1970 Brabham BT-33 F1

Thanks gentlemen! Your comments are too kind. Anyway, as far as inserts, I'm not sure. BWA makes a couple of versions that are close to the Brabham style, so we'll see.

As far as the proxy, I haven't decided. I know, I know... I've grown incredibly attached to this little car as so much of my energy and patience has been spent on building it. When the shell arrived, it needed some work. There were more imperfections in this particular shell than any of the other Classic shells I have. Lots of sanding, cursing, sanding, cursing and more sanding took place over the last month. Even now, I still notice all kinds of little problems.

Anyway, my decision hasn't been made about the proxy. I guess I'm being over-protective!

As far as the motor, Fergy, that remains to be seen as I haven't given the chassis a run yet. I suspect it will be a little much, but I wanted to try it.

Thanks again,
Steve

QUOTE First off, thats a nice looking model. Wish i had the time to sit and do something myself rather than buy new ones.

Being new and not wishing to look foolish, whats the Proxy?????

Hey Daleg, that's why I posted this here, to show that ANYONE can make an attempt and make a fairly nice looking model. Just jump in and try it. I promise it will be one of the most rewarding experiences in the hobby.

The proxy is a mail-in slot car run/race for F1 cars from 1960 to 1970. Prof. Fate in the U.S. is putting it on. You can catch the thread on the subject under "Clubs and Events" I believe.

QUOTE Steve - In your list of work to do you mention the driver figure. Don't forget that Brabham used two types of crash helmet in 1970, the full face Bell helmet and a helicopter pilots helmet. Here at the Spanish GP he is using the military one.

Great picture David, as always! Thanks for the assistance. I had noticed that, but couldn't find a good picture. This helps immensely!

I do have a question, why did the car numbers change in 1970 almost from race-to-race? It also looks like the decorations/decals changed as well. I wish I could see all the cars Jack raced during the 1970 season. It's difficult trying to determine which car # I should pick and what decals. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Steve

Great pictures David! Those are incredible. THANK YOU!

And, thanks to Ken as well. The # breakdown is very helpful.

Yeah, the color seems to be all over the map in the pictures I've seen. It must be the photo angles and other factors, because I suspect the greenish-blue is closer to the real deal. Admittedly, I am off on the color.

You know, I can't tell if a couple of those helmets are silver, instead of white?

I like the #12 -- good suggestion. As far as decals, I'm having a hard time finding the different Goodyear decals used on these cars. I think I have the "Champion" and "Esso" decals covered.

Again, thanks,
Steve

Thanks again to Ken, David and Russell! I greatly appreciate all the wonderful photos and Ken's Goodyear logos.

Hmmm... I might just have to order another Brabham and try that Lucky Strikes livery. I wonder why they chose to keep the airfoils yellow? White or black would probably look better.

And, note to Fergy , the Little Ripper is too much for this little car, at least on my home track (about 68ft Artin layout, with one 16ft straight). I've ordered three new motors to try out on this car. I'll post a report on this thread after I've tried some different motors.

Some of the decals will hopefully be in my mail box by the weekend. I can't wait to add them.

So, has no one else built a slot car version of the Brabham BT-33?

Steve

Well, here's an update -- finally. First things first, the car has seen quite a bit of track time and seems to be in fine running order and handles pretty well without magnets.

For detailing, I selected the South African GP winning livery, but as with everything else on this project, I'm not sure I've matched it exactly. Oh well. I think the roundels are too big, but I still like it, and I guess that's all that matters in the end, right?

Ol' Jack has been added (he needs seat belts that are a darker blue -- will fix) along with the decals and a clear coat of Future floor wax! No more Tamiya clear for me, I'm sold on this stuff. It is excellent, as is the quality of the decals I received from Radical Decals here in the U.S.

Regarding Jack, you can't see it in the photos, but I used a drop of Future on his goggles to give the illusion that they have lenses. It worked great!

I still have to add the wheel inserts, touch up the engine detail, add mirrors and figure out what the heck to do with the windscreen. I messed up the first one. Oh, does anyone have any tips for attaching these vac-formed wind screens to these cars? I guess I should've put it on there before painting?

Hey, this is ridiculous, enough of the cheesy pictures, let's go racing!


Billy Bungles can't seem to get Jack's attention as he zooms down the front straight. Can't afford more mechanical troubles...


Couldn't resist the obligatory scenery shot with the cliff of doom in the background!


Thanks for looking,
Steve