Brabham BT-50 In Progress

Hi - here is the Tamiya Brabham BT-50 in progress. I sprayed the main engine block with tamiya grey primer.. then with alclad pale gold, which came out nice and bright.
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/uploads/75640/Brab11.jpg
I thenhand painted the engine block according to the instructions, carefully painting around the gold.
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/uploads/75640/Brab21.jpg
Next came the valve covers.. which are painted semi gloss black, with testors chrome silver lettering, which came out very nice. I also test fitted the gearbox, and various other engine elements. The bolts on the gearbox were painted with tiny amounts of XF-16 aluminum. I also used some alclad chrome on the silver hose thingy coming from the air cleaner? I think thats right :)
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/uploads/75640/Brab3.jpg
I also used alclad on the exhaust unit :)
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/uploads/75640/Brab4.jpg
I then sprayed the rear suspension units with semi gloss black. Brake discs in Humbrol Polished Steel, then I painted the calipers, etc according to the instructions. Overall, I'm satisfied :)
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/uploads/75640/Brab5.jpg
More to come later! Enjoy

is this some kind of porsche?

Looks good even though I don't know what a brabham bt-50 is

No, its a Tamiya 1/20 scale F1 kit. google is your friend

is this some kind of porsche?

:grinno: :sly: Thanks to Bernie Eccelstone the legacy of Black Jack is forgotten already :disappoin

You've made a very promising start on that BMW engine Zurbert82. I was a bit worried when I first saw the block painted gold, but you quickly proved there was method in your madness!

Interesting to note the block is not mounted as a stressed member, unusual for a car if its time.

Looking forward to this one, love the car.

Great job on a classic and one of the most powerful F1 cars. I built this car along time ago and if I built it again I would have re-enforced the engine to bulkhead mounting some how.Here is a pic of this kit built for those who are not familiar with it.

http://home.t-online.de/home/john-w/ty20038b.jpg

Please note I am not the builder.

Ahhh...the Brabbie BT50.

Here's a couple of interesting facts about Brabham and the BMW engine used by Brabham in those days.

It was 1.5L 4 cylinder, a single turbocharger and intercooler.

The engine used a production BMW iron block used on street cars. BMW Engineers found that the best blocks were those that were slightly used (as in 100,000 miles used).

In qualifying trim, the litte 4 cylinder easily made 4 digit horsepower numbers (on the order of 1200 hp by some accounts) and made around 750 to 800 in race trim.

It was the first engine in Formula 1 to make complete use of electronic engine management and fuel injection.

The Brabham BT50 was designed by Gordon Murray, who later designed the McLaren F1 supercar.

And yes, Bernie Ecclestone was at the time, owner of the Brabham team.....

Sweet build-up of a neat old F1 car. The Brabham back then was the Williams of today. Interestingly, though, Williams was around back then with I believe Cosworth DFV power.

Ferrari 312's and 126's are still cooler than anything else from that period. Why? Because they're Ferraris.

If you need some other reason, you don't get it. :biggrin:

Sweet build-up of a neat old F1 car. The Brabham back then was the Williams of today. Interestingly, though, Williams was around back then with I believe Cosworth DFV power.

Ferrari 312's and 126's are still cooler than anything else from that period. Why? Because they're Ferraris.

If you need some other reason, you don't get it. :biggrin:

If that's the case I wouldn't want to get it :biggrin: Agreed some 312's were georgeous, but some were pig ugly and slow! In the case of the T5, both at the same time.

BMW power and livery asside, I'd have thought the Ferrari of 1982 was the Williams of today :screwy: And since Keke won the title in '82 I guess that makes Williams the Ferrari of today :lol: Bernie's Brabham would have been the McLaren or perhaps a more successful Jordan. This line of thought is of course completely ridiculous. :)

Bullitstang, believe that peak engine power wasn't reached until 1986, the last year of unrestricted boost. In fact I remember reading an interview with one of the engine gurus of the turbo era and he admitted he really didn't know exactly how much power his engine produced. Reason being their dyno couldn't measure numbers that high!

looks good. and wow lots power form a lil 4 cylendar. NEEEEEEEEED

I can't believe it! I started building this thing two weeks ago and was going to do a report, I still will do a report but I thought I might be the first!!!

Elither way, Your's looks gorgeous and I can't wait to see more, I'm at about the same spot and want to paint the monocoque and floor tray this weekend so I can get it on it's wheels. One thing that I did differently was to burnish matt aluminium bare metal foil onto the cam cover logos before painting, then I rubbed the paint off to reveal the metal, just another technique for you to consider for the future, keep a look out for my post for pics.

It's a gorgeous kit so if anybody wants one keep a look out on e-bay. These old F1 kits from Tamiya are great, the engine alone on the Brabham is 8 parts and that's without pulleys etc. Then there's the oil tank, tranny and everything else, the rear end is like a kit in itself!

Anyway, Keep up the good work and I'll follow this thread with interest.

I was given this kit ages ago by a relative and I made it so badly I feel ashamed. I must get another one of these kits sometime and build it perfectly because I know these cars were magnificent even though I never saw them race because I was only 3 in 1986.

I can't wait to see this finished because you are definitely doing the car and the model justice.

Obviously im not an Import person, but you learn something new everyday :)

Import? That is the first time I've heard an F1 car called that!

Import? That is the first time I've heard an F1 car called that!

Well...for most American motorsports fans...anything outside of Daytona is pretty much an import.... :biggrin:



And you are correct...those hp numbers are from 1986.....

Ahh..I miss F-1 in the 80's...big horsepower...big slicks....big exhaust flames....big sparks...big hair!!!

The last BMW powered BT models were producing well in excess of 1500bhp at the wheels. As somebody mentioned, the precise figure is not known because the dyno stopped at 1500....that's some figure. The conrods used to stretch by so much during a race that engine failure was imminent at virtually every race.
Gerhard Berger said in the late 90's that if he stepped back into his Benneton BMW it would scare him shitless. The power of those cars was truly unreal.

Engine looking great, keep up the work!

The engine looks great. very promising .... keep us posted. :thumbsup:

Update - I've started on the monococque, spraying it alclad polished aluminum. The front suspension is built up too, as well as the uppper monococque section. More pics to follow :)
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/uploads/75640/Brab6.jpg
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/uploads/75640/Brab7.jpg
just a mock up of what the chassis should look like
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/uploads/75640/Brab8.jpg

Any progress Zurbert?

I'm about to finish mine up, I wanted to ask you what white you are going to use for the body, only the decals I have aren't bright white but pretty dull, Anyone know any good matches?

Anyway, It's looking good, I would have done a post with pics of mine but my photography is SH-1-T!!! Any tips on that are appreciated too!

Heya Willster, I used Tamiya primer followed by a few coats of TS26 pure white. I'm having decal issuses though. My sheet is yellowed, probably like yours. I tried applying one of the blue decals on one of the sidepods, but it came out all wrinkled and bubbled. I'm probably going to order a new sheet, so I should be updating this thread soon :)

I've already got a new sheet for mine as the original one was yellowed massively and was stuck to the bottom of the box which tore up most of the decals when I pulled it up, $5 off e-bay so I can't really complain. F1-Specialties has those sheets in stock and they are very nice and clean but the decals still seem to be off white though, I think it would be hard to match anyway so will probably go with pure white as originally planned, I'll keep you posted about the new decals, I hope they're OK!

Hi. Excellent work on the Brabham kit!! I haven't heard that name in years!! I'm glad to see another original build here! Also, thanks for the history lessons about this car!!.:sunglasse