Formula 1 Champs

[Bob S]

Thanks a bunch for the encouragement fellas!

[Anthony Leger]

Wow is right nice cars and the tire trivia too. Thanks

[Ronv]

Ok cool....you took it to the next level! I have seen F1 builds at contests before but I don't recall them having markings on the tires.
RonV

[Bob S]

WOW these ones look great also!. Hey by the way why do the tires have hand painted numbers and directional arrows?
RonV

yeah Ron, as it turns out, tires aren't exact (never have been) - back in the 60's, the Corvette Grand Sport racing team was one of the first teams to recognize this fact, and mark the tires for the crew to get the best results on the track. Over the years, other teams saw the wisdom in having a tire specialist on hand. These guys study the tires for actual weight, actual width and diameter, how much pressure they can actually hold, and they try to use consecutive manufacturer code #'s as a running set, figuring these were all made from the same pot of rubber compound -- they also factor in weather conditions to determine what's best for a particular track on that particular day, then they mark each tire so the crew knows at a glance where on the car the tire should go, and in what direction it should spin. The marks and arrows are the result of careful consideration for maximum performance and driver safety. On a banked track, the wider tires will be marked for the low side of the car (the load-bearing side). Unlike on our daily drivers, where the front tires have a safety priority, racing tire priority is determined by the track, the direction of travel, and the weather conditions on race day. In a situation where a team may have more than one car in the race, the driver's name will also be marked on the tires that are meant for his car.

[Bob S]

Hey Bill - Thank you sir!  as you might imagine, motorsport is my passion

[Bill L2]

Man those are some amazing models. You really do build some great race cars. Great job.

[Ronv]

WOW these ones look great also!. Hey by the way why do the tires have hand painted numbers and directional arrows?
RonV

[Bob S]

Starting with the 1/20 Tamiya kit of the 1990 Ferrari 641, the car was driven by Alain Prost, a four-time F-1 champion known for conserving his tires and brakes early in the race so he could come screaming up from the ranks at the finish with confidence. I used Tamiya Italian Red for this car, used the kit-supplied decals, plus Marlboro sponsor decals from eBay, then clear-coated and buffed up with 3200 grit, then Meguire's Scratch-X polish. Tires were lightly sanded for a broke-in appearance, and engine was wired and plumbed courtesy of Scale Motorsports. Suspension and bracing is Tamiya Gunmetal over flat black.

Next is the Tamiya 1/20 version of the 1987 Williams FW11B Honda driven by the duo of Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet, with 9 championships between the two.
The car's success was short-lived though, as Honda broke ties with the Williams racing team at the end of the '87 season in favor of the McLaren team.
This is an old kit, and the decals had not aged gracefully, but I used them anyway since I couldn't find replacements. Painting was a challenge since the Williams team used a 3-color scheme, which turned out to be a masking nightmare, but worth it, I reckon. The decals got upset at the idea of clearcoat, but they're buried in it now. Inside monococque is painted a mix of Tamiya German Gray and Humbrol Bronze to replicate fiberglass.

Last is the Tamiya 1/20 version of the McLaren Ford MP4/8 driven by Ayrton Senna.
At the beginning of the 1993 racing season, the MP4, outfitted with a Ford Cosworth V-8, was thought to be under-powered compared to the Renault V-10 powered Williams car, but the driver, Brazilian-born Ayrton Senna, proved his incredible skills by taking the car to 3 victories in the first 3 weeks of the season!
Senna was killed in an accident the following year while leading the San Marino Gran Prix. Senna was thought of in those days as the best driver in Formula One.
This model is my tribute to him, only 34 years old at the time of his death.

The kit included all decals except for the main sponsor, but the fluorescent decals were too thick to navigate the compound curves of the monococque, so I ended up using those to make masking templates, and then painted those portions with Tamiya Flourescent Red. The main body shell components are Tamiya Pure White, and the inside of the monococque is painted with a mix of Tamiya Cockpit Yellow and Humbrol Bronze to replicate Kevlar. The Marlboro decals are from Studio 27, and are most excellent, much like Cartograf. Suspension and bracing assemblies are Semi-Gloss Black. The engine wiring and the carbon fiber used at the front spoiler are from Scale Motorsport.

The F-1 cars can be difficult and tricky to assemble.... I guess I'm a glutton for punishment, but I'm not gonna stop now - I think I'm hooked!