Tamiya 1/20 Honda RA272

Post by **Thumboy** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 3:42 am

This will be my entry to the Rising Sun GB, Tamiya's 1/20 RA272 1965 Mexico GP winner. looking forward to this one, it will be my first car and first model larger than 1/72.

Post by **DBMiller** » Sat Dec 20, 2014 2:17 pm

Super looking car! I'm really happy to see something non-military, too!

Post by **JonMW** » Fri Dec 26, 2014 10:03 am

That's a nice kit, build one a few years ago. Can't remember any real problems with it. The only thing I think is a bit of a let down in the kit is the intake velocity stacks as they are just molded as cylindrical parts and don't have that trumpet shape at the end.
You can buy turned aluminium stacks for this model for about €15. Or a cheaper way of getting the same detail is to go to your electronics store, not sure what you have down in kiwi land, or go to farnell, rs or something similar and get some bootlace ferrules.

These come in a lot of different sizes and works really well as velocity stacks. When I build mine I bought a bag of 100 for about €1. A cheap and pretty easy way of adding a bit extra detail to a part of the model that will most likely draw a lot of attention.

Will be a lot of fun to see what you do with the kit, and it's nice to see another car.

Post by **Thumboy** » Sun Dec 28, 2014 6:00 am

JonMW wrote:That's a nice kit, build one a few years ago. Can't remember any real problems with it. The only thing I think is a bit of a let down in the kit is the intake velocity stacks as they are just molded as cylindrical parts and don't have that trumpet shape at the end.
You can buy turned aluminium stacks for this model for about €15. Or a cheaper way of getting the same detail is to go to your electronics store, not sure what you have down in kiwi land, or go to farnell, rs or something similar and get some bootlace ferrules.

These come in a lot of different sizes and works really well as velocity stacks. When I build mine I bought a bag of 100 for about €1. A cheap and pretty easy way of adding a bit extra detail to a part of the model that will most likely draw a lot of attention.

Will be a lot of fun to see what you do with the kit, and it's nice to see another car.

Thanks for the tip, I had seen the after market parts but thought they were too expensive for what they are. Just yesterday I was thinking how I could make them from some aluminium pipe and flair the ends, but I will defiantly be checking out my local electronic supply shop tomorrow.

Building a car will be a new experience for me but one I am looking froward to. Lots of clear coats and polishing from what I have seen. most of the detail will go into the engine bay, so some nice stacks will be a huge improvement over the ones that come with the kit. I think I will add some fuel lines as well

Thanks again.

Post by **Thumboy** » Thu Jan 01, 2015 8:11 am

History

The Honda RA272 was a Formula One racing car used by the Honda team in the 1965 Formula One season.

A successor to the Honda RA271, the RA272 was noticeable mainly for its technically advanced (though rather wide and heavy) 48-valve 1,495.28 cc V12 engine, a water-cooled, transversely mounted unit which reportedly gave 230 bhp at 13,000 rpm. The engine was safe to 14,000 rpm, which was unusually high for a 1960s engine design. The Honda V12 had staggering acceleration and often led the race into the opening lap after leaving the stationary starting grid. It led the 1965 Mexican Grand Prix from start to finish, driven by Richie Ginther, making it the first Japanese car to win a Formula One Grand Prix.

The 1965 Mexican Grand Prix was not just the last race of the season, but also the last Formula-One race using normally aspirated 1.5 litre displacement engines. The car that won this memorable event was Honda's highly competitive RA272 racing machine, driven by the skilled driver Richie Ginther. Honda was the first Japanese car manufacturer to participate in F-1 Grand Prix racing, and this was their first F-1 victory since entering the 1964 German Grand Prix. Honda competed in the 1964 season using their RA271 machine, piloted by the young American driver Ronnie Bucknum. Although the RA271 occasionally showed a glimpse of its hidden potential, it failed to record any remarkable results. A discouraging season leads Honda to develop a much more integrated F-1 racing machine. Following the 1964 season, Honda thoroughly improved the machine and redesignated it the RA272.

Richie Ginther joined the team at the beginning of the season, and his racing experience helped the team in further refine the RA272. He gained 6th place in the Belgian and Dutch GP's, and finally won the Mexican victory on October 24th 1965. Taking the lead just after the start, Ginther's RA272 recorded a perfect win, without yielding the top position throughout the race. Partner Bucknum also earned 5th place, adding to Honda's racing laurels.

Post by **Thumboy** » Thu Jan 01, 2015 8:37 am

The Kit

having not done anything like this before I am not too sure what to look for, but everything looks to be in place. The spues all come in separate bags the moulding is crisp and flash free. the rubber tyres look great and the decals look good but might be a touch thick. The clear parts are also excellent and probably the best I have seen.

Post by **Thumboy** » Sat Jan 03, 2015 9:23 am

Update #1

Engine & exhaust assembly

happy new year everyone, been looking forward to starting this GB for a while now. so lets get cracking...

I got some bootlace ferrules to replace air funnels on the top of the engine as the ones on the kit are not flared as they should be. A big thanks to jonMW for the tip.

All primed and ready for the airbrush tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by, see you in update #2

Post by **gustavlekstal** » Sat Jan 03, 2015 9:59 am

Now this is a build to follow! Good luck!

Post by **Thumboy** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 8:14 am

Update #2

Still engine and exhaust assembly

The components painted in the base colours - Tamiya acrylics X-18 semi gloss black, XF-16 flat aluminium and X-12 gold leaf mixed with a little X-11 chrome silver.

The parts assembled as per the instructions with the addition of the bootlace ferrules for the air trumpets.

The next step will be to add the fuel lines coming out of the fuel pump to the injectors which are underneath each air funnel. Here are some reference photos which I will try to replicate as close as I can with fishing line. It could get fiddly

I think I will also add some exhaust staining, I love the second image down from here but I don't think I will go quite that far.
looking at these photos I have noticed the fuel lines coming from the fuel tanks which I might have to add later and the throttle cable.

Because the kit is so well made and thought out (all the ejector pins are hidden etc) you don't have to worry about it, which makes adding extra bits so much easier

Back to work tomorrow so things might slow down a little, but I will see you in update #3 where I hope to have the engine finished and it will be on with the chassis and interior.

Post by **Tomtom12** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 9:13 am

Great start mate engine looking good, and some great ref photos. Can't wait to start my build for this GB.

David

Post by **SiDennis** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 10:49 am

Fantastic start

will be following this build with great interest

Post by **Thumboy** » Mon Jan 05, 2015 9:33 pm

Tomtom12 wrote:Great start mate engine looking good, and some great ref photos. Can't wait to start my build for this GB.

David

Rocky996r wrote:Fantastic start will be following this build with great interest

Thanks guys, got a bit done last night and should get the fuel lines finished this evening, I will post another update later

Post by **Thumboy** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 8:01 am

Update 2.5

Engine finished

just a very small update on the engine. I have added the fuel lines and half of the ht leads ( the others will be added when the engine joins the body).

the fuel lines are made from fishing line painted with Tamiya x-24 clear yellow with a tiny bit of x-25 clear green. in the end I used the heavy EZ-Line for the ht leads as the fishing line would not bend how I wanted it. I have also added a bit of colouring to the exhaust with Tamiya weathering master but it is very subtle and doesn't really show up in the photos.

so that is where I am at the moment, the engine is pretty much finished until it is fitted to the body when more ht leads will be added along with more fuel lines and maybe the throttle cable. so not really finished at all then, but it is onto the next part of the build - the interior.

if anyone can tell me what the black box at the rear of the engine under the exhaust is it would be greatly appreciated - I have my suspicions that it might have something to do with the cooling system, but I cant find any info about it.

thanks for looking

Post by **JonMW** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 9:41 am

Looking really good! My guess would be that the tank is an oil tank for the dry sump system.

Post by **Hillbilly** » Tue Jan 06, 2015 1:39 pm

Awesome job on those fuel lines,they really look the part

Post by **Thumboy** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 8:59 am

JonMW wrote:Looking really good! My guess would be that the tank is an oil tank for the dry sump system.

That makes sense, big thank you once again

it was quite an advanced engine for its time, V12 horizontally mounted, fuel injection, revs to 14000 rpm and has a dry sump. very cool

Post by **Thumboy** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 9:01 am

Hillbilly wrote:Awesome job on those fuel lines,they really look the part

Thanks hillbilly, they were very fiddly. looking back at the photos I think they are the wrong colour - too bright, I think I will tone them down a bit

Post by **Tomtom12** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 3:57 pm

Hi great job on the engine and fuel lines, if you are going to build any more cars later try Hiro boy web site the stock tons of after market stuff for detailing cars and bikes they also do there own line of paints. Keep up the great work David

Post by **Les** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 6:42 pm

I have always liked the look of these type of cars. Your engine has built up nicely; very clean and detailed work! I look forward to your continued build up.

Post by **Thumboy** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 4:24 am

Tomtom12 wrote:Hi great job on the engine and fuel lines, if you are going to build any more cars later try Hiro boy web site the stock tons of after market stuff for detailing cars and bikes they also do there own line of paints. Keep up the great work David

Cheers David, I have just checked out the hiro boy website, I will defiantly be doing more cars in the future so I'm sure it will come in very handy. thanks for the tip

Les wrote:I have always liked the look of these type of cars. Your engine has built up nicely; very clean and detailed work! I look forward to your continued build up.

Thanks Les, progress has slowed a little this week as I am back at work but I should have another update soon

Post by **ToddS** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 4:32 pm

Me thinks this is going to be an AWESOME build to watch.... Nice

Post by **EasyEight96** » Tue Jan 13, 2015 5:12 am

Nice a classic formula 1 team.

I'm still finding this kit to build it. Very nice job on the engine I'll keep an eye on your build

Post by **Thumboy** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 8:49 am

ToddS wrote:Me thinks this is going to be an AWESOME build to watch.... Nice

no pressure then

cheers mate

EasyEight96 wrote:Nice a classic formula 1 team. I'm still finding this kit to build it. Very nice job on the engine I'll keep an eye on your build

cheers mate, so far it is a very nice kit defiantly worth adding to the stash

Post by **Thumboy** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 9:37 am

Update #3

Body and a few detail parts

Anyone for tea?

A short while later after a bit of dremel work

$2 and a little bit of work and my engine cover has a mesh grill

After quite a bit of work cleaning up mould seems I got the body panels painted with Tamiya aerosol - racing white

ummm shiny

While the body parts were drying I decided to have a go at improving the suspension. First I put the part in the end of my cordless drill and filed down the spring, then cut it, drilled out both parts with a 1.2mm and added a bit of brass rod. The spring simply made from cheap wire from the hardware shop.

Still need painting but I am happy with the outcome.

break discs and calipers painted as per the instructions

This evening I have made a start on painting the chassis. I decide to brush paint the details but immediately ran into problems with the paint not wanting to stick to the glossy paint from the aerosol

I think I should have used enamel paint but there was no going back so I sanded the parts that I could and soldiered on. fortunately it looks like I will get away with it but it will take a few coats to cover

That's it for now. keep up the good work everyone this is one great group build

Post by **EasyEight96** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 10:01 am

Sweet! love those innovative ideas of yours great job!!

Post by **Madhouse** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 11:14 am

Nice improvements with the mesh and springs.
Great build so far. Keep up the good work.

Post by **shortCummins** » Wed Jan 14, 2015 3:58 pm

those springs are genius

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Sun Jan 18, 2015 2:58 am

Good photo reference of real car
Add ons are excellent

Post by **Thumboy** » Tue Jan 20, 2015 8:43 am

EasyEight96 wrote:Sweet! love those innovative ideas of yours great job!!

Madhouse wrote:Nice improvements with the mesh and springs.
Great build so far. Keep up the good work.

Thanks guys

shortCummins wrote:those springs are genius

rubegoldberg wrote:nice trick on the shocks! i have a situation where that may be the answer.

Cheers guys

I would like to say it was all my idea but I can't claim this one. I have seen it done by a few different modellers, it is a very effective and relatively easy upgrade to do.

Post by **Thumboy** » Tue Jan 20, 2015 9:25 am

Update #4

Wheels, suspension and the base

I have got a couple more of the minor components finished - first of all the wheels, I have seen some people paint the wheels on this model a nice bronze colour but I decided to stick with the kit instructions and paint them semi gloss black with a silver edge.

I have also finished the shocks - not perfect but once they are on the model I think they will be quite effective.

While being back at work after the Christmas break reduced my time at the modelling bench. It did mean I could cut the MDF and acrylic for the base. I stick to the same formula for all my model bases a white base with the edges cut at 30 degrees and the texture on top for the model to sit on.

To make the tarmac texture for this base I used fine sand from the sandblaster and glued it to the acrylic base with wood glue (tip - sand the acrylic first, the glue sticks much better that way) once it was dry I spray painted it matt black. The MDF base I spray painted white sanding between coats to get a good finish on the edges.

Before the base is finished I will add some pigments, washes and dry brushing to add more depth and interest.

Thanks to everyone that is following and commenting on my build it really keeps me going

hopefuly I will start the assembly soon, but there are a few more components to finish detailing first.

Post by **Thumboy** » Tue Jan 20, 2015 9:52 am

A cool video I found on youtube I thought I would share. you get an idea of how small the cars were back then and no safety features - not even a seat belt

[youtube]ZhLPeYAO-cs[/youtube]

Post by **Tomtom12** » Tue Jan 20, 2015 11:06 pm

Great work so far love how you did the shoks , what size brass rod did you use, going to give this a try on my next build.

David

Post by **Hoggarth** » Wed Jan 21, 2015 3:36 am

Great looking car. Can't wait to see it done.

Post by **Thumboy** » Wed Jan 21, 2015 8:51 am

Tomtom12 wrote:Great work so far love how you did the shoks , what size brass rod did you use, going to give this a try on my next build.

David

Thanks David, the rod I used is 1.2mm. Just something I had in the toolbox that looked about right. You should defiantly give it a go

Hoggarth wrote:Great looking car. Can't wait to see it done.

Cheers mate, You and me both. It is the first time I have done anything bigger than 1/72 and at times it is a bit frustrating but I probably only have myself to blame for adding the extra details

Post by **Thumboy** » Tue Jan 27, 2015 8:38 am

Update #5

more little bits and assembly

this update starts off with a problem - a missing part

One of the wing mirror lenses parts is missing from the sprue, I checked the photographs I took at the beginning of the build and it was missing then so I can only think it was never in the box

just a bit more scratch building I suppose

I should have two of these

The fix - I decided that it would be easier to make two new parts the same rather than try to replicate the missing part exactly, I couldn't think of a way to hollow out the middle part where the mirror goes.

More components finished -

The decals for the dials were a bit big because of the carrier film on the edges but they went down ok with a bit of micro set and sol

Start of the assembly - front susspension

the pedals are a bit ugly but wont really be seen once everything is together

Engine mounted to the chassis and its a perfect fit

next comes the rear suspension

when you assemble this kit you can tell that Tamiya have gone to a lot of effort, everything clips together and the front wheels even steer.

Thanks for stopping by

in the next update i will be finishing off the assembly and decals. but i still have a lot of work to do more fuel lines running from the tank at the front to the engine, the break lines and picking out loads of other details

Post by **Aliktren** » Tue Jan 27, 2015 9:24 am

very nice, lovely job on that teeny steering wheel

Post by **EasyEight96** » Tue Jan 27, 2015 9:42 am

Nice update the kit is coming well so far sucks to have a missing piece

Post by **Thumboy** » Sun Feb 01, 2015 11:01 pm

Aliktren wrote:very nice, lovely job on that teeny steering wheel

Cheers mate

EasyEight96 wrote:Nice update the kit is coming well so far sucks to have a missing piece

Thanks mate, it is quite frustrating to have a part missing. Still thinking of ways to improve my scratch build wing mirrors.

Post by **Thumboy** » Sun Feb 01, 2015 11:49 pm

Update #6

Decals and final assembly

The Honda is starting to come together now, all the decals are on (not without some difficulty) and all the parts are assembled apart from the troublesome wing mirrors and the wind screen which isn't glued yet to allow for fuel lines to be added to the interior.

Most of the decals were very easy to put on the glossy finish. the difficult bit was the red sun which is made from 4 parts. Despite using micro sol and set I ended up with some cracks and overlapping carrier film which will need touching up later.

The panels on the side of the engine are held on with small screws.

I added some burn umber oil wash to the radiator

Almost finished now

a few more details to go. thanks for looking and any comments

Post by **ToddS** » Sun Feb 01, 2015 11:59 pm

Hey Andrew..
Never been a huge fan of the open wheel cars, I will give credit. THIS THING IS SWEET

Nicely done and look forward to the final reveal

Post by **Twokidsnosleep** » Mon Feb 02, 2015 12:39 am

Great looking F1 car, well done

Post by **EasyEight96** » Mon Feb 02, 2015 2:30 am

Holy cow that's awesome Richie Ginter must be proud of you now I really wish I had one now

Post by **Tomtom12** » Mon Feb 02, 2015 4:08 pm

Looking great, I allways think the car comes to life abit more when you get the decals on.
Keep up the good work

David

Post by **Aliktren** » Sat Feb 07, 2015 1:13 pm

very nice indeed

Post by **Thumboy** » Tue Feb 10, 2015 9:11 am

Thanks for all the comments guys, much appreciated

Update #7

Final Details

Break lines added - made from fishing line painted matt black and held in place with little super glue and lots of patience

I decided not to add break lines to the rear as it is busy enough back there with all the suspension and I didn't think it would add much to the model. so I turned my attention to the troublesome wing mirrors. first of all I drilled them with a 4mm drill bit then filled the hole flat with miliput - which is great stuff and can be manipulated before it hardens by adding water to the surface and wiping it smooth so no sanding is needed. then glued aluminium foil to the recessed area.

The last detail to be added is the fuel line running through the cockpit - made from slightly thicker fishing line than the break lines. tricky but worth the effort.

A couple of shots of the finished model

I will post more in the final reveals section

I would like to say a big thank you to everyone that has taken the time to look and comment on by build, the advice and encouragement has really helped and kept me going. This was my first model larger than 1/72 and was quite a steep learning curve but I think working at the smaller scale gives you an eye for small detail which transferred well to this larger scale.

Post by **Aliktren** » Tue Feb 10, 2015 9:14 am

excellent work, they had a fuel line in the cockpit

shiny shiny, very impressed

Post by **gaz45** » Fri Feb 20, 2015 8:38 am

fantastic work there mate and detail looks really great