1/20 Ace models Brabham Judd BT58

[daveyman]

Starting another WIP, to accompany my slow moving Moneytron Onyx one that is still ongoing.
I like to have a few kits on the go at any one time.
Got this kit of the board from Derek (Icon Models) last week. I have previously made the Tyrrell 018 from Ace and it was a fairly reasonable kit so I thought I'd have a go at the Brabham as it's one of my favourites, '89 is my favourite season.
This kit is a big step down from the Tyrrell, the suspension is very delicate, looks more like 1/24. The body shape is Ok but fit to the undertray is horrible. Pretty certain I will make a brand new undertray and build the lower edges of the sidepod up to obtain a fit. The louvers at the radiator air exit are lumps of resin that bear little resemblance to fins. I have removed these and will rebuild with plastic card. The gearbox barely fits in the undertray. Rear suspension settings up will prove tricky.
I have taken some pictures and will get them up soon and hopefully highlight the issues with this kit.
For all my complaints I have really enjoyed tonight's first serious look at this car and planning the remedial work necessary and there is already a large pile of resin dust on my workshop floor.

[bossy122]

Ooooh...an Ace kit. I did their Alfa 179C.....you do like scratch building, I hope. I will be following this with great interest, good luck!

[Steffen_T]

Ahhh! The Ace BT58!
I have the Monaco '89 kit and it is in my opinion the worst kit I ever got my hands on. After a serious check of all the parts I have put it very deep at the end of my to-do-pile.
Good luck, davey! You will definatly need it!

[Corpsegrinder]

Nice one Davey, a car from 1989! I can't wait to see on photo what the issues are of this kit, but it seems that more than one modeler is complaining! Good luck and I will be following closely!

[harveyb258]

You can count me in, too!!

[tonym]

I'm keen on this one Daveyman, and I have their Tyrrell 020 in the stash too.
Cheers
Tony

[daveyman]

I have tried to show in these pictures the main problems encountered so far. Issue 1 is the lip underneath the cockpit. The shape is way out and the fit to the undertray is a joke. Issue 2 is the louveres at the rear of the sidepod. Awful. As I already said, these have now been removed and will be replaced with plastic sheet. The join of the bottom of the sidepods is very poor.
My course of action is to remove the badly moulded piece from picture 1. I will then build up the remaining lip with plastic strip. The bottom of the sidepods will be built up also and then I will place the whole bodyshell on a flat base and gently sand it to get a constant level to work from. This will be explained better when I get on with it and get some pictures.
The undertray is simply junk. The seat moulding adds nothing and nothing else fits. I am going to scratch a whole new floor and add a seat cockpit from another 'dead' kit. Not sure about the suspension but I am thinking the gearbox/rear suspension will be from a Tamiya kit and probably the front suspension as well. I just don't see the kit parts being up to it. Blockers will be added under the car to carry the weight.
This is going to be a challenging/lengthy build but enjoyable. Thanks for joining me...

[Corpsegrinder]

Thanks a lot for the pictures Davey, those pictures are self-explanatory! I am aghast to see how poor that kit is...I am really out of words.

The seat molded that way is a real joke, I had never seen an ACE kit before, are they all like that? This requires so much scratch building, I wonder what will be left of the original "useless" kit. Unbelievable, I had never seen anything like that.

With some patience I am sure you will find a way to get rid of those awful lips and stupid undertray and build a good one with plastic card! Way to go!

[daveyman]

I've only ever made the Tyrrell 018 by ace before and it was Ok, not perfect but manageable. I've got a Jordan 192 too in resin that is of similar quality to this Brabham.

[Steffen_T]

Have you already noticed that the Bioptron decals for the sidepod are too long?
As you are going to scratch the louveres anyhow, you might find a solution to make the decals fit in the same step.