Many thanks to Paul (Happy New Year too!), Mark and Roy! I'm glad there'll be another one coming Mark, you'll really enjoy this kit. The one thing I'm finding at the moment is that the official build instructions sometimes appear to be a little out in their build sequence. This instalment especially and even more in the next to come I think adding the kill switch and the fuel tank expansion vessel would have been far easier before the panel went onto the frame than as it is here, afterwards!
Ah well, what are guinea pigs for!
Right then, Pack 27, as seen in Photo 1 supplies the battery electrical system kill switch and also the driver’s head rest. The kill switch consists of just two parts, a white plastic cone with a chrome pull ring, which simply pushes into the inside of the cone. As far as the kit is concerned, that’s it, however there is one fairly obvious part missing – if the battery is ‘killed’ by pulling the ring out then the kill switch must be connected to the battery! Photos of the real car show a cable running back from the switch which goes into a black rubber tube before dropping down over the firewall and vanishing into the spaghetti! (I’ll try to remember to include that photo in the next instalment with the fire extinguisher) As you can see in Photo 2, the rear of the cone is pre-coloured black with two raised lugs which are presumably the electrical connections. According to kill switch diagrams for Ferrari sports cars on the net, one of the wires goes back to the battery positive terminal (so that’s a start!) Unfortunately those lugs are just too small to drill into to attach suitable wires, so I cheated a little as shown in Photo 3 and drilled into the flat areas instead, re-painting the black and adding a ring of Vallejo Brass to simulate a contact on each side.
The wires are shown in the process of being super glued in place in Photo 4. Although it looks like a thin wire, they are actually the Veniard 0.6mm Ultra Lace pvc micro tubing with a short piece of 0.5mm brass wire inserted in the end to give something to glue into the hole. You might also notice a slightly rougher finish to the cone. Despite the real cone being a white plastic, the kit part just looked too plasticky so I painted it with Mig Matt White acrylic inside and out.
Photos 5 and 6 show the Driver’s Head rest, the first as the pristine part in the kit and the second after rubbing some dark brown weathering powder into the matt brown padding to simulate some wear from the back of the driver’s helmet.
Back to the cone and Photo 7 shows both the wire/tubes in place. I’d sent off for some more black tubing to add more extra wiring and tubes down the line, which are shown in Photo 8. The larger diameter (2.5mm) 1m roll on the right came from a model supplies whilst the smaller (2mm) diameter, 2m roll came from an angling supplier. Of the two, although they are both silicone tubing, the larger diameter is a softer, almost rubber tube and the smaller size is slightly stiffer (but still more pliable than pvc). I’ve also managed to download a couple of pdf files from the internet giving me the full instruction booklet from Tamiya’s 1/12th scale Ferrari 312T4. This shows me the location of a lot more tubing and wiring than the much bigger 1/8th scale model has, which will come in really useful later on. Strangely though, even the super-duper Tamiya version didn’t have the wires from the kill switch! Photo 9 shows how the two silicone tubes will fit together, allowing the smaller tube to act as a joiner for the larger one if required, (and it will be I expect!)
The pull ring is shown installed into the back of the cone in Photo 10, again, this is a procedure best done once only - I test fitted it before blue grey washing the thing and it cracked pulling it back out! Luckily the ring stayed intact and a drop of thin super glue fixed it, apart from the tiny black mark of course. In Photo 11, the 2.5mm rubber tube has been slid up over the wires ready to insert the cone into the panel. Before I put it in however I first used an offcut of very thin aluminium sheet which I very luckily found sitting at the back of the worktop (which just goes to prove I hadn’t cleaned up back there since the Sopwith Pups, since that’s what I bought it for) and using sharp scissors I cut a couple of thin strips as shown in Photo 12. Also shown is the aluminium tube and styrene rod, which I used to form the strips around to create two retaining clips for the rubber tubing. These are shown up close in the last two Photos 13 and 14. The rubber tube was first attached to the side of the panel with a couple drops of super glue and the two clips then ‘sprung’ over the tubing and fixed in place with another drop of glue. Photo 14 shows the cone in place and also the back of the head rest which simply push fits onto two pins on the metal frame cross piece.
This is where I would offer a word of advice. I followed the kit instructions to the letter in the construction schedule but my advice would be DON’T! In order to fit the cone into the side panel you have to exert a fair bit of pressure to get it to snap into place. Only after it was in did I notice that that lovely neat bottom fit I admired in the previous instalment was no longer there! The bottom of the panel was now bowed inwards leaving a half mm gap. I managed to carefully push with my finger tips from the inside and the panel clicked back into place with no apparent harm done (apart from my heart rate) but I would advise any following to either make up the cone and push it into the hole in the panel before fitting the panel to the frame, or at the least, fit the panel on the frame and then add the cone before fitting and screwing down the frame to the chassis top. Either way will allow you to exert pressure from inside and out simultaneously to avoid pressing the panel out of shape!
Anyway, all went well in the end and in the next instalment we have a vivid splash of colour with the arrival of the fire extinguisher!
Until then, stay safe and Happy Modelling to you All!

Robin.

Many thanks for that Paul!

Before starting the Fire Extinguisher, as promised Photo 1 illustrates that conduit/sheathing carrying the kill switch wires back to the battery (and elsewhere), the black rubber tubing is shown arrowed just before it drops down over the firewall and disappears below. Photo 2 shows the contents of Pack 28, namely the fire extinguisher. There has been some discussion elsewhere about whether this is actually a fire extinguisher or possibly an emergency oxygen bottle for the driver. I tend to go for the fire extinguisher myself on three counts: firstly, the official instructions call it that (although there’s a few other parts which have ‘suspicious’ terms) , secondly, in the Tamiya 1/12th scale version there is a second, smaller tank which is located under the driver’s seat. Although the Tamiya instructions tell you to also paint that one red, I think under the seat is a more likely place for an emergency oxygen supply and thirdly – it’s red! That’s not a joke remark however – there is a convention throughout Europe on the colour of compressed gas cylinders. My dear old Dad used to receive oxygen cylinders from the local pharmacy for some years. Initially they were black, but then when a standardised colour code was introduced guess what colour Europe decided on – ours were black so they chose white! What I didn’t realise though is that the actual body of the cylinder can be any colour you want – the only part that matters is the rounded ‘shoulder’ of the cylinder, the colour of that determines what the contents are, so Dad’s black cylinders began to arrive still in black but with a white band around the shoulder. That being the case, the little tank under the seat should be either all white or have a white shoulder – as should this biggie behind the driver. However, fire extinguishers have maintained their traditional overall red and this, together with the fact that there is also an output hose which lies between the driver’s back and the seat (not supplied with this kit, but is there in the Tamiya one) leads me to conclude that this is really an extinguisher. One last fact – under the same convention, a red shouldered tank contains compressed HYDROGEN – not really the sort of thing to put out a cockpit fire with!
Anyhow, the fire extinguisher consists of five parts: the main red cylinder, the brass valve and pressure gauge, the outlet valve, the pressure gauge dial and its glass cover. The parts with the exception of the dial and glass were degreased as usual and the brass parts repainted with Vallejo Model Air acrylic Bright Brass and the silver bit with Vallejo Model Air Chrome (both applied by brush). After the big valve was push fitted onto the cylinder, the brass and chrome was given a light coat of Humbrol Black Enamel Wash as shown in Photos 3 and 4. I also washed the sides of the silver ring around the cylinder before the next stage – adding an aluminium ring over the painted one.
Photo 5 shows the creation of that retaining ring, this is a thin strip of a very thin sheet of aluminium originally bought as a possible material for the engine cowling on the cardboard Sopwiths. This is the same strip I found and used for the kill switch clips and after trimming it to a size very slightly wider than the moulded on strap it was secured in place with a couple drops of super glue, the previously applied black shadow wash adding some depth around the edges.
With that in place I could then push fit the extinguisher outlet into the brass gauge as seen in Photo 6.
Next was to put in the pressure gauge dial as shown in Photo 7. This was surprisingly difficult to get in there, a very tight fit which in the end required a flat ended wooden paintbrush handle just small enough to push the dial down whilst keeping it nice and level. To finish off this piece, the clear dial cover is then pushed into the hole – another tight fit using the same wooden handle. The clear lens takes up most of the remaining depth of the dial hole as you can see in Photo 8. Now for the part the kit left out. By now I’m getting quite a collection of different diameter and visual type of tubing! Photo 9 shows one of the clear tubes from an ebay model supplies vendor. This was fitted onto the outlet valve and using the measurements from the outlet to the cockpit rear wall, I gently heated the tubing over a candle (some distance above the flame) and put two right angle turns in the tubing marked by the arrows. The first turns the tube from the outlet towards the driver and the second takes the tube down into the cockpit. The tube is a few cm’s longer than it will eventually be, the extra was the part I was holding onto when I heated it over the flame! The final job before fitting the extinguisher onto the right hand panel was to add a little matt aluminium paint to simulate the wear and tear chipping around the base of the cylinder seen in many of the reference photos. It’s difficult to see clearly in Photo 10 as the red cylinder is so darned glossy the LED strip lights in my workroom ceiling keep swamping it out!
Finally in Photos 11 and 12, the cylinder is secured by a simple push fit onto the lug on the right side panel, the clear tube will eventually be fixed in place on the driver’s padded cushion, the added aluminium collar stands out more clearly in these shots. One small difference between the Tamiya 312 and this model is the placement of the cylinder itself. On this model the cylinder is secured to the side panel which results in it being held at a slight angle (as shown by the pressure gauge dial insert) on the Tamiya kit the cylinder is fixed to the top of the fuel tank so it lies flat as seen from the cockpit!
In the next installment, adding the final piece of equipment to the top of the fuel tank – the fuel tank expansion vessel.
Until then, stay safe and Happy Modelling to you All!

Robin.

Excellent detailing Robin.

Mark

Many thanks indeed to Chris, Mark and Big Mark!
I hope you told your friend this is my first big car build Mark, I'm making this up as I go! - I wouldn't like him to think I actually know what I'm doing!
This is a 'shorty' for once...

The parts for Pack 29 containing the fuel tank expansion vessel are shown in Photo 1. This is a smaller version of the oil tank expansion vessel constructed earlier but, fortunately without a bunch of extra connections (apart from one missing piece of tubing!) The three parts are shown on the right consisting of the expansion vessel itself, shown close up in Photo 2, a short length of fuel pipe and the connector, which fits onto the top of the internal fuel tank, shown up close again in Photo 4.
On the left are the other two pieces in this pack – a pair of brackets which hold the two struts, connecting the firewall to the engine block.
Photo 3 shows the expansion vessel after the usual toning down with the Humbrol Blue-Grey Enamel Wash.
In the kit the tank connector is supplied as black and brass, seen in Photo 4, however, I decided to change this to a chrome and brass to match with the reference photos I’ve been using as seen in Photo 5. Photo 6 illustrates the change, the body of the connector was painted with Vallejo Model Air Chrome and the brass with the black wash, this is such a small part I just brush painted the chrome. The brackets are shown before and after the blue-grey wash in Photo 7.
Following the instruction, the first job was to join the expansion vessel and tank connector together via the fuel pipe tubing as shown in Photo 8. Then, as seen in Photo 9, the tank connector’s two locating studs were push fitted into the two holes on the top of the tank, leaving the vessel perched in mid air. The next job was to fit the expansion vessel’s single rectangular stud into the protruding box on the inside of the panel – what a fight that was! It was probably more difficult for me as I couldn’t just grip the vessel and push it in for fear of marring the wash effect! I eventually got the thing to fit in, it’s a really tight fit and I would advise either fitting the vessel onto the side panel at the same time as the kill switch cone (ie, before fitting the panel into the frame, or, if you are using washes like me, fit the vessel into the panel first and then give it the wash treatment (whilst avoiding getting it all over the tubing of course).
Anyway, according to the instructions, that’s it done – but – thanks to the Tamiya instructions again, there should be another short length of tubing sticking up out of the top of the vessel which I would think is some sort of vent arrangement. I used a suitable piece of my tubing collection for this, it has to stick up over the sloping frame by about the same amount as the vessel top is below that frame, and the top is sloped at about 45 degrees towards the rear. The addition is shown in Photo 11.
The final two Photos 12 and 13 show the brackets going into place on the rear edge of the cockpit. This was also a really tight fit – so tight in fact that just pushing them on resulted in a little half a millimetre gap between the top of the bracket and the underside of the cockpit. I eventually used a pair of smooth long jawed pliers to squeeze them flush with no gap as indicated by the arrow. In retrospect (this was a little risky putting so much pressure on to a plastic component) I should have drilled out the holes on the brackets to loosen the fit and used a plastic glue to stick them on!
Things start moving forward (literally) in the next installment with the steering wheel frame and it’s electrical switch box.
Until then, Happy Modelling to you All!

Robin.

Some very nice attention to detail Robin!

Many thanks for those kind words from Dustin and Paul - greatly appreciated as always!
That would be an understatement Paul! Everything on this one is a new discovery for me, many of my acquired skills are proving useful (maybe not the woodworking ones though!) But now I'm getting into the nitty gritty I'm finding lots of opportunities to scratch build and upgrade which is the part I always enjoy the most!

This time I remembered the first shot! Photo 1 shows the contents of Pack 31, which consists of the components to build the little instrument panel, which is part of the steering wheel support. All the parts here are plastic, a black moulded ‘dashboard’ (why is the instrument panel on a car called a dashboard?) , a set of three push fit instrument dials (usually supplied as decals in smaller scale versions), three also push fit clear ‘glass’ dial fronts and three sets of tubing ‘cables’. The dashboard and its parts are shown closer up in Photo 2 and as you might notice, the translucent pipe is pretty badly kinked! This might have been fixable in hot/warm water but as you’ll see later, I’m not actually using this piece as it’s, err, incorrect! From the first moment I set eyes on this pack I had an idea to do something extra with it. The big red light at the top left is simply painted on in the kit part – to be honest though, the manufacturers did a darned good job of painting it – it does look like a light, but I decided to have a play with it anyway! As you can see in Photo 3, the red light (or most of it anyway) is gone. I drilled a tiny hole into the centre and then progressively enlarged it with bigger drills until the formerly convex red lens was made into a concave depression. The next step was to airbrush the panel in Vallejo Black Primer as seen in Photo 4 and then dry-brush Vallejo light grey to pick out the rim details and add a little bit of wear, not forgetting the rear face too as it is all exposed on the model. Front and back are shown in Photos 5 and 6. The letters a to d show the locations of the four rods sticking out of the back of the instruments onto which the cables are push fitted. This is where the problem came from. According to the kit instructions, the short translucent pipe fits onto a, and one of the long black cables fits onto b. The other long black cable fits onto d, leaving the middle instrument to be ‘cabled up’ later. The short tube then proceeds down into the bodywork whilst the black cables run along the sides of the chassis. Throughout the build, as I’ve acquired more and more info from the internet I’ve been ‘building by comparison’, ie: comparing the kit instructions to those from the Tamiya 1/12th scale model and comparing them both to actual photos of the car. The kit has that short tube coming off the back of the right hand instrument and going down into the bodywork with a black cable also coming off. The Tamiya has two clear petrol/oil pipes running down the right hand side and both going into the instrument. And so do the photos of the car itself! As you’ll see later (the pics are on the new computer at the moment) the clear tubes which were previously attached to the oil filter and have been dangling around making a nuisance of themselves ever since are in fact the two that run down the side of the chassis and into that instrument (just as the Tamiya instructions say). There is a white/translucent pipe coming out of the bodywork right where the kit has it – but it is nothing to do with the instrument at all! More on that one later.
Now it was time for another expedition into the back of the garage, climbing in through the old iron framed house windows (can’t open the door inside the garage without a major clearance!) I was hoping to find a long discarded piece of translucent red sprue, possibly from some old sci-fi kit of my youth and I hit the jackpot! In a large cardboard box from my old Tamiya Leopard 2 r/c tank model, now packed out with long forgotten bits and pieces, and a few full kits by the look of it, I found the item shown in Photo 7. This is from a ‘UFO’ kit of around forty years ago, I’m not sure if it was a Revell or a Monogram kit but the ‘UFO’ was in reality a NASA Space Shuttle moulded in black plastic with red tinted windows, engine nozzles and base. And, more importantly, SPRUE! All I needed for this exercise was the piece sticking out (arrowed). Photo 8 shows the piece after snipping it off and Photo 9 after the candle flame treatment and stretching out into a thin filament. The next part was the most delicate, after cutting the filament in half I had to very carefully and slowly move the end of it towards the candle flame (very important to do this in a draught free environment), as the styrene absorbs the heat from the flame it will begin to shrink back and at the same time expand outwards into a mushroom shaped lens. There’s a definite ‘sweet point’ on the side of the flame where, if approached just right the plastic will expand evenly creating a perfect symmetrical lens perched at the top of the filament. Too high or low and the lens will still form but will droop to one side! Photo 10 illustrates the result of the technique, after each lens has cooled (just a few seconds or so) it can be cut off the sprue filament and the next one attempted. The filament gets thicker towards the ‘handle’ end, and each lens becomes slightly larger in diameter. The second and forth attempts from the left were off-centre to a degree but the others weren’t too bad. The next task was to use a cocktail stick to paint the inside of the drilled out lamp with Vallejo Chrome to give a reflective surface behind the red lens as shown in Photo 11. With that done I could then push fit the three instrument dials in place. This was a right struggle! Each dial has a semi circular hole to fit a semi circular peg into and they are tiny! If the dial isn’t exactly level when pushing it in they simply won’t go down. I got them in eventually as shown in Photo 12 using a piece of the old Victory’s DelPrado wooden mast dowel (it wasn’t of a good enough quality to use on her but served well here to make a ‘ramrod’!)
A warning! The same dowel was used to then push in the clear dial ‘glass’ and as you can see in Photo 13, I needed to make up a simple wooden jig to do this safely. As mentioned earlier, those four rods for the cables stick out of the rear of the instrument panel and they stick out further than the large central bulge where the steering column slides through later. In order to push the dials and glass in you need to exert considerable force and if the instrument panel is just resting on its back those rods are going to bend or break off! Hence the wooden block with holes drilled in to match the single rod on two of the dials and the double rods on the last one.
The panel is shown with the glass fronts safely installed in Photo 14, together with the tiny red glass lens for the red light safely contained in one of the millions of poly bags, which come with this kit. After cutting off the rest of the sprue ‘tail’ from the lens it was glued into the concave position with a drop of Woodland Scenics Water Effects (the media I used for the waves etc in the Sword Beach diorama). This definitely dries clear, I was going to use the Deluxe Card Glue which also dries clear but my first old bottle of that glue had turned brown – possibly from just standing in the bottle too long, but better safe than sorry. I gave the red light a good prod the following day just to make sure it had stuck fast and it seems fine! Photo 15 shows the finished effect, a nice 3D ‘bulb’ rather than the painted version.
Photos 16 and 17 show the path of the pair of fuel or oil lines that run along the side of the chassis to the instruments. Photo 16 is level with the rear of the driver’s seat whilst Photo 17 follows the path of the lines past the gear selector, behind the steering column frame and into the back of the right hand instrument. This is the same as the Tamiya instructions. There is a white pipe coming out of the chassis as in this kit, but it doesn’t go to the instruments – where it does go will be explained next time.
Finally in Photo 18 we have the completed, red lighted instrument panel with two fuel lines attached – these are a part of the two long tubes coming off the blue oil filter on top of the engine, one of them was long enough to reach in one piece but the other is just too short (but never mind, I have a cunning plan!)
In the next instalment that mysterious white pipe gets some scratch building and resin casting to get it fitted in (properly)!
Until then, Happy Modelling to you All!

Robin.

Many thanks indeed to Roy, Kev and Paul for those kind words!
In this instalment, there's yet another resin casting to create and it got me thinking that by the time I reach the end there'll probably be a few more to add to things like the battery cradle upgrade and this new part for the driver's cockpit. This monster hasn't cost me a penny thanks to Big Mark and DeAgostini's generosity, so by way of a little thankyou, once I've got to the end, if any members out there who are either building this model or have it waiting in the wings for later would like a set of my resin parts, just let me know and I'd be happy to cast some more and send them on for you.
OK then back to the cockpit!
Photo 1 shows that mysterious white pipe again! As mentioned last time, this pipe or tube is fitted onto the right hand instrument in the kit, but you can see here, there are two fuel lines going in the back of the instrument whilst the tube seems to end short of the instrument, ending in some sort of black fitting. I couldn’t work out what this was for some time until I realised that the black thingy actually ended in a turquoise-green end cap shown by the yellow arrow. I then noticed that the other side of the same photo had another two of those same turquoise ends as shown in Photo 2. It then became obvious (sort of) just what they all were. Unlike my version which follows the Tamiya kit with the clear tubing coming from the fire extinguisher down the back of the driver’s seat, this car has two fire suppression nozzles coming from the extinguisher and a third coming up out of the chassis pointing back at the driver from under the instrument panel! Admittedly, this modern photo is of a now classic or vintage 312T4 so the details have probably changed but that pipe isn’t a part of the instruments – it’s a part of the fire suppression system. When the extinguisher is activated, jets of either foam or powder are directed into the driver’s position from front and back, the turquoise end caps either popping off or disintegrating under the pressure. Now that I knew what it was, I could make one up!
The first stage was to make the black part of the connector. Photo 3 shows the creation of a brass ‘T’ piece. The brass tube was held in the jaws of my little miniature wood lathe and whilst spinning around was (ground?) down with a diamond dust file to produce a thinner mid section. A hole was then drilled into the thinned down part to allow a smaller diameter brass tube to be inserted at right angles and soldered into position. Yet another brass tube, the next size up from the soldered in one was then filed down at the end to create a semi-circular joint to mate up with the first tube as seen in Photo 4. After cutting the end section off it was slid down the soldered tube and super glued into place (see Photo 8).
I then needed a couple of very short rings to be cut from the same tube to form spacers which would be divided by resin nuts to create the shape of the black attachment and turquoise plastic end cap. The method of cutting this micro tubing is to mark the tube and then to roll it back and forth under a safety razor blade cutter. Providing the tube is rolled completely straight, the blade will eventually score a deep enough line that the tube simply breaks apart at the score line. If the tube rolls slightly off however, you end up with a spiral score line! The first cutting went well as far as the required ring was concerned, but the cut off section was pressed into an oval by the pressure of the blade. I then learnt to place the next size down tubing inside the one being cut which provided additional support as shown in Photo 5 (just make sure you don’t use too much pressure again or you’ll have two perfectly cut tubes!)
The size of the final ring can be judged by seeing it perched on my finger tip in Photo 6. For the pair of nuts seen on the plastic end caps I went back to my previously resin cast nuts and bolts created when I made the battery clamp. A suitable size was found in my collection and the bolt parts sanded off before drilling a hole through the middle as shown in Photo 7, whilst Photo 8 illustrates all the relevant parts for the forward fire suppression nozzle.
The components were then slid down the tubing as seen in Photo 9, and super-glued in place. I then had a brainwave and decided whilst I was casting the black extinguisher thingy for the front, why not add another nozzle to the tube to cast a turquoise end cap for the tube behind the driver! That just required another pair of brass rings, two more nuts and a short length of larger tube as seen in Photo 10.
Then it was time to try and cast the whole thing in resin with the prototype resting in a bed of plasticene inside the lego brick box in Photo 11, the cured first half of the mould in Photo 12 and one of the first castings in Photo 13. I got a few good ones from the mould as shown in Photo 14, but kept getting annoying little air bubbles around the hollow socket (despite the addition of a little air channel seen running up the side). Eventually I made a second mould with two thicker air channels, one of which filled in the socket leaving me to drill out the hole manually. Despite the extra work, this one did provide a more dependable casting with only the odd air bubble getting in the way.
Unfortunately I can’t actually fit the completed casting in place until the entire instruments/steering wheel and drive shaft unit is completed so the steering wheel with some 'wear and tear' will be coming next time!
Until then, Happy Modelling to you All and keep staying safe!

Robin.

So to finish off the construction of the steering wheel switch body, Photo 1 shows the two painted wires twisted together. These will be attached to the actual wheel once I’ve discovered somewhere to stick them!
Photo 2 illustrates the slightly different paint finish on the steering wheel compared to the kit standard part. The kit wheel is basically just one single semi-matt black finish. By looking at the various reference photos, it appears that the real one has a black leather cover to the wheel whilst the spokes are a glossier black metal. Some of the photos also give the appearance that the leather is dyed black and the original tan colour shows through after some strenuous wear and tear. To simulate the different finishes I left the wheel in its original paint and added some dry brushed light brown Vallejo on both sides where the driver would be gripping the wheel. The spokes were given a couple of coats of satin clear varnish to give the plastic a more metallic look as seen here. The silver switch was given the usual Humbrol Enamel Wash (black this time) to pick out the rim. This photo was taken whilst I was still fitting the switch body, which is why it is still in raw resin! In order to find somewhere to put the switch wires (whilst still allowing the wheel to turn) it was then necessary to fit on the instrument panel shown in Photo 3 before passing the steering column through to the wheel. The black cable on the right actually goes the other way and will run down the left side of the cockpit eventually. This then leads us on to the next packet, Pack 33 as shown in Photo 4. This comprises the steering column, (a metal pre-built casting) and two packets of screws, Types B and D.
The metal steering column comes in a gloss black finish, however, the Tamiya instructions have this part painted silver and cross checking the actual photos reveals that it is in fact a chrome steel finish (so some more work to come on this piece!)
Before that though I needed to test fit the column through the instrument panel to work out where I was going to fit the additional wiring from that switch. Photo 5 shows the protruding part of the shaft (arrowed) and Photo 6 shows the steering wheel fitted on the end of it. The wheel will only fit on one way as the end of the shaft is flattened on one side with a corresponding shaped hole in the wheel. The important thing in this part is to ensure that the wheel is fitted in dead upright with the switch on the right and the coloured decal spoke straight down. This will ensure that the column is also in correctly to (hopefully) engage with the gears and cogs of the steering mechanism later.
To change the black column into a steel colour I decided to try my Uschi Chrome Polishing Powder instead of painting it. This is ideally applied to a gloss black surface and after the usual ultra sonic soapy bath that was exactly what I already had!
Photo 7 shows the initial test patch, rubbing the powder onto the black surface with a cotton bud. The effect looked pretty good and so I continued on as seen in Photo 8 with the final finish shown in Photo 9. I found that the best result was just using the cotton bud to both apply the powder and polish, using a cloth to get more of a shine just rubbed the stuff off again!
Now that I knew how the steering wheel fitted over the shaft, it was possible to drill into the collar behind the centre of the wheel and super glue the end of the twisted cable in there. As long as it didn’t protrude into the shaft hole the wheel can still turn with the wires attached. Photos 10 and 11 show the wire fitted from the front and back. Of course, while I was struggling to get the ruddy wire to go into the hole with the wheel face down I completely forgot that the silver switch stuck out further than the rim – at least I did until I heard that all too familiar ‘crack’! It was still attached to the spoke when I turned it over but as usual parted company when I tried to gently straighten it up again. Fortunately however, this little ‘accident’ proved quite useful – with the switch broken off anyway I could super glue it back on slanting upwards as it would have been in real life – up is on and down is off (the ref photos have a little ‘off’ label stuck under it!) I still have no idea what the switch actually switches on and off though!
The last part to complete is the padded central cushion and its Ferrari badge shown in Photo 12. The positions ‘1,2 and 3’ refer to where the three tabs of the badge push into before the cushion has to be pressed onto the wheel. Photo 13 shows the cushion and badge joined together and Photo 14 illustrates the wheel now screwed in place before the cushion is added, covering up the column shaft retaining screw. I’m pretty sure I hadn’t done anything to alter those two pins but they weren’t going to fit into those holes at all. In the end I just drilled them a little bigger and glued the cushion on with Deluxe Card Glue.
Finally in Photo 15 we have the completed steering wheel/instrument panel frame. This isn’t screwed down yet however, there’s still some more cockpit parts to add, beginning with the gear selector which comes in the next instalment. Its funny though just how adding in the steering wheel suddenly makes that 'tin box' look much more like an actual car!
Until then, Happy Modelling to you All!

Robin.