Tamiya 1/20 Scale 1979 Williams FW07

[joelw]

  I finally started my 1st of at least 2 entries for our Open Wheel GB. As I posted my 1st build is the Tamiya 1/20 scale 1979 Williams FW07. Since I'm using the Indy Cal decals for Alan Jones, the build will represent the 1980 version of the FW07.



 The FW06 was a basic non ground effects car with Alan Jones behind the wheel, and Arab sponsorship including Air Saudi for their then Iconic livery. The FW07 designed by Patrick Head was Williams 1st ground effects car that closely followed the Lotus 78 ground effects design. Alan Jones driving the 1980 version of the FW07 won the F1 world championship. which was the 1st one for Williams after 12 years of being in F1.



  The Tamiya 1/20 scale Williams FW07 is one of their older kits. It was 1st released as a new tool way back in 1980. Scalemates has the current box issued in 1987 but with the kit from the original molds. Other then the 1987 re-release no other releases were noted, so the decals in my kit have to have been printed in 1986 at the latest.




 And only a few years old Indy Cal decals that I bought when I got the kit.




  My preference with race car and car kits in general is to build, paint decal, and clear coat the body, so that's where I started with this kit. Well that is until I took a look at the tires. and found that the Goodyear logos front & back on all 4 tires just has raised outlines.



  So I tried carefully painting a test tire with Acrylic paint so I could wash the paint off if need be, and of course there was a big need as I was just creating a mess. I was going to try a fine point Artist marker but I didn't have one with White. I then had the bright idea to sand off the raised outlines. That worked and didn't work as the finished process of finer and finer sand paper still let bits and pieces here and there. So I tried a Harry's razor blade and it worked except I cut the tire(s) trying to remove all of rubber. So basically now I've got 4 tires which would have looked better just leaving them as they were molded, but not me. So now what do I do? I've got a box of tires and wheels from various shall I say unsuccessful builds over the years, and to my surprise I actually had the small front tires, and those big jumbo rear tires, and they had the proper Goodyear logos on both sides. The front tires fit the wheels just about perfectly, but the rear wheels were about 2mm too wide, and the dia. a tad to small. I solved the width issue just by sanding down both surfaces of the 2 pc wheels, and built up the Diameter with Tamiya tape. Talk about lucking out.



  Next up was body parts prep, and another issue. As I said this kit is old, and the upper shell with one of the fret attachment points was a crack in the shell. As soon as I cut that attachment, the body shell just shifted to the position of least pressure. I carefully cleaned up the crack and clamped both sides together. There's an issue of alignment as it's naturally right through a compound curve. Did my best, then applied Tamiya's Extra thin on both sides, let it start to dry, and I could see that there was still an alignment issue, so I gently worked the cracked area the best I could, then applied some Testors liquid cement on the inside, and left it to dry for a good 6 hours. Close but no cigar, so a little Tamiya putty was applied and let that dry until the next morning, when I sanded and polished the area as smooth as silk.



  Last issue before getting ready to prime is that the side rear wing plates each had 3 injector pin holes which makes zero sense for their size. Out came the Tamiya putty again.



  Finally ready for priming



  And thanks to all that made it to the end of my rather long 1sy update.



joel

[project510]

Nice! good luck on your build!

[keavdog]

Great solution for the tires. Looking forward to seeing this one come together.

[joelw]

Thanks James, it's much appreciated.

joel

[joelw]

Kevdog,
The solution was finally getting a little luck and not digging myself into the worm hole any deeper as I usually do.

joel

[2whl]

Nice start, Joel. And a great save on both the tires and the bodywork.

[joelw]

Paul,
your thumbs up is greatly appreciated.

joel

[adrian29341]

Loving your start to this build Joel - I'm thoroughly impressed at how you handled both the tire issue and the crack in the frame. No panic 
on your part and thought through both issues before taking a wrong turn - god knows I've taken many a wrong turn into a worm hole in my day

Don't you just love the injection holes on tiny parts! Argh... but you handled it nicely my friend - I have always hated the fact that Tamiya
put the raised Goodyear on those tires and left them black - leaves you in a position but bravo on the save and they look great!

Love hearing the history behind this iconic Formula One car and a Championship it was to begin many more for Frank

Can't wait to see this pan out and so much fun having you building here

[joelw]

Adrian,
so glad that you stopped by and checked out the start of my build. Usually I'm always looking down a worm hole making a build that much harder on myself. Guess that this time I just got lucky.

Yep, Frank Williams went on a real tear of F1 and constructors championships. I gotta confess that Mansell in the 1992 FW14B was Williams best ever car.

joel

[adrian29341]

Jul 19, 2024 14:15:34 GMT -5 joelw said:

Adrian,
so glad that you stopped by and checked out the start of my build. Usually I'm always looking down a worm hole making a build that much harder on myself. Guess that this time I just got lucky.

Yep, Frank Williams went on a real tear of F1 and constructors championships. I gotta confess that Mansell in the 1992 FW14B was Williams best ever car.

joel

Oh ya definitely that FW14B was their greatest achievement with that suspension and the FIA quickly shut that dominance down in 93'

You wouldn't see that now would you??

Joel I've started watching the old F1 races on the archive section of F1 TV, and I have to say it's alot of fun - I watched Michael's clinic he put on at Monaco in the rain in 97' in probably my favorite F1 car of all time the classic F310B - those gold wheels on a prancing horse!!

[kyledehart5]

Very excellent start Joel!! As the others have said, wonderful work salvaging the shell. And it’s great you found some tires to work with the wheels too!! I really like the FW07 and will build mine one day. Looking forward to watching this!

[sharp]

Great start Joel! Those tires look awesome!

[sharp]

Great start Joel! Those tires look awesome!

[buddho]

Awesome work on the tires.

[joelw]

Thanks guys for checking out my start to my Williams FW07, it's always much appreciated.

joel

[maverick]

Nice job on the prep/parts soo far! Dodged a bullet on this one with the tires huh? That worm hole? I know it well, been there soo many times. I am my own worst enemy. Circling the event horizon as we speak with my current project!! LOL Great job on this one so far Joel!

[joelw]

Worm holes have always been my specialty. Easy to find and go down, not so easy to turn around and come back up.

Worked on prep for all the part sections. Hopefully my own mix of Tamiya primers will be air brushed on tomorrow if weather and finding time are on my side.

joel

[chrissmith]

Joel, so glad to see you building a fabulous kit from arguably one of the greatest eras of F1. I assure you that with all that knowledge and skill from over the years, you will build a fantastic representation of this car. Looking forward to following your journey 😉

[kyledehart5]

I agree with Chris entirely. I have no doubt this will be one outstanding FW07 once you’re done with it.

[joelw]

Chris & Kyle,
My favorite F1 era is the mid 60s through 80s. I'm glad that you guys have more confidence in me then I do.

This morning I met my brother for our every other Sunday breakfast at a local diner. Then home to catch the F1 race at the Hungararing. Great race with plenty of drama. Then I primed all the body parts with my special Gray/White Tamiya primer mix. Tomorrow I'll smooth out the primer with a piece of Tamiya 3000 sponge, and get ready to airbrush Gravity Titanium White GC-102 by mid week.

joel

[kyledehart5]

Looking forward to seeing you get some paint down on this. I went ahead and placed an order with gravity so I could try some out.

[joelw]

Kyle,

  Me too.

You're going to love those Gravity paints. And as a special bonus, the glass jars have the best sealing tops of any paint I've yet tried. Open bottles for years and no evaporation, so no additional Thinner ever needed. 

Joel

[406 Silverado]

WOW!! That was an intense and fun filled first update Joel. Doncha just looooooooooove those injector pin marks??!! Good work on getting another set of tires and working your magic on them too. This one is definitely off to a great start. 

[handiabled]

Great start on this! The tires look outstanding!

[joelw]

Jul 22, 2024 8:17:48 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

WOW!! That was an intense and fun filled first update Joel. Doncha just looooooooooove those injector pin marks??!! Good work on getting another set of tires and working your magic on them too. This one is definitely off to a great start. 

Joe,
  What's a model without a few dozen injector marks just to spice things up.  :-)
  
Finished today's weeding job for a full 90 min, hit the showers, another cup of coffee, and now I'm getting ready to prep the primer coat for the color coats.  Looking forward to the decaling as that's what I love most about race car modeling.  

joel

[406 Silverado]

Jul 22, 2024 11:22:15 GMT -5 joelw said:

Jul 22, 2024 8:17:48 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

WOW!! That was an intense and fun filled first update Joel. Doncha just looooooooooove those injector pin marks??!! Good work on getting another set of tires and working your magic on them too. This one is definitely off to a great start. 

Joe,
  What's a model without a few dozen injector marks just to spice things up.  :-)
  
Finished today's weeding job for a full 90 min, hit the showers, another cup of coffee, and now I'm getting ready to prep the primer coat for the color coats.  Looking forward to the decaling as that's what I love most about race car modeling.  

joel

  I hear you on the decaling being the favorite part of building race cars Joel. On the injector pin marks, I've gotten to where I'm using this little tool now and it works great for them. Especially in the corners of car roofs on the interior which are always bears to get to. 

Here's the link: Dspiae ES-P Portable Electric Sanding Pen

[brandonk]

Just about every kit made has some sort of home grown solution to an issue the modeler ran into. Great idea on those tires. It will look great on the kit.

[joelw]

Joe,
Interesting tool for sure. Must make sanding putty a 1-2-3 job. By hand it's anything but that.

That would be my 2nd tool from DSPIASE. I can't say that I'm really thrilled with the 1st one. I bought their MT-C circle cutter for about $75 plus shipping from Gundam USA. Quality all the way, and worked perfectly for the few times I've used it. The last time I tried to use it a few months ago, the knife blade would just fall out every time I turned it over. Just couldn't figure it out. I tried the other two blades and they did the same thing. Seems that there's supposed to be a magnet that holds the blade in place in the height adjuster unit but still lets the knife rotate as needed. Mine must have fallen out . I tried to contact the company directly to buy a replacement part but they never replied to any of my emails. I contacted Gundam USA and they said that they don't sell replacement parts only replacement blades. They suggested that I get in touch with the company. To this day as I've said I've never heard a word from them. So for a simple replacement part my unit just is gathering dust.

joel

[adrian29341]

Jul 22, 2024 11:22:15 GMT -5 joelw said:

Jul 22, 2024 8:17:48 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

WOW!! That was an intense and fun filled first update Joel. Doncha just looooooooooove those injector pin marks??!! Good work on getting another set of tires and working your magic on them too. This one is definitely off to a great start. 

Joe,
  What's a model without a few dozen injector marks just to spice things up.  :-)
  
Finished today's weeding job for a full 90 min, hit the showers, another cup of coffee, and now I'm getting ready to prep the primer coat for the color coats.  Looking forward to the decaling as that's what I love most about race car modeling.  

joel

So true Joel - decaling is my favorite part of F1 car builds - so much fun to see the car just come into focus once done - especially if you have a decent set of decals that makes it much more enjoyable!

[joelw]

So there's 3 votes for Decaling is #1 part of the build.

joel