This is another of Tamiyas 1/20 scale Grand Prix Collection. The 1987
Lotus 99T.
The Tamiya kits never seem to come with the proper tobacco sponsors only the alternative designs used by the teams when racing in tobacco ad banned countries. (as shown on the box photo)
It doesnt quite look the same without the Camel logos so i bought a set of Camel decals online.
I bought the
Studio 27 carbon fibre effect decal set from a Japanese site called
Hobbylink Japan . This covers the monocoque, undertray and brake ducts. Pretty fiddly as there were loads of decals but i got them on with no major hiccups.
Also i bought a Goodyear Tyres stencil to spray onto the tyres to give them a more authentic look.
This model brought up 2 major problems for me. Firstly the Front Wing, the instructions called for the lower inside part of the end plates to be black, i had a feeling i wouldnt get it right but it ried anyway, they looked terrible. So i had to try and remove the black and respray the Yellow, it hardly notices that the wing isnt quite right.
Secondly was the rear wing, the way its built onto the car means you cant construct the wing completely before putting it onto the engine. This meant either attach and spray risking getting Yellow over the engine with my dodgy masking or partially build it, spray it then fix to the engine.
I went for the latter, which was fine until it came to gluing. Putting it together i got glue on the paint which just melts the paint, then when i finally did it i noticed the wing wasnt sqaure, it was wonky.
So i had to break it apart, and redo it. This resulted in some ruined paint work on the inside of the end plates but i tried my best to repair them. It's ok, noticable but only if you look closely. Nevermind, next model ill think things through a bit more :)
(Click photos to enlarge)
Carbon fibre decal set
Camel decals
The Undertray,
1. sprayed black, 2. with Carbon decals and painted areas, 3. close up rear vents.
Monocoque
1. sprayed black, 2. with Carbon decal added
Brake Ducts with Carbon decal
Partly finished Engine with Rear Suspension and Brake ducts added
1. Monocoque attacted to the Undertray, with Sidepod filters and Front Brakes added.
2. Then the Engine goes in.
1. Exhaust system added, 2. YellowCamel decals added to monocoque and Roll bar above cockpit.
1. This is the tyre stencil, all taped up to allow the tyre to fit inside and hopefully not spray any paint where its not wanted.
2. The finished article, in my opinion they look great.
Minor detail, Yellow covers over the suspension arms, and some decals on the side.
Front wing added
Part of the rear wing added.
Finally the Rear Wing and last peices added to the engine.
