1970 Brabham BT-33 F1

8575 Views 52 Replies 17 Participants Last post by MR MAX, Oct 25, 2004

PastimeRaceway

Discussion Starter · Aug 23, 2004

Hello all!

This is the first Classic fiberglass shell I've actually taken to a near-completion stage. I had initially intended to build the 1970 Ferrari 312B, but was unhappy with my attempts at the unique wing on this car. So, I defaulted to the 1970 Brabham BT33, painted the rather unusual combination of light blue/turquoise and yellow for Brabham's last go-round as a driver in F1.

Right now, a Patto's MJK 30 chassis sits underneath the shell with a Little Ripper motor and slot-it pinion and crown gear. The guide has not been installed yet. The following items remain to be done:

1. Decals added. and another shot of clear coat
2. The wing/airfoil needs to be permanently affixed to its supports
3. Rear wing needs to be clear coated
4. Minor engine detailing remains
5. Need to add a couple of detail bits to the roll bar to match 1:1 car
6. Driver!
7. Wind screen and mirrors

Anyway, far from perfect and not up to David's and John P's (among others) standards, but already this is my favorite car in my collection. The rear wing is a perfect example of where I could've done a better job. Even with those faults, I just love the looks of it. Here are a couple of shots:

Thanks for looking
Steve

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41 - 53 of 53 Posts

howmet tx

· #41 · Sep 7, 2004

Just to add to JP's windscreen tips- I slice a bit of sellotape into 1-2mm wide strips and use those to anchor the screen to the shell in strategic places, and warm up some Araldite Clear or equivalent so that it flows enough to paint on with a small brush.
Careful how you peel off the tape afterwards!

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jhardy33

· #42 · Sep 7, 2004 (Edited by Moderator)

As far as mounting the widscreen, why not drill a small hole on each side of the lower edge of the windscreen and a corresponding hole in the shell and and mount the side mirror posts through the windsheild and glue them into into the shell letting the mirrors hold the windscreen on. That would eliminate the need to glue it directly to the shell and possibly messing up the paint and the screen.

The mirrors are attached to the windscreen in this shot. Good luck.

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PastimeRaceway

Discussion Starter · #43 · Sep 9, 2004

Thanks so much for all of the generous comments and helpful tips for the windscreen. I haven't had an opportunity to work on the mirrors or the windscreen, but hopefully can get that done soon.

In the meantime, here are a couple of additional photos:

Thanks again,
Steve

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David Lawson

· #44 · Oct 22, 2004

Steve - I came across this shot on another site today, thought you might like it.

David

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jonny s

· #45 · Oct 22, 2004

Awesome stuff

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MR MAX

· #46 · Oct 24, 2004

On the last 2 pictures you posted up of the Brabham, the second one shows the front and it appears that the front nose cone is tilted? Is this true? Are these bodies quite hard to work with then?

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PastimeRaceway

Discussion Starter · #47 · Oct 24, 2004

Wow! I'm surprised this thread is still hanging around.

Mr. Max, yes these shells are not easy to work with but they're the best alternative out there for these types of cars. The nose was not molded correctly on this particular shell. I did my best to fix it, but as you can see, it's still far from perfect. Additionally, I need to tweak the body mount because it's accentuating the situation a bit.

Steve

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MR MAX

· #48 · Oct 24, 2004 (Edited by Moderator)

Dont you think that In comparison to the pictures people have posted up that the blue could be darker and some wheel inserts could be added to perfect the car?

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PastimeRaceway

Discussion Starter · #49 · Oct 24, 2004

Yep. This has been covered before. I'm well aware of the car's faults.

Steve

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Fergy

· #50 · Oct 24, 2004 (Edited by Moderator)

If all scratchbuilt cars were audited for errors.... none of us would be allowed to run them!

Good grief, let's keep it real here.... the car is an excellent build!

Take pride in it, Steve!

Mr. Max.... Jackie Stewart's helmet tartan is not located in the 100% proper location on my Matra, the coilovers are about .010" too small in diameter, and the car should have a windscreen that is about 1 real inch high (.032" in scale).... so to save you time... yes, I know about it.

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TSRF

· #51 · Oct 24, 2004

QUOTE I remembered that I have an unbuilt Heller Brabham kit in my model room!

This is one of my babies. If you run into problems you can bitch at me...

What is sad is that Heller did not produce the 4th kit I designed for them, the world champ MATRA MS80.
I still have all the plans if a kit maker ever wants to do this very advanced car...