McLaren Project 4/6

I started this kit about 2-3 months ago (Sept/Oct 09), but with other obligations it has progressed somewhat slowly. While I have a handful of sub-assemblies in progress, including the body, these are just the first to be far enough along to show anything of tangible progress. The kit is being built straight out of the box and will represent the car as it was at the German GP. The only addition is/will be decals, mostly in the form of composite patterns.

The headers were cleaned up and painted, including shading, as individual pieces, then assembled and the seams addressed and blended. Tamiya lacquers (base color) and acrylics (shading/staining) were used.

https://i.imgur.com/4Ay2NPv.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/E5ThchH.jpg


The airbox is covered with mostly ScaleMotorSport C/F decals. Some additional shading was done with Tamiya Smoke.

https://i.imgur.com/AEtKXbL.jpg

The transmission color was mixed per the instructions with acrylics. However, the engine block was shot with a very dark gray instead of black. It will be "adjusted" as the build progresses.

https://i.imgur.com/vjKuU0z.jpg

More as it grows... - Mark

Looks great Mark.... always a fan of your work.... keep it up! It takes tons of dedication to build and detail F1 cars.. probably why I never have tried it!

DaveT

great project :wink:. Always loved your work so I am really looking forward to an F1 build :cool:

Very nice so far, looks great. When you applied the carbon fibre decal onto the airbox did you use one piece or more than one piece..?? I'm curious because I can't see any joins at all... What method did you use to apply it..?? It really looks fabulous and there's no sign of any wrinkles anywhere. Do you have any tips you can share, as I'm about to try the same on my 1/20th Fujimi MP4/6 and any advice would be appreciated. Also can you tell me which Scale Motorsport decal you used for the airbox..??

Looking forward to seeing more of this one.

Hello,
Realy nice start!
I like the way the headers are "shadowed".

Is it the Fujimi kit is 1/20? or the Tamiya in 1+12?

Greetings,

Jamme

Thanks all. This is the 1/12 Tamiya kit.
The airbox was decaled with 4 main pieces of decal, SMS HiDef 1/12 scale. I made a pattern for each piece (left and right, bottom/front &rear plus a top strip that runs along the seam), and paid attention to the pattern or weave on the sheet so when I overlapped them, the seam is not visible. I used Gunze Mr. Mark Softer for decal solvent, and a hairdryer. Let each panel dry before applying the next, it makes it a lot easier to manage. - Mark

The front wing end plates are finished. The C/F is ScaleMotorSports Hi-Def decal. I planned to use only Tamiya paints for the body exterior. (TS-26 for the White.) Unfortunately even though I “snuck up” with very light coats of clear (TS-13) over the decals, when the third coat was drying, the Goodyear decals cracked up. The odd part is that they came apart several hours after the application, but I had set the parts out to dry in the sun, possibly the reason for the cracking.
I created a new set of Goodyear decals and had better luck with the clear, but I did not put them in the sun to dry this time either.
The wing adjustment holes were drilled out, but otherwise these parts are just the way they come in the kit... - Mark
https://i.imgur.com/iVweKI3.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/DReJiho.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/zKZw6Jf.jpg

great carbon work. looking forward to more progress.

Excellent job with the CF, not one line to be seen, great job.

Looks great so far

Looking nice again. You have that carbon decal process nailed, no sign of any joins or wrinkles, really top work..!! Do you apply any clear over the carbon decals or leave them with no clear applied..??

Looking nice again. You have that carbon decal process nailed, no sign of any joins or wrinkles, really top work..!! Do you apply any clear over the carbon decals or leave them with no clear applied..??

my thoughts (and question) exactly :)

Always a pleasure to follow your builds, Mark :thumbsup:

Wow, I rarely saw such a perfect decal work... Impressive ! :thumbsup:

Thanks again everyone. Depending on the sheen I want, I’ll clear the C/F decals. Sometimes high gloss, other times, dead flat. Sometimes no clear is used, sometimes I'll tint the clear, much as I mentioned in the part about the airbox.
On parts that will be handled during assembly it helps to clear them to minimize damage.
These C/F’d parts so far are shot with a light coat of semi-flat,(as opposed to dead flat). Of course care must be exercised to not put too much paint on like anytime clear coating decals. But sealing the edges does help strengthen them.
As far as lining up or hiding the seams, it is just a case of planning out the coverage before application. Those winglet parts were slow going as I let each of the decal pieces dry and each part may have as many as a dozen if you count the little patches. But if you take your time, you can line up the patterns and make the lines vanish.
Maybe the 30 years I’ve spent creating and printing decal artwork for the hobby industry (Scale-Master Decals) is paying off…? - Mark

You put decals really, really well! Looks like real. I do like engine painting as well.

Mark, thanks for the explanation on how you work with the CF decals. Just one clarification.... when you are matching up several pieces of decal (as you noted on the winglets), do you overlap them? Or do you cut them, so that they can be butted up against one another, without overlap?

Thanks

Murray

I overlap them usually. Getting the pattern to match on a butt joint is pretty tough. One degree off and it shows, plus the edge can chip easily. The amount of overlap is determined by where the patterns end up meeting. So cut a little larger piece than you need... - Mark

As usual Mark, excellent work. Thanks for the explanation and tips for laying CF decals, though I think experience plays a huge roll. Live and learn! Glad to see you have time for some building again!

Yep I also was missing Mark's kitchen granite tile ;)

CF threatment is absolutly superb.

The radiators and ducts were done a few weeks ago, but there has not been much sunshine to shoot them in until recently. I made the decals for the Calsonic lettering, (had a problem with the ones in the kit cracking), a little wash brought out the depth, and the bright silver plumbing was brush painted using a Tamiya Mini 4WD paint pen's paint mixed with mineral spirts. Not as bright as sprayed Alclad or Alsa chrome paint maybe, but certainly bright and very easy to work with. And yes, it does dry fully in a few hours.
https://i.imgur.com/mKJosoh.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/3ls3XZz.jpg

The trans/rear suspension/engine assembly is growing too. ScaleMotorSports decals were used for the shock arms, fronts were done at the same time as the rears for continuity.
https://i.imgur.com/6lVfy2R.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/8f3iqZj.jpg


The injectors are almost done too. SMS C/F decals on the airbox base.
https://i.imgur.com/DseNyRB.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/fjwJZCt.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/vJudmuu.jpg

That's all I have to show for now...

Outstanding work so far Mark. Were the suspension components on the MP4/6 CF? I thought they were steel until the later years?

Unfortunately I don't have that answer, yet. I have photos showing what appear to be C/F suspension parts, but being close ups I can't tell what car they are on. Tamiya calls out X-18 for everything C/F as they do for these parts, but then things that are semi gloss black are also called out with no differentiation between the two materials being replicated. At least they are easy to change...

Unfortunately I don't have that answer, yet. I have photos showing what appear to be C/F suspension parts, but being close ups I can't tell what car they are on. Tamiya calls out X-18 for everything C/F as they do for these parts, but then things that are semi gloss black are also called out with no differentiation between the two materials being replicated. At least they are easy to change...

Beautiful work! I have this in my to do pile, so I'm watching what you see and are doing...

Unfortunately, CF suspension didn't come to be until at least '97. Ironically, I believe it came into being as a result of Senna's death. They most definitely were painted or powder coated metal.

Daniel

Fantastic work on the carbon parts!!! I'm also thinking those suspension parts were'nt carbon. Found this pic:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:McLaren_MP4-6_front_Honda_Collection_Hall.jpg

I have some photos like that of the car I'm building, but since the front wing splitters are C/F but photographed as black, and the suspension looked about the same... The close up pics I have of the C/F suspension parts have to be from a much newer car. Oh well...
But I am most of the way done "converting" them to metal... This will make finishing the A-arms much easier...

It it just me, or is it easy to get sucked into making everything possible into C/F on models?

It it just me, or is it easy to get sucked into making everything possible into C/F on models?

It's not just you, Mark. I am the same way about CF stuff on models. Dirk has often thought about doing the CF suspension but wasnt sure if it would be correct.

CF on the MP4/6 suspension is not correct.....but you did a very clean job on it anyway :-)

It has been corrected. Thanks for the input guys!

I just did this kit a few weeks ago. You took it to a new level great work. Only thing i didn't like about the kit was the price.

Awesome work Mark, makes me want to bust mine out!

I know you have already corrected the suspension but just as an FYI when carbon was first introduced it was only used on the front for a number of years, the problem using it on the rear is that the resins at the time could not handle the exhaust heat and the carbon arms would fail.

So, when you're doing a car from the initial carbon wishbone era bear in mind that the front may be carbon but the rears may be steel.

Looking forward to the next update.

Little by little I am making progress on this project. Many parts and pieces are being worked on, but these are the first (only) completed sub-assemblies I have been able to get done since the last time I posted anything on this. I still maintain it is a nice kit, I really wish I could dedicate more time to it, as it is an enjoyable kit to build.

Just OOB, a little shadowing with washes and dry brushing of parts that will be mostly out of sight once the car is completed. Colors are Tamiya, both lacquers and acrylics. The calipers and rotor faces were sprayed, the hubs and details brush painted (didn't feel like masking...) More when it happens... - Mark

https://i.imgur.com/LlRhEnv.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/6ERyMXe.jpg

More work to show on the McLaren. The basic chassis pan is pretty much done. Opted to go with paint instead of decals...
https://i.imgur.com/sIWB3h9.jpg
I used the Tamiya kit provided foil for the internal heat shield.
https://i.imgur.com/BtIjMCh.jpg
I also painted most of the cockpit exterior, but will accent it with some C/F decals. Seat is ready for the harnesses...
https://i.imgur.com/UiOkqe8.jpg

Hello.
Nice job with the paint.
Greetings,
Jamme

I just went through your wip everything looks really good.

great work!

Mostly finished the cockpit/seat. Once it is installed into the monocoque, the rest of the interior parts will be installed.
https://i.imgur.com/lCAX6AV.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/C9HN5kj.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/GXjIxBl.jpg

More progress on the tub and front suspension...
https://i.imgur.com/tAdOvAO.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/NoDZUWU.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/2koR26N.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/gqyIlLZ.jpg

Holy crap!!!! :eek2:

Nice work on the mono the and the cockpit looks great

well done scale master - this is an excellent oob build - I will follow this one as I have three to build - I have a perfect formula kit and a thunder valley kit to upgrade two of the builds but one will be OOB like yours - Nice carbon work - John

Very nice! I like this kind of build; very clean and precise! Simply awesome!

Awesome, clean work...!!!!!

The rear suspension/transmission is pretty much done...
https://i.imgur.com/a8bvErd.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/i8OD1TB.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/FiCNNVK.jpg

Wow Mark, excellent work! What did you use to replicate the harness material?

Mike, the harness material is right from the kit. This one is just an out-of-the-box build.

Airboxes/radiators and driveline are now attached to the monocoque...
https://i.imgur.com/xkGblUo.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/LEs1BkU.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/8gWhf3V.jpg

Looking great..!!

Looking great..!!

+1, nice work!

Exhaust system is installed...
https://i.imgur.com/3Aw8mXa.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/BlehqzV.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/ASdVroi.jpg

Again so clean and tidy and an excellent paint finish on everything..

The chassis pan is now attached and the engine is almost done... I have also been working on the the body/paint. Photos of that when it is safe to handle...
https://i.imgur.com/InapnEB.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/wHjrqPw.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/GS0hKlK.jpg

Again so clean and tidy and an excellent paint finish on everything..

x2

these pics look like they've been computer enhanced or something:iceslolan

Super work as always :worshippy

Your clean style makes this look much more than an OOB build! :thumbsup:

Tires... Lots of time spent sanding the tread areas...
https://i.imgur.com/Z6dtIM7.jpg

Although this is my first post to this wip, i have followed it from the begining.You are doing a great job on this model.Your work and painting is excellent,so clean. You are also showing us that you dont have to go into super detailing to achieve a fantastic model/build.

Regards Wayne

Great! I love your clean and tidy execution. Pleasure to watch your thread.

Finally the body has the paint on it. Tamiya Pure White and Fluorescent Red. The nose has the decals and final clear coat on it...
https://i.imgur.com/EFFiHNK.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/qzOe610.jpg
The lettering on the wings cracked several months after being clear coated with the Tamiya clear, so I hand painted the lettering and re-cleared with urethane. This picture is before clear coating.
https://i.imgur.com/qNADJlT.jpg

I miss those colours....looking good.

I had some paint issues that necessitated stripping some parts and sanding out others and repainting them. The rear wing end plates had to be stripped and I had to make replacement decals since they are not available from Tamiya now. The C/F decals are SMS. A few more days of cure time and maybe I can assemble the rear wing I started about a year and a half ago…
https://i.imgur.com/jxLQH2C.jpg

And now the front wing is done.. Had to repaint the Shell lettering after the decals cracked under the Tamiya clear. C/F is SMS. Goodyears are a pair I made.

https://i.imgur.com/LjcIveh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/pEHANVZ.jpg