tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48419236949845832462024-03-14T07:10:19.928-04:00Models and miniaturesPictures and tutorials about building static modelsXavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-70892173056653728692012-01-06T11:22:00.000-05:002012-01-06T11:30:57.651-05:00Front wheelsSince they move freely around their axle, the front wheels are not difficult to put into place. I just hope that the stopping parts glued on that axle will be strong enough. I would have prefered them to fit a bit more tightly because the way I see it, only the bead of glue will hold the wheels. Once again, it is not a problem for a static model, but could prove tricky when it is moved from one Xavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-16770439156515737282012-01-06T11:10:00.000-05:002012-01-06T11:10:18.688-05:00Front wheel hubs, part 2The hubs take their proper location easily. The links between the hubs and the steering rod are very small and flexible. Given the weight of the wheels, it will definitely be better to make it a static model. There was no problem fitting the black tubes to the brake calipers and inside the monocoque. I would mention though that it is easier to slide it there before trying to the bal joints in Xavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-36068444044380760972012-01-06T11:01:00.000-05:002012-01-06T11:01:15.972-05:00Torsion barThe torsion bar would have been easier to work on before the rear suspension. There are two attachment points to the engine and the upper suspension arms come in the way. On the other hand, those arms help a bit to keep the attachment points in place. The links between the hubs and the torsion bar must be joined by "hot fix" (flattening the end of the parts with a hot device), a process which I Xavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-67306394736697410112012-01-05T10:14:00.000-05:002012-01-05T10:17:02.249-05:00Rear suspensionThere is not much left apart from assembling the remaining parts. The rear suspension is a complex sub-assembly with no less than six contact points to either the monocoque or the engine to fit in one single operation. I always wanted to avoid touching the chromed parts with my dirty fingers, but now it is just impossible to do. I hope there will be no long time stains or blemish developing from Xavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-11946496337718078652012-01-04T11:53:00.000-05:002012-01-04T11:53:22.216-05:00Side ductI ran out of white and racing green paint and postponed the side duct. However here it is, stretching fore to aft, properly attached to the rubber tubes and to the side of the cockpit. The multiple paint and clear coats sprayed on the cockpit made it impossible to fit the duct in the holes: the holes were no more at the right size. I preferred to shrink the attachment bits instead of widening theXavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-2718684947072469012011-12-22T11:52:00.000-05:002012-01-04T11:56:38.200-05:00Attaching the engineToday is the big day: the monocoque will be joined forever with the engine, until death, or a cat, does them part... The operation was not straightforward. Without the bottom black tubes, the engine fits quite easily: the bracket slide in and the engine is put into place thanks to one plug on each cylinder bank. With the tubes, nothing moves, so I have to widen the holes at the bottom of the rearXavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-50112307180904117582011-12-20T12:17:00.003-05:002011-12-20T12:17:54.236-05:00Roll barsI am about to end the building of the Lotus quite soon, or so I guess. There is not much paint job left, and lots of assembling to do. I put the roll bars in their place but had a bad surprise. The front bar does not fit the model at all! Its left hand attachment point is completely out of the body of the model, and looks weird (see picture). There is not much I can do about that except replace Xavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-11433848439889871732011-12-20T12:10:00.000-05:002011-12-20T12:11:43.089-05:00TyresThe tyres provided in the kit are made of soft rubber. It is still stiff enough to stay firmly in place when the tyres are fitted on the rims. I am not sure whether they are true to the real tyres, I simply have not enough documentation. There are pictures from 1967 showing no side markings, markings outside and inside, whitish markings and golden ones... I have not found any proof of the "F" Xavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-25242634828026513042011-12-16T20:19:00.000-05:002011-12-16T20:19:59.085-05:00WheelsThe spokes of the rims are in chromed plastic too but I am no fan of that at all, especially because the real spokes are not chromed. I painted them semi-gloss black but left the rest of the rim in all its blingy glory. The overall paint was sprayed, but the sides were touched up by brush. It is highly unlikely that it will be spotted out once assembled. In order to highlight some details, I Xavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-20031648643995798102011-12-16T09:36:00.001-05:002011-12-16T09:36:39.136-05:00Brake rotorsThe brake rotors are painted boltgun metal. On every colour picture I have seen from the cars in 1967, the rim of the disks were fairly rusted (due to heat probably), so that was painted Tin Bitz.
Xavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-27197699907889567732011-12-15T13:22:00.000-05:002012-01-06T11:03:34.863-05:00Front wheel hubs, part 1Like the rear hubs, the front ones are painted semi-gloss black. The brake stirrups are painted chrome silver and enhanced with boltgun metal. I want them to look like they are made of different parts.
Xavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-43488349623171950532010-04-18T18:49:00.008-04:002010-04-18T19:56:14.055-04:00Carbon fiber decalsYes I know: I usually complain about how difficult I find to place the supplied decals, and now I want to put CFRP decals everywhere... No logic here, but only the wish to get one more notch in detailing the kits. CF decals come in plain sheets, mine were bought at Scale Motorsport. They keep decals for the main modelling scales and have different weaving patterns. I chose one which is quite Xavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-55396976408642229732010-04-17T14:12:00.004-04:002010-04-17T14:35:09.826-04:00Masking the body (red areas)The relative ease with which I cruised past the first masking stage of this model backfired in a twisted way once I decided to prepare the parts for the red paint application. I used the same method as for the green areas: a first counter-mask identical to the decals supplied with the kit, to be used as a guide for the actual masks.First, it took me a whole week to get things right. On the one Xavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-87493544970260840622010-04-17T13:59:00.002-04:002010-04-17T14:09:40.743-04:00Green areasThe Park Green spray paint is easier to use than the white paint. It covers the model much more and is more opaque. The masking tape was removed without any difficulty but revealed a few surprises. I did not mask the sidepods enough and some spray went onto areas whcih should stay white. I guess I will have to brush some touch up eventually. Same story at the border of the masking tape: there areXavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-29218932670849721592010-04-17T13:46:00.003-04:002010-04-17T13:58:45.174-04:00Formula Perfect ManualThe early 1990s are definitely somehow pre-historical. No internet with Imageshack or Flicker or any image bank, no digital photography, merely magazines and VHS tapes to get visual references. At that time Tamiya was in full swing with their 1/20 F1 models and they published a few books full of close up pictures for some of their kits. I recently got this one, 5th in the series, to help me with Xavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-26880730058265013692010-04-05T10:18:00.004-04:002010-04-05T20:50:42.030-04:00Front wingGood intentions do not always pay off. I tried twice to build the 107B with the decals and twice I made a mess. I hate large decals, simple as that. Here are the front wing elements with their decals on and even those I cannot get right... I removed all of that in warm water with a shot of vinegar (I placed them a few years ago) without any problem. Of course, the second picture is the new end Xavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-50726577895532760582010-04-03T13:35:00.003-04:002010-04-03T13:42:18.975-04:00Masking the body (green areas)Working on both a 1960s and a 1990s Lotuses makes it obvious how things became more complex at some point in time. The body of the 49 is merely made of two separate elements: a nose and a cokpit. The body of the 107B is made of a nose, a cockpit, a front suspension cover and an engine cover. Anything different from a plain paint job gets very complicated very quickly!I had to assemble some of theXavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-61507378682090075522010-03-27T17:49:00.012-04:002010-04-02T13:00:06.762-04:00Preparation and primerPriming is now a classic operation, so here it goes on the various parts making the body of the car. Prior to that, some adjustment has to be made on the two halves of the cockpit. Careful cementing (alignment is important) goes with some repairs on the joint lines and some sanding to prevent huge gaps between cockpit and nose and cover. I am proud of what I did on the front suspension cover: it Xavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-23601881814981488992010-03-27T17:00:00.014-04:002010-04-03T13:36:31.131-04:00New Lotus to hit the workbenchHere we are again! It looks like springs awakens in me the will to work on models. It could be seen as an ideal winter hobby, but I always come back to them around Easter. This time I wanted to go back to my late teens and build again my first two Tamiya kits: the Lotus 102D and Lotus 107. It was 1992 and I was cheering for the F1 team, getting the 102D at my hobby shop and waiting anxiously the Xavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-69755967494030599382009-11-28T09:31:00.008-05:002009-11-28T11:07:13.093-05:00Small fleet step by step: painting the bowBefore I can comfortably glue the ships to their base, I need to paint the bow and quarters with a total freedom of movement. I started with the bow of the ships. The work is not really complicated since there is not much detail to be seen. I just painted the whole area Chaos Black and then painted over the delicate woodwork with the same colour used on the hull. Xavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-89154598753938307882009-11-21T12:08:00.024-05:002009-12-10T09:00:19.709-05:00Small fleet step by step: the sides of the hullTime has come to paint the main colour theme of the ships. I chose a traditional Nelson checkered pattern for the English, even though the moulding of the hulls does not show any gun port lid. There should then be an ochre stripe at the gun deck level. For the French, I chose a red theme, a bit like the Acheron as seen in Master and Commander: the Far Side of the World. The steps are Xavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-41412584227386683302009-11-08T20:31:00.010-05:002009-12-10T08:28:14.486-05:00Small fleet step by step: painting the deckSince all seems ready to be painted, there is not a moment to lose. Of the different stages of making a 1/1200 ship, painting it is probably the easiest but also something that requires some research and organisation in order to be well done. For example, it could be useful to find out what differences there are between the paint schemes of various nationalities and how to reflect them on such Xavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-54337918954389394662009-10-30T23:43:00.013-04:002009-12-10T09:02:25.793-05:00Langton HMS Victory part 3I would say that I am finished with her! I glued the sails onto the masts and started the rigging operations. The standing rigging is a bit stressful: in order to get straight pieces of string between the masts, they must be stretched a bit, but the material allows for such a load. After that, the running rigging looks like a walk in the park! All those small ropes help a lot to stiffen the modelXavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-66688159433707234342009-10-25T16:46:00.011-04:002009-11-01T20:18:00.017-05:00Small fleet step by step: preparing the modelsWith new Langton miniatures, there is a little work to be done before they are ready for painting. Right out of the box, the models show very little flash left to remove (with a sharp edge, by scratching the flash rather than cutting it out). However, the pewter used is a soft metal alloy and can bend very easily. It is therefore very important to check the straightness of the parts, the way theyXavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4841923694984583246.post-82319939787388743202009-10-24T16:31:00.020-04:002009-10-24T21:10:37.555-04:00Small fleet step by step: basing the shipsI was satisfied enough with how things went with the Langton HMS Victory (even though it is not quite finished as I am typing this), and I thought that it was worth trying to make small fleets for Close Action. I decided to walk this road carefuly and my final choice was on a 2 vs 2 scenario for Close Action: French ships Sultane and Etoile engaging British ships HMS Creole and HMS Astraea. All Xavier Seynavehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01570420702578742505noreply@blogger.com4