Tamiya 1:12 McLaren MP4/6 Rebuild/Upgrade
Discussion
Brooklands Museum replied - their MP4/6 is only a show car. They offered to take some pictures for me anyway; hopefully the show car will still have representative construction on those parts I'm interested in.
tonight I filled the large gaps in the underside of the front wing with Sodium bicarbonate and Cyano:
Never ceases to amaze how rock hard this stuff is, but I don't want to end up with my usual filler dissolving under the onslaught of automotive paints, as happened with teh body. Now flatted ready for primer:
tonight I filled the large gaps in the underside of the front wing with Sodium bicarbonate and Cyano:
Never ceases to amaze how rock hard this stuff is, but I don't want to end up with my usual filler dissolving under the onslaught of automotive paints, as happened with teh body. Now flatted ready for primer:
wjb said:
Great thread OP, reminded me that I have this sat in the loft, brand new, unbuilt from 1990, waiting for a rainy (and very brave) day. 
It's a shame that back in the day these didn't catch on, mainly due to the lack of suitable facilities. The spectacle of accurately modeled RC versions of F1 cars of that period was brilliant.ferrisbueller said:
wjb said:
Great thread OP, reminded me that I have this sat in the loft, brand new, unbuilt from 1990, waiting for a rainy (and very brave) day.
It's a shame that back in the day these didn't catch on, mainly due to the lack of suitable facilities. The spectacle of accurately modeled RC versions of F1 cars of that period was brilliant.dr_gn said:
ferrisbueller said:
wjb said:
Great thread OP, reminded me that I have this sat in the loft, brand new, unbuilt from 1990, waiting for a rainy (and very brave) day.
It's a shame that back in the day these didn't catch on, mainly due to the lack of suitable facilities. The spectacle of accurately modeled RC versions of F1 cars of that period was brilliant.Painted the remaining body parts / wings, and applied the decals:
The Decalpool decals are really good for the most part, but the "Showa" decals were much too large and wouldn't fit in the correct place on the rear wing endplates. I ended up using all the original Tamiya decals for the endplates. The front of the rear wing "Marlboro" decal was also too large, so I used the Tabu version, the rear decal was fine though for some reason.
This is after overcoating with 2K clear, polishing with Micromesh and Tamiya compounds:
I did rub through the paint on one of the suspension infill pieces:
This is the first time this happened when using automotive paints. At least it wasn't a part that had decals applied. I'll have to have a think about how to correct it, since I doubt brake fluid will strip 2K.
Still a load of work to do on the wings, including making Gurney flaps, bracing wires and fitting rivets, pins and the vortex generators.
The Decalpool decals are really good for the most part, but the "Showa" decals were much too large and wouldn't fit in the correct place on the rear wing endplates. I ended up using all the original Tamiya decals for the endplates. The front of the rear wing "Marlboro" decal was also too large, so I used the Tabu version, the rear decal was fine though for some reason.
This is after overcoating with 2K clear, polishing with Micromesh and Tamiya compounds:
I did rub through the paint on one of the suspension infill pieces:
This is the first time this happened when using automotive paints. At least it wasn't a part that had decals applied. I'll have to have a think about how to correct it, since I doubt brake fluid will strip 2K.
Still a load of work to do on the wings, including making Gurney flaps, bracing wires and fitting rivets, pins and the vortex generators.
Shame I've already got some turned dampers from TV - although to be fair, as with the rears, the TV ones do look quite a bit better. I'm sure someone will have the spares.
Top Studio said there were two further details sets for this car - this was the first, can't think what the second would be, maybe bodywork/wings?
Top Studio said there were two further details sets for this car - this was the first, can't think what the second would be, maybe bodywork/wings?
Edited by dr_gn on Friday 10th June 14:11
INWB said:
Doesn't the Donington collection have this car? If so happy to take some pics for you as I haven't visited in years and fancy going back
Thanks for the offer - it would be great if you could. I'm looking for close-ups of the inside wing end-plates (front & rear), front wing vortex generators, lower part of the front monocoque and around the radiussed undertray sides / diffuesr area if possible. Basically it's the type and colour of all the exposed carbon bits I'm looking for. The Brooklands museum sent me some, but theirs is just a show car and I don't think the areas in question were necessarily the original materials.
dr_gn said:
Thanks for the offer - it would be great if you could. I'm looking for close-ups of the inside wing end-plates (front & rear), front wing vortex generators, lower part of the front monocoque and around the radiussed undertray sides / diffuesr area if possible. Basically it's the type and colour of all the exposed carbon bits I'm looking for.
The Brooklands museum sent me some, but theirs is just a show car and I don't think the areas in question were necessarily the original materials.
Okay I will try and get across sometime this week. The Brooklands museum sent me some, but theirs is just a show car and I don't think the areas in question were necessarily the original materials.
INWB said:
dr_gn said:
Thanks for the offer - it would be great if you could. I'm looking for close-ups of the inside wing end-plates (front & rear), front wing vortex generators, lower part of the front monocoque and around the radiussed undertray sides / diffuesr area if possible. Basically it's the type and colour of all the exposed carbon bits I'm looking for.
The Brooklands museum sent me some, but theirs is just a show car and I don't think the areas in question were necessarily the original materials.
Okay I will try and get across sometime this week. The Brooklands museum sent me some, but theirs is just a show car and I don't think the areas in question were necessarily the original materials.
ds666 said:
Those Top Studio parts look very nice . I always wonder if any money is made by the manufacturers of these parts - surely the market is small and the design and tooling costs high ?
I'm not sure there's much tooling tbh. The turned parts are...just turned, and the mjority of the rest is photo-etch or resin. I noticed on the front suspension image, the rockers appear to be made up of multiple layers of photo-etch, they're not cnc milled. The Thunder Valley equivalents are milled, and do look better, but of course are more expensive, likewise the Thunder Valley dampers have milled c-spanner slots in the adjuster rings, whereas the TS versions are just turned along with the bodies - we're talking shades of brilliant here, but there is a difference. Saying that, the Top Studio stuff is incredible value for money IMO. The time spend in researching and scratch-building that lot would be insane.So with the Top Studio front suspension kit on back order, and these having just arrived from RBM in the States:
Thought the £19.50 Tax to pay at the Post Office was a bit steep on an $80 order though...
I think that completes the materials. Still no reference for the carbon fibre on the wings and undertray though.
Thought the £19.50 Tax to pay at the Post Office was a bit steep on an $80 order though...
I think that completes the materials. Still no reference for the carbon fibre on the wings and undertray though.
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