Chevron Conversion for the Tamiya 1/12 Ferrari 312T2

By Mario Covalski

History

At the end of 1975 the Austrian Niki Lauda (team Ferrari's second driver) was crowned Formula One's world champion. It was here that the man and machine's successful career began.

The car in question was the Ferrari 312T. A revolutionary F1 with 12 horizontal cylinders engine (named flat 12) and a traverse gear box (hence the T designation ), with an astonishing aerodynamic form and a construction quality several years ahead of their time.

In 1976 the regulations changed, the periscope air intake could not exist anymore, because the maximum height was limited and some extra safety measures were imposed on the cars. Thus the 312 T2 was born, with which Niki lost the Japanese grand prix, leaving his Ferrari intact in the box and losing the chance of obtaining the driver's world championship for the second consecutive time.

The 312 T2 model evolved until the end of 1977 , when the incredible Niki gets the maximum position and obtains his second championship. Thus culminated the most successful chassis in the Ferrari's history. The following year the T2 was replaced by a completely new design - the T3.

The scale model

In 1976 Tamiya released a Ferrari 312T reproduction in 1/12 scale. With representative features for that time but with details that even today amaze those who approach its assembly. With very few additions and very good information we can achieve a nice model that has no need to envy the most recent Tamiya kits.

A small Japanese company, Chevron models, manufactures a handmade kit to transform the Ferrari 312T into the last – and curious – 312T2, that features the T2's water radiators and air exit position. The rarity about this "transkit" is its vacuform manufacture, a method not often used in car modelling.

The kit also contains some metal parts (lead), and few resin parts. A sheet of Tamiya's Ferrari 312T4 decals and some adhesive too (that I rejected for being incompatible with my construction techniques).

About the materials used

The project was based on a well planned assembly. Upon analyzing the photographic references, the points where the Tamiya kit needs external additions becomes immediately obvious. So we need, among other things, the following:

• Tamiya's kit 12019, Ferrari 312T
• Chevron's kit 1203
• Polystyrene sheet of .02" and .04" thickness.
• Polystyrene strips of .02" thickness and .2" width.
• Seatbelts with their hardware (the kit provides them but were replaced).
• Electric cable of .018" (several colors)
• Electric wire of .022" (several colors)
• A Modeler's hose joint set.
• A Modeler's mesh of .035" (0.9 mm).
• Other things from your spare parts box, can be useful.

The transkit

For those who has no experience with vacuform parts, the body preparation can be very difficult. The kit provides simple suitable illustrations that show how we should work. First I cut the parts, I needed scissors (direct and curved tip ) , 220 sandpaper and patience.

It is very important to study the model carefully and the parts we are cutting, leaving some extra material for later fit. Some parts need holes added, I made them with drill and file.

As the Chevron drawings show, we must keep some parts of Tamiya's body, suitably modified that is. I chose to keep:

• A piece of the nose (A1) to achieve more strength when we install it in the chassis on J11 and J12.

• A piece of A5 and A4, gluing the Tamiya's part (cut as shown) below Chevron's.

• The Tamiya's B9 and B10, modified as Chevron's drawing show.

It is better to work on chassis change after the body parts have been cut, but before the final fit, so as to be sure that is all right and then can glue the transkit parts.

I insist again in the importance of studying several times the overall fitting and checking the parts position. I think is neccesary to pay special attention on the following:

• We should modify the Tamiya's J42 part, then we cut the supports for E30 and relocate them on the upper edge, to avoid that J3 touch the new rear brake's air intake.

• The water radiator air duct needs to be checked with the assembled radiators. Once everything is painted it is difficult to place them. (You can paint air ducts either in semigloss black or Ferrari red)

• Attach the body side panels and glue them to B9 and B10 parts. I chose this way because it would be impossible to glue them once they are painted.

• Add strips of .2" to all vacuform's parts edges in order to achieve strength.

• Another difficult point was the placement of the air flaps on B9 and B10 parts, small polystyrene pieces and putty were useful.

• The hardest stage was to join the three parts of the cockpit cowling. It was necessary to use putty, sandpaper, glue, and CA. When done verify that enough remains on the border to place the windshield which will take five holes of .02" for joining with copper nails used in nautical models.

The rest can be done as usual, both for metal and resin parts.

• Be sure that all parts that belong to the rear aileron have the same width.

• You must bear in mind that the anti-roll bar part which joins to D30 (gear box) does it in a different place than Tamiya's (E7, not used), under the clutch part (D27) in a puncture of .06".

Verify that the cockpit cowling fits well over the body with the anti-roll bar located in the chassis ­ In the past I have had bad experiences about this stage.

I made a small support for gearbox's radiator, which will be placed horizontally on D28.

I mounted the oil radiators and verified that they were placed without troubles, mainly the left one, since that chassis part was modified.

Construction

I built everything as usual, following Tamiya's manual, adding or substituting Chevron's parts as necessary. The substituted or eliminated parts include:

A2, A3, B2-7, C3-6, C8, C21, C22, E7-9, E21, E22, F7-9, F11, F17, F21-30, F42, G30, G3, H7-8, H14-15, J15-16, J24, J31-32, L2, N2.

The only important modification was the battery location over the engine (the last chassis version showed this). I made this with J25 a small support drawer.

As I said in the beginning I wanted a very detailed chassis. The following is a basic list of details I incorporated.

• I used green electric cable of .06" for accelerator line (with E25).

• I made two punctures of .04" in the hydraulic fluid's recipients for brakes and clutch, supplied by Chevron (substitution of C3), for the hose's connection with the pumps (cable of .02").

• I improved details in the meter panel J19. I made four punctures of .02", in the light pilot's posterior region, in the three small instruments' spike and one of .04" in the large one (tachometer). In those punctures, I then placed cables of .018" and .04" and perforated nuts of Modeler's set.

• The part G20, has three plastic spikes, that I perforated with .02" and placed cable of .018".

• The hydraulic pumps G16 got two punctures of .02", then I placed the brake's lines and the hoses of storage's recipient of hydraulic fluid.

• I detailed the parts J11 and J12 making in the pins two punctures of .008" to place retention rings (.004" wire and of .12").

• I added to the brakes, front G2 and rear G27, the hose joint, to receive the hydraulic fluid from the pumps.

• I cut the support of the exhaust pipes G34 and G35 in half, and made four punctures of .004" for the retention springs.

• In parts J33 (distributor cover) and J34 (ignition coil) I cut the central spike and drilled with .04", then I joined both with electric cable. J34 also takes two punctures of .02" on both sides, for the electric cables too.

• The parts E44 (alternator's cover ) and J44 needed a puncture of .02" for the electric connection.

• To recreate the cables of the electronic ignition I made on J41 five punctures of .02" in line.

• The parts E5 and E6 should be located on the side of the new aileron's support in a small plastic squad.

• The battery E17 requires for the power cables two punctures of .02" in the hubs,.

• I improved the realism of the arms E26, making punctures for different positions of the part K6.

• I made a puncture of .04" on the lower part of the water container J27, where a hose to the refrigeration system departs from.

• I cut the plastic spikes of the gearbox's radiator , and I made two punctures of .04" for the hose joint that go to the same one.

• In the wheels G11 and G25 I made punctures of .06" for the tyre valves. (I used spark plugs from my spare parts box)

• To attach the seatbelts, that cross the torso, to the chassis, I made two punctures of .04" on E40 and screw two triangular parts (painted silver) on those to which the cloth was attached.

This is only a guide of basic improvements that I included on my model. Everybody will look for the best solution, applying the best technique one knows, and with the photographic reference available, will be able to add details more or less as desired.

Painting

My original concept was that vacuform parts would be difficult to deal with, but I was wrong. After the usual preparation with putty (very little), I sanded the body smooth with 1200 grit sandpaper the surfaces were ready to be painted.

I recommend a flat white base to equalize the white and red bottom. First I painted with brilliant white, then I masked and applied the red paint.

Masking was difficult, especially in the air intakes. I used Tamiya's masking tape, cut with the appropriate shape plus .04". It was really very complicated.

I used Tamiya enamel white and red (10% more orange). I use my own painting technique that leaves the surface with a deep shine without polishing, but there are as many techniques as modelmakers so everybody will use which consider the best.

The chassis was painted with Testor metalizer, the engine with a mixture of Tamiya enamel XF16 (aluminiun) more 10% of brilliant orange. Other metallic parts were painted with Tamiya XF56 (metallic grey) and a mixture of Tamiya XF16 more X11 (chrome silver).

I painted the brake's calipers and the anti roll bar with gunmetal,the brake's disks with metallic grey and silver, the black ones with X18 (semigloss black).

The ailerons were polished and painted with several layers of Testor chrome silver like other chromed parts.

The windscreen received a layer of X19 (smoke) acrylic in its interior . All the washes were made with a well diluted mixture of X19 acrylic with 20% of X21 (flat base) and some with X19 alone.

I also used transparent yellow, red and blue for details.

The seat is made of vinyl, but I chose to paint it. First with a base of Humbrol flat white and then semigloss black.

Decals

For decals I followed the Chevron's instructions, but I also used white decals and strip of .04" for details and to fix masking errors too. I also used red and green decals for the Italian flag.

The 'Goodyear' logo was taken from the six wheeled Tyrrel, the numbers 11 and the legend "Lauda " belongs to 312T . For the rest I used the sheet the transkit provided me.

The trapezoidal white base of the nose's number is made of decal and as pattern, the Chevron's drawing .The red strip is the one used in the 312 T air intake, but modified

It is very useful to supply oneself with strips of decals (red and white of .04") for this project.

Conclusions

As always when we finish a scale model, we look critically and think all that we could make and we didn't make, there is always a next time. In this occasion I believe I could have detailed the wheels G19 nuts, and more other things, of course. I leave it for those who read this article and want to have his own Ferrari 312T2.

It takes a lot of patience, much money and time (150 - 200 hours for me) to end to this project; but all this will be rewarded by the fun and challenge of finishing this great reproduction of the most beautiful car, to my judgment, the 70's had .