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Studio27 PC4 and other DFV cars 1/20


Stickframe

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Hello guys,

 

Time to start a project.  About a year ago I decided I enjoyed building F1 cars as they typically show a lot of suspension, and in some cases, plenty of engine too.  I went about finding F1 kits that were on sale and buying those that seemed interesting.  There are many upsides to this approach including that I built a nice little stash and as I'm not really an F1 fan, don't have any favorite car/team, the kits were generally not too expensive, and the opportunities were relatively abundant.  Most of the kits I found (I purchased six kits) were Tamiya and Fujimi, and when available detail kits too.   These were the kits you see on web stores that shout out:   "Marked Down!!", "only 1 left", "34% off!" etc.  This kit was no exception.  My sense is that an on-line hobby store was either reducing inventory or ending their sales of auto related kits.   

 

The site boldly noted "60% off!!" for a Studio27 PC4....so, it almost didn't matter what it was, it was worth looking at, and finally buying.  I assumed this was a good idea because I've used Studio27 detail kits and like them.  And, now I'm going to build it.  

 

So far, no progress.  Only really looked at the parts today and they are pretty nice.  Please take a look:

 

1_engine.JPG

 

 

2_Parts.JPG

 

 

3_Parts.JPG

 

Appearances suggest not bad at all for "60% off".  The only weird part I've spotted so far is the distributor cap, which is rubber.  I've built up some of these Ford heads before, using similar aftermarket rubber ignition wire boots/plugs and remember they were a headache to get the wires through, so I assume the same will be the case with the distributor.  I'll worry about that later, and might even just scratch the cap.  In the meantime, will get going on cleaning up the engine parts.

 

So, off we go - 

Stay well,

 

Cheers,

Nick

Edited by Stickframe
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Anorak time, the car won the Austrian GP with John Watson.  Was in the First National City bank livery.  I think ATS ran this car as well, not sure on the livery you have there but always a fan of 70’s/80’s F1.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hello fellas, 

 

****Please Scroll Down Page for Images****   I am not using Google for images anymore - too much of a headache!  I'm not going to repost these pictures - Will just catch up with progress - Thanks Nick

 

Glad to hear there's some interest in this post - and sorry about the slow reply.  It turns out, I had to spend some time on real life projects !  some work and things I needed to get done around here.  Once all that was done, I did hit the bench and it turns out, a guy had his hands full with this Studio 27 build.

 

 

 

Edited by Stickframe
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Nick,I will se if I have any pictures of this car,there must have been multiple layouts for this engine I would have thought. It must also be very close in detail to the 1976 car of which there will be a lot more info. Don't hold your breath though! Chris.

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Hi Chris - thanks very much for that offer!  I've found lots of images of the Ford and with the Cosworth label, and the vast majority include injectors at the base of each intake as shown above.  The kit doesn't show injectors - and to be more clear than in my original post, the kit provides a manifold for each cylinder bank, pre drilled for trumpets.  Rather than having mounting points for injectors at each trumpet, it has an apparent connecting point on each end of the manifold, pointed inward.  My (likely incorrect!) guess is that these pins would be charged with fuel, creating a rack - ?? or - not.....  I'm not in a real hurry on this build so might put off painting for a couple days to see what I can find too - your idea of searching 1976 images seems a start.  I have been unable to find many shots of this engine - mostly somewhat distant body images and stories about the driver.

 

Thanks again 

 

Nick

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Hello gents,  a few updates.

 

Cosmosman  - Yes, your observation seems spot on.  I never found an image of the car that clearly shows what is supposed to happen - though I have to say, the pic above is the only one I found with inboard injectors.   Chris sent me over a couple of photos and if you zoom in on one photo from the rear of the car, it appears that the injectors are on the outside of the trumpets, as you see on other Ford/Cosworth engines.  The Studio27 kit just doesn't include this detail.  So, I'll likely use a left over set from an E.Jan detail kit.

 

As for images, I've come to discover that while I can see images on my PC and phone, most other can't.  

I'm giving up on using Google Photos and now going to Flickr.  I'll add a new post following this and maybe you'll see some images.

 

Cheers

Nick 

Edited by Stickframe
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Right - on we go.  Please see below - I've made some good progress with the PC4:

 

 

50501270328_a792082830_c.jpg

 

This blow up image is of the bracket and mounting point for the rear wing.  The kit suggests you push that pin, into the corresponding dimple - nope - instead, cut off the pin, drilled each part to fit a 1/16" brass rod:

 

50501314438_9ee1cc143c_c.jpg

 

This worked fine - and dryfit:

 

50502028101_986631a115_c.jpg

 

Also spent some more time on the chassis/cabin connection.  The rear suspension on this car is the type fairly commonly seen in this era, which for me was good as I've built them before, and the kit leaves a lot to the imagination of the builder to bring it together.  First, made some brass angles to pin into both sides of the tank and cabin. Pins in the cabin are glued in place - just dryfit on the tank.  Next, made two matching U channels from sheet brass to serve as receiver tracks for the control arms that link the rear end to the cabin:

 

50502028056_40c682a949_b.jpg 

 

 

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Above you can see - here and there added bits of detail like the base for the trans cooler.  Also added styrene to locate the control arms on the cabin:

 

50501314213_66bb33478e_b.jpg

 

 

Thanks for having a look - Nick

 

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Hello fellas,

 

Still going at it, and glad to be more focused on building, than how to post!

 

On with the mixed bag that is this kit.  First up, connecting the cabin to steering/suspension/bulkhead:

 

50510994112_36b4bf2836_h.jpg

 

Hmmm - this picture is of the bulkhead screwed firmly to the cabin - how about that difference in shape sizes?  A guy cannot live with that, so it was cut down to be flush.  This was fine, except, as a result of the cut, the left side, upper arm mounting pin hole was almost flush with the top of the bulkhead, which would likely leave a weak connection and ugly finish.  Some thin brass sheet was cut and shaped to both serve as cover to the hole of the mounting pin, and to create a flush surface:

 

50510994072_c3e8443eac_b.jpg

 

You can see the narrow strip of sheet, wrapping the top and outside edge of the bulkhead.

 

Below is a dryfit.  So far so good, until you lift off the removable main cowl, which reveals no detail and the comparatively giant screw used to attach the engine to the cabin.  To resolve this an overlay panel was made between the driver's seat and firewall - other details will be added:

 

50510117198_e1041465b5_b.jpg

 

 

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50510117118_cc35f64d55_b.jpg

 

It's unclear to me if the nose on this kit is intended to be removable, but I decided mine would be, and in turn, the steering and suspension would be visible - unhappily, not much detail is provided up front.  The next task to up detail the bulkhead and steering:

 

50510829291_a175be74b2_b.jpg

 

Almost forgot to take a "before" image - above, in the early stages of reworking, without much detail - at all, just the steering rack.  A variety of lightening holes, rivet heads, and a steering linkage.  The steering linkage is a piece of aluminum tube, cut to slip over the unit, and capped with styrene.  Next, added some elements to bring this up to being worthy of being seen:

 

50510117098_25e1481576_h.jpg

 

 

50510993787_75db2369b6_h.jpg

 

Well, a guy went into the supplies to give this some credibility.  The most challenging was figuring out how to add the appearance of the steering linkage to the knuckles.   The kit would have you glue the tie rod ends flush to the surface of the steering knuckle - yeah.  So, instead, added sleeves, and made up a tiny set of brass heim joints (or something that looks like them!), and ball joints.  Bolt heads added to the lower control arms, and brake cylinders made.  If you look along the bottom, you can see an aluminum pan riveted to the bulkhead - it fills the wide gap between the nose and bulkhead. 

 

Ok, on we go - Cheers,

Nick

 

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Hello fellas,

 

I decided I needed to do something other than drilling and filing white metal, so went about painting and detailing the engine and trans.  Quite an exercise in silver and black:

 

50520672738_b26f594c9c_b.jpg

 

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50521396721_b25fd55537_h.jpg

 

Some things still do do - a few braided hoses and a matte wash over those headers.  

 

50521574542_7ed2f1734d_h.jpg

 

 

50521574517_de70446b21_h.jpg

 

 

In addition to the fun going on with that engine, you can also see that grossly out of scale screw I mentioned before.  You can also see the etch bracket coming off the the valve cover toward the cabin - I'll need to fab up some brackets for those - maybe bent aluminum? brass?  not sure yet.  The silver rod sticking out above the valve cover will eventually be part of the throttle linkage.  Below, my deck, still pre detailed , used to cover that screw:

 

 

50521396651_ad67b9796a_h.jpg

 

So far, a piece of lead foil from a wine bottle glued to a sheet of styrene.  Am wondering how a guy will attach those brackets in a convincing way...?  Also, needs what looks like a solenoid or two? maybe a fuel pump?  Can't quite tell from my refence pics.....

 

50520672563_2c2a4b0ef4_h.jpg

 

 

The bright silver spot on the top of the tail is for the armature that will hold up the rear wing.

 

50521396586_5a2f8e5f6e_c.jpg

 

A good overview above - As is the case, there's a lot going on with the distributor and fuel pump, but as it is, buried and never to be seen again! haha -

 

The notch you can see in my deck lid, is there to accept the driver's seat - will need to figure out how to run the seatbelts.  The kit would have you run them into the rear cowl, but, as mine will be removable, I'll need to work something else out.  Also - the mentioned matte wash - looking at these pics, some of this looks a bit too shiny to me, so those parts will get toned down a bit.

 

While I'm on a bit of a painting roll, I might just go ahead and paint the front bulkhead/suspension  -  

 

Cheers and thanks for having a look

 

Nick

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Looking good so far,it all looks suitably busy in a 70's F1 way. The instructions and the parts given don't seem to match up to reality though! There's nothing like a 70's F1 car,I seem to be drawn to them myself. Chris

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Hey Chris, thanks.  There is something about the 70's F1 cars that I like too - almost like a hot rod/racecar hyrbrid - you can imagine the chassis and suspension parts being fabbed up in a machine shop somewhere, though the period engines were really something else.   As for this kit, there are some questions here and there, but I enjoy figuring out how to solve them, or at least getting close.  Funny thing about the instructions is they sure appear to be CAD based, which makes me assume that somewhere along the way they would have noticed and tried to resolve some of the more basic questions - like how to connect the 4 link to the cabin!  Most of the parts that are provided, like those for the engine/trans, are really nice and clean, then you get the front bulkhead, which is big and clunky - lol -

 

I think I'll paint up the front suspension/bulkhead today, then go on to the bodywork.  Eventually, will be truth time - when we'll find out if it sits level on all four!  

 

Cheers

Nick

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Good luck Nick! Shame about the kit parts,this quite often happens.........Have you seen Silver City models? They have made a 1/24 Shadow F1 resin kit,they also do the F5000 car. Oh and they also do Penske PC4 transkits. I would love to buy the Shadow for myself at Xmas. Chris.

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Hi Chris, I looked up Silver City Models - nice!  A bit too late for the transkit! haha

 

Ok fellas, here we go - I took the first pass at painting up the modified front end - added some brake and clutch lines too:

 

50534705142_afaac53af1_b.jpg

 

 

50534705087_95e66b2f8b_b.jpg

 

So far so good - a bit of clean up work needed but not bad.

 

Next - I've spent some time in the small bracket world.  As I mentioned, there's a big gap in detail in the area behind the driver's seat and engine, and among the missing details are engine connectors, throttle linkage and any plumbing for the fuel cell, so, some parts were fabbed up:

 

 

50534553501_64313a91ae_b.jpg

 

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The deck still needs paint - the fuel pump and breather will be added to the two holes in the oval - one more pic of the brackets so you can see what they actually look like.  The "z" shape is for the throttle linkage, and the other two will attach to the etch brackets coming off the valve covers.  These are thin aluminum and brass rivets:

 

50534704962_bcdf0c59b8_b.jpg

 

And finally, the seat.  I added some "aluminum" to the connector to the rear bulkhead and sides.  As for the seat - there was very little detail provided - it fits fine, but there's no transition between what would be the seat leather and underside, so, more foil added to at least simulate an edge:

 

50534553421_7529836309_b.jpg

 

The body received some primer today, so that will be the next updates - 

 

Thanks for having a look - 

 

Nick

 

 

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Hello model builders,

 

Another brief update, as I'm waiting for clearcoat number 2 to set on the body, then, on to decals.  I have no idea how old this kit is, so sure hope the decals still work.

 

In the meantime, I've been working on other odds and ends - first up the front wheels:

 

50541709066_eaa7432f5a_b.jpg

 

Tedious thing with these, the aluminum rim is round - the centers are not , they are oval shaped....so, added thin foil to the narrower sides to get them closer to round so they now fit without falling out..

 

The wonderful vacuform windscreen.  Not my favorite to cut out.  You'll see the dark shade along the base.  I made a painting template with Tamiya tape and shot the area with Vallejo Metal magnesium.  There's a bit of bleeding, but it's less obvious in real life:

 

50540983398_4c8921180f_b.jpg

 

On to the seat - as shown above, it was pretty ugly, but with some paint and belts, not bad:

 

50541851012_8239c29d0a_b.jpg

 

The little seam made from foil helps to clearly show the transition from leather (?) to fiberglass (?) - not sure of precisely what either is in real life.  You can also see the aluminum bench in the back  where it will attach to the driver's cabin. 

 

Finally, instruments - this is all dry fit, as I need to add wiring and the gear shift linkage, but, as this has a way to go before installation, seems smarter to reduce my chances of breaking some part off.  

 

50541708931_81025538bc_b.jpg

 

The kit didn't include any gauge decals, so I painted some in and added a drop of clear coat in the bezel.  

 

My plan is to be polishing the body parts later, then adding decals, and adding another clear coat.

 

Thanks for having a look - 

Nick

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Hey Chris, thanks - appreciate it!  On to your positive hopes, and the body.  Take a look, all painted, decaled and polished:

 

50548661997_d0dbbc6c2f_b.jpg

 

So, looking pretty good, alright, now just put it all together! woohoo! - alas, looks can be deceiving....first, the decals on the tires, looking pretty smart there, less smart once they began to fall off.....nice.  They'll get stenciled letters.  Another apparently good finish:

 

50548661987_8fda114319_b.jpg

 

Yes! mirror like finish, wow!....until, I discovered, the smartly placed decal, well, it will be mostly covered by the driver's cabin cowl...yeah...great.  Other "great" discoveries to follow - 🤦‍♂️ 🤨

 

And on to assembly.  Still more odds and ends to go, but largely going as planned, please take a look:

 

50547797923_0b9ebe4c7f_b.jpg

 

 

50547797898_18c7a77495_b.jpg

 

 

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Assembly well underway, and the big test - will it sit flat? Yes, it will!

 

50548529896_042461884c_h.jpg

 

 

50547797838_f6b9d51cee_b.jpg

 

The right tie rod looks a bit weird, so I'll see what that's all about,  and in the pic above this one, the left front tire a bit weird too - all four are dry fit so I can adjust. Lots of sanding on those tires, and still some bits of flash escaped!!  hopefully will fix those when stenciling the letters. Oh, the brake ducts, I pulled them off - they need some attention - they are a bit too thick, so I'm going to file them down for a cleaner fit.

 

The decal - that is a drag.  Bigger paint problems too - the driver's cabin cowl - while installing the windscreen, a big (big!) section of paint decided to chip off...nice.  I washed the resin before priming, so why did it do this? even with three layers of clearcoat?  who knows, but it did.   So, now that the window is installed, and not coming off, I'm thinking about taping off the screen, and repainting around it.  If a complete failure, I'll display this without the cowl!  Adventures in model building! lol - Aught to be interesting to see if I can save it!  That will be this afternoon's task.

 

Ok gents, thanks for having a look - 

 

Cheers

Nick

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hello guys,

 

No pics for now - I spent some time today prepping the front half of the driver's cowl for new paint to repair the big chip.  Full prep that is, sanding clean to resin, adding some filler here and there, one coat of primer on and sanded, likely another tomorrow, then repaint, cleat coat etc, and hope for the best.

 

But, as I was doing this, I wondered, would it be worth while to use this car for a dio instead?  Maybe in a workshop, and leave the motor and front end exposed (both of which I really like) - set the car on a rack, get some scale figures and go that route.  Maybe even leave the cowl in the state it's in right now? taped up (change to "scale" tape and paper), some primer, some sanded areas, set on a prep rack (in real life I realize if there were troubles with the cowl, the whole thing would be replaced or completely repainted, but this could be interesting to try). 

 

The car itself would be more or less good to go - except, the rear hubs, nothing special.  The car has internal brakes with plenty of detail, but the hubs on the other hand are just flat plates/disks, which makes sense as a single spindle with a retainer and nut hold them on, which looks ok - maybe I can leave them as is?  I have some 1/24 scale hand tools, wrenches, ratchets etc, which might be fine, and I can make some rolling tool chests, maybe a compressor, arc welder etc, the things you see in a shop.  I've built a few shop dios in 1/24 and 1/35, which were fun to build - maybe time to try 1/20?  I can scratch up many of the racks and a floor jack, but will likely need to wait some time for the figures, because of the current mailing situation with COVID. 

 

While waiting for the figs, I can get going on another build.  I have an MP4/13 w/ some Top Studio details lined up for the next project already.

 

The upside to this scenario is if I decide I don't like the dio idea, I can always go ahead and paint/clearcoat the cowl to look finished. 

 

Any thoughts from you model builders? Good idea? Bad idea? interesting idea?

 

Ok - happy model building - 

 

Cheers

Nick

Edited by Stickframe
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Hi Ron and Chris, well, not exactly a landslide vote, but, 2-0 wins! a dio it is.  Thanks for the votes!

 

The idea is that this is an F1 restoration shop that specializes in cars that used the Ford DFV engine, located in an old industrial shed, not a gleaming fancy place. The PC4 will be on stands in the shop, and a P34 (already done) and a still to be built Lotus Type 79 (which also has plenty of Studio 27 details, including and engine) sitting nearby.  Because the Type 79 has both the Tamiya and Studio 27 engine, one will be used to be set on a rack - exposing all the fancy goodness that the engine offers!  and, two more fun engines to build.  Funny, if the Studio27 version features the same tedious headers as the PC4, it might be the one sitting on the stand - sans headers - lol

 

I got started yesterday on some car and body stands and the base for a shop.  Hope to have one more stand finished tonight, so maybe I'll post some progress tomorrow.  I'm using mostly brass and aluminum for the stands. The PC4 kit is surprisingly heavy and unusually long (compared to other F1s of the era), so I want the racks to be strong enough to hold it up.

 

OK gents, take care,

Cheers

Nick

Edited by Stickframe
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