For preview information on this kit and the related photo etch set from Studio27; please go to the two links below:
First Step
The front bumper, brake cooling ducts & roof vent were glued to the body.
The rear wing was also constructed and glued to a toothpick in preparation for
painting. Due to the front grill, where the Ford badge is attached, is molded
in solid plastic and the Studio 27 fret includes this front grill. The plastic
one was removed and the area sanded with frequent dry fitting of the grill to
make sure it was flush to the bodywork. Care must be taken with the PE grill,
as they are very fragile and easy to bend.
They were then sanded with 1200 grit wet & dry and washed. After drying,
the body and wing were sprayed with Tamiya's flat white as an undercoat. As
most of the other parts are painted gloss white, the remaining frets were given
a coat of Tamiya's Gloss white (Ts-26).
Interior construction.
The undersurface and suspension is engineered beautifully in this kit. There
is also a lot of interior detail to this kit to. The spare tire is a highlight
and the roll cage has to be the most complicated structure I've seen for a racecar.
This caused a few problems while constructing but my advice is to glue it together
one part at a time and go off and do something else before continuing.
The photo-etched brake discs make a difference and Tamiya have supplied brake
caliper decals as well.
The Body
After the body had dried it was time to mask off and apply the Bright red (TS-49).
Beforehand I had cut out the blue decal that divides the red & white colors
on the car. I used this as a stencil and made a custom mask. Make sure the interior
is masked, as red paint will go everywhere and it is hard to remove from white,
even if you attempt to re-spray the affected area.
After this had dried I removed the mask. Some paint had crept under, but on
dry fitting the decals this would not show as they covered it.
When this had dried over a few days the decal process was started. The only
problem I had was with the Martini decals for the side. They are placed mainly
on the white painted area with a small corner showing on the blue stripes. The
blue stripes show up under the white Martini lettering. My advice would be to
remove the area of blue stripe these decals go over.
When they had dried the whole body was sprayed in Testors Glosscoat.
Fine detailing
The Studio27 PE fret made a huge difference to this kit. They supplied a lot
of the mesh grills that replace Tamiya's plastic versions and look a whole lot
better. The front grill was carefully put in place with the headlight pods next
to it. The effect looks so much better than being molded in solid plastic. The
PE Ford badges topped off the whole realistic look. These were painted gloss
blue, when the paint dried a knife scrapped off the excess paint to display
the Ford in Chrome.
As there a two great big holes in the hood, Tamiya have included two tubs that
go under these to display a small portion of the engine bay. When the body is
introduced, the top of the suspension also appears through the vent. Topped
with the studio27 grill, this part is my favorite area of the whole kit.
There is also PE for the hood and trunk pins, tow cables and a great "Focus"
badge for the rear. I also added two Sakatsu aerials that added to the realism.
Better looking than heat stretched sprue as Tamiya suggest.
The windows were painted with the aid of the supplied masks. Be careful with
the rear window as that incorporates the rear lights as well. It is also where
the rear wing is attached.
The windows were attached with white glue and the body was attached to the Chassis,
no drama at all.
On all the photos I have with the Focus from the Monte Carlo rally of 1999 (which
this kit represents) the driver's names appear on the rear side windows. Tamiya
do not supply these for some reason. Thankfully the Studio27 aftermarket kit
supply these window decals and the small decals that appear on the rear vision
mirrors. The names for the Number 8 car are supplied as well.
Finally the driver's helmets, that Studio27 provide, were painted and placed
near the car. I didn't glue them on the car, as that would be silly.
Conclusion
For a curbside car kit from Tamiya, it was a little bit tricky. This was in
the area of painting the body and constructing the roll cage. Apart from that,
the photo-etched parts made it more challenging but that was my decision to
fine detail this car. The only other gripe is the lack of driver's decals for
the rear side windows. I don't recommend this kit for the beginner but if you
want a car kit that is more challenging, this is the kit for you.
The end result is a stunning World rally Car, which keep getting better and
better from Tamiya.
I'd like to thank Hobbylink Japan for the
review sample.
The Studio27 upgrade parts and Sakatsu aerials can be purchased from Hobbylink
or RainbowTen (http://www.wbs.ne.jp/bt/models/english/index.html) where the
examples used were purchased.
