1/24 Benetton Ford B190B (Hasegawa)

[DerXL]

Hi everyone.

I've been a user of AF forums since early 2006. More or less since I restarted my modeling activities.
I've been leaving comments here and there on other people's builds. And now it's about time you had the chance to comment on my build(s).

First build I'm going to introduce here is about the Benetton Ford B190B.
This kit is the fifth project I'm taking on since restarting this hobby. Yes, I'm a slow builder, because the other 4 builds I've started since 2006 have still not been finished...

This will be the first Hasegawa kit I'll be building. And on top of that, it will also be the first F1 kit I'm building in the "unholy " 1/24 scale.

Why this kit ?
Because I've been a fan of Nelson Piquet since about 1982 (the Hockenheim incident with Eliseo Salazar to be precise ) and I've set my mind on building all the F1 cars Nelson Piquet has ever driven.
This is the second car driven by Nelson, that I'm building. Pictures of the first one I built are on my site (see sig.).

This is the kit I'm talking about:


All the previous F1 kits that I've build have been from Tamiya. So I was a bit curious about the quality of the parts and the fitment of the parts compared to Tamiya.
And I must admit, I was evenly disappointed and surprised by the quality.
Surprised, pleased may be a better word, I was concerning the quality of the monocoque and engine cover. Looks very nice. Good quality.
Pleased also with the quality of the valve covers for example (picture, below). Lots of detail. In my opinion one of the best parts of this kit.


As I already mentioned, other parts of this kit where quite a let down, considering the quality of some of the other parts in this kit.
Especially the several radiators in this kit are not that good. The pattern on the radiators is very faint, and on almost all of them a very prominent ejectorpin mark is present on the part.
Ejectorpin marks are also very visible on the parts for the front and rear wings. And the crap-de-la-crap of this kit must be the front brake cooling ducts. A giant sink mark present on a very visible location.



Almost unbelievable that Hasegawa managed to combine such well thought out and very detailed parts with some very crap ones...
But hey, that's the challenge for the model builder, right ? And anyway, not that big a drama. All those parts I mentioned can be repaired quite easily. It's only a shame that this extra work should be necessary in the first place, because in my opinion this could have been avoided by Hasegawa.

All nice pictures, but what have I actually done yet on this kit ?
After studying the manual I decided to glue together several parts that will be the same colour.
Hasegawa has decided to split the nosecone, airbox and rollbar lengthwise. Looking at Tamiya kits from the same era, I think that this could have been done differently. I do know that for injection molding the solution from Hasegawa is the easiest one. Only setback is that it means more work for me to get rid of the joint lines. But it's not something that can't be done, so it's not such a big deal. Just one of those small things that make you realise what makes Tamiya so good...


Next job was to eliminate the hardly visible mould lines and deepen the panel lines (orange arrows in images below).


However most of the work has gone into filling all the sink marks on the various parts. The parts shown below are only a selection...


As you can see in the images above, I only bothered to fill the sink marks that are visible once the model is fully assembled. Lazy me, huh...

As this kit is from Hasegawa, the colours indicated in the instructions are from Hasegawa too. But as they're not very easy to come by in the Netherlands, I decided to use colours that are freely available to me.
The green colour used was relatively simple, as it is the same colour that Tamiya has indicated in their instructions for the Benetton B188 car.
The yellow was also simple. I'll be using Camel Yellow from Tamiya (spraycan).
The blue was a bit more difficult. In the various colour charts I've found on the internet, I couldn't find an alternative for the Hasegawa colour indicated. So I started mixing some colours myself.
With the help of some reference pictures I've decided that the blue should be ultramarine blue (36151) from the Revell Aqua Color series.


A Potential Problem
While testfitting the various parts I encountered a potential problem.
The fitment of the rear bodywork is not perfect as can be seen in the pictures below. The walls of the rear bodywork face slightly inward so there is a small gap between the front and rear part of the bodywork (see arrows).



There are several solutions to the problem. I can glue the rear bodywork to the undertray. This would probably give the best fitment, but than the engine can not be seen anymore, which would be a bit of a shame as it will be quite nice looking (I suspect).
Another solution is bending the vertical walls a bit to the outside while applying heat (like from a hairdryer). I have used this technique a few times with success. But not on a symmetrical object, so getting everything looking right might be a bit of a challenge.
The most likely solution and the one I will try first is glueing small strips of sheet styrene to the front bodywork (the inside of the sidepods, indicated in the picture below) which will function as a sort of guide for the rear bodywork. Because I do like the idea of being able to remove the bodywork to show the engine.


For some reason Hasegawa has provided some holes in the undertray where nothing is mounted (picture below) . Which is rather odd. I first thought that mounting pins from the rear bodywork should fit in those holes, but the rear bodywork doesn't have any mounting pins... It might be an option to make some pins of my own, to get the rear bodywork to fit to the undertray.
If the first idea (above) doesn't work, I will try adding mounting pins instead.


If someone has another suggestions for getting the engine cover to sit nice and tight on the undertray, I'd like to hear it !!

Phew. I'm finished for now.
I realise this is a lot to read. But as I mentioned, I'm a slow builder, so the next update is still some time away giving you all enough time to recover...

[DasWiesel]

1:24 is the one and only scale, even for F1 cars!

Will be a pleasure to follow. I´m really interested in those Hase-kits!

[pstreet]

Originally Posted by DerXL

im thinking you could brace it from the inside by gluing a piece of styrene rod like ' / ' to the top and side panels on the inside of the engine cover, of course you would have to do the other side to match.

[billypee]

Nice start. I would simply add the styrene as you suggested. Don't forget though that your paint job will add to the thickness of the cowling.

[DerXL]

@billypee and pstreet:
Thanks for your suggestions.
I did indeed already add some styrene to the sidepod covers and it looks better already. Needs a bit of work, but I think I'll get it right.

As a matter of fact, I did once more check the Hasegawa building instructions and in the instructions there is clearly a pin protruding from the engine cover which should fit in the hole in the undertray.
I have 2 B190B and 1 B190 kit, but the engine cover has NO mounting pins at all. Weird. .. But no big deal...

[F1-Fan]

Hi DerXL,

Where did you buy this Hasegawa kit? I would like to have it in my collection.
Please, keep posting updates.
Thanks

[jano11]

Excellent project and nice start.
Adding the missing pins to the engine cover would have been te easiest option but not very aesthetic when the cowling is removed.

PS: The kit looks good, I didn't even know these kits come with engine detail.

[DerXL]

Hi F1-Fan

To answer your question: I bought all my B190's (2x B190 and 1x B190B) on eBay. They appear there quite regularly at a reasonable price.

@F1-Fan and jano11
Thanks for the interest in my build. Progress is very slow at the moment because I recently became a father. My daughter is now using up all my time, but I promise to start building again soon (at least, I hope).

[stevenoble]

Nice kit and a good subject. I think you could use some photo etch radiator pattern mesh to cover that sink mark damage on the radiators face...??

[Shunter]

I have this kit as well and think it looks great. Nice to see someone building it. Will watch with keen interest.