Tamiya 1/20 Ferrari F189

[Motoholic]

Hi all

 

As mentioned in my welcome post this is my first model for about 25 odd years. Back then I was a big fan of Tamiya's cars and bikes, as I am now. My choice to start with the F189 was based on ease being as there is only one body colour and minimal decals. I also love the shape of the car, It doesn't really have a bad angle in my opinion and was raced at a time when I really started to become obsessed with F1 (wish it was still like that now)

 

I've never actually built a model properly nor used an airbrush. I'm aiming for a nice friendly and enjoyable build completely out of the box with the exception of bare metal foil in the engine bay (hopefully!). I'll be using Tamiya acrylics.

 

The box and sprues

 

 

First step calls engine assembly. These first parts were primed using Tamiya Grey Primer via a rattle can.

 

 

Then it was assembled, masked and airbrushed. Gotta say after never using an airbrush I was amazed (thanks to britmodellers help) as to how easy and how much control and precision you get. The engine end was a combination of two colours whilst the transaxle end was three. All thinned 1:1 with Tamiya thinners at about 15psi.

 

 

 

Then some fine detail of the pulleys/belts. Even though these wont be seen once assembled I figured it would give me some good practice. Brushed with assistance of a few drops of Tamiya paint retarder which really helped even out the flow.

 

 

 

One error trap was thinking that one coat was enough. whilst it looked ok it scratched and wore along the edges very easily. I'll making sure to give everything at least 2-3 coats minimum.

 

That's it for now, hopefully onto the rear suspension tomorrow along with the small rear body panels. Any comments/tips welcome.

 

Cheers, Andy

Edited November 22, 2016 by Motoholic
photo rookie :-)

[injidup]

Great start, Andy, especially for a first go with an airbrush! 

For the bodywork, have a look at some pre-thinned paint for airbrushes, such as Zero or Gravity. But don't discount Tamiya rattle can sprays - they can give good results too.

 

Cheers,

Kev.

Edited November 22, 2016 by injidup

[Motoholic]

The next step for the Ferrari was the top of the transaxle casing, rear suspension, wishbones and hub carriers. All were primed with rattle can grey and then airbrushed with Tamiya semi-gloss black. All other colours and highlights were added with the brush with a few drops of paint retarder to help it level out a bit better. I was really dreading the suspension coils as they are tiny and I didn't know if I had the skill to do it. With some patience, magnifying glass and good quality fine brush I ended up quite happy with the way they look.

 

 

 

I couldn't resist a little rough fit up. Would have loved to assemble what I've done so far but there are some narrow body panels that need to be in place before I can proceed. This means having a crack at trying to get a nice glossy red finish on the panels as well as attempting some bare metal foil for the inside surface. I'm a bit nervous as both are unknown territory for me. I just keep reminding myself that this is the first attempt so bound to be a few mishaps.

 

 

Cheers and thanks for looking,  Andy

[Mickd]

You're making a great job of it so far mate nice one. 

[Hugh Jampton]

Great start Andy.

Will be keeping an eye on this thread.

 

Regards

John

 

[Motoholic]

The next step took me the better part of the weekend. Whilst the side panels themselves are quite small, the detail and process took quite a while. it wasn't helped that I made the rookie error of impatience, I had successfully painted and clear coated the outer side of the panel and was quietly chuffed with the result but I didn't let it dry enough before I attempted the bare metal foil on the inside. The result was a perfect deep fingerprint on my glossy panel. Ha!, that will teach me for being chuffed with myself. The offending panel then needed to be rectified and re painted. Luckily it has been nice and warm here on the West Coast (37deg on Sat) so the curing time was relatively quick.

 

I was happy with the way the panel turned out paint wise. I used a laquer thinner which made it very forgiving, a few times I thought I had gone too heavy but it flashed off and leveled out nicely. Then a bit of micro mesh to smooth it out followed up with a couple of clear coat. The bare metal foil was a different story though, it was extremely tricky to work with and took several attempts and a lot of patience to get it right. Its still not perfect but its as good as my current skills can get it. The red is really washed out in the photo, its a lot deeper and glossier than what appears here.

 

 

The panels were then glued onto the engine and all the suspension components built around it.

 

 

 

 

I don't normally use the flash with photos. I noticed it seemed to highlight the red a bit more so I included it.

 

 

Cheers and thanks for looking, Andy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Motoholic]

So, now cracking on with completing the engine. I managed to get some more intricate work done, firstly with the cam covers. Now originally I tried to dry brush the fine detail of the raised sections but it was a disaster, I just didn't have enough skill or a steady enough hand. Out of desperation more than anything thought I'd give the bare metal foil a go and was pleasantly surprised, it went on much easier than I thought, especially after the difficulties I had with the rear panels. Would have really liked to highlight the Ferrari logo but its way beyond me I'm afraid.

 

 

I found the intake trumpet set up easier to paint but very time consuming with 4 different colours applied and some intricate work that tested my hand. I cheated a little with the flat red around the top of the tray by painting a thin coat onto a sheet of paper and then carefully pressed the tray into it, made it much easier than trying to brush it.

 

 

 

One area that lacks on these Tamiya 1/20 kits is wiring and plumbing, feeling pleased with my BMF efforts it seemed a waste to not wire in the spark plug leads. It was tricky getting the placement of the holes spot on and they aren't perfect by any means, still better than nothing I say. I used some 0.4mm black fishing braid that I found at my local boating and fishing store.

 

 

Then it was all assembled. Quite happy with the way it looks so far and I'm quite enjoying being back modelling again.

 

 

 

As always, cheers and thanks for looking.

 

Andy

 

 

[Motoholic]

Hi all,

 

The last step on completing the engine side of things is the exhaust system. There was extensive plastic webbing between the header pipes that requited cutting and sanding to at least get some resemblance of realism. Like most Ferrari's of the 70's - 80's the exhaust system is a matt white colour. After spraying them up (tricky! the matt white is fussy and took some thinning ratio and pressure adjustment to get it spraying ok) I noticed they were very stark and bright and decided to give them a slight smoke discolouration.

 

I'm really keen to get some feedback on how they look. Sometimes I look at them and think they come up ok, other times I think they look a bit naff.

 

 

Once the system was fixed in place it looked a bit better. Lastly I added a little shrink hose between the oil tank and oil cooler, I'll add another from the oil tank heading along the injector rail a little later.

 

 

 

That the engine done, now onto the monocoque and floor. Progress a bit slow as I'm enjoying the Aus summer and haven't been inside much :-)

 

Cheers, Andy

[Hugh Jampton]

Andy

Looking good, that engine is great. I had one of these kits when it originally came out, surprisingly never finished it and ended up in the bin after I discovered beer, only just bought another a few weeks ago so will be taking notes.

One question, will you be putting 'Our Nige' in the car?

Shame about the weather though, hope its not too hot for you.

 

Regards

John

[shood23]

Jeez how did I miss this!! Always great to see more f1 builds on here (especially when it's ferrari).

 

Great work on the engine it looks top drawer. 

 

Shaun

 

[Motoholic]

Hi all,

 

So I've been frustratingly busy in the lead up to Christmas and haven't been able to find the time I'd like to really get stuck in with the Ferrari. Nevertheless got a little bit done and I'm slowly getting there.

 

I decided to tackle the floor next. This step had a bit going on with a few different colours and the application of the dreaded bare metal foil. I'm still finding this stuff very tricky to work with and don't mind admitting it took several attempts to get it to this stage. I added in some light smoke on where the exhaust penetrates the floor and decided to continue the smoke onto the bare metal foil to highlight the heat affected zone. Not that you will actually get to see it as once the engine is in place it disappears. All good airbrushing practice none the less.

 

 

 

Whilst waiting for the floor to dry between coats I decided to really live dangerously...well by my modelling rookie/newbie standards anyway...The instructions call for the airbox to be flat grey but after looking at photos of the real car I noticed it was finished in a flat grey carbon fibre. Whilst watching Flipper's amazing Honda RCV213 build I noticed his copious amounts of carbon fibre decaling that looked absolutely amazing. So I got a hold of some Scale Motorsport 1/24 twill weave carbon fibre decal. I went with the clear as I wanted the grey come through. After masking the airbox, transferring the mask to the decal and then carefully cutting it out, I was set. All I can say is wow, what a fantastic product. So easy to work with, very compliant and with a little Micro Sol it snugged right down nicely. I had to refrain myself, I wanted to keep going and decal everything!

 

Below are the 3 phases. Painted airbox, decalled airbox and finished in a flat clear coat to mimic the real car.

 

 

 

 

 

On ‎12‎/‎3‎/‎2016 at 22:28, Hugh Jampton said:

Andy

Looking good, that engine is great. I had one of these kits when it originally came out, surprisingly never finished it and ended up in the bin after I discovered beer, only just bought another a few weeks ago so will be taking notes.

One question, will you be putting 'Our Nige' in the car?

Shame about the weather though, hope its not too hot for you.

 

Regards

John

 

Hi John, I think the next photo answers your question. Nothing against 'Your Nige' whatsoever but Mr. Berger gets the nod this time. I was a Berger fan at the time (no Aussies in it then) and still find him refreshingly candid and open about his career and his own shortcomings. He also survived a nasty accident at Imola that year and was lucky to come out of it relatively unscathed. I have Nige earmarked for another kit in my stash, this one with the proper red 5 on it.

 

 

Cheers for the comments guys, really appreciate it.

[injidup]

8 hours ago, Motoholic said:

 

Hi John, I think the next photo answers your question. Nothing against 'Your Nige' whatsoever but Mr. Berger gets the nod this time. I was a Berger fan at the time (no Aussies in it then) and still find him refreshingly candid and open about his career and his own shortcomings. He also survived a nasty accident at Imola that year and was lucky to come out of it relatively unscathed. I have Nige earmarked for another kit in my stash, this one with the proper red 5 on it.

 

Hello from Perth!

I have the Tamiya Red Bull to make, will be doing Webber's car. Shame Daniel from Duncraig wasn't racing for RB back then!

 

Good onya for doing something a bit different with Berger's car. It seems there are far too many Ferrari's (sorry) and Senna cars being built! Looking forward to seeing what you do for grumpy Nige!

 

Kev. 

[Hugh Jampton]

Oh, 'Grumpy Nig' now is it! 

Pommy bashing again is it? just because your sweltering in tropical heat down there and were having trouble with our paint finish due to the Arctic conditions we have to put up with!!

Seriously, I did have a grudging respect for Berger at the time and love it now when hes been interviewed at home as he seems to have a Toro Rosso in his living room, shear class!

I've just got a MP4/5b on ebay, I could always do 'Old Grumpy' going round your boy on the outside of the  Peraltada in 1990! Now I'll have have a look at whats needed to convert the 189 to a 642.

 

Regards

John

[Hugh Jampton]

Sorry, forgot to mention, loving the progress on the car by the way, always loved the all black wings against the red. I really started getting into F! around 83 and the Ferrari livery was always very simple but classy then, never really a Ferrari fan but the Italians always made good looking cars.

 

John

[injidup]

16 minutes ago, Hugh Jampton said:

Oh, 'Grumpy Nig' now is it! 

Pommy bashing again is it? just because your sweltering in tropical heat down there and were having trouble with our paint finish due to the Arctic conditions we have to put up with!!

Seriously, I did have a grudging respect for Berger at the time and love it now when hes been interviewed at home as he seems to have a Toro Rosso in his living room, shear class!

I've just got a MP4/5b on ebay, I could always do 'Old Grumpy' going round your boy on the outside of the  Peraltada in 1990! Now I'll have have a look at whats needed to convert the 189 to a 642.

 

Regards

John

 

I'm English, actually. Sarf Lunden. 

Just remember brummy Noigel being a bit of a whinger.

 

How can you tell when a British Airways plane has landed in Perth?

The whining continues even after the engines have been switched off.

Edited December 14, 2016 by injidup

[Hugh Jampton]

South London! Even worse, been trying to brick up the Blackwall Tunnel for years!

Says the East London boy!

 

Your right he wasn't the most enigmatic bloke outside of the cockpit, but what a driver. I remember I stayed up to watch Adelaide 86, worst blow out I've ever seen.

 

John