Williams FW-07 by Tamiya

So I decided over the New Year long weekend that I should start on something a little different than my normal kit. I have a couple of these Tamiya Formula 1 cars, and find them to be a fascinating build.
Not only are they completely different from any road-going car, the kits are also in a different scale (1/20 scale).

So this is the Williams FW-07 car as sponsored by Saudi Arabia Airlines and debuted in the 1979 season.

Powered by a Ford Cosworth DFV V8, this chassis was a real contender at the hands of it's drivers

Aluminum monocoque chassis helped to keep the weight down while protecting the driver.

It was at this point that I encountered the first of a number of problems I had with this kit. I have had this in the "to build" pile for some time, and not even sure when I acquired the kit. It appears that it was an original issue (1980), or very early re-issue. The decals had become yellowed and very brittle.
the green shown here is supposed to be a kit supplied decal.
Try as I might, I couldn't get it to lay down flat, and ended up tearing it in several places.
So I found some nice dark green spray paint, and masked off the areas that needed to stay white. (except of a little green that crept under the tape on the bulkhead behind the driver compartment)

Here is the top portion of the cowling. You can see where I further masked the rear portion for the green. The rest is kit supplied decals. Clearly evident here is the yellowing of the decals over the years.

It was all starting to come together.

The overall livery I found to be very pleasing. The dark green paint here is pretty close to the kit supplied numbers. Again the yellowing of the "TAG" logo against the white of the side skirt here is evident. I also found it interesting some of the sponsors placed here.......

Here is the finished piece, to the best of my ability. This one did fight me a little bit with the decals, and the overall final fit.

It looks good to me, and will look great on the shelf next to the other couple of F1 builds I have completed.
While not as wild as the Tyrell P-34, or as recognizable as one from Scuderia Ferrari, I am glad to have built it.

Now on to the next....
Something more American this time.

Cold Weather painting

So just a quick post.
Finished up my first kit for 2015 (started in 2014), and decided to start another one.

Well, it's cold outside, and that makes it cold in my workspace as well.

Apparently my paint can got too cold, and it came out like textured paint.

Very frustrating.....
So I put the can in front of a small space heater while I went to town with the sandpaper.
Came out nice and smooth, and ready for a second attempt with the now nicely warmed paint.

The warmed paint worked for one side of the body, and then started getting clumpy again...

The additional problem I am having with this one, is the kit is older, and is molded in red. As you can see, I am still getting red tint showing through my white basecoat.

It is now back in it's box for a "time-out" and will try again in a couple of months.
I just wasn't up for the fight with this one.