1:12 Tamiya McLaren MP4/6 Upgrade Options?
Discussion
fatboy69 said:
Incidentally, someone is selling a 'perfect manual for the MP4/6' on cd for just 5.99 if anyone is interested. Or rather they were as I have just bought it!!
Prices sound about right.I was also looking for the MP4/6 instruction manual to try and figure out what's easily dis-assembleable.
£5.99 is cheap enough, although not quite as cheap as this one I found yesterday:
http://www.dalong.net/review/sp/mp4/mp4_m.htm
ETA - did you mean the "Perfect Parts" manual?
fatboy69 said:
Yes, it was Perfect Parts.
I think that now I have just spent over £35 on odds & sods for the MP4/6 I should now get started on the build. However I haven't built a Tamiya kit for over 10 years so I think I might build a cheaper one first to avoid cocking it up!
The problem for me is that the Perfect Parts people don't appear to be around anymore (no response to e-mails), so without them, it will be practically impossible to replicate the 'benchmark' detail builds I've seen of these kits. As RF said, even if they are still around, delivery time might be months, so I'd probably buy (or 'have bought' as the case may be) the detail sets before the models themselves.I think that now I have just spent over £35 on odds & sods for the MP4/6 I should now get started on the build. However I haven't built a Tamiya kit for over 10 years so I think I might build a cheaper one first to avoid cocking it up!
These guides look quite good (there are loads of them including the Mclaren), but you have to buy them:
http://www.modelersite.com/Abr2010/English/tenyear...
The 1:12 MP4/6 was incredibly easy to build OOB; easier than the 1:20 range IME. Obviously a larger part count, and lots of tiny nuts and bolts, but overall a trouble-free kit to build.
I built the 1/12 scale Ferrari 641( think thats correct), the Renault RE30, the Wolf WR1 & the Tyrrell P34 without any trouble so the McLaren & Williams should be relatively straight forward.
It's just been so long since I built a model I want to get it right & make it look good.
Probably spent too much time building Lego Technic!!!!!
It's just been so long since I built a model I want to get it right & make it look good.
Probably spent too much time building Lego Technic!!!!!
fatboy69 said:
I built the 1/12 scale Ferrari 641( think thats correct), the Renault RE30, the Wolf WR1 & the Tyrrell P34 without any trouble so the McLaren & Williams should be relatively straight forward.
It's just been so long since I built a model I want to get it right & make it look good.
Probably spent too much time building Lego Technic!!!!!
I'd just open the box and make a start; at least get some building pleasure out of them.It's just been so long since I built a model I want to get it right & make it look good.
Probably spent too much time building Lego Technic!!!!!
It's not like there's a time limit, and FWIW I honestly don't think they will ever be worth a fortune: Tamiya re-release old models fairly regularly, plus there are too many people drip-feeding the market with unbuilt kits they've hoarded in the hope of "building one day" or...making a fortune.
ETA : Just like me and my LEGO Unimog I guess!
dr_gn said:
I think hannants is a bit mainstream for this kind of thing. Ill check though.
Could be. However, if you've never visited their main location at Oulton Broad it really should be on your list of places to go. Incredible. You walk into the main office, straight off the car park, may be asked to sign-in and can then walk straight through to their main warehouse at the back. Unsupervised. Few staff around picking and packing and all helpful. Things they have in their are incredible. Pick up anything you want and pay on the way out. Here's a tip, though. Do NOT take credit cards with you and only take a couple of quid in cash. Otherwise you'll leave bankrupt. It's that good.
So I finally got a reply from the Perfect Parts comapny in the states. He said that they aren't producing stuff at the moment (ecomony in the USA pretty much killed the business), but he is hoping to start production again sometime this year.
Today, I (hopefully) secured a 1:12 Willams FW14B for £90 all-in, fairly local too. Just need the Ferrari now for a similar price!
Hannants sounds like a nightmare for me; the stash is growing almost month by month, and the complexity of the projects I want to do is getting exponentially greater, and the time available for building correspondingly smaller. I just hope the FW14B won't push the missus over the edge...
Today, I (hopefully) secured a 1:12 Willams FW14B for £90 all-in, fairly local too. Just need the Ferrari now for a similar price!
Hannants sounds like a nightmare for me; the stash is growing almost month by month, and the complexity of the projects I want to do is getting exponentially greater, and the time available for building correspondingly smaller. I just hope the FW14B won't push the missus over the edge...
dr_gn said:
So I finally got a reply from the Perfect Parts comapny in the states. He said that they aren't producing stuff at the moment (ecomony in the USA pretty much killed the business), but he is hoping to start production again sometime this year.
Today, I (hopefully) secured a 1:12 Willams FW14B for £90 all-in, fairly local too. Just need the Ferrari now for a similar price!
Hannants sounds like a nightmare for me; the stash is growing almost month by month, and the complexity of the projects I want to do is getting exponentially greater, and the time available for building correspondingly smaller. I just hope the FW14B won't push the missus over the edge...
Hannants could well be just that..........you have to round up all your willpower. Took a Texan friend there last year. On the way there he was; "Well, this should be interesting but there's nothing I need right now so........"Today, I (hopefully) secured a 1:12 Willams FW14B for £90 all-in, fairly local too. Just need the Ferrari now for a similar price!
Hannants sounds like a nightmare for me; the stash is growing almost month by month, and the complexity of the projects I want to do is getting exponentially greater, and the time available for building correspondingly smaller. I just hope the FW14B won't push the missus over the edge...
He didn't actually bring anything away with him but did spend the wrong side of £250 on "Bits and pieces" to be shipped back home. It's too easy. His wife was really impressed when we all met up later in the day and he didn't have my boot full of model stuff. Ho ho. Apparently it all arrived back in Houston whilst she was out so he was able to stash it in his hobby palace without any hassle. I say "Hobby Palace" as his modelling room is at the back of the 3-car garage, circa 30' x 15', air-conditioned, (a must in Texas), and looks out over his private dock and the lake. How the other half live, eh ?
Skodaku said:
dr_gn said:
So I finally got a reply from the Perfect Parts comapny in the states. He said that they aren't producing stuff at the moment (ecomony in the USA pretty much killed the business), but he is hoping to start production again sometime this year.
Today, I (hopefully) secured a 1:12 Willams FW14B for £90 all-in, fairly local too. Just need the Ferrari now for a similar price!
Hannants sounds like a nightmare for me; the stash is growing almost month by month, and the complexity of the projects I want to do is getting exponentially greater, and the time available for building correspondingly smaller. I just hope the FW14B won't push the missus over the edge...
Hannants could well be just that..........you have to round up all your willpower. Took a Texan friend there last year. On the way there he was; "Well, this should be interesting but there's nothing I need right now so........"Today, I (hopefully) secured a 1:12 Willams FW14B for £90 all-in, fairly local too. Just need the Ferrari now for a similar price!
Hannants sounds like a nightmare for me; the stash is growing almost month by month, and the complexity of the projects I want to do is getting exponentially greater, and the time available for building correspondingly smaller. I just hope the FW14B won't push the missus over the edge...
He didn't actually bring anything away with him but did spend the wrong side of £250 on "Bits and pieces" to be shipped back home. It's too easy. His wife was really impressed when we all met up later in the day and he didn't have my boot full of model stuff. Ho ho. Apparently it all arrived back in Houston whilst she was out so he was able to stash it in his hobby palace without any hassle. I say "Hobby Palace" as his modelling room is at the back of the 3-car garage, circa 30' x 15', air-conditioned, (a must in Texas), and looks out over his private dock and the lake. How the other half live, eh ?
[/quote
The FW14B will go from the boot straight to the loft. I'll secrete the instructions somewhere for later viewing under the bed sheets with a torch.
It's the Cosford Model show next Sunday too; things aren't looking good financially, especially if there's a 1:12 Ferrari 641 at a half decent price...
HereBeMonsters said:
dr_gn said:
Yeah! got the FW14B today for £90. just the Ferrari to go now...
The Tamiya plastic kit is worth that much? I've got one I never got round to building somewhere in the shed...HereBeMonsters said:
HereBeMonsters said:
dr_gn said:
Yeah! got the FW14B today for £90. just the Ferrari to go now...
The Tamiya plastic kit is worth that much? I've got one I never got round to building somewhere in the shed...
As a total last resort you could even build it! It's a nice model when complete.
Thought this may interest sme of you, a limited run 1/12 tamiya Ferrari 312B
http://www.hlj.com/product/TAM12048/Aut
Very tempting but I'm not a Ferrari fan really but an impressive model.
http://www.hlj.com/product/TAM12048/Aut
Very tempting but I'm not a Ferrari fan really but an impressive model.
So finally I got an e-mail from Paul at Thunder Valley F1 saying that he had at last started production of his detail kits again. So I ordered the Full Monty for the MP4/6. Today they arrived:
As expected they are beautifully machined: wheel hubs/nuts, gear lever and inlet trumpets (and a resin trumpet inlet plate). A very nice photo-etch parts sheet (pre cut-out and mounted on a rubber mat) and a cast parts set containing components which can be polished to a realistic sheen. There is also a selection of aluminium, rubber and plastic tubes for detailling, and even a couple of twist drills and a countersink for fitting the wheel nuts. All nicely presented in a laser-etched box.
Looking forward to breaking the existing model apart and rebuilding it properly this time!
As expected they are beautifully machined: wheel hubs/nuts, gear lever and inlet trumpets (and a resin trumpet inlet plate). A very nice photo-etch parts sheet (pre cut-out and mounted on a rubber mat) and a cast parts set containing components which can be polished to a realistic sheen. There is also a selection of aluminium, rubber and plastic tubes for detailling, and even a couple of twist drills and a countersink for fitting the wheel nuts. All nicely presented in a laser-etched box.
Looking forward to breaking the existing model apart and rebuilding it properly this time!
couzens said:
Looking foward to seeing the progress. The Jaguar LM car you did was quite simply stunning.
Ha ha even though the Jaguar seems a long time ago I've only just recovered from it. I need some decent reference books on these cars before making a start. Oh yes, and some carbon decals and about £300 of turned electrical connectors and fasteners!Gassing Station | Scale Models | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff