Tamiya McLaren Senna

[galaxyg]

I'm new to this forum but certainly not new to modelling. This is my 101st car build. Quite a tricky build, this one. Seatbelts and retainers are extra, everything else is part of Tamiya's kit.

Edited October 8, 2021 by galaxyg

[Hi-Po]

Beautifully done!  Great paint and detailing.

[Roger U]

Very cool, nicely built model. Interesting paint scheme, I like it.

[Intmd8r]

She's a beauty - thanks for sharing!

The seatbelts certainly enhance the finished product.

I just took delivery of my kit - any pointers before I start?

[ATHU]

Looks amazing, great build!!

[galaxyg]

1 hour ago, Intmd8r said:

I just took delivery of my kit - any pointers before I start?

Thanks. I do have some pointers the first two of which are best read in conjunction with the instruction sheet.

Attaching A1 and A10 in step 15 would be better done before or at the same time as B27 is attached in step 12. A1 is not straight in my build, the back (open end) of the V tilts upwards. Although it's impossible to tell from the pics. This is because when B27 has already been attached to the main body, it's harder to get A1 and A10 in. The end result of this is that the little hooky bit of the front wing A16 didn't quite meet A1 in the same way it did on the other side. Glue and patience holding them together whilst they dried sorted this out, although one wing dips a fraction lower than the other. If you do follow this advice, check this sequence is possible as I didn't have the luxury of taking it apart and redoing it this way.

The other main area of note is where the front of the doors meet the rear of the front wings. You'll see on my build, this is far from a perfect meeting, there's a big step. Looking at other builds I'm not alone here but the main contributor to the problem seems to be E22 and E21 and how they're held in place by B38 and B37 (all this is in step 8 ) so I can only suggest here, dry fit over and over to get the feel for what's correct, and use really thin glue. Consider gluing the transparent parts in place even if the kit's engineered by Tamiya to not need this. The "clamp side glass in place without glue" engineering is more trouble than it's worth.

Be careful polishing, some bits look desperate to snap, they're so thin.

On my build the little bonnet thing on the nose and the T on the roof, plus the larger part of the back wing are silver. In the instructions (and most real life versions) they're black. Some real-life ones have this as body colour, and I think the car looks better for it.

I look forward to seeing your build, when you get to it. It's an amazing kit. Aside from what's mentioned above the rest fits together incredibly well.

Michael.

Edited October 8, 2021 by galaxyg

[Zippi]

Yeah that looks pretty good.  Your experience is shining through.  

[Mike C]

Really nice build. You just can't go wrong with those Tamiya kits.

[bbowser]

Very nice!  Great photos.

[Dragonhawk1066]

Very nice!! It looks like quite the challenge, to say the least!

[slusher]

Beautiful model!

[Spottedlaurel]

Hello Michael! Good to see you here. Great work on this kit, not one I'd have the patience for.

[Dominik]

looks really nice. like the colorsheme.

[dave branson]

Nice build

[Tuffy's Garage]

Beautiful

[NOBLNG]

Super nice looking! And welcome to the forum!?

[ChrisR]

Awesome!