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Tamiya Tyrrell P34 '76 Japanese GP

Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 4:56 pm
by bossy122
Let me start off by saying this kit is a big pain in the ass! Even taking pictures of it turned out to be a big pain in my ass! Goodness! :D
Ugh, where to start? If i'm guessing correctly, the original P34 kit was either Tamiya's 1st or 3rd in the 1/20 scale collection....and it shows. The front suspension bit did not fit the body at all, the DFV was it's usual wonderful self, and the entire engine/gearbox wound up at an angle upon completion. Having said that, I built the Monaco P34 a few years ago and did not have these same problems. Which left me a bit puzzled as to why Tamiya rereleased the original version VS. the Monaco version. To my naked eye, the base kit looks to be the same car only, the Monaco version came with a head rest ( I had to sculpt my own from Super Sculpi) and brake ducts for the front wheels, this one just has big open holes where the ducts should go.
I could sit here and critcize this kit, but I don't want to, so. Let me just recommend that if you wish to tackle this version of the P34, get the Monaco kit, some S27 decals ( as you'll need them for the Goody's anyway!) and an aftermarket PE set.
Here's some pics. Keep in mind that as I moved the car around, the wing slowly fell apart. Getting that thing to fit on the car is quite the challenge! Good luck!

Re: Tamiya Tyrrell P34 '76 Japanese GP

Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 5:10 pm
by allnie
As far as I remember the Monaco P34 is the old P34 + one extra sprue. I think the engine & gearbox etc is identical :(
Br
Allan

Re: Tamiya Tyrrell P34 '76 Japanese GP

Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2009 5:40 pm
by bossy122
Amazing the difference one sprue can make, huh?

Re: Tamiya Tyrrell P34 '76 Japanese GP

Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 6:43 am
by jordan
..Now..the keyword here is patience..If I can do it everyone can do it..Keep in mind that ( as you said yourself) its a 1970's kit..
..Now..if it was easy,anyone could do it..Right ?I must say that you did not do a bad job.Its looking good ! Pay attention with the
rear wing support..the keyword here is..dryfit..dryfit..dryfit..I needed to shave/cut some plastik fromthe gearbox and that made a big difference in fitting..

Don't give up..build another wing..and another..thats how we did it in the early days..! :mrgreen:

Keep on building,
Alex Nahooy.

Re: Tamiya Tyrrell P34 '76 Japanese GP

Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 7:03 am
by PanAmNut
I like it ! Nice build!

Cheers,

-elh-

Re: Tamiya Tyrrell P34 '76 Japanese GP

Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 7:11 am
by SteveNoble
Really nice job on the model, it looks great, well done..!! A couple of questions. Were the slots where the seatbelts fit pre-cut in the seat, or did you cut them yourself..?? On the old version of the kit that I'm building the seat has no slots, just solid plastic, so I figure I will have to cut them myself..... Did you hand paint the Goodyear logo's on the tyres..?? What paint did you use for this..?? It looks like you got a nice clean result..!!! Any tips on how you achieved that..??

Re: Tamiya Tyrrell P34 '76 Japanese GP

Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 8:06 am
by roly01
SteveNoble wrote: Were the slots where the seatbelts fit pre-cut in the seat, or did you cut them yourself..??
Not the builder fo this very nice build but I have the answer for you anyway.
Just looked at the Hobby Search Model Car site, they show most building pages.
And the answer is NO, one has to do it themselfs.
Also se attached image.

Re: Tamiya Tyrrell P34 '76 Japanese GP

Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 11:53 am
by herberr
roly01 wrote:
SteveNoble wrote: Were the slots where the seatbelts fit pre-cut in the seat, or did you cut them yourself..??
Not the builder fo this very nice build but I have the answer for you anyway.
Just looked at the Hobby Search Model Car site, they show most building pages.
And the answer is NO, one has to do it themselfs.
Also se attached image.
Correct, am working on the same kit. The holes for the seat belts have to be made yourself.

One of the things I am crunching my mind on is the PE parts, some PE parts contain a very detailed mesh and am afraid when airbrushing them clogs will appear that fill some spots in the mesh due to its detailed structure. Anyone have tips?

Re: Tamiya Tyrrell P34 '76 Japanese GP

Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 7:58 pm
by bossy122
Boy! I didn't think anyone had noticed this post! Thanks everyone, especially Alex Nahooy, your references were invaluable.
Let's see, to answer some of the questions asked: I did have to make my own seat belt holes. I used a small drill, drilled 3 holes and then smoothed out the edges with an Xacto. The interesting thing to me about the belts was that, Tamiya gives you this thin rubber sheet to cut your own belts out with. Having tried this chore with a Hasegawa WRC Ford Focus, I can tell you that unless you have a full sized paper cutter, cutting rubber with anything in a straight line is an unpleasant experience. SO! I dug out my S27 precut material. Here's the interesting part: The material is cut into 1/20 sized strips and 1/24 sized strips. And to fit the PE buckles included with the P34 kit, I had to use the 1/24 sized strips! So you perfectionists out there may want to check that!
The tyres I HAND PAINTED! No stencil, no decals, nothing but hand eye coordination and patience! The seams around the letters isn't very deep, so with the way I letter my tyres, it's pretty difficult.
How do I letter my tyres? Ah! The trick I do is to take some acrylic paint - I use Apple Barrel Colors craft paint - mix it with water in a small container ( I use bottle tops from water bottles) to make a thinned, "manageable" paint. It's more or less like "washing" seam lines, only the seam is bigger. So then I just fill in the molded letters. It usually takes several coats as when the water evaporates, it leaves only a little paint. Does that help?
The mesh on the PE parts - at least on the air box - I masked off and then touched up the blue afterward. The radiator ones I just sprayed with Testors flat black from an arm lengths distance.
One other thing of note: The actual rear wing itself comes with these 6 PE parts that you're supposed to glue together in two pairs of 3's. Thankfully I didn't do it that way! I simply puttied the damn things in. Here's why that is important: After I took the pics of this car, that damn rear wing fell to pieces! The PE support part broke and it was all for naught! That's why my post sounds so pissy! Well, after a nights sleep and with nothing better to think about at work, I thought, "Hey! The Japanese markings still make the car look cool without that wing, maybe I can salvage that thing and put Depallier's regular wing on instead! If I had glued those PE parts in there I'd be up the creek **** with the paddle no (Any Nicko McBrain fans out there?). I tore the putty out and the salvage job has begun! Good luck to us all! :D

Re: Tamiya Tyrrell P34 '76 Japanese GP

Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2009 7:51 pm
by bossy122
I was 3 decals away from having salvaged this kit when...gravity took it's toll! Now my minor salvage job is a bit more than a minor salvage job. This kit! It's become a test of wills! Life would be so much easier with a super glue with even a shred of durability! Back to work....