want the washer diameter to exceed the tire diameter. If the flat washer is larger than the tire you’re scuffing, it will make scuffing the “shoulders” of the tires difficult.


For that reason, you want the flat washers to be just a bit smaller than the tires. Front tires on F1 cars are smaller than the rear tires and you’ll see in the pictures what I mean by the tire and washer being close in size for scuffing.

This is what the tool looks like when assembled. I don’t worry too much about trying to “center up” or “align” the tool right through the center axis of the tire.


I align the outer diameter of the washers as I tighten the hex nut. I purposely used a flat head bolt because the conical shape head, self aligns in the hole on the flat washers.

One thing I also like to do is tighten the washers just enough to “crown” the tire. This makes it easy to remove the center mold flashing line found on most tires.

It also makes it easy to roll across the entire surface of the tire and control just where you scuff, and how much you scuff.


Lovely mold lines there huh? This is a rear tire.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/tiretool03.jpg

All you need to do is chuck the tool into your drill, start rotating the tire slowly and apply your favorite sand paper. I like using a small sanding block to scuff the tire, plus, it’s a hard surface and works best for applying pressure to the tire surface.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/tiretool04.jpg

This is the after shoot. Much nicer.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/tiretool05.jpg

I like the Tamiya tire decals, but I don’t really like the glossy material that can be left behind after you apply them to the tire.

They look good and after I weather them a bit at final assembly, they should look a little better I bet.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/tiretool06-1.jpg

And another shot.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/tiretool07.jpg

I hope some of this info was helpful and maybe you’ll be making an El Cheap-o tire tool like I did.

My next post will show the front and rear wings built up and maybe, just maybe, the body painted. Most likely just pictures of the dang thing all taped up ready to paint. Works been a bit slow on this kit for me. I’ll be posting more soon so be on the lookout for more.

Enjoy and happy building!!

Looks great so far!

Keep up the postin'....

Hi Gang, building has been a bit slow but I have now finished up the Benetton B188. In the coming days, I'll be posting all the progress pictures.


Turns out that this kit is quite old. I've had it for years and never built it. I came to realize that the rear removable cowling was warped and did not fit well at all.


Heck, after building the kit, and making it as a curbside kit, the rear cowling didn't fit great even after gluing. you'll see in the coming posts.


First thing I built were the front and rear wing. unfortunately, I didn't take any shot. So, I decided to remove the molded seat belts fron the drivers seat.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/seat01.jpg

I used my dremel tool with a ball end bit and a straight milling bit with a radius end.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/seat02.jpg

Here is another shot

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/seat03.jpg

It was a bit challenging but the results were good. here's a pic of the raw seat without filler.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/seat04.jpg

Now I filled the grind marks with white Squadron Shop putty

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/seat05.jpg


Here is a picture of the sanded seat. I didn't get a shot of it primed either. my mistake. Just plain forgot.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/seat06.jpg

Next came the dash panel and steering wheel assembly.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/seat07.jpg

I used a red seat belt kit from Model Factory Hiro. This is the first time I have used the Hior detail kit.

They make a very nice seat delt detail kit.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/seat08.jpg

Another shot. this kit has nice add ons like the manufacturer labels and they look really great when applied.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/seat09.jpg

Next post I'll show some of the body work and masking the painting ... which was a pain in the back side but looks great when complete.

To be continued, and thanks for reading and following my build.

Excellent progress. Can't believe you are fairly new to this!

That tyre sanding tool is a very ingeniously simple idea. I will have to go and get some washes and nuts and bolts!

In addition to your 'tyre sanding tool', in my builds I have used nail clippers to cut away the excess seam line prior to sanding. Due to the curved profile of nail clippers, this helps with the profile of the tyre and leaves a neat cut. The beauty is that you can use it on tyres with tread! All you have to do is to simply squeeze the tyre to make the seam line more pronounced, then clip off the excess. Continue this until you have worked your way around the circumference of the tyre.

Look forward to more progress on this kit.

Nice work on that seat..!!!

Hi there guys. Thank you both, Steve and Smoke, for the input and nice comments about the Benetton build.

It's been fun posting this stuff so far and I'll be adding some more real soon. Since this is my first full post, I missed a few progress photos as I progressed through the build. It's all good though, I have plenty of stuff to share so keep checking in and let me know what you think.

Hey Smoke, I think I'll use the clippers idea before I do my sanding with the tire tool. At times, when sanding my tires, the center molding flash lines can be tough to remove. Clipping them off first, would help a ton.

Thanks for the idea.

Enjoy gang and happy building!

Hello again everyone. In this post I'll show you some minor mods I made to this kits front suspension. What I did in this small series of pictures was to add brake lines and little metal tabs, as brackets, to hold the brake lines.

I use black, 30 AWG, solid core "wire wrap" wire. I have a variety of colors and gauges.

For brake lines, I use 30 AWG wire, for spark plug lines and engine electrical, I use 28 AWG wire. If you're not familiar with wire types, I always buy solid core wire and not "stranded" wire because I personally fell that the solid core wire is easier to work with.

Here are a few shots of the lower suspension arms.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/breaks02.jpg

I have not cut this suspension part yet for installing into the chassis.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/brakes01.jpg

Next, I cut the rear shocks off the rear suspensions parts and built coils out of blue 28AWG wire. Solid core of course. Also I used styrene rod, cut and glued in place.

I tried to match the size of the shock diameter and spring size. I wrapped the blue wire around a .125 diameter rod.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/shock01.jpg

Here is a shot of the rear suspension with the shocks installed.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/shock02.jpg

This is actually the first time I have tried to make these shocks. I saw a write up somewhere on how to do this. I was not that tough. I failed to take acurate measurements before I started cutting. The fit was okay after I made them, but if I had measured better, the fit would be much better.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/shock03.jpg

Well this is it for now. Next I'll show you how I cut up the front suspension parts and bonded them into the monocoque.

Enjoy the reading gang and give me your feed back.

Happy building !!

Nice build so far!...a question, where you get this solid core "wire wrap" wire?

Hi there Porsnatic, the "solid core" wire I like to use is designed for circuit cards. What I did, was called around town (Phoenix, Az.) looking for wire or cable distributors who would sell to the public. It only took a few phone calls.

Now heres the real beauty of the whole thing.

1.) You can get multiple colors. red, black, yellow, green, blue etc. tons of colors.

2.) You can get the wire in various wire gauges. The larger the wire gauge number (30awg) the smaller the diameter of the wire.

Ex: 30awg = .020 diameter 28awg = .025 diameter 12awg = .100 diameter

3.) You can buy 100 foot roll for about 3 or 4 dollars. SUPER SAVINGS!

What I did was to take some calipers / micrometers and measure some of the model car wiring I have purchased in the past. That way, I knew what the wire diameters were and then cross referenced that to a wire gauge chart.

You'll spend 4 or 5 dollars buying model car spark plug or engine wire for your models and just get 18 to 24 inches of wire. RIP OFF !!

The 100 foot roll is 1200 inches. you do the math. There is usually a minimum buy length from wire suppliers. that's why I have 100 foot rolls.

Hope this info is helpfull to everyone. Great question Porsnatic.


Happy model building !!

Hello again everyone. Time to continue with more of this build.

This kit is going to be a "Curbside" kit. I'm not going to worry about the engine and trying to remove the rear cowl. The fit on the rear cowl to the monocoque is really bad. the rear cowl is pretty warped.

Take a look. The right side pod and cowl aligns pretty well.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/fit01.jpg


The left side does not fit good at all.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/fit02.jpg

Another shot with the parts at rest, sitting natural. YUCK !!

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/fit03.jpg


You can see a significant gap on the back side of the roll bar section of the chassis.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/fit04.jpg


I realized, after I filled and sanded the nose, I needed a nose piece "parting line" so I used my scribing tool and etched and line back into the monocoque. Funny thing is, I should have only filled and sanded the "rear" kit molding lines and not the front ones as well.

I guess I got carried away. This should work well when painted.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/nose01.jpg


Next I did the carbon fiber on the rear diffuser area and painted the tin areas.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/tail01.jpg


Again, not to concerned about all the area in the rear because in the end, the engine and rear cowl will cover pretty much all of it up.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/tail02.jpg


Next I added the engine assembly.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/tail04.jpg


Heck, I didn't even need to add on the overhead cam covers on the cylinder head.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/tail03.jpg



Okay, I think that's enough for now. Next I'll post the pictures of cutting the front suspnsion apart, and bonding it into the monocoque.

I hape everyone has a great build going, and your all having fun doing it.

Enjoy!!

Just a quick little shot or 2 of the finished product. Something to just take a peek at.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/tease02.jpg


and another peek.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/tease01.jpg

More to come soon.

Enjoy.

Looks great.
All the extra attention paid off.
Well done. Looking forward to more final pics.
Chris

Nice build with some great tips and tricks for free.
Great stuff.

I really like the way the exhausts look. Very realistic.
Could you please tell me how you've done this?

Hi there Axel, I'll try to answer the header painting question in my next post. This post will cover the masking of the body for painting.

For anyone who might be following this post, I'm sorry thit I have not written for a few weeks. I've started a build of the Tamiya, 1/12 scale, Ferrari 312T4. I got a bit distracted.

Anyhow. the painting and masking.

I like save a few bucks when I can so I don't but the tamiya paint masking tape that is like pin stripe tape.

I make my own using the blue 3M painters tape. I lay a strip on my hobby pad that I build my kits on. I use a steel edge rule and a sharpe blade and cut my own pin stripe take.

Take a look.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/mask02.jpg

Here is the other side.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/mask01.jpg



The blue tape bends okay. it can, at time, leave a slight residue but that is easily cleaned off with alcohol after the paint is dry.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/mask03.jpg

I trim some newspaper and make my mask.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/mask04.jpg

And the other side

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/mask05.jpg


So as you can tell the first color is green. The next color I painted was red.

This shot shows that I now added tape to the rear of the chassis once I masked the nose portion.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/mask06.jpg



And the other side again. Now the rear is taped / masked and ready for red paint.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/mask07.jpg


First coat of red

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/mask08.jpg

And the other side . . . yes again.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/mask09.jpg


After applying a few coats of red, I removed the rear masking tape.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/mask10.jpg

other side

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/mask11.jpg

This area will be painted yellow. but first I need to mask off the red. Note that I have not removed the original masking job on the nose.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/mask12.jpg

the other side too.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/mask13.jpg

Now the yellow paint.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/mask14.jpg

After the yellow dries, peel it all off and look what you get.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/mask15.jpg

Turned out pretty good. As a curbside kit, I was not worried about the radiator ducts and painting anything black. The rear cowl won't be coming off when the kit is all done.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/mask16.jpg

You may notice a small piece of blue tape on the edge of the chassis. Unfortunately, I failed to take a key picture. I put the rear cowl on the chassis and ran the masking tape line that would become the blue section on the rear.

You'll have to use your imagination here for a bit.

Now I re-masked the entire forward portion and hit it with blue.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/mask16b.jpg

First coat on rear cowl is, yes, you guessed it, red.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/mask17.jpg

Now you can see the rear masking.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/mask19.jpg

the other side.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/mask18.jpg


Now a squirt of yellow. I focused on mainly painting the top portion and not the rear to much.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/mask20.jpg

Again I forgot some pictures here. I had to mask over the yellow and paint the blue. I forgot to take those pictures.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/mask21.jpg


Here is the back end of the chassis and rear cowl

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/mask22.jpg

And here is the final product.

http://i716.photobucket.com/albums/ww161/gmd72858/Benetton%20Ford%20B188/mask23.jpg

Now alI have to do is a little light sanding to eliminate a few ridges where the masking was. It's hard to mask and not have some kind of ride remain on the part. Next I'll apply the decals and and clear coat.

Stay tuned. next post is final chassis picture before assembly.

Happy building gang !!

Nice masking job tuff car to paint you did it very well.