Tamiya Lotus 102D

This is my current project, Tamiya's Lotus 102D. I bought this kit at a regional model car show back in September. It was always on my build list so I'm glad I happened to come across it. I actually started this build in October 2017, though the Red Bull RB6 eventually took up most of my time.The first part of any F1 build I tackle is the engine/gearbox. This is a fairly common engine in Tamiya's 1/20 Grand Prix Collection, having been used in the Jordan 191, Benetton B192, McLaren MP4/8, as well as the Lotus 107 and 107B. The engine and gearbox assembly has been painted with Alclad aluminum, Krylon Semi Gloss Black.

I used Tamiya's recommended mixture of a light metallic brown on top of the gearbox. Various components were detailed with Testors chrome silver and Tamiya titanium gold. The driveshafts and exhausts were painted with a mixture of Alclad pale gold and steel.

Carbon fiber decal has been added around the intake trumpets, rear wing support, and brake ducts. I used the carbon fiber templates made by Studio 27. They are impressively engineered and generally fit pretty well though there are some minor gaps here and there. I also carbon fiber decaled the floor and airbox.