Tamiya 1/20 Tyrrell P34 (Six Wheeler) Build

[ecsrobin]

So yesterday I was passing the local model shop and it made me want to have a go. the last time I probably made a model was 10years ago and generally i would just glue it all together and then paint it, they all looked pretty average.

So this time im trying to do it properly it may turn out awful but here goes: (All photos taken on my iPhone as the SLR will be a bit overkill)

The kit and extras I purchased:


Tyrrell by robinecs, on Flickr


Tyrrell by robinecs, on Flickr

What you get:


Tyrrell by robinecs, on Flickr


Tyrrell by robinecs, on Flickr


Tyrrell by robinecs, on Flickr

Ford DFV Engine Build:


Tyrrell by robinecs, on Flickr


Tyrrell by robinecs, on Flickr

The manifold was a nightmare to put together almost as hard as bolting the real life one on a DFV!

Just to see what its like:


Tyrrell by robinecs, on Flickr

A look at the gearbox:


Tyrrell by robinecs, on Flickr



So then today I had to go out and try and get the paint colours that the shop didn't have, unfortunately nowhere had the colours so I've had to go with Humbrol paint But i did pick up a Tamiya weathering kit, ive never used one before but felt a car should look used not all shiny.


Tyrrell by robinecs, on Flickr

So I applied some weathering oil and exhaust heat the photo probably doesn't show it up much but you'll see from the earlier image its dulled down and looks more lifelike.


Tyrrell by robinecs, on Flickr

And a test fit with the gearbox (parts aren't glued)


Tyrrell by robinecs, on Flickr


Total time so far: 8hrs
Total Cost so far: £80

[ecsrobin]

This morning I've managed to nearly finish the gearbox:


Tyrrell by robinecs, on Flickr

Test fit with wheels:


Tyrrell by robinecs, on Flickr

Test fit with the body:


Tyrrell by robinecs, on Flickr

[didjerama]

Very nice, inspiring too! Love the detailing on the engine.

I really must get some paints for myt Tamiya 307CC WRC kit and start it

[ecsrobin]

The hardest thing with tamiya paint is finding anywhere that's got the colours you need in stock!

So I've just been away for a few days so not much progress. But the engine is nearly completed just need to get some extra wiring for it and an 8mm screw (i would have thought it would come in the kit but obviously not) and also touch up a couple of places but quite pleased with my attempt.

Here's a few shots of it dry fitted to the chassis.


Tyrrell by robinecs, on Flickr


Tyrrell by robinecs, on Flickr


Tyrrell by robinecs, on Flickr

[dr_gn]

If it's the screw to secure the engine to the monocoque, it should definitely be in the kit.

[ecsrobin]

dr_gn said:

If it's the screw to secure the engine to the monocoque, it should definitely be in the kit.

Well done that man after another look through all the packaging I have found the screw. Thank you

[dr_gn]

ecsrobin said:

dr_gn said:

If it's the screw to secure the engine to the monocoque, it should definitely be in the kit.

Well done that man after another look through all the packaging I have found the screw. Thank you

[Siko]

Great piccies and write up, really enjoying this one!

[ecsrobin]

So over the weekend I've made a small amount of progress. The time was mainly spent driving everywhere trying to find tamiya gun metal as I was sick of using the hum broil equivalent. Eventually I found some in Woking.

The rest of the time was spent masking up the body and seat ready for my first attempt at spray painting.

So I bought a few more paints:


Tyrrell by robinecs, on Flickr

Everything masked up, my first attempt at masking so not sure if I've done it right but hopefully it does the job:


Tyrrell by robinecs, on Flickr

And finally everything just after spraying:


Tyrrell by robinecs, on Flickr

Unfortunately there's a slight run on the front wing. So I guess I'll be sanding that down this week before having another attempt but the seat and spoiler has come out great for a first attempt.

I've lost track of hours spent on this but so far the total cost of the build is: £101.55

[dr_gn]

Personally I'd dunk the lot in brake fluid overnight and start again - to get rid of the run.

[ecsrobin]

The runs actually not that bad. So ill give it a quick sand and see what happens. Although I'm having ideas of actually cutting the front end of and scratch building the nose.

[11110111]

also raise the bits you are spraying off the ground using tooth pics or something, basically so its slightly elevated on teh air - the spray will flow much better around the bottom parts and paint wont gather there

spray lightly a few coats every half hour for 4/5 times - instead of heavy. If you have runs you are spraying far too heavy

good job so far

[Red Firecracker]

What they said. It'd be a real shame to lower the quality of the already impressive work with a heavy paint job.

[ecsrobin]

Gents I'm hoping for some advice. Following on from your advice I raised my items and started dong thin coats followed by a heavy coat. However I can see some sanding marks still is this because I haven't used a primer? And if so whats my best line of attack to fixing this problem?

Luckily it's only the spoiler so hopefully it can be fixed.

[perdu]

Those sanding marks can only be removed by either a: filling the scratches (which is what they are) or b: sanding better

Sanding better involves sanding gently with finer and finer abrasives until the plastic looks the same all over, all scratches rubbed away, Micromesh is good for that.

For a really good finish I'd use a combination of the two.

Fill with some kind of stopper (just as you would with your real car) a deecent primer would possibly do for this task, then rub the surface down gently to a nice flat finish.

Then spray again, this is the hardest part

Light coats only, drying time in between.

Never do a wet coat to finish off, there are huge runs lurking inside every wet sprayed coat of paint.

If you need a wet looking coat at the end use a shiny varnish when the paining is done.

Model painting is as much a dark art as a science IMO.

[dr_gn]

ecsrobin said:

Gents I'm hoping for some advice. Following on from your advice I raised my items and started dong thin coats followed by a heavy coat. However I can see some sanding marks still is this because I haven't used a primer? And if so whats my best line of attack to fixing this problem?

Luckily it's only the spoiler so hopefully it can be fixed.

dr_gn said:

Personally I'd dunk the lot in brake fluid overnight and start again - to get rid of the run.

You've found out the hard way why I advised completely stripping the paint rather than sanding it. Once you try to start correcting flaws such as this locally, it invariably ends up taking twice as long and looking half as good.

Strip it to bare plastic and see if the scratches lift off with the remaining paint. If not, I'd use Halfords filler primer and sand it back to the base plastic until only the scratches filled with primer remain visible. If you want a decent job, there are no short cuts!

Your only positive here is that the majority of the spoiler is covered with a decal, which *may* distract the eye from the surface inmperfections.

[Red Firecracker]

He speaks the truth. There aren't any shortcuts to a good finish unfortunately. Get it all stripped off and prepare the surfaces well.

[ecsrobin]

dr_gn said:

You've found out the hard way why I advised completely stripping the paint rather than sanding it. Once you try to start correcting flaws such as this locally, it invariably ends up taking twice as long and looking half as good.

Strip it to bare plastic and see if the scratches lift off with the remaining paint. If not, I'd use Halfords filler primer and sand it back to the base plastic until only the scratches filled with primer remain visible. If you want a decent job, there are no short cuts!

Your only positive here is that the majority of the spoiler is covered with a decal, which *may* distract the eye from the surface inmperfections.

Fortunately I didn't touch the main body with the run with sanding. And after having a friend look over the model tonight he pointed out a large decal goes right over the run on that. So I will leave that as it is.

The spoiler on the other hand needs some serious improvement so I will take everyone's advice on board as I want it to look good but also to learn from mistakes and learn new techniques.

I'm not worried about trying to finish quickly I'm worried about the quality of the finished article.

Thankyou all for taking the time to reply.

[Red Firecracker]

ecsrobin said:

Fortunately I didn't touch the main body with the run with sanding. And after having a friend look over the model tonight he pointed out a large decal goes right over the run on that. So I will leave that as it is.

The spoiler on the other hand needs some serious improvement so I will take everyone's advice on board as I want it to look good but also to learn from mistakes and learn new techniques.

I'm not worried about trying to finish quickly I'm worried about the quality of the finished article.

Thankyou all for taking the time to reply.

Honestly, strip the body. The decal will show the run up even more, as you're introducing additional light and shade. Decals tend to hide nothing but magnify flaws.

I've been there myself. The bonnet masking on this Mondeo;


DSC_1601 by Red Firecracker, on Flickr

was not right (shape) and there was no way I could just sand it down to fix it as the decals would have shown every scratch and dip, so the whole bonnet was stripped back to metal.

You'll be far happier with the final result if you strip the body and then paint the wing and body at the same time using the same process as there is a very real chance that you'll end up with a disparity between the two parts, not only as you're more used to spraying now so will probably be better at spraying the wing a second time round. You'll put the two together and immediately see a difference.

[dr_gn]

^^^^ It's right.