1970 Brabham BT-33 F1

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

QUOTE 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.

Three? Cool! I eagerly await your findings, Steve!

Fergy quickly puts strap motor back in box and digs out..... (to be continued)...

David suggested I post this picture. It's not a BT33 of course but the Brabham colour reference might be of interest.



I snapped the car during a recent visit to Donington.

QUOTE (alfetta @ 26 Aug 2004, 18:31)If you want to paint your Brabham in the correct colours. I remeber that Heller made a BT33 in 1/24th, and in their instructions gave the mix in Humbrol colours. If my memory serves me correctly, (it was 25 years ago) it was a mixture of Green, Blue & Sky Blue. However the ratio eludes me.
Someone out there must have a copy of the instructions

Alfeta
Thanks to Alfeta jogging this tired old brain of mine, I remembered that I have an unbuilt Heller Brabham kit in my model room!

Here's the box top, instruction sheet and the decal sheet in case they are of use to you Steve.







The colour suggestion in the instructions is a mix in the following ratios of Humbrol 2 Green 1:6, Humbrol 47 Sky Blue 1:6 and Humbrol 14 Royal Blue 4:6

David

Personally I think the colour Steve has is fine but while we're all going Brabham colour crazy here is a link with suggested paint mixes for the 1970 car (and others):

EQUIVALENCES FOR RACING COLOURS WITH TAMIYA

Hi

Years ago in Model Cars, someone did an article on "BRG" and included a chart on who supplied what to the various companies. This had to have been 30 years ago. I spent a lot of time, for my own amusement, trying to winkle chips out of the manufacturers!

Silly.

To me, it is this way.....I LOVE the discussion. And if I know, I will cheerfully answer. I don't think I have EVER seen the BT33 in person. Sigh. I remember as a boy spending hours mixing a green to match the green on the BRM H-16 that was pictured as a centerspread in Road and Track. Only to get the chip and find out how much the emulsion and print that the R&T article used shifted the color!

Sometimes, as an american, I can accept that I will NEVER know about some colors. I am pretty forgiving. And then you have the constant modeler's argument about "scale effect".

The latest discussion has led me to a new concern! In the 60s and 70s I used to move heaven and earth to get Humbrol from the U.K. when it was not generally available in 'merica. Since then, Humbrol became fairly easy to get....but all the codes are DIFFERENT from what I knew then. Are the Heller codes(is this kit onethat PdL drew?) unchanged from then? Anyone know?

Fate

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

Steve,

Just a bunch of my friend! Looks terrific!

The Car looks great Steve

It captures the era really well,which has to be the object of the exercise !!.

for windscreens I use a bit of packing plastic, the stuff that comes with all sorts of things ( computer mouse/toys/tools ) and glue it on with Microscale "crystal clear".Its basicaly white glue,but a little thinner consistency

Congrats on the car

Ken

QUOTE 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.
... looks good to me Steve, maybe Jack's eyebrows could be a shade lighter tho'

Like David says, the car shows a lot of attention to detail - a beautiful job all round I'd say

And, I really really love those scenery shots. More please Steve. More!

P.S. Like the tip about future on the goggles - definitely going to give that a try

QUOTE does anyone have any tips for attaching these vac-formed wind screens to these cars?
Similar to Ken - if it's a good fit I float on some diluted PVA, position the screen and leave it until it sets. If it's an ill-fitting beastie (like my home-made ones for example!) I superglue one side in place with a small drop of glue towards the rear, then the other side and, when that's all set, the front "tip" of the windscreen. A final coat of Future seems to sort out any minor gaps.

Hope that helps

I agree with David, Built with passion. A great model car and the reason I love scratch built cars so much.

Jeff,