Nacho Z

Alpha Models has two relatively current F1 cars in their line up. 2016 Red Bull and 2019 or 2021 Mercedes. Double check the years but I’m pretty sure they’re correct. Both kits are multi-media and are 1:20 scale.

Absolutely gorgeous, Gustavo!

Oooooh, maaaaaan!! I love this! One of the very first cars that I got to drive around by myself was my step-sister’s Duster, (no permit, no license and no way my parents knew…lol). I’ve had a love affair with Dusters every since. Yours just looks so good! Great job, Anthony!

Wow! ? What a great looking Camaro!

Gotta love those 442s! I think you did a great job, Chuck! Thanks for sharing.

I pulled a 16 hour workday yesterday so I missed my usual Monday night update. Better late than never, as they say. One thing to add to this update. This update will pretty much take you up to date on this build. I have a few other small things done but not enough to warrant their own post. With that said, this will be the last update for awhile. I really hit the wall and am in a pretty bad funk at the moment, both modeling and overall. The last update was the exhausts. I feel that they are somewhat of a focal point and I wanted to add a little detail to them. I decided to add exhaust clamps and springs to them. Once again, here is a photo of the real thing. Here is a photo-etch exhaust clamp. The photo-etch clamp bent to shape. Due to the relatively large step between the collector and the exhaust pipe, I had to do a lot of sanding and shaping for the clamps to fit / sit properly. Even then they are not perfect but to the naked eye they look good. And now for the springs. I made the exhaust springs from 32 gauge wire wrapped around a .8mm drill bit. I am not sure if they are small enough. I shot the exhausts in Gravity Colors, (Spain), Dark Gray Primer to check my work. I held one of the springs on the exhaust and really feel that they are too big. I posted this on FB and had some good, honest feedback and they said that they thought the springs were too big. Back to the drawing board. I have finer wire and I have smaller drill bits. I will make they over and they will be better. Thanks to all of you who have popped in and checked out my Matra. I genuinely appreciate all of the comments she has received. You guys rock! Not sure when I'll get back to it, I doubt it will be long. I'm going to try some quick builds to get my mojo back. I have a 1:72 P-47D on the bench and have worked on it a bit.

Very nice, Rich, very nice indeed! Keep ‘em coming. I never get tired of seeing your work.

Hi, Dave! Yes, it was nice meeting with you on Saturday. I’m being completely honest and sincere when I say that I don’t believe I should have won Best Automotive. I think there were better models on the table. I even spoke with the judges afterwards. I shot you a message here about the medals. I saw that you asked a question over on Spotlight Hobbies.

James, I’m right there with you, Buddy! Nothing like a V-12 singing it’s song ?

Thanks, Bruce!

Jason, I have shot Splash over Tamiya Fine White Primer with no issues. I shot TS-13 Clear over Splash. You can look up my Foose Ford pickup here if you want to see the results. I will say that I shot the Splash on with many light coats and at least 10 minutes between them. Towards the end, I started getting lazy/impatient and I started laying on heavier and it did, ever so slightly, start to craze. I immediately stopped spraying, let it cure, and sanded out the area that started to craze. I went back over it with light coats and it was fine. Again, you can look at my Foose Ford to see how it turned out. EDIT!!! I actually just looked at my build thread. I tested colors by shooting Tamiya primer on SPOONS. I had no problems. The spoons are shown in the build thread. The actual Foose pickup was primed in Gravity primer. I’m sorry for any confusion that I may have caused.

Hi, Pierre! Thanks for the kind words, as always. Yes, these 1:12 kits just beg to be detailed. I’m really trying my best to add what I can. There is a lot more plumbing to do once the drivetrain is installed and all of the ancillary tanks, pumps, etc are added.

Thanks, Chris! Yes, there were definitely some frustrating moments. You can’t immediately commit to permanent glue as you have to fiddle around with each pipe and how it interacts with the others. Truth be told, I’m not sure that they are exactly as they should be. White glues take too long to set up. I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir…lol. Thanks for checking in on the Matra.

Great job, Pierre!

Here we go with another update. I've turned my attention back to the engine. More specifically, the exhaust. Anyone who has ever built this type of exhaust knows that it has the potential to be a nightmare. Here is a photo of the real thing. I have said early on and maintained throughout this build that this is not up to the standards of a modern Tamiya kit. The next two pictures prove my point. There are 10 more individual exhaust pipes just like these two. I spent a considerable amount of time cleaning the 12 pipes up to make them presentable. Keeping track of 12 relatively similiar exhaust pipes could get tricky. I made labels for each exhaust pipe as I removed it from the parts tree and placed them in individual baggies. After a lot of test fitting and a little frustration I had 4 sets of 3 exhaust pipes. Note that these are not painted. They were primed so that I could check the quality of my parts preparation. Also, they are only mocked up in the engine block at this point.

Thank you very much, Pascal! The Matra is not anywhere close to the level of your work. I see your work over on FB and am just blown away!

Thanks, Anton! It looks like this was my first ever post in the Under Glass section. Very cool story! I've not had the opportunity to see an F1 car up close and personal. Maybe someday!

She is coming along nicely! Your additions to the kit are great!

Doggone, Steve, this is fantastic! We don't see a lot of F1 here so it is a real treat to see this one! It looks like you knocked this one out of the park.

Thanks for the kind words, Chris! The kit supplied vinyl (?) tubing is fairly pliable in long lengths but when you have to cut short lengths it is much harder to make the bends. I had one radiator support “leg” on the bottom kick out of its hole and smear a small amount of CA glue on the front bulkhead. Fortunately, it really isn’t visible when viewing the car from a normal perspective.

I like everything about this one! Nice job, Anthony.

Great job on this, Gerald! I could see this driving around my hometown back in the day!

Very nice 442, Tim!

Hi Jim, thanks for taking the time to look through my build thread. Hopefully I don’t ramble too much throughout the postings…lol. I always enjoy reading other builders threads and I learn so much. I am just trying to pass on the same thing here. There is not a lot of information on this model or building it. I have two builds in particular that have been very helpful to me. I’m just hoping to be of help to someone else.

Welcome, Adam! I’m a transplant to WV but have been here for 35 years. I’m up in Fairmont. There is a good chance that I’m going to the show that Dave Van just mentioned. Let me know if you would like some details about it.