Question re: older Tamiya F1 kits ..

[oregon3]

Hi,

I'm building the 1/20 Tamiya Tyrrell Honda 020 kit and the instructions call for assembling the seat and gluing the two body halves around it. This presents a painting problem. If I detail the seat and glue it into to the body halves, then I have to somehow protect it from overspray when I paint the body halves. I would rather glue and paint the body halves and the insert the seat. (I hope I've explained this sufficiently. If you have built one of these kits, you'll know what I mean.) How do you guys get around this? Is it possible to insert the seat after the body halves are assembled?

Thanks,

JB

[KevHw]

Personally, I haven't got much experience in this area, but I know what you mean. I think you could cut the bottom of the two halves so the seat slides in from below, but that means you'll need to make sure it fits in the exact position. It's an incredibly tight fit though and probably will not be possible with your particular kit.

For my MP4/13 I just glued the seat in as directed and masked it off. I had the masking tape upside down so it stuck to the underside of the top of the body, I hope you understand. Just take your time and use angled tweezers.

[klutz_100]

try a dry fit. Fix the two halves together with tape and see if you can fit the seat in.

If not, maybe you can try doing what scale aircraft guys do - after painting the cockpit and joining the two fuselage parts together, they mask off the opening and them paint the camoflage. I also recall Reading another F1 kit where the bottom of the body was modified to allow the seat to be slid in from below.

[JimboCO]

Originally Posted by klutz_100

try a dry fit. Fix the two halves together with tape and see if you can fit the seat in.

This is the way to go; test fit and see if you can twist that sucker in there. I just did this on the FW24 with no problems. On the MP-4/13 you can cut the bottom (leave the alignment pins) and the seat can be inserted from the bottom after assembly/painting.

[gasdriverca]

For my MP4/13 I just glued the seat in as directed and masked it off. I had the masking tape upside down so it stuck to the underside of the top of the body, I hope you understand. Just take your time and use angled tweezers.[/quote]
I used this technique when I done the Williams BMW FW24 and I took my time with no problems! 1 thing to watch for though is if you used CF decal inside the tub just watch the tape doesn't snag on it & tear it off when removing it.