Rizzo

Last few bits are finished, and so I'm calling it done At least for now, there were a few other little details I wanted to add, but there's a 1/1 scale kit car in the garage that needs work... Repainted the steering wheel for the second time. I'd seen a couple of photos of the car with a JPS badge and silver surround, and just preferred how that looked. And had a perfect decal from the leftovers of a 1/20 model. Last few details on the nose: the Gurney flap is quite matte in real life In period the cowling was a yellow colour, rather than the clear version they have now, so sprayed a bit of Tamiya clear on it. And the case finally arrived! Really happy with it, great quality for the price I think.

Also added some rivets to the end plates and finished up the dash wiring... nearly there now!

This could easily have gone horribly wrong, but the seam on the airbox was bugging me a little, so filled it in and repainted. The gold lines aren't an exact match, but close enough.

It's not arrived yet, but I ordered one of these: https://www.acrylicdisplaycases.co.uk/shop/deagostini-mclaren-f1-display-case/ (Someone has posted the 72 using this case on that page, seems to fit well) I've had a good experience ordering from then in the past, but it's not a quick turnaround... I'd expect to wait a couple of weeks for it to arrive

Left side of the engine done (I think?!) Lots of wiring, not much of it that apparent once it's done 😆 I used a guitar string for the oil temp pipe, quite a good match for the scale The water pipes seem like one of the biggest issues with the kit... especially how they combined them with the throttle sliders... which in themselves don't look like the real thing! I've seen one 72 with aluminium covers over those sliders though, so I made that instead, using offcuts from the A-16 part as the base. Then the water coolant pipes have been repainted with alclad, with some heat shrink and aluminium tape to remake the silicone joints (thanks to others in this thread for all those ideas!)

Most of the front end in place now, just need to sort out the axle boots

I've seen the tiny photos etch details you've been adding, and trust me, you must have a much steadier hand than I do 😆 I just used this method for the tyres, but with acrylic instead of oil based pens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Hwk6j7rXGA Edding 5300 acrylic markers worked well- the tips are firm enough that you don't really have much chance of spilling paint over the raised parts, and it wipes of easily enough if you make a mistake (and I made quite a few ) The first pass looked a little wobbly as the paint thickness wasn't too even... second pass over that looked ok, third pass was just enough to smooth it all out. And yep I saw the odd one out on that page- different wing and cowling too. Maybe the spare car, or a misplaced photo?

A few days off work, so I've made some good progress I've painted the tyres... In the British GP the car at the end of the race doesn't show any hint of paint, but it's there in the first laps. So I guess either would be accurate, but tbh, I just prefer how it looks painted I think I'll add some markings and weathering later on too. https://www.motorsportimages.com/photo/1017325884-british-gp/1017325884/?race_type_id=&year=1972&event_id=160343 (More photos here: https://www.motorsportimages.com/photos/?race_type_id=&year=1972&event_id=160343 ) Fuel pump/filter bits added: The cars covered in small bits of metal dust in that photo because.... I took a Dremel to the front to remove the fictional part that holds on the nose. Wish I'd done this at an earlier stage, would have been a lot easier! And the dash is done too, with the exception of the missing switch:

To stop the wheels poking out so much I attacked the center with a hacksaw. About 2mm less seems about right to me

I've been finding this thread super useful, so thanks to everyone that's been posting here! The instructions are somewhat lacking, so it's really needed 😄 Here's where I'm at with my build... sort of jumping in at the half way point. 20240116_164720 20240116_164630 20240116_164554

Thanks I just sent you a message regarding the photo etch sheet.

First step- give the print a clean, to get rid of any powder left on it. I just used soap and a brush. Since making this model I've used automotive filler primer instead or MrSurfacer (I use the one Halfords sell): a few coats of that sanded down with micromesh gives a nice smooth finish from printed parts. It sticks better to the printed plastic I find, and it's a lot cheaper to use. Over that I painted it in gloss black, which was an enamel (again from a Halfords spray can). This was my first time trying to get a metallic effect- since then I've also airbrushed Mr Color gloss black (which is a cellulose based acrylic), which seems to work just as well as a base. The metallic effect itself is from Alclad "Airframe Aluminium" which has to be airbrushed in a very thin coat over gloss black (I've since switched to using MrColor SuperMetallic paints, they're both fine). You just dust it on and build it up until it looks right, really easy stuff to use. The important bit is getting a good glossy finish to the black base. Over that I used an acrylic clear to protect the Alclad layer. It can dull the finish somewhat, but I actually preferred the effect in this case. You could skip this step and just be very careful handling the parts. One thing to be aware of- the cowl itself is designed to fit over the firewall- but the engine is slightly too big once the oversized valve rockers are in place. So I needed to thin them down quite a lot to get everything to fit properly. So I'd do quite a lot of test fitting before the paint goes on (something I didn't do myself, but wished I had!) I'll send you a pm about the photoetch. I can send the drawings I have for things like the modified instrument panel too.

Wow! I have to echo Keith, one of the best models I've seen here.

I've just finished this one It's an amazing kit, and falls together perfectly, but I found it really hard to paint with so much detail. It's the Tamiya IX kit with Kagero decals for a 316 sqn aircraft, flown by Gnyś. Other extras were the Barracuda cockpit parts and stencils with an Ultracast pilot.

With the kits fuselage fittings, I'd maybe make an exception- or at least modify the way they attach, otherwise there's a good chance the tension will pull them out of the corners eventually? When you choose what fishing line you use, I'd try to get something with as much elasticity/stretch as you can find, while still being close to the right thickness. To get the charring out of the ribs, I just rolled up a small bit of sand paper... it took ages.

Thanks For the rigging I used fishing line painted with vallejo model air silver (it sticks to the line better than you'd think it might). Something like elastic might have been better on the wings (to get the flat cross section for flying wires) but I think it needs something that would be more structural than that would provide. A few years later and it's still all fine- no problems with the tension changing over time. The only problem I had was connecting up the rudder. Adding enough tension for it to work properly put too much strain on the rudder pedal connection- I had to brace it with more lines to the front of the fuselage to balance things out. It would have been much easier to strengthen earlier on, so maybe something to consider. Enjoy your build! Avoiding the temptation to perfect things is way to go with this kit, I agree. The kit certainly has it's issues, but it's probably the one I've enjoyed building the most.

Most people gloss over the matt finish, decal and then finish with a matt clear, so I have wondered why the camouflage colours aren't just provided in a gloss to start with (no need for triplicate finishes)? As for zero uplift in sales, wouldn't it offer a competitive advantage?

I was watching this a few weeks ago, certainly highlights BMW's role: https://youtu.be/b9ztUlve9jc

To be honest I think I misread your first post, and thought you were saying BMW weren't involved in the design. But interesting to see just how much of the work was done by Rover- interesting article, thanks!

Car companies seem to have all moved on from using the great design firms (Pininfarina, Bertone etc), and moved towards branded themes with broadly the same design cues across the range. Which I think is a big shame (the new Alfa Giulia... meh), but the Mini brand is built up around one very recognisable car design, rather than the heritage from an entire company... so it's maybe not surprising that it's lost it's way already? I guess it doesn't help either that Frank Stevenson is busy designing McLarens these days.

Are you sure? BMW bought Rover Group in 1994, and the first Mini came out in when, 2000? BTW I like the first version,- but the direction it's taken with the Clubman and Countryman.. Might have been better to keep it under the Rover brand (owned by TATA now I think), then there wouldn't be the same level of expectation for what the cars should stand for.

Thanks very much for posting those photos- great to hear a bit about the build process too! I'd love to be able to build something like that myself, but it's quite a daunting thing to take on... The finish you have there looks incredible, definitely worth the effort! It's one of those car designs where you can't really pick anything that would make it look better- it's a shame that modern car design has moved so far away from that kind of elegant simplicity, one of the reasons the Elise S1 was special, I think.

Two of my favourite car designs there! If I had the option to have a replica in the garage it'd be either an RSK or Dehavilland Dino. Would be really interested to know more about that RSK replica

Thanks for all the comments! :) The difficult bit now it resisting making the FRS1 too (IMO the best looking Harrier, especially in EDSG/white!)- trying to make myself finish all the in-progress kits before I start anything new...

I liked the idea of having a full Harrier lineup for 800NAS, so started this one just before the new Kinetic kits came out. But then it sat on the shelf of doom for the last few years (got distracted by F1 kits)... started it again a few weeks ago and finally finished it today :) It's the 1/48 Hasegawa kit Extras were: Aires nozzles PJ productions pilot Pavla cockpit Airframe decals (which were really impressive, definitely worth getting) Flying Leathernecks MDC It's a bit of an over engineered kit, but fun to put together all the same.