1/12 Tamiya Ferrari 641 + Perfect Parts Detail Set + Brakes

[Thunderbolt*1988]

Hi all, 

I am new to the forum and would like to introduce myself. I'm C.A.R, 28 year old male, from New York, and have been building 1/32nd aircraft for years.

I would like to share my first F1 model car build with you. While I normally wouldn't venture into building cars myself, my 27 year old brother is a huge F1 fan and recently requested that I build something for him. When he showed me the Ferrari 641 in 1/12th scale, I had to oblige. I found the car gorgeous and the engineering of the 1/12th scale Tamiya kit to be an excellent starting point for a super-detailed build of Alain Prost's 1990 car.

 

The biggest challenge (and expense) associated with building this model was somehow obtaining the two Perfect Parts detail sets (1. full set & 2. brakes), which have long been discontinued for at least 10 years and are extremely rare (several sets have sold on eBay for $200-$500 dollars each). Despite this, I was lucky to get both from a seller in England for $275 total. Though I have no way of knowing this, I suspect I bought one of the last unused sets in the world. I knew I had to work extra hard on this kit to do those rare detail sets (and my brother's build) justice. 

 

 

Regarding detail sets, the only other detail set supplier is a from a guy named Paul Raterink who runs Thundervalley F1. He turns out some impressive work but hasn't responded to my many emails. I initially tried to buy his stuff; when he didn't respond, I went on a wild goose chase globally to find the Perfect Parts sets. It was dumb luck that I was able to get both sets at the price I got them. 

As good as the PP sets are, they have inaccuracies. Mainly, the velocity stacks are completely inaccurate, as are the brake discs. Both are accurate for the McLaren Mp4/6, the Ferrari 641's rival car and counterpart Tamiya release in the early 1990's. 

I researched the car by traveling to the MOMA's example in NYC (below) and taking my own pictures of the actual car. I also used Tamiya's Ferrari 641 detail book and numerous google images. I also looked at the builds of others to see which judgments they felt were accurate in either/or areas. I tried to find engine plumbing schematics for the Ferrari engine, but could not find anything. 

 

 

I will probably roll out pictures by subassembly: wheels, brakes, torsion bars, wings, monocoque, engine, etc. 

In the spirit of improvement and/or accuracy, I invite you to be as critical as you like when leaving comments. 

CR

Edited June 7, 2017 by Thunderbolt*1988
forgot pics

[Dragline]

Watching and Welcome aboard.

[cmfowler]

Will be following this build. 

Edited June 9, 2017 by cmfowler

[Roncla]

I'll be following along on this build too. This is a kit I'd love to add to my stash though I really want  a fresh copy and its surprising Tamiya haven't re released it since 1999.

Talking from personal experience I'd  suggest you do a thorough internet search before you have any business dealings with Thunder Valley. 

[Mooneyzs]

Hey CR... Welcome to the Forum. This is going to be a killer build. I would love to pick up one of these 1/12th scale kits myself one day. I would recommend taking a look at some of the stuff that Robert from RB Motion offers. He has the best turned aluminum A/N fittings around and he carries a bunch of stuff specifically for 1/12th F1 kits and For Braided line look no further than Pro Tech, Charlie carries the best braided line around. Here is links to their sites if haven't already seen them:

http://www.rbmotion.com/

http://protechmodelparts.com/

I look forward to seeing this build come together. I have Tamiya's 1/20 scale version of this, but it may be the F189 that I am going to do an out of the box build with it though. I look forward to seeing this come together and will be following along.

[Thunderbolt*1988]

Thank you all for your welcomes! Sorry for the delay, but I am actually an MD/surgeon in training and will be rolling this out slowly by subassembly. I'm calling the wheels done. 

 

WHEELS: 

The perfect parts set above is an excellent improvement on the wheels and brakes. Specifically for the wheels, a 4 mm hole needed to be drilled through the center axle, then countersunk from the medial aspect with a 6 mm drill to accommodate the brake disk. For this, I need to have a perfectly centered drill, so I went to my local high school and borrowed the drill press for an hour to get perfectly parallel drilling. 

I wet sanded the tires using 200 grit sandpaper until the mold seams were no longer apparent. 

 

Before and after, left vs. right. 

 

6 mm countersink

 

 

Here I have attached the tires to the rims and applied decals. The stencils were painted using Tamiya fine primer through a 1/12 Goodyear stencil I managed to scavenge on eBay. The tires have yet to be weathered in the above picture. 

Wheels as finalized. I elected to weather the tires by scraping some paint away with a #11 blade and sanding lightly with 1000-grit sandpaper. I then applied thin layer of Tamiya X-19 smoke to de-whiten the logos. My camera is acting up today. 

CR

Edited June 24, 2017 by Thunderbolt*1988

[Chris Smith]

looking good! can't wait for more

[Fordboy1975]

looking great so far!!!!

cant wait to see more!!!!

[Dragline]

Great painting on the wheels. Looks like the real deal from here.

[Lee Yoder]

OK, gotta bump this, any progress?

 

Later,

Lee

[nickyfzr]

Looking good so far. Hope to see some updates soon. I've done the FW14B and MP4/6 and I'm currently doing the 312T from Tamiya in 1/12. I used Thunder Valley and RB motion for most of the detailing items for those builds. I've dealt with Paul at Thunder Valley many times and he has always been very responsive and helpful. Parts were always delivered quickly but I have seen some negative reviews for his site on the internet. Just my two cents.

 

P.S.

Studying to be a surgeon. Steady hands will deffinitely be a plus in this hobby. Good luck in your chosen career.

[Pete J.]

I'm going to follow this closely.  I am lucky and have the Tamiya clear bodied version and both Perfect parts set's.  I bought them many years ago when you didn't have to go to the secondary market.  I love the nuts and bolts set that they offered up at the same time.  Every time nuts and bolts sets show up on e-bay I bid on them. Like all the PP set, they have gotten really expensive.  I didn't buy the last set when they went over $50.  Not going to pay that, even though their screw heads are the best out there.  

Edited April 21, 2018 by Pete J.

[Thunderbolt*1988]

Hello! I very much appreciate the bump and the interest in this project. Residency has been very time consuming and I have not had much opportunity to get to the workbench. 

However, I have been devoting a bunch of thought to the project behind the scenes. Lots of research and mentally planning out this project. I have resumed construction recently and will be posting new photos. 

I have been in touch with Paul Raterink over the months, too. Very nice guy. We spoke in December. He sent me a bunch of parts that I also plan to use; among which are his really nice anodized aluminum rims: 

I am completely re-doing the wheels I built above. I bought a second kit ($140) for new tires and to have a full complement of spare parts.

Paul's rims fit the kit and his own brake set, but not the PP set. Thus, I have asked him to use his machining equipment to modify my rims for me so that they can fit with the perfect parts brake components (essentially I have asked him to machine as per the PP instructions above). 

In my research, I realized there were several versions of the 641: 

the vortex diffuser on the front wing was +/- 

Prost and Mansell had their own windscreens and headrest cushions, as is made obvious by the kit instructions

The cowling had airscoops near the rear wheels that were +/-. The example at the MOMA has these. 

A few rear wing types were used (discussed later). 

The outboard camera wing was +/-

I am planning on building the version of the Ferrari 641 that Alain Prost drove when he and Senna crashed at the 1990 Japanese Grand Prix. To model this car, three major modifications will be need to be made to the kit: 

1. The rear wing will need to be modified [1] by making the side wings rectangular rather than trapezoidal and [2] adding a custom AGIP logo on the lower wing, as well as adding an extra wing to the overall assembly. I am in touch with Indcyals about the decal. 

 

 

2. Air scoops on the upper cowling over the engine will need to be cut out on each side. 

3. A camera pod on the starboard side will need to be scratch-built. 

 

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 

Edited April 22, 2018 by Thunderbolt*1988

[Thunderbolt*1988]

On 4/21/2018 at 2:08 AM, Thunderbolt*1988 said:

Thinning to scale thickness of vertical stab (right) vs unthinned (left). I am working on the chassis a little bit lately. Scale thickness is everything!

[TFSBr]

I just find your post and I would like to say that I had the last two perfect parts detail kits. I bought both by the of 90's. I hav about 80 Tamiya, Fujimi, MFH and Italian Kits and I'm looking to sell some of them as I won't have 40 more years to assemble them.

[dlfalcon24]

Hi Thunderbolt,

 

I have a somewhat unusual request.  is there any chance you would be willing to scan the instruction sheets for the PP instructions.  I just got a set but no instructions.  How I got them is a different story altogether.  (I traded a 1/32 Tamiya Spitfire, and a 1/48 Tamiya Phantom), oh yeah I got the brake set thrown in as well.

Thanks a lot

 

David Fredrickson

Palm Harbor, Florida