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Originally Posted by crimsonkarter21
I just got a steal on a Tamiya McLaren-Honda MP4/4 tonight. I was at the Clevelnad AutoRama, and looking for 1:18 die-casts when I saw a whole bunch of Tamiya F1 cars under the table, I picked the McLaren, and it was only $22. This is also my first plastic model.
So, my questions are:
1.) Are there any important details to keep in mind while doing this project?
2.) Are Tamiya paints already pre-thinned?
3.) Is there any place where I can get molded driver figures to fit a 1/20 Tamiya car?
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Congratulations - and welcome to plastic modeling! The MP4/4 isn't exactly the most simple kit to start with, but it is a good kit with good fit and no real issues to worry about. Out of the box it is very detailed. Perhaps the most difficult aspect will be painting the unique flourescent red/white paint scheme. The kit comes with orange decals which are okay, but if you're adventurous, ask modelers for advice on doing a two tone color scheme, because there's some important things to know.
Tamiya acrylic bottle paints are fairly thin, if you intend to airbrush them, using denatured alcohol or Tamiya thinner, you won't ever need more than 25% thinner to paint. Depending on your airbrush nozzle size, you may find you don't need to thin at all. For brush painting, these paints to me seem very thick and globby, and I can't get a smooth finish from them. Testor's ACRYL paints are phenomenal in this respect.
There used to be seated driver figues available from a company named MODELERS, they were resin cast and a bit pricey, $25 or so. They also made 1;24th scale as well. However, some Tamiya F1 kits aome with a driver figure, so if you hunt around at some swap meets, NNL shows, pick up some kits and you'll come across them. Off the top of my ehad I don't which ones had driver figures and which didn't, but Im sure if you post that question in this forum, you'll get all the info.
Good luck!