WIP: Tamiya 1/20th Ferrari F189 (Early)

[billypee]

Originally Posted by Thesaint111

But one thing I noticed while were on the photo subject. It looks like the pics have a slightly yellow undertone which is caused by your lamps. You should try to adjust the white balancing (I hope it's called like that) in your camera settings a bit this would make the pics pretty perfect I think!

Well spotted. I am having trouble with the white balance at the moment. These were shot in AWB (auto white balance) and, you may not be too surprised to learn that it doesn't always get things right. I normally set the WB myself but I've not concluded what the correct setting is, as both my lamps use different bulbs (one of them is halogen)... plus there is the light from the bulbs in the room. I need to experiment with the WB settings, but I also need to get a third light in order to bathe the soft-box. What is not so obvious from the pictures is just how very different the red is in real life... it is much more vivid and scarlet but that just doesn't come across. I shot in RAW and the colour was out then because of the lack of good light. Watch this space for improvements.

[billypee]

Originally Posted by stevenoble

I am glad the decal tips helped you out Bill.I must admit that although the Museum Collection decals are reasonably good they wouldn't be my first choice.I would only use them if there were no alternatives and the kit decals were poor or damaged and unavailable.The model is looking good.Really nice progress so far.

I would rate these MC decals above the kit decals and IndyCals. But, I would choose S27 decals every time. However, I could not get any S27 decals for this model anywhere.

[davesans]

Nice work Bill
I too have had the same problem with Museum Collection decals on my Williams I take S27 over them any day. Looking forward to your next update.

[billypee]

So, despite my best efforts I have missed the Ferrari build deadline... oh, well, it isn't the end of the world.

I have made a bit of progress on this model over the break... so here is a little progress update.

First up, the ECU. I decided to remove the moulded connectors and replace them with the excellent connectors from Top Studio. I decided to use the Connector Set A for the ECU and also decided that the 1/12th scale connectors were a better scale fit than the 1/20th scale connectors. I drilled holes in the ECU the correct diameter for the connectors and decided to add them after painting as they are different colours. The ECU was painted XF-56 Metallic Grey as per the instructions... photo refs show the ECU black but the ECU does appear metallic grey on the box artwork. My guess is that early in the season the ECU was metallic grey so I have gone with that (but added quite a heavy black ink wash to calm it down.





The connectors were painted X-12 Gold Leaf before getting the same wash and dry-brush treatment as the ECU. The detail that remains on these Top Studio connectors is truly amazing. Once decalled and wired up, this ECU will look superb.

I've also partially completed the brake disk/callipers too... these too need some decalling and weathering and will look the business. I drilled the holes myself using my tried and tested technique for spacing the hole out (mark out the holes on some tape using a ruler on a flat surface, then stick the tape to the disc and drill perfectly spaced holes).



The disc surface is painted in XF-56, the centre is Titanium Silver and the calliper is Titanium Gold (X-31/X-32).

Happy New Year,
Bill

[Zurbert82]

That is one insane Macro setting!

Looks good!! I just got the Top Studio connectors in the mail from Best Balsa Kits. I'm interested to see how they'll turn out.

[billypee]

Originally Posted by Zurbert82

That is one insane Macro setting!

Yeah... I treated myself to a new toy over Christmas

Bill

[billypee]

The ECU has now been decalled with the Museum Collection decals mentioned previously. In addition, I added a temperature indicator decal as per the box artwork. The temperature decal is from F1 Specialties.



The wiring is not yet complete as I still need to add heatsink... but that job will have to wait until the other parts are complete so that I know exactly where to run the cable.



While I was applying the temperature decal I noticed that the box artwork shows one applied to the oil radiator, so I took the opportunity to add one there too.



The brake disk and calliper pieces are now complete. I was shocked to discover that neither the kit decal sheet or the Museum Collection decal sheet included the Brembo decals for the callipers... so I opened up my F2001 kit and used the decals from that. I also added the red/blue temperature indicator paint to the edge of the disk as per photo references.



Cheers,
Bill

[stevenoble]

Nice work Bill,all looks very sharp.The electronic box with the Magneti Marelli logo on looks great.I can't believe how clear the pictures are.What camera did you 'treat' yourself to for Christmas? It certainly takes fine close-ups.

[SeanyG]

good to see you back on this one Bill, that ECU is brilliant too!

[billypee]

Thanks for the kind words Steve.

Originally Posted by stevenoble

I can't believe how clear the pictures are.What camera did you 'treat' yourself to for Christmas? It certainly takes fine close-ups.

Not a new camera but a new lens. I got myself a dedicated Macro lens, the Canon EF-S 60mm 2.8 Macro and boy does it know how to do sharp! The minimum focussing distance is greatly reduced so you can get REALLY close to the subject and you can still focus! Getting enough light on the subject is tricky but I now have a third lamp to shine into my light box which helps... but there is still room for improvement.

The only problem with the lens is that it can see better than I can and now I am realising just how much fluff there is stuck to the parts and how wobbly my hand is at painting

[davesans]

Real nice work Bill the ECU looks great and photo's are awesome with the new lens.

[billypee]

Another small update:


I have completed the painting of the shock absorbers and front suspension. It have been painted in X-1 Black, X-12 Gold Leaf, XF-57 Metallic Grey and X-32 Titanium Silver. After a wash with thinned Black Ink, it was dry-brushed with Gun Metal and Silver from the Tamiya Weathering Kit.


The roll bar was painted X-1 Black and dry-brushed with Gun Metal to add a little depth.


The brake bias adjuster was painted XF-16 and un-thinned Black ink. I find the Black ink is much thinner than X-18 so it leaves more detail on the smaller pieces. Again, some highlights were added using the Tamiya Weathering Kit.


Not sure exactly what part this reservoir is, but suspect it is part of the radiator system. It original had a moulded block on it which fit into a recess on the tub. I cut this off and glued the block to the tub. This reservior bottle will be attached with some 0.4mm copper wire. The bottle was painted XF-16 Flat Aluminium and the cap is Titanium Gold.


Mocked-up together, these parts are looking quite realistic. I can't wait to see them on the CF'ed tub!

[kanedge]

This is looking excellent, I love the detail your putting into this. I have the same camera, think I might have to get one of those lens, very sharp.

[billypee]

Originally Posted by kanedge

This is looking excellent, I love the detail your putting into this. I have the same camera, think I might have to get one of those lens, very sharp.

Cheers for the kind words Kanedge.

I 100% recommend the lens for close-up model photography, especially if you have a Canon DSLR with a 1.6x FOVCF, e.g. a 350D or 400D. You are right, it is very sharp... much sharper than the other Canon lenses I have used. The only downside is that it magnifies your modelling deficiencies!

[daniel_k]

are you going to paint the "caps" on those electric connectors black instead of gold ? that will be more accurate and adds a little change to them.

I like the rollbar !

daniel
-germany-