I ususally build model airplanes and model cars. For the past five years I have only built model planes. Plus, most of those builds were finished in Bare Metal Foil. Well, I got burned out from doing that, so I thought that I would build a model car.
I decided to build something really bizzare, so I chose the Tamiya Tyrrell P34 in 1/12 scale. In case you are not familiar with this car, it has six wheels!!! Two regular size wheels in the back and four really small wheels (10 " dia.) in the front. It ran its first F1 race in 1975 and, using a modified body, it’s last F1 race in 1977. This model was recently rereleased by Tamiya; however, it was originally released in the mid 1970’s and many of the kit’s parts are made from the original molds (that sounds like possible bad news).
I started this build in February, and it is still not finished. My other hobby, gardening, has taken up a lot of my time. Anyway, following is my build.
There are 370 parts with many small parts. A lot of these parts will need to be individually painted. The red arrow is pointing at a 12" ruler to provide reference. The instructions are dated 2007; however many frets are dated 1975 and the parts will need to be sanded to remove mold lines.
Here is a comparison between a 1/12 scale car and a 1/25 scale car. There is a lot more room for detailed parts in the 1/12 scale car.
Before I started building the model I marked each fret with masking tape and a Sharpie.
I started on the engine. I painted the nicely detailed engine in Testors’ Aluminum Plate Metalize paint. After the paint dried I sealed it with Testors’ Clear Flat. I did not use Testors’ Matalizer Sealer because I do not like the way it looks.
I removed the plastic bolt heads and replaced them with stainless steel bolts. I also used some Vallejo oil colored paint to simulate oil stains at the drain plug.
Here is a size comparison between the P34’s 1/12 scale engine and a 1/25 scale engine.
My wife bought me the first version of this kit in the mid 1970’s. It was the first 1/12 scale kit that I ever built. I was blown away by the number of parts. I never finished that kit and it was tossed out.
Back to the current kit;
I painted the rear wheel spindles with Testors Aluminum paint. Next I sprayed the spindles with clear flat. A rust colored wash was used to bring out the bolt details. The kit supplies PE parts to cover the plastic brake rotors. The edges of the rorors were painted with Testors’ Rust.
I’ve had my eyes on this kit for several years. I didn’t even realize it is 1:12. I am a sucker for large scale cars, this thread of yours is likely to be bad news for me.
Thanks for doing this as a WIP, Johnny, I look forward to watching.
Looking forward to watching this built come along.
I’ve been thinking about getting the 1/20 version by Tamiya eventually. From reading reviews it’s rough in places as it was the first Formula 1 kit they made in believe.
It has very old engineering, so it has some issues. Nothing that an experienced modeler can’t deal with. There are mold lines on many parts, especially on the exhaust header pipes and the suspension rods. Sometimes a third hand would be helpful.
Oh ya! Watching this one, but I would suggest Don Julio Anjeo tequila - just my preferance. I was always curious about the mechanics of this car. Particulary the ackerman steering related issues - my assumption is it was dragging tires but I don’t know. How did they set the toe, caster, camber of the four wheels? Interesting subject. Great looking car though and looking forward to the build.
They toiled endlessly trying to arrive at the ideal setup. I think the only way to get perfect tracking of all four wheels around any corner is to have independent electronic computer controlled steering.
I had heard that tire scrub was a constant problem; the car lost too much energy in turns. The narrow front track was also not ideal. In the 1977 season, they widened the track on their newer cars, but now the tires were no longer hiding behind the front spoiler, negating their intended aerodynamic advantages.
I was looking at some of these kits and I’m like “ooff, those are pricey”. Then I remembered what I’ve paid for some of my armor kits and I’m like “pff, that’s not bad.”
Here is a photo of the actual front suspension. I read that the steering wheel was connected only to the front wheels. The front wheels were connected to the rear wheels by a bellcrank system. Take note of how the sway bar is connected to the suspension arms.
This picture gives you a good idea of how small the front wheels were. Almost looks like they belong on a Go Kart.
These are examples of mold parting lines. Some of the older molds were made in 1975. This is typical of older kits. This should not deter someone from building this kit because it is a unique subject.
The engine was a dry sump system, so there was an oil tank located behind the driver.
The tank is composed of a rectangular tank (2 pieces), a round top tank with a bottom.
The instructions recommend that the tank be painted in a chrome color. Photos of the original car seemed to indicate that the tank was made of stainless steel. The location of the tank makes it very noticable so I decided to finished it in Bare Metal Foil instead of painting it. It looks pretty good. I slopped some ValleJo “oil stain” around the filler cap.
The transaxel was painted with Testors’ Metalizer Aluminum which was then sealed with Clear Flat. It gives a realistic impression of an aluminum casting. I will miss the Metalizer paints when they are gone. The plastic bolt heads were removed and replaced with stainless steel bolts.
A thin black wash was used to highlight the ribs on the body of the transaxel. ValleJo “oil stain” was used on the plugs to simulate spilled grease. The actual color of the rotor edges is not as red as indicated in these photos.
I’ve always wanted to see one of these built! You’re really doing it justice. Oil stains look real and i think your choice to do BMF was right on. Will be drafting this one [au]
