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1/20 MFH/E-Jan Red Bull RB4


ejsmith
11-06-2008, 01:57 PM
Well the kit's been out for a while now and I'm quite surprised there hasn't been a wip started already so thought I'd post mine. My first MFH, I'm super excited! I'm a big DC fan so I bought this as soon as it was announced. I've been working on it for a few weeks now (wanted to get some progress before posting a wip) but I'm quite a slow builder as I want to get this as near to perfect as I can. So I've test fitted all of the parts, drilled all of the holes, scribed the panel lines and then cleaned up the resin before priming. I did have one small problem though, I chipped part of the resin where it meets the shark fin. A little milliput solved that though. Something else I've noticed is the gearbox/wing mount aren't square. Not sure how best to tackle this but that's some way off at the moment anyway. So I'm just waiting for the primer to harden and then I'll get the airbrush out on Monday and do the blue. Here are some pictures, enjoy! Oh, this will be the Hungarian GP version by the way. I was there and got some good shots :)

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF5373-1.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF5562-1.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF5990.jpg

pawlie
11-06-2008, 06:21 PM
Should be good-more pics please!

Captain Mark
11-06-2008, 07:30 PM
Nice - keep us posted!

ejsmith
12-16-2008, 03:14 PM
Sorry it's been so long since my last update. First of all I had to build the F2007 for the window at work and then I've been ill since and not had time to build. However I'm now fully recovered and the build is back on track I'm pleased to say! So here's a smallish update. I've spent a lot of time puttying and sanding to remove the gap between the two find on the sidepods and the body. I should really have done this before I stuck the photo etch on but I'll know for the STR3 now :) The sanding was quite tricky because of this but also because it's quite a hard surface to reach so it took a lot of time. Just a little more sanding and then primer on top and the job will be complete :)

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6081.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6080.jpg


Having seen a couple of completed builds of this I've noticed that the gap between the photoetched piece shown below and the resin is rather noticeable so I decided to putty over this and sand it flush

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6082.jpg


Whilst I was busy filling gaps I also decided to smooth the join between the white metal piece in front of the cockpit and the body. I used cyano for this. Did the same for the mirrors

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6083.jpg


And here's a picture of what it looks like at the moment. A little more work tonight and I should hopefully be ready to paint the blue tomorrow but no guarantees. Thanks for looking!


http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6084.jpg

builder77
12-17-2008, 06:49 AM
Excellent putty work.
After looking at your build I realized I didnt get the mirrors on min yet.
What metal piece in the front of the cockpit are you talking about?
Chris

ejsmith
12-17-2008, 09:10 AM
Thanks! The white metal piece is the little hump. I've got no idea what its purpose is or what to call it, it's just a bump :iceslolan It's in the fourth picture.

I've just sprayed the first coat of blue using zero paints. I'll have some pictures up later :)

ejsmith
12-17-2008, 10:12 AM
Here's the first shot of the blue. It needs a few more coats and then a clear coat before it's finished but I think it's looking good so far. It looks quite dark on its own but this is the actual colour of the Red Bulls (and Toro Rossos - it's the same paint! ;) ) and it will also look better when the decals are on. I'm going to finish priming the other parts which need to be blue before doing more coats to avoid cleaning the airbrush more than necessary :iceslolan Thanks for looking!

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6095.jpg

suprageex
12-17-2008, 03:47 PM
Very nice, i'm more a fan of Torro Rosso, tho. (Seb. Vettel)
The "bump" you're reffering to is a camera :D
Once more: very,very nice!

Captain Mark
12-26-2008, 01:26 AM
Holy cow that fin off the chimney stack "thingo" is so thin, it's just asking to get snapped off... be careful! hehe
I've snapped off my share of resin pieces by mistake... and it's not fun.

That blue is so dark, it almost looks black. I'm sure in person it's better though, as it can often be hard to capture the true colours in photos.

Keep up the great work, and keep the pictures coming!

ejsmith
01-17-2009, 08:52 AM
Sorry for such a long break between updates but first we had Christmas and then I lost the card reader for my camera. D'oh!

So I've finished spraying all of the blue now. That includes wings etc as well. I've also lacquered the body and begun to apply a few decals. The blue looks really nice now it's got some lacquer on. The metallic blue really shines, it looks fab. The airbox/engine cover in the last photo is probably the best match to the actually colour, I just have a rubbish camera :)
In the mean time I've also started some CF work. The front wing endplates are finished. Once the 3 elements on the front wing are done I'll assemble the whole thing and then lacquer it. I used MFH plain weave on the FWEPs and but the direction is wrong (should be at 45 degrees, not paralell but oh well). I will be using SMS for the rest of the model probably. Here are the pics:

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6115.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6108-1.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6125.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6126.jpg

TRBJ
01-17-2009, 09:55 AM
nice!!!!

ejsmith
01-17-2009, 11:13 AM
I did the nose decals today. No major problems really, just a bit of microsol. There are 3 decals for the nose and each are attached to the stripes. I did the sides first and then the top. For the top I made a small cut on the decal so it would go around the small piece in front of the cockpit. The decal sheet comes with a small square of yellow for paint matching but I will be using this to continue the yellow under the nose. This is the best picture I found but as you can see, the yellow extends on the underside of the nose as well. Comments welcome :)


http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/RedBull2.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6141.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6142.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6144.jpg

builder77
01-17-2009, 04:06 PM
Great to see the update.
Very nice job on the decals and nice pictures.
Looking forward to more!
Chris

Captain Mark
01-17-2009, 04:20 PM
The yellow is a decal... now that makes things easier!
This is always the best part, keep the updates rolling mate.

stevenoble
01-17-2009, 04:21 PM
Very good progress, look forward to more.....

Tikiman
01-18-2009, 03:54 AM
Nice work on the decals :)
Looks rather fiddly.

ejsmith
01-19-2009, 01:46 PM
Small update. Made some progress with the CF. Done the underside of the front wing elements, the barge boards and have started doing the thin strip on the front wing elements. Next will be the front suspension :) Thanks for looking

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6153.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6166.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6169.jpg

sam01contact
01-19-2009, 04:09 PM
Great work! I am being seriously tempted to buy this kit!

ejsmith
01-20-2009, 08:38 AM
Thanks for the comments guys :)

Wow, this was the toughest decal on the whole model. I destroyed the first set, these were off my spare sheet. There are a few mistakes which I patched up with some spare yellow decal and there are a few wrinkles around the airbox but it's not too bad. I'm sure it'll look ok with a clear coat on (if you squint maybe ;))

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6175.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6178.jpg

kans0002
01-20-2009, 01:32 PM
this looks great! one of my favorites...can't wait to see it cleared up.

ejsmith
01-29-2009, 01:14 PM
Ok, sorry this has been such a long update guys. I went through some personal problems recently and only today felt like picking up the model again since the last update. So what have I done? I've CF'd the little photoetch pieces which attach to the flick ups. This was quite tricky to hold and CF at the same time but I managed it :) Then I've sprayed all of the silver pieces using zero mica silver. I'm so lazy, I love the pre-thinned stuff :) I've also CF'd the underside of one of the winglets as shown below. This took quite a while and there are several pieces of CF there.

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6187.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6190.jpg


I've also finished decaling the body. I'll clear it tomorrow if the weather is good

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6240.jpg


For the rear wing mount I've cut it just in front of the lower wing elements. I've then drilled a small hole in each half, inserted a brass rod and will glue the whole thing together. I haven't quite decided what to fill the gap with yet. I was thinking 2-ton epoxy and/or some cyano. Any suggestions? It has to be strong enough to hold the weight of the white metal...

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6241.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6242.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6243.jpg


Finally I had a bit of a disaster with the front wing. This actually occurred before last week but never mind. Basically I tried fitting it together in the early hours of the morning and it ended up as a giant glue bomb. So I took it apart and have sanded it down to the metal again. I'll make the templates for the CF and then construct the wing before painting. I think it will make it easier in the long run, it will just be trickier painting and decaling...

Take care guys :)

billypee
02-01-2009, 12:32 PM
Nice work especially on the many CFed parts---I just find them so tedious.

Shame about the front wing problem but well done for starting over in order to get it right.

jano11
02-01-2009, 12:45 PM
This one is coming along nicely. You are doing a wonderful job on this kit!

ejsmith
02-06-2009, 01:23 AM
Well it's been quite slow progress but here's a small update. Added a few bits and bobs to the body. For anyone else doing this kit, be careful of the front suspension. The white metal is very soft and it's easy to bend when assembling the suspension. I nearly bent the right front when doing mine.

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6253.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6254.jpg


Also glued the rear wing support back to the geearbox and then filled the gap with some epoxy for extra strength. Quite pleased with the result actually :) Here's a picture of the assembled front wing as well


http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6263.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6264.jpg

willster127
02-27-2009, 12:43 AM
Looking awesome, makes me want to get one!!

One thing I noticed though, on the yellow decals around the airbox/roll hoop there is that small oval which is for the lifting bar if the car crashes and has no wheels left, you have it covered over but it needs opening up, aside from that everything else looks perfect, keep it up!!

Lee

klutz_100
02-27-2009, 03:10 AM
Looking great! Lovely build :thumbsup:

ejsmith
05-11-2009, 12:07 AM
Sorry it has been so long since the last update, made some steady progress though and I'm hoping to have the model finished before I leave for Monaco. There isn't much left to do now so I'm hoping that's a realistic aim. Also have to finish the STR3 before Monaco as well. The guy I'm building it for wants to get Vettel to sign it when we're there. Anyway, progress shots:

CF'd the seat:

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6319.jpg


Added the seatbelts. The kit is actually supplied with the wrong colour belts so a warning for anyone else building this kit, the belts should be black!

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6470.jpg


Completed the rear suspension:

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6464.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6465.jpg


And with rear wing attached. Had to make new pins in the lower wing support because I broke one earlier on in the build



http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSCF6469.jpg



The front wing has been redone and is just waiting on the a little bit of CF and it'll be complete:

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSC_0043.jpg



There are actually a few other areas I've worked on since these pictures were taken. Cockpit is now completed and the radiators/seat are now in place. I've also CF'd the undertray and once I've lacquered it I'll be ready to attach it to the main body. Hopefully have some more pictures of this up later. Cheers

billypee
05-11-2009, 12:27 AM
Great work on the Red Bull.

Enjoy Monaco.

ejsmith
05-11-2009, 12:25 PM
Spent the late hours of last night setting about decaling the undertray. I've used SMS high-def carbon decals and managed to do the lot in 3 pieces (though it was tricky!). Just got to do the small deflectors/flow conditioners that mount to the undertray and I can start assembling the whole thing together :)

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSC_0118.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSC_0119.jpg

Spike2933
05-11-2009, 12:31 PM
lookin fantastic

sam01contact
05-11-2009, 12:47 PM
Man, you are doing a terrific job with this kit. I specially love the carbon fiber work! You have a lot of patience!!

Decs0105
05-11-2009, 01:42 PM
That looks stunning, one of the best I have seen so far...!

ejsmith
06-08-2009, 10:52 AM
Sorry it's been a while since my last update. Spent a week in Monaco and then had a house move so things have been a bit hectic! But before I moved I decided I'd coat the whole thing in some more lacquer and it all went wrong. For some reason, and I'm still not entirely sure why, I had a fine white powder appear over the surface of the model and it got worse with more lacquer. The big problem was it was in some very hard to reach spots (the suspension was absolutely caked in it). I took the kit over to my friend Stuart's place (he's registered on here but I'm afraid I can't remember your username Stu!). Anyway, he got some isopropyl out and it dissolved the white powder a treat and didn't attack the lacquer. The surface is a bit rough underneath but I figure that I can polish it up. So now it's just the brakes and wheels that need to be finished and obviously the front wing needs gluing on. In the next update I'll take some photos of my progress between the last update (sorry, kind of working backwards! - I just didn't have time because I wanted to try and get it done before Monaco but then I had the issue with the lacquer). Anyway, here's a before and after shot :) Oh, and I managed to knock one side of the engine cover wing off with the air hose by accident, that's why it's missing

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSC_0411.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSC_0759.jpg

guiwee
06-11-2009, 01:14 AM
Once again these red-bull decals look nice on these f1 cars.Great work you are doing

ejsmith
06-11-2009, 01:29 PM
Well I've done a little more since my last update. Front and rear brakes and have been finished and attached, the front wing was attached and I finished the sanding the mould lines off the tyres. All that's left is to add the wheel covers, add the photo etch to the front wing and attach the windscreen plastic.

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSC_0761.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSC_0762.jpg


I never realised where the Bridgestone logos are respective to each other on either side of an F1 tyre until I went to Monaco. The following to pictures illustrate what I mean. One side is Bridgestone and in the same position on the inner wall is Potenza. The third picture also shows the tyre valve added to the rims

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSC_1049.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSC_1060.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSC_0773.jpg


Last two pictures show the turned metal exhuast and the floor stay I added, plus the aerial that was added to the nose

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSC_0772.jpg

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h253/ejsmith/DSC_0760.jpg

stu_davros
06-12-2009, 03:34 PM
Hi Elliot, the RB4 is looking pretty sweet with all the wings on. It's a shame you couldn't take it to Monaco, but I'm not sure I'd trust the airlines not to flatten it. Even you hand luggage can get pretty beat up sometimes. I think if I were going to do something like that, I'd just take the base along and get the driver to sign that and put the model on when you got home. If you get a chance it would be nice to see your RB4 and the STR you built together for a couple of pictures.
Cheers,
Stu.

gasdriverca
06-12-2009, 04:15 PM
Nice work there guy very impressive !!! did you ever find out what the powder was?

ejsmith
06-14-2009, 04:14 PM
Stu - Yep, it would have been completely crushed! Those photoetch parts on the front wing would have been the first to go and then the wings behind the airbox, those are definitely the most fragile parts. I might take a small piece of brass sheet to Silverstone and if I see DC I can get him to sign that. Then if I mount the model on a base I can stick the brass on somewhere :)
And yup, I'm sure I can do a progress thread for the STR as well. Halfway through but I'll be able to explain my lessons from this build if nothing else!

gasdriverca - I've not found out for sure but I think it's particles from the lacquer that weren't properly atomised when I airbrushed it on. The alcohol seemed to dissolve it nicely and I've since thinned the lacquer a bit more and it's been fine

Anyway, here's the completed thread: http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=5987215#post5987215

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