2010 Red Bull Formula One

[Phildaupho]

I decided to build the 1/20 Tamiya 2010 Red Bull Racing Renault RB6 for a few reasons. First - I am going to attend the US Grand Prix next Sunday which is the penultimate race for the current era of Formula One normally aspirated cars of which the Red Bull has been the dominate car for the last four years. Second - I purchased the excellent Haynes Owner’s Workshop Manual for the RB6. Third - although I am primarily a Ferrari F-1 fan, I was very impressed with the Red Bull when I attended the 2011 Italian GP.

I have seen a couple RB6 builds on-line with extensive carbon fiber decaling, but I decided to build mine box-stock. I only strayed from the directions where semi-gloss black was specified for parts of the car that in reality would be unpainted carbon fiber. Instead, I used Metalizer Exhaust Black, which has a sort of carbon fiber color. All of these parts required masking to add more color. Unfortunately the masking tape lifted some of the metallizer sealer. After looking at a lot of carbon fiber both photos and parts on exotic sports cars, I decided to give a Future floor wax treatment to most of parts painted with Metalizer Exhaust Black.

Tamiya has done a very fine job on the exterior of the car. However underneath, only the basic details are present. The engine is totally shrouded except for the exhaust pipes and there are no electrical components in the side pods. There are only a very few things I wish Tamiya had done differently. The engine/transaxle assembly could have used a more positive attachment arrangement. Three areas that require a different color of paint could have easily and effectively been handled by decals or separate parts – the yellow areas at the base of the airbox on the main body, the yellow headrest area and the matt black area near the exhausts on the engine cover. There are also a couple items on near the cockpit that could easily have been decals rather paint.

All things considered, Tamiya really does make probably the best model car kits available. As with the real car component fit is very precise and tightly packaged. Some parts fit together so well, they hardly need glue. However, I was not able to get the engine cover fit as snugly as I would have liked. For tire makings, this kit came with a choice of rub-on lettering or a template for painting neither of which I had ever tried. For this model I decided to use the rub-on markings and I must say I am very happy with how they worked and how they look. In regard to seatbelts you are given a choice of a decal or photo-etch which is stuck to an adhesive backing rather than having to cut it from a sprue. The belts themselves are printed adhesive backed paper that you have to cut out but look great once installed on the seat.

As a refresher for those who do not follow Formula One closely

- 2010 was the first World Championship for Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel who have won the championship every year since.

- 2010 was the last year for Bridgestone as F1 tire supplier replaced in 2011 by Pirelli.

- 2010 was the year of the F-duct, which could stream air under the rear wing to reduce drag on straight-aways. The F-duct was banned for subsequent years.

- 2010 was an off year for KERS [Kinetic Energy Recovery System] which is a hybrid electric drive power boost system

- 2010 was the final year for the adjustable front wing flap which had been tired for two years before the more successful adjustable rear wing known as DRS [drag reduction system] was introduced to aid over-taking.

More photos at http://public.fotki.com/phildaupho/models-of-racing-cars/red-bull-rb6-2010/

[Peter Lombardo]

Very nice job........I have that kit, along with about 40 more F1's to do one of these days........you did a very nice job ....you are right about Tamiya and the F1 kits.....I have every one of the 1/20 scale kits and they are great to build......the Fijimi and Hasagawa are great too, so try one of them......I have a few Studio 27 and MFH multi-media ones too and they are more difficult. Well done, We need more F1 builds around here.....glad you posted it.

[Chris White]

amazing work

[slusher]

Awsume build..

[cobraman]

Thats a great looking car !

[Danno]

Beautiful!

[o-man]

That is one awesome looking F1. I hear COTA can be a major pain to get around but I hope you have fun.

[935k3]

Very nice job. What blue did you use? I bought some Testor's lacquer Deja Blue that looks except maybe the flakes are too big. I put some Tamiya TS clear blue over it and it looked better. Testor's sealer does not adhere well. Try using Tamiya's TS-79 semi gloss clear, it sticks better and is more durable. When I do use CF decals I coat them with Future then apply a light coat of TS-79 over top. If you air brush try Alclad's light sheen clear.

[Phildaupho]

Very nice job. What blue did you use? I bought some Testor's lacquer Deja Blue that looks except maybe the flakes are too big. I put some Tamiya TS clear blue over it and it looked better. Testor's sealer does not adhere well. Try using Tamiya's TS-79 semi gloss clear, it sticks better and is more durable. When I do use CF decals I coat them with Future then apply a light coat of TS-79 over top. If you air brush try Alclad's light sheen clear.

Thanks for the tips. The blue is TS-89 Blue Pearl which Tamiya blended especially for this model.

[Misha]

Beautiful F 1 rocket Phil! Always enjoy seeing your models on the forum. The various ducts and wings are such a change from the cars of my youth, that I have a hard time understanding the technology, let alone attempting to build a kit. Wishing you a grand time at the US GP, safe travels!

Cheers Misha

[PappyD340]

OUTSTANDING build Phil!

[Mike 1017]

Nice work I'll check out your Fotki site later.You have some very interesting stuff on it

[Nacho Z]

Such a beautiful build! You did a great job on this. I have the kit but I have had no luck finding TS-89. I can only hope that mine turns out half as nice as yours. One more thing to compliment you on, that is the photography. We would never see how nice this is without your clear photos!