Rob S Posted February 16, 2022 Share Posted February 16, 2022 Scalemates is not always right with it’s dates. The Tamiya 1:20 range was definitely launched NOT MOTORISED. The motorised versions were released much later and not available in a lot of markets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 8 hours ago, 71chally said: Thanks Dave, I knew the Tamiya kits were so equipped, I guess other manufacturers just followed suit to make 1:20 the dominant scale? Tamiya definitely led the way for 1:20 scale F1 subjects. Hasegawa tried to make a go of 1:24 F1 and F3000 subjects but were never as popular as 1:20 which is probably why Fujimi and newer ones like Edbro (or however it’s spelt) have issued their F1 cars in 1:20. The interesting thing in Diecasts is 1:18 is the dominant scale with 1:43 being the next most popular. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Swindell Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 8 hours ago, Rob S said: Scalemates is not always right with it’s dates. The Tamiya 1:20 range was definitely launched NOT MOTORISED. The motorised versions were released much later and not available in a lot of markets. Irrespective of which version was released first, the tooling for these kits allowed for the inclusion of a motorised version from the beginning, the battery compartment is clearly identifiable in all releases of the kits that could be motorised. This feature determined the scale of the series. The motorisation was dropped very early on, from the Brabham BT46 onwards they were static only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 Getting off topic from a nice build so won’t say anymore other than happy to be proven wrong but will go back to my kits and magazine adverts of the time and confirm the facts as my recollections from building all of the Tamiya 1:20 F1 kits when they were released was not of any allowance for motorisation suggesting that the DFV sprue in the (later) motorised kits was “different” to allow for motorisation. As for motorisation determining the scale if I heard Tamiya San say it I’d believe it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orso Posted February 17, 2022 Share Posted February 17, 2022 (edited) On 2/16/2022 at 8:51 PM, malpaso said: Interesting, I built the JPS mk3 when it first came out and have no recollection of any sign of motorization There are some very clear signs of the motorization in the P 34 and Lotus MK.III/78 still. The hatch for the battery compartment in the bottom. A pain to hide. I built the Academy Lotus 78 that was a Tamiya copy and it did have the electric engine that destroyed the Cosworth engine as it had to be large and less detailed to fit the electric engine. I have now bought a new Tamiya kit to replace the Academy build. The strange chrome on the Matchbox kit is probably for the kids not having to paint it. Remember what it said on their ads. "No painting necessary" Looking forward to see this finished. I have built it and the Surtees and found them to be very nice kits. To bad they didn't more F1 kits. Edited February 17, 2022 by Orso 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted February 18, 2022 Share Posted February 18, 2022 28 minutes ago, Orso said: I built the Academy Lotus 78 that was a Tamiya copy and it did have the electric engine that destroyed the Cosworth engine as it had to be large and less detailed to fit the electric engine. I have now bought a new Tamiya kit to replace the Academy build. Interesting. Never seen that one! Do you have a photo of the Academy box? Do you know if they copied any other F1s? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orso Posted February 18, 2022 Share Posted February 18, 2022 You can see it here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/324526670309 Well, I don't think that it is a copy. I suspect it to be the Tamiya kit sold in an Academy box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted February 18, 2022 Share Posted February 18, 2022 On 2/16/2022 at 11:53 PM, Rob S said: Scalemates is not always right with it’s dates. That confirms my suspicions as I have noticed one or two kits I could swear I actually bought before Scalemates say they were released - not by much maybe a year but I was beginning to think my memory was going! Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 (edited) 9 hours ago, Orso said: You can see it here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/324526670309 Well, I don't think that it is a copy. I suspect it to be the Tamiya kit sold in an Academy box. Yes definitely a reboxing of the Tamiya kit. I think the only F1 Academy did was the Benetton 195. I don’t know if it wasn’t popular or they got into trouble with licencing but it was hard to find and they didn’t do any other F1s after that. The other Manufacturer that definitely didn’t pay any attention to licenceing was Kawai with their 1:20 “Honda F1” which was meant to be the Williams FW09 Honda. https://www.scalemates.com/kits/kawai-kmp-011-williams-honda-fw9-ra164e--204238 Sorry I digress. Back to normal viewing ... Edited February 19, 2022 by Rob S Apology. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71chally Posted February 19, 2022 Author Share Posted February 19, 2022 Don't mind me, I love a bit of chat about the whys and wherefores of model subjects☺️ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71chally Posted February 19, 2022 Author Share Posted February 19, 2022 HT Leads are looking a bit thick, but they busy the engine up nicely! PXL_20220216_204651023 by James Thomas, on Flickr 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orso Posted February 20, 2022 Share Posted February 20, 2022 On 2/18/2022 at 12:51 AM, Orso said: There are some very clear signs of the motorization in the P 34 and Lotus MK.III/78 still. The hatch for the battery compartment in the bottom. A pain to hide. I built the Academy Lotus 78 that was a Tamiya copy and it did have the electric engine that destroyed the Cosworth engine as it had to be large and less detailed to fit the electric engine. I have now bought a new Tamiya kit to replace the Academy build. The strange chrome on the Matchbox kit is probably for the kids not having to paint it. Remember what it said on their ads. "No painting necessary" Looking forward to see this finished. I have built it and the Surtees and found them to be very nice kits. To bad they didn't more F1 kits. This thread has sadly gone in two directions, one not related to this build and I am partly to blame. I have been looking through my old Tamiya catalogues and it as very confusing. The 1/20 cars firs appeared in the 1978 catalogue and nothing is mentioned of an electric engine. Not in the following years either until the P34 disappears in 1994. Then it gets odd., I have a box of the P34 that is marked with "Copyright 1997" but it isn't in the 1997 catalogue or the following ones either. This kit has the option of a scale engine and the electric one. Perhaps this could be a new topic for the Vehicle Discussion group. Back to this build. Being this small the cables might feel a bit thick as it might be tricky to find cables that is fine enough, but adding cables does much for the look of the model so I think they look good. One thing that I have noticed is that computer mouse's from Dell (or was it Compaq?) has finer threads in their cable than many low priced/no name mouse's so check for dead mouse or key boards for supply of thin cables. I wish that I had added cables on my Surtees because it look naked without them. On my Tyrrell I didn't bother as the engine isn't visible. You did a good job getting silver on the Ford letter's. It isn't a large engine. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted February 21, 2022 Share Posted February 21, 2022 (edited) On 2/21/2022 at 8:30 AM, Orso said: This thread has sadly gone in two directions, one not related to this build and I am partly to blame. I think Thread Drift is OK if the Owner of the Thread is OK with it and James has expressed his views above. We are reading the Thread though because of a great build and we don’t lose sight of that. Yes picking out the “FORD” on the Cam Covers is pretty good! I’m beginning to think I might have to get one of these one day but have lots to tackle before I really should get one! Just a thought too about “Cattle Dogs” (Australian for Catalogues) remember back in the day with printing lead times and changes etc (including whether the Cattle Dog “Year” was forward looking) how things can be different to when and what appeared. The best data is usually Magazines of the time (and they were usually closed for print up to three months and dated up to two months ahead of issue) and pretty sure Ads for the Tamiya 1:20 F1s were in Airfix Magazine before 1978 but like Murray Walker I could be completely mistaken but will check next time I’m near my Magazines of the time. Edited February 27, 2022 by Rob S 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted February 21, 2022 Share Posted February 21, 2022 Of course I forgot to mention that our Overlords “Rabbit” and “Jock” hold the ultimate power over Thread Drift and will no doubt send the offending party or parties to the “Naughty Corner” to think over their transgression/s. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71chally Posted February 26, 2022 Author Share Posted February 26, 2022 (edited) Progress has been slow, but it is moving in the right direction. The kit is quite detailed and fiddly, in an entirely good way but it means I've been going back and forth over stuff. Where I've painted small parts on the sprue, I've found I've had to clean up parts and edges and repaint after removal or even after assembly. I'm discovering that I haven't completely removed the lacquer from the chrome parts and this hasn't helped with the painting and glueing. Most of the small parts are done now, including engine, suspension, and the multitude or radiators/oil coolers. I'm also not having a clear enough run at the work, just getting an hour or so here and there. Some major assembly will take place soon, for now here's the front suspension, one of the rads, and engine joined to the inboard disc brakes and drive shafts. That lower monocoque half hasn't got it's final coat of paint yet! Matchbox PK-309 Tyrrell P34/2 by James Thomas, on Flickr I can honestly say that this is the most involved Matchbox kit I've ever built, but I love every step of it. Edited February 26, 2022 by 71chally 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimJ Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 Looking good so far. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnlambert Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 Very smart, if it wasn't for the scalpel in the photo you wouldn't necessarily know if it was 1:32 or 1:24 scale. Concurrently with my Matchbox car builds I'm working on an Airfix 1:32 Jaguar 420 kit that was re-issued at the end of last year. You can really tell that there's a generation of difference in detail between Matchbox and Airfix kits. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted February 27, 2022 Share Posted February 27, 2022 That engine looks sweet great work. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 On 2/21/2022 at 10:51 AM, Rob S said: I’m beginning to think I might have to get one of these one day but have lots to tackle before I really should get one! Don't worry about thread drift Rob.... this line caught my attention and knowing what stash you have - a). I'm surprised you don't already have one.. and b). You probably don't really need one anyway! James, excellent progress and it's all coming together quite nicely. Cheers.. Dave (approver of 'slight' thread drift) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71chally Posted February 28, 2022 Author Share Posted February 28, 2022 44 minutes ago, Rabbit Leader said: a). I'm surprised you don't already have one.. and Thank you Dave. I would definitely get one if you can, they are a gem if a kit, and open to super detailing beyond my skills 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 16 minutes ago, 71chally said: Thank you Dave. I would definitely get one if you can, they are a gem if a kit, and open to super detailing beyond my skills Like the Sign that says “Please don’t feed the Animals”; please don’t encourage the incorrigible! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob S Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 2.05 AM. @Rabbit Leader What are you doing awake? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted February 28, 2022 Share Posted February 28, 2022 4 hours ago, Rob S said: 2.05 AM. @Rabbit Leader What are you doing awake? It wasn’t quite that late, however due to the Brisbane floods and both my daughters Rowing sheds effectively out of action, those early wake ups are on hold for a while. I can now sleep in on some of my days off, although I’m certainly not celebrating the fact as many people here have been badly effected as the follow up days are rudely highlighting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71chally Posted March 4, 2022 Author Share Posted March 4, 2022 (edited) I had a couple of parts broken in the kit, including one of the anti-roll bars and one of the radius rods which had broken off and is missing, so when I saw an incomplete kit going cheap on Facebook I decided to get it for parts. This kit is the original Blue Dot boxing which is nice, on opening I found that the only items missing were two front tyres, one front wheel and the decal sheet. Funny old thing, the same radius rod was broken, but it was still in the box so I've glued it back on.The chrome parts in this box actually look duller and a lot more realistic and (see pic below), especially the parts for the alloy monocoque tub, so might keep it as it is. It's so complete that I've decided to build this one along side the other kit, but with the bodywork removed (like for pits stops etc) and this will have the better parts. Matchbox PK-309 Tyrrell P34/2 by James Thomas, on Flickr Matchbox PK-309 Tyrrell P34/2 by James Thomas, on Flickr Edited March 4, 2022 by 71chally 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71chally Posted March 9, 2022 Author Share Posted March 9, 2022 I'm gradually getting somewhere with the two halves of this kit, the monocoque body and the engine/gearbox/rear suspension group. The parts are going together very well and I've finally found a couple of good reference shots of P34/2 in the period that I'm modelling it (#4 Depailler, South Africa 1977), which has helped so much for the suspension components colours. The oil coolers joined to the radiators and locating rods Matchbox PK-309 Tyrrell P34/2 by James Thomas, on Flickr The monocoque structure and front suspension Matchbox PK-309 Tyrrell P34/2 by James Thomas, on Flickr The engine and rear suspension parts Matchbox PK-309 Tyrrell P34/2 by James Thomas, on Flickr Matchbox PK-309 Tyrrell P34/2 by James Thomas, on Flickr The next stage now should be joining these sub-assemblies together. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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