Tamiya 1/12 williams FW14b with all the top studio goodness

[Johnj]

I'll post some better pictures taken in daylight tmorro.
It's hard to believe this was the last 1/12th F1 car Tamiya produced, almost 31yrs this year. Maybe we'll get a more modern one soon.

Here's the progress so far.














Couldnt figure out why there was a double PE fret of the cylinder head heat shield. It's maked as A+ with no mention in the instructions. On the original A fret the parts are cut right through instead of a fold line.

It only took me a month to figure that out

[cor]

Cool John. I'll be following along for sure. This is on my short term wish list. Pricey with all the extras, but should be a top-shelf display piece when you've completed it. Bit of a screw up with the A fret. At least they rectified it.

[Johnj]

Cool John. I'll be following along for sure. This is on my short term wish list. Pricey with all the extras, but should be a top-shelf display piece when you've completed it. Bit of a screw up with the A fret. At least they rectified it.

Hay cor, hope your well. Yeah, you raise a couple of good points there. All the sets together are a good bit more than the mclaren ones. And so far IMO not worth it. That may change when i come to the radiator/ECU set, that does look intense. And yeah, they were quick to remedy the fault on the A fret before it became a problem. The instructions are terrible, only really used for pt no's and building it from the coloured pictures.

My plan is too finish this engine set then have a break in which i'll catch up to what you guys have been up to sinse the last time i was around. As i say, hope your well and a happy new year !!!

[cor]

Hay cor, hope your well. Yeah, you raise a couple of good points there. All the sets together are a good bit more than the mclaren ones. And so far IMO not worth it. That may change when i come to the radiator/ECU set, that does look intense. And yeah, they were quick to remedy the fault on the A fret before it became a problem. The instructions are terrible, only really used for pt no's and building it from the coloured pictures.

My plan is too finish this engine set then have a break in which i'll catch up to what you guys have been up to sinse the last time i was around. As i say, hope your well and a happy new year !!!

Thanks John. Alls well in sunny Sydney. Happy new you to you too.
Apart from the engine and ECU set, what do you think would be worth the outlay to detail the car? The complete 8 sets are about a thousand AUD. ouch. Can get a Model Factory Hiro FW11 for that.
Im thinking engine and cockpit and ecu.

[Johnj]

Yeah, it's a substantial investment. I bought the individual sets this time over the space of about a year with my daughter helping on birthdays/fathers day type of thing which covered about half of it.
Cockpit absolute 100% that looks epic. I would say the radiator/ECU and front dampers.
Looking at your other builds you could easily replicate most of the engine stuff just buying some 45 and 90deg hose joints and some 0.8 and 1mm braded line. You have to paint the blue braided line with XF-8 anyway.
Missing out the engine, brake, air funnel, drive shafts and wing and undertray would save quite a bit.

[Johnj]

Just some better pictures taken in daylight. Still some touch up's to do as always happens.

[Masee]

Nice engine and very well built. I also collected all the sets and a few more for the Williams. Unfortunately I couldn't finish it. Chassis, motor and sidepods are 80% complete. Then my mojo left me. It is difficult and tiring to work continuously at a high level for so long. I see you are building the late version with an internal hydraulic pump. I chose the early version. A set for the late version is still on the shelf. Maybe I'll feel like working on mine again if I follow your construction report. I'm looking forward to how it goes.

[Johnj]

Nice engine and very well built. I also collected all the sets and a few more for the Williams. Unfortunately I couldn't finish it. Chassis, motor and sidepods are 80% complete. Then my mojo left me. It is difficult and tiring to work continuously at a high level for so long. I see you are building the late version with an internal hydraulic pump. I chose the early version. A set for the late version is still on the shelf. Maybe I'll feel like working on mine again if I follow your construction report. I'm looking forward to how it goes.

Hi masee. Thanks for looking in.
Why dont you start a thread or post your pictures in this thread if you like, and lets see if we can get you moving on it again. It's a good bunch of guy's on here, extremely talanted.
My own stategy for getting back on track from a slump is to do something to it every day, no matter how small. That way some day it will be built as opposed to it sitting in the pile never moving.
It happened when i was doing the big Enzo a few years ago.
Post some pics to let us see where your at with it

[Johnj]

That's the brake set all but done. It's quite difficult so see all the detail on the calipers.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Oh cool
Ok, I have found this now to follow along on

[Johnj]

Good to have you onboard scott

[digger303]

[Johnj]

Thanks digger. You would have thought i would of had enough after the mclaren. I'm looking forward to the cockpit though, it looks epic !!!

[Mpfiend]

Nice, this is my favourite F1 car. I hope you are doing the Nigel Mansell version?

[Twokidsnosleep]

Good to have you onboard scott

Good to see you modelling and posting again

[DRUMS01]

Looking good so far. I have this same kit to build so I'll be watching every step so I can learn from a 1/12 F-1 "Master".



DRUMS01

[Johnj]

Nice, this is my favourite F1 car. I hope you are doing the Nigel Mansell version?

Absolutley !!! Red five is alive

From what i understand the mansell car used the 'early type' engine and i have plumped for the late type. The only reason i chose that was because i prefered the way the fuel rail is.

[Johnj]

Good to have you onboard scott

Good to see you modelling and posting again

Yeah, thanks scott. It's good to be back.

My lower back has been giving me so much grief for the last few months. One of the lads at work was watching me walk back to my car the other day and asked if i had sh1t myself !!!

[Johnj]

Looking good so far. I have this same kit to build so I'll be watching every step so I can learn from a 1/12 F-1 "Master".



DRUMS01

Ah, your far too kind ben. Again, Top studio is the star of the show. The stuff's a pleasure to work with. I'm concerned about the decals, especially the thin red and white trim as i've had this kit since 1998. I suppose time will tell.
It's hard to believe this was the last 1/12 scale F1 car that Tamiya produced. 31 yrs ago. I think we're due a modern one soon ?

[Johnj]

Just a few more of the progress so far. Some of the resin parts are extremely fragile.




This is what i came up with to line the parts up while i pushed through the wire pin.

[Johnj]

The engine/rear suspension is all but complete, just a few bits n pieces to go and of coarse the exhausts. They dont get done to much further in the build but i 'll do them now as it's part of the build i dont really enjoy. I was quite dissapointed to see that Top studio didnt supply the exhaust sensors in the engine set. At around £100 for the set i think it's a poor show. They were supplied in the MP4/6 set.

[Johnj]

Another day or two on the engine and i can move onto something else. I'm tempted to paint the bodywork and front and rear wings next. We'll see.

[digger303]

[cor]

Looking great.

[Johnj]

Thanks boys

[Garion77]

awesome engine ! on close ups pictures it looks real so great job.
Have to try a F1 some day.

[Johnj]

awesome engine ! on close ups pictures it looks real so great job.
Have to try a F1 some day.

Thank you for the kind words
I was showing a workmate pictures of the mclaren i did last year and he didnt believe it was a model. It was only when i pointed out the thing was sitting on a piece of kitchen roll that he believed me. He wasnt the sharpest to be fair (sorry stevo)

[Twokidsnosleep]

Ya that is excellent work, excellent details, excellent modelling
Well done

[Johnj]

Ya that is excellent work, excellent details, excellent modelling
Well done

Thanks scott

[BigWall]

EXCEPTIONAL!

[Johnj]

EXCEPTIONAL!

Thanks joe. I'm starting to enjoy it a bit more now

[Johnj]

Although i havnt posted any progress in the last month or so i have been chipping away at it. The radiator/ECU and cockpit sets have been painted but not added to the car as i need to paint/decal and 2k the tub before anything gets added. I'll post some pics to try amd get it up to date. It's an insane amount of hours but also very satisfying.

[Johnj]

This was just to find out how much to remove from the main tub so there was no gap once the PE bulkhead parts were added. The PE parts are thinned to half the thickness where they are glued to the plastic kit parts to minimize the amount to be removed on the top damper cover.

[Johnj]

There are some touch-up's to be done to the C/F work before the 2k clear.

[Johnj]

The instructions look quite daunting at first look but once you get into it, it's not too bad.





After all that you only end up with this.....minus the wiring.

[Johnj]

I cant add the wiring/piping/hoses untill the main parts are fitted to the tub but apart from that, the cockpit is pretty much done. Unfortunatly the kit seat can never be installed as it has to go in from the bottom
I might add the kit belts to the seat just for display purpose.


Front and rear wings just about ready for the 2k clear.


Just to paint the blue and then it can be decaled and clear coated.

[Johnj]

I just made time to get it painted, i had been avoiding it for long enough.

[Johnj]

Just a couple of closer pics of the cockpit.

[Johnj]

I'll leave it for a couple of days before doing the 2k clear.

[cor]

Those add on detail bits sure add time to it, but when its done, it's gonna be a stunna.

[Johnj]

Those add on detail bits sure add time to it, but when its done, it's gonna be a stunna.

Hay cor, hope your well. Yeah, i hope the time and work will pay off in the finished car. I really do enjoy the detail side of it to the point that i've found myself only looking at kits that TS do a detail set for.
Between finishing the mclaren and starting this i built these just OOB (apart from seatbelts on the SF-70), and with the exception of vettel's ferrari i struggled to keep interest during the builds. As i'm saying this, i wonder if it's a F1 thing rather than a detail thing
I was happy enough with the finished cars, it was only during the builds.

[Johnj]

I thought i would post this in the chance it might help someone doing the same thing with the C/F Decals on the front wing. I was going to clearcoat it and i noticed you can see the end of the main plane when glued in place. Theres also a PE part that goes on it as well.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Really coming together nicely
Loving the body livery come to life with paint and decals
I am watching, always watching

[Johnj]

Really coming together nicely
Loving the body livery come to life with paint and decals
I am watching, always watching

Thanks scott. Yeah, it just burst into life after paint and decals. I was just used to seeing it in primer for a while there. I bought the zero paints set, but the blue was miles away, too dark, so i was lucky enough to have a can of TS-44 which is spot on to the decal colour.
It's good having you around. I know if i need your help, your only a post/comment away
I find it hard to comment on a regular basis but i'm always watching and being impressed with the quality of work yourself and the others produce. I would say that the amount of views a build thread gets is more important than the comments. I will say though, a positive comment can really lift your motivation if your struggling or feeling bogged down.
Although i've been modeling for almost 50yrs i dont think i would be building this sort of thing i f i hadnt found this place. I've picked up so much from the guy's on here, especially yourself scott.
If i can say here though. If anyone is following this build and they see anything thats wrong or could be improved please jump in. All comments welcolm, good or bad

[Twokidsnosleep]

You made my night, what a nice comment
Yes always happy to help and always very impressed with your work

[Johnj]

You made my night, what a nice comment
Yes always happy to help and always very impressed with your work

I'm sure i'm not the only one who thinks your a fantastic asset to this place

[cor]

The F1 cars are a higher level of technology, and as such are perhaps more interesting to look at and build. Thats my take on it. I have a couple in the queue, one of which is Revells 1/12 F2002, which needs tons of scratching up engine bits.

I'm also the same with the detail side of things, and am only looking at kits that have some kind of detail up capability, whether its aftermarket or scratch. Otherwise I loose interest pretty quick with a basic model. Theres a lot of time commitment to building, and I like the final model to look as real as possible.

You're really putting the attention to detail in that these model demand, and I find your work very inspirational. It's incredibly difficult to work with such tiny parts and you're pulling it off like nobodys business.

[Johnj]

The F1 cars are a higher level of technology, and as such are perhaps more interesting to look at and build. Thats my take on it. I have a couple in the queue, one of which is Revells 1/12 F2002, which needs tons of scratching up engine bits.

I'm also the same with the detail side of things, and am only looking at kits that have some kind of detail up capability, whether its aftermarket or scratch. Otherwise I loose interest pretty quick with a basic model. Theres a lot of time commitment to building, and I like the final model to look as real as possible.

You're really putting the attention to detail in that these model demand, and I find your work very inspirational. It's incredibly difficult to work with such tiny parts and you're pulling it off like nobodys business.

I think it's a case of 'dont wish for something too hard.......you might just get it'

It's like getting your first car with electric windows.....it's hard to go back !

The Revell ferrari, is it the one with the pre-painted body ?
I have some more up-dates on the 14b, i'll try and get them added

[Johnj]

[Johnj]