Eighties Contest Entry: 1982 Ferrari 126C2 (Gilles car)

[lotus_man]

OK, time for my first 80's model and a good excuse to build a car I've wanted to do for years. Tameo kitted some 126s years back when they started but the kits look very basic by todays standards (white metal wing plates etc). So when they announced a couple of years back a completly new kit of the South African GP car of '82 I knew I had to do one. I also knew I had to do it as the 27 car... if I need to explain why please leave now

So the kit arrived today from Grand Prix Models in the normal brown box and I couldn't wait to see what was in there. To say I'm impressed is an understatement, it's an amazing model, even by Tameos high standards. This looks like it should build into a great model, I plan to do minimal extra work to it (some plug wires, oil lines and electrical cabelling, probably not much else).

I can't start the build yet as I'm moving into my new studio at the moment, so I'm still installing the extractor system for the airbrushes and getting all of the benchs and storage in. However, the desire to start putting this together has got me to re-double my efforts and I should be in by the weekend and ready to go.

To wet you appetites here's some pictures of what came out of the box:


Chasis, body and box. I might need to rebuild the chasis from sheet brass as the rear venturies are a bit on the thick side, but we'll see how it looks cleaned up and painted. The body is wonerful with the 'gills' cast into the side.


An alternative view of the body and the multiple etch sheets. More photos when I open the bag, but what I can say is that the rear aerofoils are pre-stamped the correct shape. Wonderful!


The first page of Tameos instruction booklet, featuring their fantastic computer generated 3d art work. It just makes everything so clear.


Decals and general bits bag. 'Nuff said.

Hopefully this thread will inspire you guys that want to try 1/43 (and prove to those that say there's no detail in 43rds that they are wrong ). I'll try and do a complete step by step how to like I did for the McLaren, although this time I'll try not to lose half the bits!

If your interested stop by, ask questions, make comments and let me know what you think. More to follow...

[Amazon]

It´s so tiny and cute And those small models still seem so full of life Have yet to try a real 1/43 ( not 4$ plastic kits with 10 parts..) but they seem so pricey

[RallyRaider]

This will be a ripper! I'm guessing it is the early season car with the big rocker arms on the front suspension. I've placed it in the Full Detail section of the contest, given it has all that engine detail.

[mech0t0]

I got my TMK320 from [email protected] at a very good price about a year ago. The engine was done and that's about it...... I am targeting to have this model done by the end of the year . Anyways, which band will you be using for the body Red?

Good luck with this build!

Mark

[lotus_man]

Originally Posted by RallyRaider

This will be a ripper! I'm guessing it is the early season car with the big rocker arms on the front suspension. I've placed it in the Full Detail section of the contest, given it has all that engine detail.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, I'll do my best!

This will be chassis 055/81, which was Pirroni's 81 Monaco car (it finished that race second). It was then re-chassied to 126C2 specification for Gilles to race in South Africa in late January 82. As you say it's an early car with the bulky rear suspension and no front wing. The car did not finish the race, retiring on lap 7 with a blown turbo. The chasis was not raced again.

Originally Posted by mech0t0

got my TMK320 from [email protected] at a very good price about a year ago. The engine was done and that's about it...... I am targeting to have this model done by the end of the year . Anyways, which band will you be using for the body Red?

It will be sprayed in Ford Radiant Red which I think is about the right shade for Ferraris of this age. They seem to have got much brighter over the years, as the modern Malboro cars are almost orange. As for brand it'll be Halfords spray can decanted into an airbrush jar I suspect.

[cinqster]

That's a great kit! There's a cracker of a Japanese build gallery somewhere...I'll try to find it for you but IIRC, it's 'God dwells in small things'.

You paint choice is interesting. I'm doing a very slow conversion of the 1/12th Revell 126 to twin wing USA spec and I found that the Nissan (526 I think) is a good choice - it may be too dark for 1/43? Maybe worth consideration and comparison when you're next in Halfords.

Nice choice in 1:1 vehicle too...same year as mine!

[godfather23]

WOW, already great contest entries. I gotta choose mine carefully. I´m really looking forward seeing this one build and done.

Good Luck!

[lotus_man]

Originally Posted by cinqster

That's a great kit! There's a cracker of a Japanese build gallery somewhere...I'll try to find it for you but IIRC, it's 'God dwells in small things'.

You paint choice is interesting. I'm doing a very slow conversion of the 1/12th Revell 126 to twin wing USA spec and I found that the Nissan (526 I think) is a good choice - it may be too dark for 1/43? Maybe worth consideration and comparison when you're next in Halfords.

Nice choice in 1:1 vehicle too...same year as mine!

The Japanese builder you are refering to is Akihiro Kamimura of God Dwells In Small Things. He has some how-tos and galleries at http://www.linkclub.or.jp/~ak-model/ but if you do a Google search you'll find other works of his. He is truelly a master of the art and probably the builder I most respect. His 126C3 is based on the Meri kit and was part of the inspiration for this build. Thanks for the tip on the Nissan colour, I'll be sure to check it out. Good to find another modelling Elise driver as well!

Not much else to report as I'm still building my new studio (painting work benches and shelving tonight). I know I said I wouldn't be starting the build for a while, but you know how it is, I just couldn't resist!

I have started to clean up the chasis, monocoque and bodywork. It's important at this stage to remove all flash and mold lines using fine files and a sharp scalple. I use a set of files purchased quite cheaply at Games Workshop, they are designed for use on lead miniatures and so work very well on cars made of the same material.


This photo shows the basic components after clean up before final fitting. Tameo kits these days have a very good fit but as with any white metal kit some final fitting is required. I'll carry on fettling the parts right up to the final coats of paint.


The parts now fit much better, and the mold lines are pretty much gone. However theres still a lot of oxidation on the metal work, and that will have a detramental effect on the durability and quality of the paint finish. So the next step will be to polish all of the parts using papers from 600 grit to 1500 grit. I'll be aiming to get a uniform bright metal finish ready to lay down the primer. I'll show the photographs of that process in the next installment.

[cinqster]

Looking forward to the forthcoming instalments!
Thanks for the Games Workshop tip...never thought to look in there for bits. Your right about the link - I've just found the C3 build again and it's awesome. The one I'd seen has a link to his page but you probably know of it already (Modeling Factory)

The C2 is here...enjoy:

http://www.sankaido.jp/f1modeling/m_.../02/index.html

[mech0t0]

Originally Posted by cinqster

Thanks for the Games Workshop tip...never thought to look in there for bits.

Same here! I was having troubles with my files... Thanks for the tips, I will go pick up a set!

Thanks,

Mark

[klutz_100]

my 1/43 fingers are itching
really looking forward to following this build.
With the McLaren build thread, I had the same feeling when you do a mega-jigsaw and discover that you've lost the last piece I can only imagine how you must have felt!! All the best of 1/43 British on this build

[lotus_man]

Ok, so your asking why no progress for a while. Well, here are my excuses. First I had to build by new bike:-



It's to keep my downhill rig comany!

Then I started putting by new studio together. I built all the selves and work top myself, but I did buy the spray hood and extractor...





It's not finished yet, but I couldn't resist so I have actually done some more work on the model.

Here's a shot of the cleaned up body work:



It's not bad, but it's covered in pock marks and blemishes, and the metal is too oxidised to get good paint adhesion. The answer is to wet send it with 800, the 1200 and finally 1500 grit paper to polish the serface (taking care not to remove any detail). You'll be left with something nice and shiney, a bit like this:



Now hit it with primer before it oxides or get's greasy again. I use a model primer designed for railway (railroad) modelers. They use a lot of white metal, and so they use a special acidic etching primer. This chemically bonds with the metal to key all the following layers of paint. After one thin coat it looks like this:



That's the undertray you can see behind it by the way. Still undecided if I'll rebuild it... I think I'll see what it looks like and decide later.

After a second coat on a Tamiya turntable it looks like this:



It's hard to tell from the photo as the flash hides it, but the color is very thin and patchy. This primer will be left to dry for at least a week before I use a couple of coats of normal laquer primer to build a solid base for the red. Before that I'll have another check for surface imperfections and sort them out if there are any.

That's all for today, stay tuned for more updates!

[klutz_100]

very informative!

nice bike BTW! waht scale is that in? j/k

what do you use to prime PE parts before painting? the same stuff?

[lotus_man]

Originally Posted by klutz_100

very informative!

nice bike BTW! waht scale is that in? j/k

what do you use to prime PE parts before painting? the same stuff?

Pretty much, I answered your thread in the main forum, so I won't repeat myself here. We'll be hitting the PE stage of this project pretty soon, so stay tuned

Anyway, with the primer hardenening and etching onto the body, undertray and tub it's time to start at the begining of the instructions. For those who've never built a Tameo kit before, their modern instructions are the best I've ever seen. Here's a picture of the first page to give you an idea:



So first off I find all of the parts I need, and using needle files clean them all up. One thing you'll find with these kits is that there is usually some flash and mold lines to clean off, and then you need to use the files to fettle the fit of parts. White metal doesn't allow for Tamiya precision out of the molds! Keep dry fitting it and working the metal.

Here are the basic parts of the block and head. Note I've added what loosk like the starter to the block. Modern F1 cars don't have an on board starter, but some older F1 cars did... so I'll assume that's what it is!



With the addition of some five minute epoxy it goes together to form this (note- that's a normal sized scalpel behind it, not a giant one!)



The join lines will disapear with a coat of primer and some spot filling.

Now we diverge from the instructions. I will be putting some basic wiring on the car, although I'm not sure it will be visible when the car is together, it's basically a curbside kit. Still, I've drilled out all the plug holes using a .1mm bit in a pin vice as you can see in the photo below. The brass tube is .1mm ouside diameter and will be cut to 2mm lengths for the plugs. The inside diameter is just right for 5amp fuse wire which I'll use to create the 6 plug leads.



I've also drilled the gearbox case with a slightly larger bit ready to accept the output joints once the assembly has been painted. That's it for tonight, my eyes ache!

[freakmech]

looking great! nice to see some plumbing and wires going into this little beauty, this should earn some votes! keep it up...only 11 months left