jaymcminn Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 (edited) So I decided to take the plunge and try my first F1 kit... since I usually don't do things halfway I decided to start with the classic Tamiya Lotus 72D in classic JPS livery. I ordered the most recent issue of the kit, which includes racing haresses and a beautiful photoetched fret, but unfortunately no JPS sponsorship decals, because apparently small children will be driven to smoking (John Player Specials are a brand of cigarette, BTW) by the sheer awesomeness of the black and gold livery. Fortunately, a company called F'artefice produces a beautiful set of replacement decals for the missing sponsor logos. This is the Lotus 72 in all its glory being piloted by Emerson Fittipaldi in Bahrain in 2010... Ironically, the prep work on this model almost drove me to start smoking again... I thought the Trumpeter GT40 was bad, but that was a walk in the park compared to this. Every single part (and there are a LOT of parts) required cleanup of mold lines, ejector pin marks, etc. Every single round cross-section suspension part needed prominent mold lines cleaned up, and since it's all on display there's no hiding any of it. Everything is mounted on toothpicks and I'm in the process of painting it all now. To give you an idea, here's the majority of parts for this model all ready to go... A lot of these pieces are actually subassemblies involving several pieces, such as the working shocks and engine block/transmission. I didn't try to do all this tedious prep work all in one go, as I actually wanted to keep my sanity, so I got the bodywork started (as well as another little project) while working on this prep work. I'll post up pics of the painted and decaled bodywork (and that other project) soon! Edited October 9, 2014 by jaymcminn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferrarijoe Posted September 22, 2014 Share Posted September 22, 2014 I have the original of this kit in my stash (with original JPS decals) so I'll be watching. You can find some nice detail parts for this kit from RB Motion, ejan, MFH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaymcminn Posted September 22, 2014 Author Share Posted September 22, 2014 (edited) I have the original of this kit in my stash (with original JPS decals) so I'll be watching. You can find some nice detail parts for this kit from RB Motion, ejan, MFH. I'm trying to not go too overboard on this build...I was ogling the Acu-stion PE set as well as the RB Motion intake trumpets/injectors, but 1/12 detail parts start adding up pretty quickly if you're not careful. That being said, I have some valve stems from RB Motion on the way as well as some hose clamps from Tremonia. In addition, there's some stuff left over from my GT40 build that I can work with. Edited September 22, 2014 by jaymcminn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaymcminn Posted September 22, 2014 Author Share Posted September 22, 2014 (edited) So I went ahead while doing the cleanup on the rest of the parts and got the body panels assembled as much as possible and sprayed. This marked the first time I used Tamiya white putty and I was pretty impressed... it's the first lacquer-based putty I've ever felt that way about. The trick was to preserve as much of the surface detail as possible with the large number of separate parts and seams. Paint was Tamiya TS-14 Black with no clear coat and polished out with Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and Polish- no polishing kit was used to get this finish. The result is just a tiny amount of orange peel, which looks like the real thing, and a nice deep gloss. The kit decals are extremely nice, but fragile... fortunately Tamiya includes extra pinstripe decals for when you mess one of them up, which will happen. The F'artifice decals are nice as well, but a little thick and with less gloss to the finish. The color matches the kit decals perfectly. I decided to do Emerson Fittipaldi's 1972 Italian GP car #6. PE pins on the cowling are kit pieces. The JPS decals on the sides are a little too far back, but I'm not worrying about that at this point. You can see how bare this kit would look without the JPS logos... they're everywhere! Rear view mirrors are Tamiya TS-21 Gold, as are the wheels. End plates on the rear wing and front winglets are PE metal and look amazing when painted and installed. Even the intake gets the logo! And finally, what's Fittipaldi's car without Fittipaldi? This is the vintage 1/12 Racing Driver kit, which is pretty clearly molded to look like Fittipaldi and includes decals for his suit. The helmet decals came from the seated driver figure in the kit. I sculpted the hair with Dremel and files to look less like Ronald McDonald's and did some pretty careful shading and drybrushing to bring the figure to life. I haven't done any figure painting in nearly 20 years and I'm pretty pleased with how he turned out! Edited September 22, 2014 by jaymcminn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nacho Z Posted September 23, 2014 Share Posted September 23, 2014 Wow Jason, just WOW! This is fantastic. These "Big Boyz" don't get a lot of attention but should. I am in no way trying to hi-jack your thread but thought I would let you know I have a '78 JPS build thread going on too, you may find something of use there. I bought the Acu-Stion PE set for my JPS and did not like it and barely used anything from it. Let me know if you have any questions that I may be able to help you with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaymcminn Posted September 23, 2014 Author Share Posted September 23, 2014 (edited) Wow Jason, just WOW! This is fantastic. These "Big Boyz" don't get a lot of attention but should. I am in no way trying to hi-jack your thread but thought I would let you know I have a '78 JPS build thread going on too, you may find something of use there. I bought the Acu-Stion PE set for my JPS and did not like it and barely used anything from it. Let me know if you have any questions that I may be able to help you with. Thanks, John. I've been following your thread pretty closely and the detail you have put into yours is amazing. Glad I didn't splash out for the Acu-stion detail set then. The Tamiya set has most of the stuff I want anyway. I agree about "Big Boyz" not getting the attention it deserves, but there are sections of this forum I don't visit either so I guess I understand. I'm sure I'll have questions for you, especially as I start getting into that DFV engine! Edited September 23, 2014 by jaymcminn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaymcminn Posted October 9, 2014 Author Share Posted October 9, 2014 So, I've definitely been busy on this one. Once I got paint and cleanup done, I was floored by how nicely everything goes together. Even an ancient kit like this one shows the characteristic Tamiya attention to detail that I've grown to respect over the years. Here's the engine most of the way through the assembly process, with the fuel lines already in place. The ignition wiring came out of an old USB cable and is the perfect diameter. I used the too-thick tubing that Tamiya would have you use for boot material! The intake trumpets were stripped and painted with Alclad, as were the exhaust collectors and pipes. I then heat-stained the collectors and pipes with Tamiya clears. With the exhaust and ignition wires in place... The header tubes were texture-coated with Make-It-Suede before being dusted with Aircraft Interior Black acrylic. This is a Testors color and is by far the best dirty black I've used. The transaxle was assembled with the PE brake disc faces.... ...and the two components were assembled, after which the movable suspension was added piece by piece. It's really fascinating as it all comes together. Next up will be assembling the monocoque and the front suspension... more pics soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imatt88 Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 (edited) Superb!! great stuff!! I have one of the original issues of that kit, and the old Tamiya decals look like they are from the 1950's I had to buy aftermarket as well, I bought mine from IndyCals.. Great stuff! Keep up the good work... Cheers, Ian Edited October 25, 2014 by imatt88 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nacho Z Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Dang Jason, the engine is looking GREAT. Love the last photo, the overhead one. You are doing an outstanding job on this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaymcminn Posted October 29, 2014 Author Share Posted October 29, 2014 I actually just finished this one up... got a little carried away and didn't update WIP pics. I'll get some good shots in the next day or two and post them up. This is a really impressive kit that responds well to some pretty basic detailing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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