1/12 McLaren MP4/6 carbon fiber

[dgwoodward2]

Has anyone ever done templates or decals for the carbon fiber parts of the Tamiya 1/12 MP4/6? I am starting to plan out efforts to build the kit and was wondering. Thanks.

[Seema]

I don't know of any company that did it. For the Williams FW14B there were three sheets on ebay that a Chinese enlarged from the 1:20 Tabu design set. The pattern of the fabric was way too big and too coarse. It looked terrible. The only advantage, you could use some as templates. The Mclaren 4/6 is still waiting for me to start. I would be happy if someone would do the work. There would be enough buyers.

[AJP01]

Just so you're aware, most of the carbon fiber on the actual MP4/6 was unidirectional (UD) carbon fiber, not a weave. At that point Hercules were still making the majority of the chassis parts and only some very small parts (like the front wing curved deflectors under the outer edges, and the brake cooling ducts) appear to show any weave pattern at all. Most parts have that characteristic UD carbon fiber appearance of black long fibers running parallel to each other through the whole part.

[Seema]

Steve Mohlenkamp "Plasticsurgeon" got it straight to the point with his mclaren. The search for his contribution is worthwhile.

[primabaleron]

I'm getting ready to build a 4/6 as well. maybe 2024? For now, I have a copy of Tabu 1/20. If I don't find anything else, I'll enlarge it and sculpt it with Scale Motorsport

[plastiksurgeon]

Just so you're aware, most of the carbon fiber on the actual MP4/6 was unidirectional (UD) carbon fiber, not a weave. At that point Hercules were still making the majority of the chassis parts and only some very small parts (like the front wing curved deflectors under the outer edges, and the brake cooling ducts) appear to show any weave pattern at all. Most parts have that characteristic UD carbon fiber appearance of black long fibers running parallel to each other through the whole part.

That is absolutely correct ! As an F1 photographer in 1991, I spent a good hour with that car in the garage at the first Grand Prix in Phoenix, and I'm here to tell you that carbon fiber chassis was not gold and it did not have a weave pattern to much of the carbon. The gold that everyone wants to tint that chassis is from the way light effects film in photography under fluorescent lights, and has nothing to do with the color of that chassis. It was black !

As for the weave, early carbon fiber as in those days was very randomly textured and rough. It had almost no shine to it whatsoever.

Cheers,
Steve Mohlenkamp

[plastiksurgeon]

Steve Mohlenkamp "Plasticsurgeon" got it straight to the point with his mclaren. The search for his contribution is worthwhile.

Thank you.

For my MP4/6, I decided the best way to get that flat rough early carbon fiber appearance was to use 2inch wide regular tan masking tape, covering the entire tub and the painting it flat black. I think it worked perfect and of course the tape is self-adhesive, even though I used just a bit of super glue on the edges so that the edges don't come up in years down the road One last touch was to polish it a bit with a soft t-shirt to polish the higher levels of the tapes texture, creating a little bit more separation between the high areas and the low areas.

I will try and add a picture later when I'm back at the studio.

I have heard of using glue drenched tissue paper and all kinds of techniques to achieve that rough early carbon fiber, but I think this one does it pretty well.

I hope this helps....

Cheers,
Steve Mohlenkamp

[dgwoodward2]

Thank you for the responses. I certainly appreciate the pics and definitely need to assess my options. I like the tape idea quite a lot.

[sky1911]

Again, as back in the day, I'm stunned by this. Especially the last picture. It's just something about that all black on black look of a car without any body panels that means business.
Brilliant! Regarding tissue paper as a layer. That's what I would use to replicate the rough look of a 70s fibreglass body (say a 312T or T4) on the inside / underside of the body panels.

[primabaleron]

Steve Mohlenkamp "Plasticsurgeon" got it straight to the point with his mclaren. The search for his contribution is worthwhile.

Thank you.

For my MP4/6, I decided the best way to get that flat rough early carbon fiber appearance was to use 2inch wide regular tan masking tape, covering the entire tub and the painting it flat black. I think it worked perfect and of course the tape is self-adhesive, even though I used just a bit of super glue on the edges so that the edges don't come up in years down the road One last touch was to polish it a bit with a soft t-shirt to polish the higher levels of the tapes texture, creating a little bit more separation between the high areas and the low areas.

I will try and add a picture later when I'm back at the studio.

I have heard of using glue drenched tissue paper and all kinds of techniques to achieve that rough early carbon fiber, but I think this one does it pretty well.

I hope this helps....

Cheers,
Steve Mohlenkamp

It looks very good Steve! I need to look for such a tape for my future MP 4/6 project. What did you paint it with then? paint + clear.