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70s F1 Restoration Shop 1/20 scale


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Hello model builders, 

 

Time for a brief update -

 

@Kitkent, hi Chris, thanks!  glad to see you sticking through this off-beat project!  My neighborhood is an interesting place - it was an industrial area, part of a very small City, surrounded by bigger places.  Over the last 20 years big corporations have built bio and medical labs, Pixar, a train station, and less than 10,000 residents.  In the last 12 or so years, lots of town houses have been built, and with more neighbors, have come parks, trails, trees and so on.  As it's a small place, it's an easy walk to neighborhood places - bars, parks, and tired out old buildings!

 

@Jo NZ, well, you got me thinking....please see below.  Thanks!

 

@Pete in Lincs, howdy Pete, thanks!  I enjoy adding those details!  Always a new challenge, but once you start, have to keep going!

 

@bar side, great! glad you like all those leaves!  Nope, I didn't make them, I think they are dried birch tree seeds, and don't think they are limited to any scale!  I had a little bag of them for years in the stash - figured now was a good time to try them out.  You'll see more as this moves along.

 

@silver911, Hi Ron, thanks for dropping by!  I finally concluded it made sense to set up two posts for this build, this one for things like buildings and leaves!  The other you know in the Auto section, where I'll eventually skip back to as a couple more cars come into play ( @bar side  taking a cue from your playbook! more vehicles).  

 

@Svedberg, thanks for taking a minute to leave a note! 

 

OK, back to @Jo NZ, well, as I mentioned, you made me think - hmm - a monocoque.  Well, that is an interesting idea.  Thinking about it, as this project has a fair amount of detail, the out of the box, kit part could be adapted and detailed, or, I could try and make one out of sheet aluminum.   Of course this would be done with no shop drawings, real auto experience and a collection of hand tools - pin vice, knife, files, pliers etc.  Here we go:

 

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BTW, the small yellow sheet to the right is the template used to make the front cowl - it's three or four sheets of Tamiya yellow tape stuck together - then, overlaid on the kit part and traced - you can see many drill holes (SMALL!! for rivets - using a #78 bit).  

 

 

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Above is the prototype.  I looked a lots of photos and scaled this kit directly.  The hull and a few ribs are .032", the rest is .016" aluminum sheet, and some lead foil here and there.  This was quite an interesting and challenging task.  While very thin, and easily bent, aluminum is not that easy to shape/cut curves - particularly the inner curves!   I show more process photos in the auto section.  I'm confident that there are numerous errors in my attempt, but it looks about right, which is a-ok for what I'm using it for.  And here's how it's turned out, pre weathering and painting rivets and the black section in the front:

 

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The bulkhead/fuel cell behind the cabin - was a headache.  One piece of alu sheet, marked, cut, bent - in some areas rivets inserted, other areas showing where rivets had been drilled out.  This was tricky to layout and build, as it tapers in several directions, still sits flush on the hull, and has a big circle hole cut in the top....ugh....

 

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I've got to say, I'm pleased with the outcome.  As this will eventually make it to the scrap heap next to this fence, it will provide a good subject for weathering and so forth.  Rather than placed on a fancy rack, this will be on saw horses or blocks of wood - not sure which just yet, amidst other debris.  And yes, it will receive a sprinkling of leaves!

 

Cheers gents, stay well, and happy model building,

 

Nick

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10 hours ago, Stickframe said:

I've got to say, I'm pleased with the outcome

I'll just bet you are. It looks great. But this just occurred to me, why is it on the scrap heap? It could tell a story.

Does it need a dent in one side? Could you bring yourself to inflict damage on your pride and joy?

Or, What if it had caught fire on the track? Some blackening (from a candle flame?) at the rear perhaps?

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12 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

I'll just bet you are. It looks great. But this just occurred to me, why is it on the scrap heap? It could tell a story.

Does it need a dent in one side? Could you bring yourself to inflict damage on your pride and joy?

Or, What if it had caught fire on the track? Some blackening (from a candle flame?) at the rear perhaps?

 

Exactly my thinking Pete :)

 

Ron

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Well guys....ha, piece of cake - so, now that it's done....change it up!  hmmm, something to ponder here.  I'm not sure about denting it at this point.  I might experiment on some scrap metal to see what happens.  Believe it or not, the .032" alu sheet used for the hull is fairly strong/rigid.  A big sheet will bend/flex without much effort, but a smaller section, not quite so easily.  Looking at what I built, it seems the rear portion might be more easily bent up than the front as it doesn't have layers of internal framing/bracing - but, denting the hull, could snap the rise for the fuel cell (or other parts) off, as they're glued together with CA.  I have a pair of small, strong, bent (90 degree "nose"),  needle nose pliers that I've used for similar tasks before, but, they are prone to causing real damage - and I don't want to destroy the larger hull in the process of getting the damaged look.

 

As for burning, or really, getting some burn marks on it, that might work - I've never tried - but could look interesting.  On the possible disaster side, the resin rivets could burn or melt, some of the CA could do the same, maybe the aluminum might melt? I really don't know.  It might be worth trying anyway.  If the rear looks really bad when done, I could always make a scale tarp out of paper towels drenched in watered down white glue, draped over the fuel cell area, then painted?   

 

The never ending joys and opportunities that come from dios!  😄

 

Cheers

Nick

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It needs to be a bigger dent than just drilling out rivets and re-skinning - i.e. not worth rebuilding. Slightly banana shaped (catch fencing pole in the side?) would be good.

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Nick, I can see why you don't want to bend it. If you hold it at an angle 2 - 3 inches above the candle flame, the fumes/smoke will leave a sooty mark.

Probably best to try on scrap first though. The effect can be seen on glass jar candle holders.

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Hello @Pete in Lincs, and @silver911, Pete and Ron, 

 

No, I'm not going to build another version of this with massive, hull-wide damage.

 

I did though, inflict some damage.

 

The test and the tools:

 

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Well, these two seem capable of inflicting damage - and leave nice tool marks on the metal.

 

Next - to the junk pile, for a part from the Lotus kit, which was replaced by a white metal Studio 27 part, with of course, the early stages of damage:

 

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I was pleasantly surprised to see how well this part fit into my aluminum version of the monocoque!   I trimmed the smaller wedge on the left to match the contour.  And, with the damage done:

 

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I went into this and cut out most of the lead foil I'd glued to the inside of this edge, then bent up the top and bottom parts - and the tool marks worked out just fine!

 

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I found a photo of one of these 1:1 being worked on which served as the prototype for the paint removal near the front lower control arms.  You can see a few bits added - leaves, the snapped outriggers for the lower body work, and a remnant radiator hose - and, saw horses!  Finally:

 

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If you look carefully above, you'll see smashed up aluminum honeycomb on the inside of the rear firewall.  As I researched this, it turns out that by the early 70's, F1 cars were equipped with both structural alu honeycomb structures and rubber fuel cells/bladders, which were pretty tough - hence, no fire, but plenty of damage!  Seems this is how far I'll go with this!  

 

Cheers, and stay well

Nick

Edited by Stickframe
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Brilliant damage. Now it's got a reason to be there.

Next how about some engine blocks? The way that steel castings used to be de-stressed was to leave them outside to "weather". It was beneficial to the blocks to add nitrogen in a liquid form, usually by spraying them occasionally with a yellowish liquid. Something for the diorama, or am I being too obscure??🙂

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  • 2 months later...

Hello gents, 

 

I did not stop work in this project, but have been working on a third car!  This time the rear end is torn off, so you can see the back of the engine.  I also decided it would be a good idea to build the rear suspension mostly from scratch, rather than use parts from the kit - why not?  This was certainly a challenge, and the results are OK, please take a look:

 

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While much of this will likely go unnoticed, I enjoyed building it.  I used scrap photo etch to make the lower brackets, and a very small diameter alu tube and styrene to make the upper brackets on the wheel hub assembly.  The swing and control arms are alu tube and brass and machined alu eye bolts - plus, small nuts and bolts!  Again, likely never noticed but fun to try!  Those fancy alu shocks are from a RB Motion, not me and my pin vise and files! 😁

 

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I need to add (4) lower control arms, but for now, keeping them off - don't want to break them as I keep fooling around with this.

 

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And, made up some aluminum stands.  I decided not to paint them, as I've seen bare metal alu racks in wood shops, so why not in auto shops?  I added basswood "sleepers" to each, and yes, countersunk bolt heads to suggest there are indeed bolted and not glued on! 😁  This car will be in one of the shop bays, with a couple guys installing/removing a rearend.

 

So, now being back to the dio - all sorts of tasks ahead - figure painting, finishing/installing walls, adding more dangling wires and tubes to cars, adding more details like spare parts, tools and so on, and eventually building the roof.  Since I last posted here, I added a few odds and ends, but nothing worth posting, but important to the look I'm after.

 

OK, thanks for having a look, and depending on how work goes this week, maybe a new post by the end of the week - 

 

Cheers

Nick 

 

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@bar side, good eye! yes, that's the car and the model kit!  The DFVs are fun to build because most of the time, the engine is clearly visible, so plenty of opportunities to try to detail.  I have another in the stash, an FW, but, at this point, I'm not sure I can reasonably squeeze anything more in to this dio! - that doesn't mean though that I've given up on the idea just yet.....Maybe the Penske car is being rolled out of the shed, and the other DFV is in the driveway, actually sitting on tires and wheels!  

 

Cheers

Nick 

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I think as a kid I wanted to build the whole Tamiya F1 range.  Got quite a way through.  Had the Brabham BT50, Williams FW07, Ferrari 312 (nice flat 12 there....), Renault RE30, and these ones are still in reasonable shape

 

x8TgVly.jpg
 

The Lotus 78 and Wolf were always on the list.  Years later I was looking at some Renault F1 cars at Goodwood Festival of Speed & realised the bloke next to me was Rene Arnoux. 

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@bar side wow! those look great!  Maybe next project will be a Tamiya F1 shop! it would be the size of your hangar but in 1/20! haha - 

 

OK gents, on we go.  I've been working on the interior, adding to the workbenches, made a shelf for tires, built another engine - this time with the valves/cams exposed, another rearend, fire extinguisher, and so on.  None of the big parts glued in place, and figures need paint, but you can get a sense of what I'm trying to do:

 

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and above...there is a awful lot of driveway left.....maybe room for one more car!!!  😁🍻

 

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I'm thinking about moving the vice or the bench grinder - they look too close together to me 😕? ...except, what you can barely see is on the right side of the bench on the right, is an air impact driver - with the light blue air hose.  It was a PITA to install and I'm not moving it.  So the question - would you run a bench grinder directly above an expensive impact driver??? No.  So, could you work a vice over the driver attached to the end post without constantly bumping into it with yourself or whatever you are putting into the vice? No.   And rarely do you ever (ever??) see a vice mid workbench?? well, what to do about this...?  Maybe leave it alone - and worry about other things.

 

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Above you can see both engines - both received similar pulleys in the front, but the version on the bench something that looks like the top of the head - I thought I had a closer pic - but, that's fine - as the engine on the bench isn't the focus, just something that look about right.  The fake valve train is just styrene cut, filed, drilled et to look like the actual part.   And, yes, for a about a minute I wondered..."how about scratch building some cam shafts?..." and then regained control of my common sense, so no.

 

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And, Mr Grumpy chatting with a tough journalist - she'll put up with none of his attitude....! 😁 - and if anything, she should be annoyed! nobody even bothered to dust off the ol' PC4!!  😁

 

Speaking of attitude, I need to adjust mine and keep going....more odds and ends to add to this - the door above still don't have latches and aren't hung! ....and, I still haven't quite decided what will go on the inside walls of the shed behind.  But, as I'm not doing this as a work project, there's not deadline!  makes it a lot more fun than otherwise!     And, almost forgot, four roll up doors are made - they have caused me some grief, or rather my door openings caused me some problems - they should have been taller.  Not to better reflect real life, but to allow for better photo ops! they seemed a bit short to me, so I hacked them up (roll ups, not walls!) and made them shorter.  Of course, I figured this out once they were done and painted.  So, now rebuilt in various stages of paint/primer....very nice.

 

Cheers guys, thanks for having a look,, and stay well

 

Nick 

 

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Nick, Good to see this back again. I wondered how it was going.

More fabulous details to be seen, does it need an airhose or two snaking across the floor?

Would I put an engine on the same bench as the drill press and grinder? Too much swarf?

I think the grinder/vice are okay as is though. Nice to see that the figures are socially distanced too!

Looking forward to more!

Pete

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I think the vice & grinder are fine.  Most mechanics moan about where something is but don’t get around to doing anything  about it.   My mum, as a wife of a mechanic, always said that mechanics fix everyone else’s cars but don’t get round to doing their own! 
I was thinking that you could have a motorbike in the driveway as the personal transport of one of the mechanics.  Then I realised that 1/20 kits & motorbikes are mutually exclusive.  Just thought a nice Norton sitting there would look at home.

Excellent work as ever

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Hello gents,

 

Thanks for dropping by - not to worry, this is still early in the build despite it's ridiculously slow progress!

 

@Pete in Lincs, well, you got me thinking...and immediately I knew you were right! So, the engine has moved!  Not good to get metal shavings into an engine!  Oh, and I have a plan for the air hoses, but it won't show up until much later! 

 

@bar side, and well, you got me thinking too....what about that big driveway - I wasn't joking above, I still have one more DFV F1 to build...or, not, maybe something else?  I've looked at a few other 1/20 kits, mostly small trucks - maybe a shop truck? I'm still not sure on that - the detail they have, isn't quite up to what you find in the F1 race cars, and I don't want it to look like a toy, but not sure yet.

 

@Pig of the Week, well, Mr Pig, not to worry! 😁 - Below you'll see where the actual build, that is glued together (mostly) sits today:

 

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And now, the engine is sitting on a stand!  low enough that this guy can work on it!  Placed a piece of metal on a wood base for it to sit on.   You can sort of see the valve train I faked in too.  Now, what should this guy be holding?  Maybe back to my camshaft idea?  try to scratch four of them?? hmm....?  

 

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Seems like an interesting challenge - how to make a cam with lobes?  using only basic hand tools and styrene?.....hmmmm....maybe sliding little segments of styrene rod over one another?  Just drilled out asymmetrically? "just", right...easier said than done 

 

Back to where all of this sits, as of right now:

 

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Ugh! too much vacant land!  And, plenty of room for added decrepitude! which will make its way here.  Finally, just for scale:

 

2kSFHdc%5D5_truck

 

 

These builds are 1/25 scale! and they're each huge, and yet, fit pretty comfortably right here!  Nick's diesel repair???  😁

 

Cheers, and happy model building!

 

Nick 

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Like the idea of a shop truck.  We visited the Benetton F1 team factory once in about 88.  They had a DFY V8 loaded in the back of a Ford estate car to drive it down to Imola (as far as I remember) where the team were testing.  So there is always something less glamorous about

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Well...not really sure where to start Nick...first off I guess...you have captured the feel and look perfectly in my book...sure...it needs more dirt/mess...after all...we are not talking McLaren levels of sterility.

Concrete floors were dusty...and held stains from spillages/leaks etc. ...which leads me to suggest using pastels for the dust effects...and enamels for the staining.

A couple of minimal extras the scene would benefit from...oil drums (with hand pump)...a broom or 2 with a dustpan and brush...some trays for drained oil and fluids...maybe a few waste bins...just general everyday items...empty tea mugs/cups/bottles etc. etc. etc. 

My comments aside...you have captured the atmosphere very nicely...with so much to enjoy within the whole...and those figures work perfectly.

I can honestly say...at least for me personally...this is by far one of the best of this type of diorama I have ever seen.

 

Respect

 

Ron

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