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| Tamiya Williams FW11 Honda; 1986 Belgium Grand Prix Winner | |
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| Topic Started: Apr 6 2012, 02:13 PM (2,824 Views) | |
| The Tigers | Apr 6 2012, 02:13 PM Post #1 |
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Well I have had a couple of weeks 'off' since finishing the Williams FW07, and time to get to work again. Another Williams, this time the FW11 and I am going to build the car in which Nigel Mansell won the 1986 Belgium Grand Prix. I was not planning to build this at this time, but saw it on e-bay, and decided to have another go at what was my first 'adult' build back in 1998. It was rubbish; the white portions of the car were left as bare plastic, the yellow and black were brush painted and the blue portions, being decals, were difficult to apply and I did not make a very good job of it. Now with a lot more experience I know it will be better. The kit, being quite old, is in an okay condition, but the decals are not. So, I ordered a couple of sets of Indycals decals from the U.S, and after that I spotted a good Tamiya set on e-bay and got them. I therefore now have 4 sets of decals, and should be able to make a decent job of the model (he says!). Onto some photos. The kit and decals. You will see that the Indycals decals have been printed with the lettering and logos already on them, whereas with the Tamiya ones you have to apply 'decal on decal'. When the Claw did his WIP of this car on here, he stated the Indycals decals were awful, but I am going to have a go with them and see. At least with all the spares if I mess up I can take them off and have another go.  Indycals decals  Tamiya decals; original kit ones on the left, new ones on the right.  More soon, as I have made a start on bodywork preparation. |
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| The Tigers | Apr 6 2012, 10:25 PM Post #2 |
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As usual I have started with the bodywork and have been preparing various parts ready for priming and painting. The bodywork is moulded in white plastic which has yellowed a bit with age, and the parts are very brittle. The biggest challenge with this kit is the front suspension, which normally has to be built up along with two side panels and then slid up into the nose of the car as the following extract from the instructions show.   This is how I built this kit last time, but doing it this way leaves unsightly joins in the sides of the monocoque which were obviously not on the real car. I am therefore attempting to fit the sidepanels first, fill the joins and later on cut the wishbones down and glue them into the relevant holes for a much cleaner looking build. A photo of one of the side panels glued in place, before filling the gaps.  Test fitting the rest of the parts to the undertray. Not a great fit of the engine cover which shows gaps and may be difficult to rectify, as the engine isn't in yet. However, I am building this kerbside and therefore only the rear suspension and gear box will be visible, so I may glue the engine cover down.   Here's another bit of a nuisance with how the kit is manufactured that I am going to change. The engine cover has a locating lug on either side, which snaps into place in slots on the undertray. These will be able to be seen on the finished model, and I think it will look far better with the lugs removed and the slots filled, even if the engine cover still does not sit down flush with the undertray when complete, as seen here. Also, as with the front suspension, building it with the lugs and slots gone will be more in keeping with the real car.   More tomorrow. |
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| The Tigers | Apr 7 2012, 06:18 PM Post #3 |
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Hi again, Quite a few hours spent today filling and sanding the joins in the front suspension panels.  Both sides after lots of wet sanding.   And after a couple of coats of plastic primer.   Not bad, but a bit more filling and sanding needed as there are a few minor gaps and imperfections showing, including the pinholes you can see in the picture directly above; don't know how they came about. Boring stuff, this, but time spent now is crucial to the final finish; it's too late after painting if it is not right as this could mean starting all over again or having to live with some minor gaps showing through. |
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| keepleft | Apr 8 2012, 06:05 AM Post #4 |
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looking good!, Going to follow this one closely!, I miss Honda not being in F1, even more so when they visit suzuka! |
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| The Tigers | Apr 8 2012, 08:16 PM Post #5 |
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Back again. I have re-filled and re-sanded the joins in the suspension side panels and after a good few coats of primer, the finish is much better. I have put a bit more primer in these areas than I usualy apply, just to make sure the joins were fully covered and they have now disappeared. I have also removed the locating lugs on the engine cover, and this, along with the side pods, has been primed. Some pics, which were taken in fading light so a little bit of clarity is missing.     The primed parts will now be left until next weekend when they will be wet sanded smooth and sprayed gloss white (weather permitting!). In the meantime this gives me the chance to get on with other stuff and hopefully another update soon. |
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| njhanc | Apr 9 2012, 11:13 AM Post #6 |
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Great start. I like the idea of attaching the side panels first. Must remember that when I dig mine out... which I'll probably be inspired to do watching yours. Cheers, Nick |
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| The Tigers | Apr 22 2012, 06:05 PM Post #7 |
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Hello again. Well it has been a bit frustrating the last couple of weeks as I have not got a lot done and there isn't much to show for it. The weather has been rubbish to say the least so I have only just managed to get some spraywork done yesterday. Lots of preparation beforehand though, especially with the front and rear suspension pieces, which needed mould lines removing. Also, the front suspension kit parts have had to be cut up and modified due to me fitting the monocoque side panels first. First picture is the front suspension pieces, sprayed Halfords satin black which is a very good paint to use and has a semi gloss black finish.  Front and rear suspension and front and rear wing pieces; all satin black.  Undertray with the holes and ejector pin marks filled (where they can be seen) and satin black finish.   And finally I have got a couple of coats of Halfords appliance gloss white on the monocoque; sides only as I do not want paint build up on the portions that will need to be sprayed yellow and also where the blue decals go. This needs a few more coats so I am leaving it a week and then will wet sand and add the fresh coats, before putting it away for a while for the paint to harden. Same goes for the engine cover which has also had a couple of coats of white.   |
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| keepleft | Apr 23 2012, 04:41 AM Post #8 |
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that monocoque looks diecast!, amazing work with the fill and sanding |
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| The Tigers | May 6 2012, 04:51 PM Post #9 |
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Back again. As I have stated on another thread, the flaming weather (and I do not mean flaming hot!) has seriously held up this build. I have now been unable to get any spraywork done for three weekends running, mainly due to rain, cold and wind. I have concentrated on the engine build up along with the rear suspension and gearbox. The instructions call for semi gloss black for the engine and gearbox, but I have used Tamiya gun metal, as I like the metallic finish and what the heck if it is not strictly accurate, most of the engine will be hidden by its cover. I contemplated removing the moulded on suspension springs and substituting them for more realistic springs made from wire, as I did with my Williams FW07, but in the end I simply could not be bothered, and anyway I want to build this as much as possible out of the box without much aftermarket detailing. I painted the springs and shaft matt black, mainly so much of the poor detail could not be readily seen. On to some pics; there are a couple more bits to be added to the engine, along with a bit of wiring, but these will be added when the whole lot is ready to be mounted onto the undertray and the monocoque is finished.      The next pic. is of the engine test fitted to the undertray, the heat shielding for the exhausts has been brush painted on with Humbrol metalcote polished aluminium; most of this will not be seen otherwise I would have used bare metal foil for a more realistic finish.  Another update god-knows-when! Edited by The Tigers, May 12 2012, 06:16 PM.
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| The Tigers | May 8 2012, 08:08 PM Post #10 |
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Well, what do you know. After all the bemoaning of the weather on my last post, the sun started to shine yesterday afternoon/evening and for a few hours I managed to get a bit of spraying done. I managed to get a few more coats of Halfords appliance gloss white on the monocoque, and a few on the engine cowl. I rushed it a bit as time was not on my side, and effectively put a bit too thick a coat on the monocoque, but this can be wet sanded back before clearcoating; but there will be the yellow portion to be sprayed first and then the decals. All in good time and for now the monocoque is in the airing cupboard for a good few weeks for the white to harden. Sorry, no pics. unfortunately but the forecast for next weekend is not too bad and hopefully more spraywork can be done to other parts and some photos uploaded. Fingers crossed! |
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| duncan1098 | May 9 2012, 02:46 PM Post #11 |
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great start, good job on the front bodywork. I will have to build an F1 car one day. |
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| The Tigers | May 20 2012, 05:26 PM Post #12 |
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Hi, Back again, and thanks for the comments Duncan. Unfortunately, after the monocoque had been left for the paint to cure, the finish did not look good at all and I was not happy with it. It was also a bit too thick I felt. I have learnt that if I am not happy with something then it is best to redo it, as long as it is possible and not too late. Therefore, despite the obvious set back in time wasted, I decided to wet sand the paint on the monocoque right back with 600 grade and then 1200 grade which thinned the paint considerably and some of it went back to the primer. I then re-sprayed a couple of new coats with Halfords Appliance Gloss White and I am much happier with the finish. I also put a couple of fairly thin coats on top of the monocoque which will act as a reasonably smooth undercoat to the yellow portion and also the decals. I also re-primed and re-sprayed the engine cover after completely stripping this back to bare plastic (in Dot 4 brake fluid, which is an excellent method and does not harm the plastic) as the finish was also very poor and is now much better. Sorry about the repetition of similar photos from an earlier posting of mine, but here's what we have now.     Back in the airing cupborad now for these parts which will need at least a couple of weeks and then I can finally get on with the yellow portions. In the meantime I will be working on the side pods/radiator intakes and the front and rear wings. |
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| The Tigers | Jun 3 2012, 06:36 PM Post #13 |
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Front and rear wings complete. The front wing end plates have been sprayed Fiat Broom Yellow, which is not as bright as some yellows and is quite a good match for the real car. Then these were sanded back, decalled (not as per the instructions as I am depicting the Belgian Grand Prix which had 'Tactel' logos) and clear coated with TS13. Rear wing end plates and uppermost element were painted Halfords Appliance Gloss White, decalled and clearcoated. The inside faces of the end plates, which had been painted Satin Black weeks ago, did not fare very well having been masked, and a few unsightly marks appeared. I therefore gave these a carbon fibre finish, and although this stands out a bit as the rest of the rear wing has not been decalled in the same manner, I like the look and it has covered the blemishes. I have added some photo etched fasteners to cover the locating holes for the wing elements and these are unfortunately a little out of scale. The Indycals decals have not been too difficult to work with, and I like the fact that they are thinner than the Tamiya ones and therefore are not as prominent, which is good if you are clearcoating. Some pics.       |
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| The Tigers | Jun 5 2012, 10:25 AM Post #14 |
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Wheels and tyres completed. The wheels have been painted Satin Black and logo decals added. The tyre treads have been sanded to give them a 'scrubbed' look, and the kit's Goodyear logos added. The side walls were then given a few coats of matt varnish to seal the logos in, as they were not in a very good condition and were beginning to lift. I then lightly weathered the side walls with Tamiya weathering master set D, oil stain, to give the tyres a used look. The kit's wheel nut and spindles have been added, which are moulded as one, and the nuts given a brush coat of Humbrol Metalcote and then Tamiya clear blue and red. 
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| duncan1098 | Jun 5 2012, 03:17 PM Post #15 |
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Looking really good, wheels have come out well, nice touch with the weathering, well worth doing, makes all the differance. Rear wing looks good, like the carbon fibre, the photo etched bits look good to me. |
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