F1 - STUDIO27 BAR 006 (1/20) - Progress Pics

Howdy all,

The STUDIO27 BAR006 finally arrived in the mail today (my first resin kit!), and I'll be honest... I was grinning like an idiot for a loooong time, and it felt like Christmas had come again... after just 10 days!

Now the first thing that struck me with this kit was the packaging. It's just so different from what I'm used to, like they seem to put a bit more thought into it than just dumping all the parts in a box and sending it off. As it's my first resin/white metal/photo-edged kit also, I was pleasantly surprised with all the 'bits'... it's all so new!

I must admit, I'm now convinced the best part of modeling is opening the darn box...! Anyone with me on this one...?

Anyway, I thought I'd try to show you all through the kit and packaging, and basically what you get for your $$$. This first section of pics will probably be nothing new for those of you who've built a resin kit before, but I think it'll be interesting for the rest who've yet to get there.


1. The tell-tale red box of a STUDIO27 kit. I’ve only just noticed all the boxes are identical, and simply tagged with a label denoting the kit inside. Nice to see the BAR colours on the label as well.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR-Packaging-01.jpg


2. Now this impressed me - I open up the lid (it's a very sturdy box by the way), and the first thing I lay my eyes on is a nice photograph of the finished kit! It probably costs them very little, but it was a very nice touch. Like I said, I'm very impressed already!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR-Packaging-02.jpg


3. The instructions - nice to see a splash of colour on the instructions for a change. There's Japanese and English wording, and it all looks fairly straight forward at first glance.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR-Packaging-03.jpg


4. Now we're starting to get somewhere... damn I love that first look through a new kit!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR-Packaging-04.jpg


5. And under the top packaging... it was all very nice and neat.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR-Packaging-05.jpg


6. All the parts, minus the main body section. You can see the tires and wheels on the top left, white metal parts all in a small packet to the right (sitting on a clear plastic box they came in), and at the bottom is the resin seat and various screws, clear parts, and other odds and ends. No idea what the screws are for yet... there's 13 of them in assorted sizes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR-Packaging-06.jpg


7. Close-up of the tires and wheels. I haven't actually taken the tires out of the packet yet, but so far they look nearly good to go - I don't think I'll need to do much work on them at all.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR-Packaging-07.jpg


8. The screws and odds and ends. I'm rather intrigued with these parts... what are the screws for... why the flat piece of clear film... is the wire an aerial... etc, etc...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR-Packaging-08.jpg


9. White metal parts. They're packed together pretty tightly, but look to all be in good condition. I'm surprised to see the wheels come in three parts, one of which you can see below (the spokes). The other parts are machined aluminium (I believe), and I think there's some photo-etched parts as well. I could be wrong however... I really zoomed through my first look.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR-Packaging-09.jpg


10. The body. I didn't actually realise that resin was a type of plastic. Quite heavy actually. The detail is amazing though!!! This kit is going to be stunning when it's finally complete!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR-Packaging-10.jpg


11. Decals and photo-etched parts. I've never even seen photo-etched parts before, so I'm pretty happy to finally have some to tinker with.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR-Packaging-11.jpg


12. Photo-etched parts up close, for those of you who are interested. I'm drooling over these seat belts!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR-Packaging-12.jpg


13. Some handy instructions on how to start building resin kits. It's the little additional touches like this, that are rather unexpected, that start to make you feel like the money was really worth it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR-Packaging-13.jpg


14. The kit!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR-Packaging-14.jpg



Here's hoping I can do my first resin kit justice! I've been out of it for a while now, but my skills are picking up again very quickly, and I'm confident I can do great job given time and patience.

It'll be a month or so before I begin though, there's one or two other F1 projects lurking at the moment. Although when this build finally launches I'll be sure to post anything that may be of interest or help to everyone.

Cheers all.
And Merry Xmas... again!

Mark

Although i'm not much of an F1 fan anymore, it does look like a nice kit which will build into a great model. Which version are you planning, Sato or Button's car?

You're about to lose your resin and PE virginity. :lol:
Thanks for the great photo essay of the kit contents. Good luck with the build, I suspect you will need it at times with that kit.

Wow! Looking great!
My dream is to get one of S27 kits one day, but they are too expensive for me.
How much you paid for it Mark?

Looking forward to this build!
Good luck with the kit!

Chris

I think you should do the Button version, he is an awesome driver and future WC in my opinion (maybe I am a little biased though!).

The kit looks great, I would like to build one of these resin kits, probably not an open wheeler though. I have the S27 transkit for the Celica ST165 and want to get hold of another S27 kit to practice before I crack into that.

Mark,

Congrats on your new purchase!

I have just started building this model too and the diary is being continuously updated on my website. I don't want to discourage you, but these S27 kits do require quite a bit of work to put together...there is lots of cleanup to do and it's vital that test fitting is done throughout the whole build. It's important to anticipate potential problems such as ride height, wing angles, etc. Check my website for tips on building this model and please feel free to email me with any tips you have encountered.

http://members.shaw.ca/bil_attridge/

http://members.shaw.ca/motorsportsinscale/On_The_Bench/BAR006_Buildup_Part1.htm

Good luck.

Spitfire7 & Technoman - While I'm a fan of both drivers, I'll be doing the Button car.


hrmodeler - I ended up paying about AUS$190, which converted is about US$140ish. That included postage from the States. I believe it's about 30% off the regular store price, so I'm pretty happy with that. Sure it's by far the most expensive kit I've bought, but I've got 4 F1 kits and 2 sportscar kits ready to go now, so that'll do me for most of the year no doubt.


bilinvic - what luck! I couldn't ask for a better walk-through for this kit than what you're showing on your site! I kept a close eye on your Jordan build which turned out exceptionally nicely, so I'll have to steal a tip or two from you on this build as well. Definitely heeding all of your advice too!
Do you by any chance have a link to the F1 Modelers Magazine you mention on your website???

I always have fitment problem on the front wing in all my Studio27 (8)kits.....still waiting money for the Benetton B191 and F2004..and of course F2005...etc...I really want Studio27 to make Michael Schumacher's F3, F3000 and his Go-Karts.

Do you by any chance have a link to the F1 Modelers Magazine you mention on your website???

The link to F1 Modeling: http://www.sankaido.jp/f1modeling/

Available through the most Japanese online shops, like HLJ or R10.
But they're not last long, so be fast if you want some issue ;-)

Thanks Hueb_s.

Looks like a handy magazine to have lying around!

Hobby search has some sample shots from current issues:

http://www.1999.co.jp/asp/GoodsDetails_e.asp?Bno=&Typ1_c=102&Typ2_c=133&Typ3_c=973&SPage=1&SC=12&SN=Books+Book%28Auto%29&It_c=10041377&andor=0&scope=0&scope2=0&thumb=1&sortID=1&urikire=1&sort_sort=0&ItKey=&app_url=shop_right_e.asp

http://www.1999.co.jp/asp/GoodsDetails_e.asp?Bno=&Typ1_c=102&Typ2_c=133&Typ3_c=973&SPage=1&SC=12&SN=Books+Book%28Auto%29&It_c=10040171&andor=0&scope=0&scope2=0&thumb=1&sortID=1&urikire=1&sort_sort=0&ItKey=&app_url=shop_right_e.asp

http://www.1999.co.jp/asp/GoodsDetails_e.asp?Bno=&Typ1_c=102&Typ2_c=133&Typ3_c=973&SPage=1&SC=12&SN=Books+Book%28Auto%29&It_c=10039339&andor=0&scope=0&scope2=0&thumb=1&sortID=1&urikire=1&sort_sort=0&ItKey=&app_url=shop_right_e.asp

http://www.1999.co.jp/asp/GoodsDetails_e.asp?Bno=&Typ1_c=102&Typ2_c=133&Typ3_c=973&SPage=1&SC=12&SN=Books+Book%28Auto%29&It_c=10038328&andor=0&scope=0&scope2=0&thumb=1&sortID=1&urikire=1&sort_sort=0&ItKey=&app_url=shop_right_e.asp

(Use the links near "Other Page A")

Thanks for the great pics! Good luck with it, I will follow this thread and maybe you can convince me to buy one ;-)

I've taken the first steps on this kit - preparing the body. There definitely are a lot of mould lines, flash, and general muck that needs cleaning up. A couple of things I've noticed...

1. Resin sands VERY easily! Don't get caught out! I find it sands down very much quicker and easier than plastic, so for the newbies, just take it easy at first until you get familiar with how the resin will react to various grades of sandpaper.

2. Resin gives off a strange scent when sanded... curious. I mist admit it is oddly pleasant though.


Will post pics when there's something worthwhile to show.

2. Resin gives off a strange scent when sanded... curious. I mist admit it is oddly pleasant though.


Isn't the dust from sanding resin toxic-like? I think you'd better sand in a well ventilated area with some breathing-protection!!

Tim

I was going to say the same thing about resin dust. I don't recall the details but I have heard it is not good for you. A respirator and wet sanding (to stop dust forming) would be a sensible precaution, just in case.

Sound like good tips guys, thanks for the heads up!
It 'was' nice though... hehe

Hi all! It's been a loooooong time between updates, but I'm finally making some progress again after some delays.

I'm still working on getting the body totally prepped and ready for a top coat of white. I thought I was done, but then realised I had to test fit the sides of the engine cowling, and the gaps which showed were just unacceptable.

So after a lot of sanding, cutting, puttying, moulding, and various other things ending in "ing", I've finally got the panel lines between these parts and the body to an acceptable level. Below you can see some of the areas I was working on.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR001.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR002.jpg


The overriding lesson I've learnt so far, is that EVERYTHING must be test fitted before any top coats are put on, or any parts glued. The detail on these kits is outstanding, but the fit of parts often needs some work. Don't learn the hard way!

I've put what I hope is the final primer coat on the body, and hopefully will have the topcoat put on in a week, and the decals completed another week or so after that. I can't wait!


Moderators: I realise this thread is a number of months old, but I have some legitimate progress to share. I've had a somewhat forced break from this kit, but am now back in full swing, and feel I have some good information to share with the other board members. Please don't lock the thread. Cheers.

Great to see it started Mark, you are lucky you saw the fittment problems coming on time, i was not that lucky first time around :D
Good luck, patience is all you need.

Mark, you are doing a wonderfull job. Your review is very good and it will be a future reference to anyone wanting to build an S27 kit. (i. e. ME :D)
I'm sure you've seen Bil Attridge's build, but here's the link anyway: BAR 006 (http://members.shaw.ca/motorsportsinscale/On_The_Bench/BAR006_Buildup_Part1.htm)

Please keep us posted.

Cheers!

It's nice to see that you are back to that model. :-)
Kepp us updated.

It's nice to see that you are back to that model. :-)
Kepp us updated.

Yes, keep us updated, can't wait for more progress pics :grinno:

Hey thanks for the support guys, it's really motivating!

pettercardoso: me and Bil have emailed each other a few times regarding this particular kit, and I must say he's doing an outstanding job on his! I can't wait for his next update. Thanks for the link though.

The pic you see below is older than the above two, but it illustrates a point I thought may help to save people some building drama in the future.

Now bear in mind that resin is HEAVY. You can drop a regular plastic kit and 99% of the time it will bounce harmlessly around on the floor, with perhaps a few scratches here and there depending on the floor surface. But resin... I dropped the BAR a little while ago, and I swear it hit terminal velocity in the foot and a half between my hand the carpet! It landed directly on the tail of the piece and it snapped clean off...

Now it seems while resin is heavy, solid, and quite strong, it appears to be more brittle than regular plastic. So if it drops, in the split second between dropping it and the impact with the floor, you can resign yourself to a likely breakage...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR003.jpg


Doh...!

Great job!
Keep up the good work.
Isnt it great how the support on this site keeps you working!

Looking forward to more.

Chris

I've come across a rather annoying problem, and hopefully I can shed some light on it to help out any of you who tackle a resin kit in the future.

The two uprights that connect the front wing to the nose of the chassis are made from white metal. Using epoxy they were easily glued to the resin chassis. Now there was a seam line between the two parts, which obviously needed to be fixed. See the picture below, I've put a yellow circle around the area where the two parts are joined...


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR004.jpg


Now one side fixed up perfectly; a bit of putty, some sanding, priming and re-sanding, and it was good to go. The other side however was a right pain in the @rse.

You see the resin sands VERY easily, and the white metal not so much so. So I'd merrily sand away, the resin would cut back very fast, and the while metal wouldn't change very much, which generally made the seam line quite a bit worse! I've tried putty, but for some reason it's just not working out the way the first side did. Perhaps it's my lack of experience in resin/white metal kits.

Anyway, I resorted to using the corner of a piece of sandpaper to sand just the white metal area, which wasn't easy. Got it as close to perfect as I could, and then primed the area again. I lay the piece on its side with the seam area facing up, so the primer wouldn't run off due to gravity. I then laid down a small ocean's worth of primer... it didn't run, but it was close, which was what I was after this particular time.

The result... well, I've got to give the area a light sanding, but I think I've got a winner! The ultimate test will be the top coat of course. I might do a test run over the area and try to polish it back. If that goes well, I'll top coat the rest of the car through the week.

This is definitely a learning experience!
Cheers all!

A small update to the above post...
I just took to the seam area with some 4000grit material-backed sandpaper (MicroMesh brand), and it came up perfectly. The primer over the join has come up exceptionally smooth, and I'm really very happy with the finish of it.

I think I'll take to the rest of the kit with the same sandpaper tonight, and try to get in my topcoat tomorrow. I'll be using Tamiya TS-26, Pure White, for the topcoat. With the pressure that shoots out of these cans, here's hoping I don't drown the kit and lose half the detail!

Resin dust is not very good for you at all, and resin clean up can produce a lot of it (especially if you use a motor-tool). I always wear a dust mask, or sand under flowing water to keep the dust down.

Capn' Mark,
next time, attach the white metal pice to the resin kit with superglue (either thick, gap-filling or thin and use an accelerator), then use more superglue as a filler (as opposed to an epoxy type). The hardened superglue is about the hardness as the white metal and will help with "under sanding".

Also if you makr the area you are trying to sand smooth with some paint (chromesilver enamel works well) or pencil lead and then use a small file, you will be able to more easily see (and therefore control) your removal of material.

hth, keep up the good work and thanks for sharing!

Bill

bvia: thanks for the tips! I'll definitely keep them in mind for the future.

Time for an update...

And time to start on these wonderful photo-etch parts! At first I wasn't sure how to actually remove them from the piece they were attached to. I finally figured the best and safest way was to place the PE parts flat on a cutting board, placing a rounded blade exactly on the point where I want the part removed, apply pressure, and off it comes!

I found that I couldn't sand them flat where needed, so had to cut them perfectly from the sprue (if that's the right term). The pic below gives you an idea of what I did (sorry about the slight blur and poor lighting).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR005.jpg



Time to glue the radiators into the radiator housing. I used Araldite (Australian product, not sure if it's available outside Australia), which is basically a type of epoxy. This particular one is 90 second epoxy, but I found I generally had a little more time before it hardened than 90 seconds. Which suits me, as I don't really want to wait much longer than that for it to set anyhow! As you can also see, the housing is a woeful representation of the true radiator housing (which I've never seen). It's only really there to hold the PE pieces which unfortunately are barely visible on the finished kit anyway.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR006.jpg



And finally a shot of the radiators and the kit so far, with some of the black areas painted.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR007.jpg



Unfortunately my digicam is being comandeered(sp) by my other half, while she's off on her 5 week holiday to Scandinavia...! So, no photo updates for a while. For you guys sake, hopefully I don't get much done in that time... hehehe.

If anyone has any further tips or comments, I'd love to hear them!
Cheers all.

Captain Mark,

I finally finished my BAR 006...until I get my website updated, here's a link to a few pics of the model:

http://members.shaw.ca/motorsportsinscale2/Images/BAR006_temp/BAR006_Temp.htm

Bil Attridge

Hi bil,

Yeah I saw the link over on f1m.com actually, very nice!!!
Glad to see you finally got it completed! Having got this far in my kit, I can now see why you get a little exasperated with the resin kits, and are hanging out to get back onto a plastic one.

Cheers,
Mark

This kit is driving me insane... plain and simple.

The amount of times I've top-coated something just to find it no longer fits is getting ridiculous! For those unfamiliar with resin kits here's my advice (coming from a beginner who's learning the hard way);

- Before you even start the kit, for the love of god, test fit the parts.
- After you've primed something, test fit the parts.
- After you sand something, test fit the parts.
- Once you top coat something, test fit the parts.
- If you do ANYTHING to a part of the kit, test fit the parts.
- If you sneeze within 5-6 meters of your work area, test fit the parts! You just never know...

This body is about to have its third top coat now... hehehe
Apologies for not providing any pics. My digicam is currently in Finland - which isn't ordinarilly a problem... except that I live in Australia.

At least with my other half away on holiday (hence the camera being gone), I can get in some serious modeling time!
(Babe, in case you read this, that last sentence was man code for, "I love you... I wish you were here... ummm, I can't wait to have you home... and I'm sorry..." Back me up here guys...)

Anyway, back to the topic. For those doing their first resin kit, be prepared to spend AT LEAST three times the amount of time on it compared to a plastic kit, and that's being conservative. I've really got an extra appreciation for the precision of the plastic kits now. Not that resin kits are bad, just different, and take a little more TLC.

Here's hoping I finish this kit before 2006...!

Progress is still being made, albeit slowly at times. I've got two relevant build points to share (or reiterate perhaps) since my last update:

1.
Finished parts chip easily!
On the odd occasion I've had a top-coated piece of the kit (given lots of time to cure) fall or tip over just a few milimeters onto another hard object, and this has resulted in chipped paint. I thought I was being very careful, but I'd often come back to my work area and find suspension pieces chipped, with no idea of how it happened. I think it may have something to do with the metal under the paint not 'giving' as much when bumped, as compared to plastic parts. Hence the easier chipping - I could be wrong, but that's my observation so far.

I've now resorted to bagging up every individual piece that's completed, and storing them in a safe place where they won't be moved or bothered.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR008.jpg
(Bit of a dodgy picture, but you get the idea.)


2.
Building a resin kit is a cyclical process.
I saw the term 'cyclical' used on www.f1m.com (can't remember who quoted it, sorry), and I couldn't describe it better. Because of the need to test fit and alter many pieces so often, it's rather useless to follow the instructions in a linear fashion, as you would for say a Tamiya kit. I've found the best thing to do to avoid annoying delays and screw-ups on the body of the kit, is to:

a) prime and prepare the body
b) then totally finish virtually EVERYTHING else and bag all pieces up
c) complete the body
d) finally attach all other finished pieces to the completed body.

This is annoying as I find the body is the most fun to do, and would prefer not to leave until the very last, but it should be a very quick final buildup once the body is complete.

Will post more progress pics soon.
Cheers,
M

Now we're getting somewhere...
First up, the front wing. Coated in gloss black, sponsor decals applied, and then sealed with Tamiya clear. The decals stood up to the clear perfectly, which I was a little concerned about. I did find that I perhaps put the clear on a little thin though, as I could feel the decal under my polishing cloths when rubbing it out to a nice shine. I'm rather inexperienced with clear coating, so I'm quite pleased with my efforts.

I found that the end plates had very little contact with the front wing, due to the shape of the pieces and fitment. So I had to be very careful in placing just a small amount of glue in the correct place, and then forcing the end plates inwards towards the wing, as you'll see below. You'll notice the bluetac (Australian product) holding the end plates firmly against the wing, where they'll stay for a few days to make sure the small amount of epoxy has enough time to fully harden.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR009.jpg


Tyres - rare that we see a Michelin shod F1 car in the forums, so it's nice to see something different in this case. The wheels have caused me a bit of trouble actually...

The rims are too wide for the tyres. I could have knuckled down and spent a lot of hours thinning various points on the rims, but to be honest I couldn't be bothered. It's not a massive problem, and probably wouldn't be noticed by the average person.

I'll also suggest to those building this (or maybe similar) kits, to finish building the rims (three parts), paint it all silver, then sand ALL of the paint off the part of the rims that the tyre will cover. Otherwise you'll find the wall of the tyre grabs a LOT of dried paint while you're putting it on the rim, and it's a mongrel to remove!

The other problem I've noticed is that the tyres aren't flat when sitting on the rim. They bow in towards the middle, and sometimes one side is higher than the other. I think it's just Stuidio27 not paying enough attention to getting the original moudling correct.

But... they do still look good when finished...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR010.jpg


The body has also received its first medium/intermediate topcoat of Tamiya Pure White (spray can). I keep forgetting how quick this stuff fires out of the can, and have ended up with a few runs... but I'm getting there.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR011.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR012.jpg

In the above picture, you'll notice the black centre air intake (above the drivers seat). I've been able to keep this black when topcoating with white, by pushing a small piece of bluetac into the indentation. It seals the indent perfectly, and doesn't get in the way of spraying the body white. It pops out easily when done also, and doesn't effect the black paint behind it in the slightest. I've often found that bluetac is a good masking material for odd/difficult shaped areas on all types of kits.

Thanks for looking folks. Hope you're finding it interesting and informative.
Appreciate any comments and/or advice.

Cheers,
M

Wow, looks great!!! Front wing looks very shiny, I like that.. :iceslolan


Tyres - rare that we see a Michelin shod F1 car in the forums, so it's nice to see something different in this case. The wheels have caused me a bit of trouble actually...


The wheels have caused every Michelin Team this season a bit of trouble :rofl: :rofl: !!!

Something I forgot to mention about the wheels...
I'm sure everyone reading this is familiar with the feeling of realising something potentially major has just royally screwed up on a project... your jaw hits the floor, your heart virtually stops, you look unbelievingly at the problem seemingly frozen for a few seconds... LOL Decals that have moved and set when you weren't looking, mistakenly shooting the wrong colour from the spray can, etc. Anyway, let me recount my similar experience and what I did about it.

It seemed I put one of the rear tyres on one of the front rims. Fit perfectly, but wasn't until the tyre decals were on (and set) that I found my mistake. So off comes the tyre, and oh my god the decals just went completely to hell! The tyre shape is different depending on if it's on the rim or off... so when I took it off the dried decals started crinkling and cracking everywhere! (Read points above about heart stopping, jaw dropping, momentary mindless incomprehension, etc.)

It turned out to be an easy fix really, but there was a few minutes of intense cursing and general ranting... I quickly put the tyre on the correct rim, and the decals flattened out to a large degree, but the cracking was still there. Out comes the trusty MicroSol, and many many applications later, the decal had conformed again and the cracks and wrinkles were gone!

I can't even remember which of the rear tyres it was on anymore, that's how good the fix was. Lucky me huh...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR013.jpg


Cheers all,
M

Hi,

great project, nice progress so far.

This is a fantastic build. The wheels look superb. I just wish I could afford and have enough skill to buy one these kits, as the BAR is about the only reason I watch F1 now. Williams is another team I follow, but BAR have the Honda, and I'm a fan of Honda power. Keep this up, as I'm looking foward to seeing this one in the completed section.

TheSaint111 & sportracer02: thanks for the positive comments!

mickbench: you know after seeing your 300ZX buildup, I'm pretty sure your skills are better than mine actually. I think I just tend to jump into difficult projects and end up in over my head... then have to fight to overcome the challenges of the kit. So far I've been lucky... hehehe
Lets see how things go when it comes to the red body decals, and the few splashes of carbon fiber I'll be putting on this machine. Wish me luck... again!

A few more bits and pieces for you to see...

Firstly the floor pan with seat, radiators, and rear diffuser. I sprayed the seat flat black, and also added a generous amount of flat base. I wanted to give the seat a quite soft look (even if it's not technically correct) and I think I achieved it. You can quite easily see the contrast of the seat to the front of the floor pan (glossy - which also requires a little more polishing).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR014.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR015.jpg


Next up the gearbox and rear suspension. It's not overly flash really - I'm normally used to quite fine detail on gearbox and rear wing supports, but it's pretty bland in these kits as you can see. Luckily it's mostly covered when the kit is complete.

Also, the rear suspension doesn't go together squarly... it's all over the shop! Plus the actual body it attaches to isn't an equal width on either side relative to the centre of the car. In short, there's a lot of adjusting and work to do to get everything dead centre, and I won't know if I've fully succeeded until I have virtually finished the kit and glue it all together... fingers crossed!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR016.jpg


I've tried a few things on tyres to get them nice and black looking, and mostly tend to use McGuires Gold Class Trim Detailer. I'm not confident with spraying clear over them yet. Anyway, there's a few pics below showing the LEFT tyre with nothing on it, and the RIGHT tyre with the Trim Detailer on it. I tried a few different lighting effects to help bring out the difference, but only partially succeeded. Hopefully it's enough for you to see what I mean. In real life the right tyre has a much deeper, blacker finish to it, and it also makes it look a lot cleaner.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR017.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR018.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR019.jpg


There's some VERY difficult areas that require masking and painting black. You can see below the start of my attempt to mask the areas, and all I really achieved was slicing up paintwork with my hobby knife while experimenting with masking templates. Lesson learnt. I was considering putting carbon fiber decals down on these areas, but I think I'll actually end up masking the section with Bluetac (I always come back to this stuff), and airbrushing the black on.

There's three very difficult sections of this kit I'm going to find extra challenging, and painting this black section is number two... hopefully I'll have good news for you soon!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR020.jpg


Some test fitting of various completed parts - always an enjoyable thing to do.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR021.jpg


I've been working on this kit on and off since January now. I've been putting in a determined effort recently however, and have set myself the goal of completing it by the end of this years Formula 1 season - October 16. I'm hoping that putting my goal up here on the thread will put some extra positive pressure on me to get it done!

Cheers all,
M

Very interesting build up.
Keep it up !

Your wheels are nice.
But ST27 made a misake in it, Their "Y" is too big....
even o nthe williams and maclaren, they use the same wheels as the manufacturers and the scheme is different....
Nice work so far !!!!!!
love the seat texture
Enjoy
MANU

I'm glad you've stuck by this build despite all the trouble it's given you. This is just a great build up. I've been waiting for a BAR F1 in plastic but after this season I guess we'll have to keep waiting, so I'm also pleased you've gone ahead and made all the mistakes that I would make and you've documented them so they can be avoided. Thanks for a wonderful thread!

willimo & Martin: Cheers! While the process has sometimes been frustrating due to my skills being pushed to the limit, I've still found it an interesting and exciting build. I've even got another Studio27 kit of an unusual (but recent) F1 car ready to go... but I'm keeping that a secret for now...

Manu: Good to see you've managed to pull yourself away from the www.f1m.com forums for a visit! I see you've just joined here, so welcome. Let me also urge you to post some pics in your own threads of the Studio27 kits you've built, I'm sure there's a lot of people here that would love to see your work! Thanks for your comments.


As a side note, I think I've finally finally finally got a good topcoat down on the body! Virtually zero dust or flecks in the paint. Ultimately there may be a few small inconsistencies in the finish, but after more than a month and TWO cans of Tamiya Pure White to get it this good, well 99% is as good as 100% as far as I'm concerned.

The final topcoat was the first of my three big challenges on this kit. The second as mentioned previously is the unusual black areas to paint on the body, and the third is the red decal jigsaw I have to put together on the body... should be interesting.

Hey Mark it's been a while I'm watching but I finally logged in.I'll make a link soon....
I might do the BAR 007 next.After the renault.....and I'm also looking for the murcielago GT......wait and see
good luck
MANU

I know how hard it is to mask up these kits. I struggle all the time, it's like trying to get a square peg in a round hole most of the time.

I found that is I press the tape on, then use a toothpick to sbribe a line, and I can then peel the tape off. Using a cuttng mat I then cut the tape, and then carfully place back on the model again. I then place another layer of tape on the top, VERY close to the edge of the cut to help seal it, and then press it down with a blunt burnish tool..

It's hard, and I feel for you with that.. But test fitting of parts is a great feeling.. I like doing that.. Keep it up, it's coming along, and DON'T rush it..!! Take your time, it will get there.

Mini update... not a lot to show, mainly just a run-down of a technique I used that some of you may be able to adapt to your own challenges.

The centre air intake above the driver on this kit is not a hollow section going down into the engine cover. It's basically flat indentation, that needs to be painted black. I'd been putting a bluetac 'plug' into this hole when I was spraying white, right up until the last white coat when I forgot it... doh!

So I had to mask up the area for another splash of black. To say I hate masking anything using tape is quite an understatement, so I came up with something much easier for this situation - Bluetac (again!).
[I love this stuff so much I might even name my next dog Bluetac...!]

Rather than painfully mask up the air intake area, I simply pressed bluetac around the opening, carefully sealing any gaps where paint could get onto the nice finish of the body. I then got a regular clear bag (you can get heaps of these cheaply from super-markets - they're ones you might store food or sandwiches in) and attached it to the bluetac, after carefully cutting a small hole in the plastic so the air intake could show through. I then sealed the plastic bag with more bluetac as you can see below. It proved quite effective!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR022.jpg


I then went to town spraying satin black (acrylic) all over. Looks kinda disgusting in this picture actually... but, I'm sure you understand what's going on.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR023.jpg


Let it dry for a couple of hours, and off comes all the bluetac and plastic bag, and I found a damn near perfect result! The black exactly where it was supposed to be, NO leaks of paint at all, and the bluetac doesn't effect the paint in the slightest like masking tape seems to!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR024.jpg


I wouldn't use this method for straight lines, but as I didn't require straight lines on this mask job it didn't matter.
This is the first time I've tried something like this, and it was a resounding success! Hopefully you'll find some use for it too.

Cheers,
M

Blue tac for masking? Still looks to have worked, but like you say, wouldn't be much use for a striaght line. I too hate the masking work. What makes this worse, is that you are working with a white base, and black.. It's gonna show all the mistakes, easy to see black on white.. This will not be easy for you, but keep going..

And thanks for posting the blue tac trick.. Don;t think you should name your next dog "blue tac" though.. Here "blue tac".. Good blue tac..!! :lol2:

This resin b@stard is one step away from becoming a boomerang...!
Now that I've vented just a little, on with something informative.

Check out the scribing blades below. I first found out about them on a website belonging to "bilinvic" where he built his own BAR 006. You can find a link to his finished kit on the previous page of this thread - check it out if you haven't already, his build came up great!

bilinvic - thanks for pointing out those scribing blades, they're a great tool! And yes... I shamelessly took a page from your book and stole the idea... *grin*

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR025.jpg


These blades did come with their own challenges (and problems) however, and I highly recommend practising on something other than your first $175 resin kit. Oh yes, I've just learnt something the hard way.
On the plus side, I'm learning German now, so I've been able to practise my German curses extensively...


I've been trying to get an even, dust free top coat down on this thing for months now, without success. I did manage it once, but polished through to the undercoat, and only then realised I'd flooded the panel lines... I tell you what though, after all these trials my next resin kit (I'm rubbing my hands just looking at it on my shelf!) is going to be a masterpiece!

So I've now figured I'll just get a decent topcoat down, keep the panel lines all nicely scribed, clear the whole thing with Tamiya enamel clear, and then polish the clear.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR026.jpg


Oh, and there's a party at my place when this one's complete...! You're all invited!

Cheers,
M

Haven't looked at your thread for a while now Mark and now I spent half an hour to read it throughly, I can only say that I now what you are coming through :) those resin bastards are real pain in the ass, but I can say that I have become an addict (I allready made two this year). I am sure you will make it "stick" at the end for sure and buy a lot of them in future because affter I took first plastick was just not tempting enough :D.
Good luck ;)

Nice to see you making progress on this model, as the BAR is the one F1 car I route for when watching F1. Big Honda fan here..!! Keep looking on eBay for one of these kits at a decent price, not paying £130 for one, that would be my entire monthly model building budget gone..!!

I did my Honda RA 272 body a little different to you, as I laid down my last wet coat of colour, allowed to dry and decaled. I then allowed the decals to dry and then I cleared with X22 acrylic clear. It’s currently gassing out, and then I’ll polish the clear. Did get a few specks of dust, I always do.. But I live with that, as most of the time, unless you really look closely dust specks cannot be seen by the casual looker, and some dust specks polish out..!!

Anyhow, keep it up I want to see this one finished..

Sorry to hear that but I am sure you will fix it!!!

BTW for all the BAR Fans, Did you know that they try to break the straight speed record for F1 cars at the Bonneville salt flats (372 Km/h at the moment from Montoya in Monza)??? No, ok here's the link CLICK (http://www.bonneville400.com/flash/default.aspx)

Thanks for the encouragement guys, I certainly am trying!

Thesaint111 - awesome, thanks for the link!

FINALLY!!!

I've made some substantial progress, and the finishing line is actually in sight!
I was going to wait until at least 90% of the bodywork decals were on, but given the fabulous success of Jenson Button during last weekends race I just couldn't help myself and had to post some more progress pics - I'm making the Button version of this car by the way.

After all the trials I've had with this kit, it's starting to really come together for me...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR027.jpg


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR028.jpg


As you can see on this picture, not all of the red decals are down yet. It's actually a 3D jigsaw of about 10 separate decals, plus a bunch of little non-standard ones I had to cut up to fill gaps the proper decals left. I must admit this was a very daunting task, but I'm SO happy with the result, I've learnt heaps, and my confidence is WAY up!
You can also see part of the RedFive aftermarket seatbelts I've installed, which I highly recommend.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/captain_mark/BAR029.jpg


Here's hoping it's not another 11 months before the next update!
Once the decals on the body are completed, and some suspension has been added I'll take some outside pics also.

Cheers all, and go Button!
M

Mark, It looks outstanding, This time we'll give you 11 days for the next update :grinyes: :grinyes: :grinyes: Seriously, keep up the great work no matter how long it takes.

Icon Modeler

Great progress Mark! I'm glad JB's success motivated you to keep going.....For the same reason my progress on the FW28 has stalled!

looks great!

Finally you're back on it , Cap !!! great !!!!
all the red on the airbox is decal?