Tamiya 1:12 McLaren MP4/6 Rebuild/Upgrade

[72twink]

For £10K you could buy the bigger Amalgam kerbside (to look at) while you build a fully optioned Tamiya Kit and have a stack of spare change to boot!

[tyrrell]

We know yours with be 10x better

[EagleMoto4-2]

dr_gn said:

EagleMoto4-2 said:

dr_gn said:

EagleMoto4-2 said:

I saw a few Andy Mathews models in the Tamiya model magazine. The amount of detail was mind blowing. His Ferrari 641 had a working throttle for instance!
I have a Top Studio detail up set for a Ducati Panigale, and like you say the instructions aren't the best.

I think the EBay auction is a model of it's time, some early work maybe from what I can gather.

On reflection maybe they looked exceptional to the untrained eye at the time, plus the materials available to the modern model maker have certainly improved.

Exactly, but for £10k I'd be expecting pretty much perfection at that scale, irrespective of when it was built or by whom...

It is amazing the amount of money people will part with for certain things. I guess his reputation proceeded the actual quality of his work, once you put that work under the microscope.

[dr_gn]

EagleMoto4-2 said:

dr_gn said:

EagleMoto4-2 said:

dr_gn said:

EagleMoto4-2 said:

I saw a few Andy Mathews models in the Tamiya model magazine. The amount of detail was mind blowing. His Ferrari 641 had a working throttle for instance!
I have a Top Studio detail up set for a Ducati Panigale, and like you say the instructions aren't the best.

I think the EBay auction is a model of it's time, some early work maybe from what I can gather.

On reflection maybe they looked exceptional to the untrained eye at the time, plus the materials available to the modern model maker have certainly improved.

Exactly, but for £10k I'd be expecting pretty much perfection at that scale, irrespective of when it was built or by whom...

It is amazing the amount of money people will part with for certain things. I guess his reputation proceeded the actual quality of his work, once you put that work under the microscope.

Apparently it's been for sale for a couple of years, previously at an even higher asking price. It's a nice enough model for what it is, but I'd estimate it's worth about £500 on a good day.

On the whole, built models aren't worth much at all, depite the work that goes in to them. I've seen some surprising exceptions on EBay though.

[dr_gn]

tyrrell said:

We know yours with be 10x better

Well if it is, this isn't a good start!

I got a really good finish on the white, and masked for the red using references, and templates from the moulded-in lines on my spare body:





Then decanted the Tamiya Spray Flourescent Red, degassed and sprayed with the airbrush:



As with the white, it left a great high gloss finish, just needed the demarcation ridge removing and some fine polishing compound, and it would have been like glass after decalling and lacquering.



Trouble is...it's completely the wrong colour. I knew deep down as soon as I removed the masking, but left it until the next day to see it in daylight.

Basically, it's not flourescent, and way too deep a red. The high flourescence of the real cars' orange/red was very, very vivid back in the day when seen at close quarters in the pits, or even more so on an overcast day trackside at Silverstone. You can't tell from photographs, indeed it's a good match for most, but I assume the brightness of the cars underexposed the photographs slightly, so you just see solid red. There are a few images taken in rain or with a dark background where you can get some idea of reality.

The Tamiya decals match the Tamiya Red pretty well, and are also therefore wrong. The Tabu design aftermarket decals are better, but doubt they will be a perfect match for RAL3024, even if that's what I was using. I can fairly easily mask and paint the logos, but the nose number will be tricky.

I've been advised Mr.Colour 171 Lacquer is a good enough match, so will use that I think. Apparently the Zero paint is too orange, not that I'd use it again anyway. I wonder whether true flourescent paint will fade significantly over time.

One strange discovery (now irrelevant, but might be of use to someone): As with my Jaguar XJR9LM, the masking tape on the white body left a strange texture on the finish on removal. Definitely not residue, and you can only see it, not feel it. I resprayed the Jaguar, but on this one I tried something else - applying heat with a hairdryer. It worked. the surface "melted" or more likely stretched itself back to a high gloss finish. I couldn't really believe my eyes, but it worked.

Anyway, it's currently back in the Mr.Muscle to start all over again!

[Red Firecracker]

Ah, the eternal McLaren red question!

I've also had the masking tape texture issue with Tamiya sprays, I just think it doesn't truly harden. Very strange.

[Mutley]

Buggerit, sorry to read that Doc, it's closer to a Ferrari scarlet. Will you be able to remove without damaging the white?

[dr_gn]

Mutley said:

Buggerit, sorry to read that Doc, it's closer to a Ferrari scarlet. Will you be able to remove without damaging the white?

No way! It'll all have to come off.

I put a request in on the Mr.Paint Facebook page for some RAL3024, and they replied straight away that they'd have some mixed and available in about 2 weeks. I'll give that a go since they are a new manufacturer, and from what I've heard they are really good, airbrush specific paints. I've already got some of their Super Gloss Clear. You get different replies from everyone on what's the best paint for the job, so I'm hoping that if they use the actual RAL designation it can't be far wrong...

http://www.mrpaint.sk/

[Red Firecracker]

I know you hate it, but I do have some MP4 Red Zero paint if you wish to compare colour. Comes out like this;



(obviously with vagaries of screen settings etc taken into account).

[dr_gn]

Red Firecracker said:

I know you hate it, but I do have some MP4 Red Zero paint if you wish to compare colour. Comes out like this;



(obviously with vagaries of screen settings etc taken into account).

Ha ha I don't hate it, just vary wary of it after the last experience. How flourescent is it?

[Red Firecracker]

dr_gn said:

Ha ha I don't hate it, just vary wary of it after the last experience. How flourescent is it?

In the jar, scary radioactive fluorescent. On the model, less so, but more than pictures suggest, which is going to be the issue as you ideally need to sit by the real thing rather than rely on pictures with no idea of the camera settings, the print settings or monitor settings. It'll be one of those 'that feels like the right colour to me' situations.

If you fancy comparing it, I'll pop it in the post to you, I'm not going to be needing it for a while.

[tyrrell]

Any up dates ? Getting very excited with this latest project

[dr_gn]

tyrrell said:

Any up dates ? Getting very excited with this latest project

I'm still stripping the old paint of the body, and am waiting for some new acrylic paint to become available. I'm looking forward to it too.

[tyrrell]

Thanks for the update

[dr_gn]

tyrrell said:

Thanks for the update

No probs!

Coincidentally I got an email from Hiroboy this lunchtime saying all the Top Studio detail sets I had on back order for these models (brakes, driveshafts and engine) had been dispatched. Still waiting for a few TVF1 damper parts then there's no excuse...

[Skii]

I recall using the Zero Mclaren red for my 1/20 Mp4/5b many years back, I remember it did need a few coats but I was very happy with the end colour.

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That said I'm sure this will be a show stopper whatever brand you go with.

[dr_gn]

Skii said:

I recall using the Zero Mclaren red for my 1/20 Mp4/5b many years back, I remember it did need a few coats but I was very happy with the end colour.

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That said I'm sure this will be a show stopper whatever brand you go with.

Thanks, I remember seeing that before - fully detailed under the body too, looks awesome.

I may well have to go with Zero paints, but as a last resort. Hopefully Mr.Paint will have some of the correct RAL colour available soon.

[dr_gn]

So the engine cover is stripped again, ready for re-priming. At least it's a good excuse to show off my new modelling lamp. Very nice - it's got three light temperature settings, and five brightness settings within each temperature, plus of course you can angle and tilt it how you like. I find a decent lamp far more useful than a magnifying glass. Time will tell how long the LED's last:



I think it's last chance saloon time for the body, although no big deal because I've still got a spare (which I am hoping to sell if it's not required):

Edited by dr_gn on Sunday 14th February 10:22

[ftypical]

Is it too late to take the same approach to the body shell as you did with the Mosquito?

Unpainted carbon fibre and alloy...

[dr_gn]

ftypical said:

Is it too late to take the same approach to the body shell as you did with the Mosquito?

Unpainted carbon fibre and alloy...

Would be an interesting project if I knew the type of cloth and the layup. The fact is that trying to figure out the type and colour of carbon on these cars is a nightmare, and it's what's really stopping me from making a serious start on them. Both the MP4/6 and the MP4/4 I've got are male mould tubs, with a rough outer skin. I think the resins must yellow with age, because the ones I've seen recently in reference images are far more amber coloured than I remember them back in the day. Having said that, my memory isn't that good for this type of thing.