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Gabriel,
Just not sure how I lost track of your Tyrrell P34 build. But I just read through the whole build to date to catch up on all that I've missed, and I've missed quite a lot. Again, my apologies for not keeping up to date, especially on a F1 race car.
No worries whatsoever,
Joel, I've been myself confusing with 4 builds in criss cross all this time.
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I'm really glad that for at least the time being leaving the world of 2K and coming back to the more traditional clear gloss coats. Personally, I prefer lacquer, and use Mr. Color C46. Their GX100 is enamel based, and every mention of it I've ever seen has been 100% positive. Only their Super Gloss III is in the same class. Neither can I get here in the states as yet. I still also use Testors Glosscoat and Dullcoat, and after nearly 50 years have never let me down yet.
Ironically, after I bought a couple of alternatives to 2K, I ran into a professional resin that has it all: the shine and resistance of a 2K and a lacquer's workability. The
Lotus build has a quite exhaustive assessment of it. I just sprayed it again today on the
Tyrell and... there is nothing to sand! (see update infra)
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Believe me that I feel your frustration about older Tamiya kits, especially their F1 cars in both scales. Tamiya really tried to push their envelope to the cutting edge, and back when these kits came out from the 1980s and onward we felt like they had, but time has certainly caught up with them to some degree. Fit and fidelity to scale doesn't always meet our expectations of what a Tamiya kit should be. But you've more then risen to the challenge, and have done a truly outstanding job to date.
Yes - I agree. I'm not that annoyed that I have to work on a difficult model - I'm quite used to it - I am more frustrated that they can do so much better (also see update)
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The engine looks darn near perfect as your wiring and detail painting really makes quite a difference. The duel front suspension once painted will surely look more then convincing.
Coming from a master of detail and a connoisseur such as yourself, it's a great honor. It humbles me - thank you!
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The Clear Gloss will darken the Blue and yet brighten the White, not sure why, but it always does.
I agree - the gloss clear is an excellent contrast enhancer, while the matte clear has the opposite effect.
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I'm not a fan of the older Tamiya decals which are generally on the to thick side, but you really made them behave quite well.
These are 2nd generation
Tamiya. For a while I was suspecting that they were printed by
Cartograf, but then I noticed they are more glossy than the Italian ones. Good stuff!
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As you mentioned, the seatbelt is a decal, looks excellent for what it is, but looses that dimensional look just because it's a decal. An option to keep in your modeler's box for the next time is to try and cut them out with the backing paper, then glue them into place that way. I've never really mastered that technique to my satisfaction, but running a black fine point magic marker will hide the edge and give you that sense of separation.
I would have even prefered the molded on belts by AMT! Meanwhile I bought some
Gofer Racing PE buckles + stripe but - naturally - they came too late for this build
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Like you and just about all of us car guys, rubbing through the paint is a battle I fight with every build these days. So, don't let it give you any needless concerns.
Yeah, it happens again and again - I guess there is no cure for it
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Those rear wings are all a pain in the butt to assemble and correctly align. The one on the Lotus 99t nearly drove me to drink.
Apparently my trick worked on that assembly - I stick with my coffee
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Looking forward to your next update. And may none of this year's Hurricane's come your way.
Joel
This is going to be one of the most active seasons in decades. It reached L letter already. Laura passed SXM while still a tropical storm and brought here some heavy rain, but when it made landfall in Hispaniola killed 22 people (18 in Haiti and 4 in RD). Quite used to the gamble by now
UPDATE - Almost finished doesn't mean finished My first worry it was now to slice perfectly the decals to remove back the cowlings for clear coating while working to complete the interior. Also I would like the front cowling to remain detachable after all. I sharpened my SS blade on the nail file and the cut was surgical:
Installing the dual steering mechanism / suspension tested again my problem solving abilities, but eventually turned out OK:
Front winglets painted and glued; decals applied:
Decals applied on the rear wing as well. My biggest enemy wasn't the decals, but the paint. Sprayed with only 12 hours before, the paint was barely dry to handle; sanding excluded; errors not allowed:
Wheels sprayed with
MM Gunmetal non-buffable; the paint looks fantastic under the clear; unfortunately my last bottle is nearly empty and the brand died. I called my Canadian Connection - finished
I could have been a great paint for my MB 300SL
All parts sprayed with 2K. You were correct,
Joel! Now the white looks like white
Wheels assembled. If the front tires are almost easy to sand and clean, the rear tires are almost impossible to do so. They are very different of the small ones, very spongy, tacky and thin. Probably from the kit upgrade; however - poor quality. Tamiya strikes again!
The resin dry to touch in only 6 hrs. The upside down tub was a side test: the insides were painted by hand, with matte craft acrylic. Under resin looks totally glossy. Good stuff!
Radiators painted with MS Surfacer 1500 for semi-gloss and added; the top filler, electric boxes, and the instruments frame also added at this step:
Bottom and body mated together. The front end clicked in. In the rear the fit was more loose, and I had to undo one of the radiators, whose alignment tab was interfering with the AAA battery box. And this is my harsh criticism to this kit: why - since it was partially re-tooled, they didn't replace the motorized version of the bottom plate. It ruin my chances on ranking high on TCC Contest already and could have been catastrophic if the radiator would have been completely dry. I was lucky the glue wasn't set yet!
Last few remaining pieces were primed and hopefully tomorrow I can call the build finished.
Gabriel
