Tamiya 1/20 Lotus 99T - 1

Alright, so my first kit in my "Back to Basics" approach will be this 1/20th scale Lotus Tamiya 99T. Believe it or not, that's an original issue Lotus 99T. Even has the original tobacco decals. This will be my one deviation from box stock. The original decals have yellowed pretty significantly, and the blue faded. So I'll be using aftermarket decals for the kit.

Tamiya kits have a well deserved reputation for going together fairly well and have a fair amount of detail. I also like the fact that it's one color, which will help me to focus on developing a consistent painting technique. Plus as an F1 lover, it's a subject that I thoroughly enjoy.

The bodywork is fairly straightforward. I glued the radiator ducting to the main body. 

This is one of those moments where it's ok to add more styrene cement than necessary. As you can see in the pictures below, when you press the pieces together, the excess cement will flow out of the joint. The cement will cause the styrene to "melt", welding the two pieces together, and voila, you've just filled the seam.

While waiting for the glue to dry on the ducts, I went and decided to tackle the rear wing. Since the entire rear wing assembly is one color, I decided it would be best to assemble it, and then paint it as one piece along with everything else. My biggest concern was assembling it in such a way that would allow the entire assembly to be square. Below is the parts breakdown.

The first step was to put a strip of double sided scocth tape onto a 90 degree angle plate. Then attach an end plate to the scotch tape

Then I took the upper elements, and glued it to the endplate, using a smaller machinist square to ensure it sits at 90 degrees to the endplate.

Next, I glued the main element to the endplate, placing the machinist square upright, but still using it to make sure all is squared up. A second square is used to support the main element while the glue dries.

Then glue the other endplate to the assembly. The mounting tabs and slots have a certain amount of play, so I used a machinist square across the top of the assembly to ensure everything is squared up.

A couple of views of the completed rear wing.

By this time, the glue on the radiator outlets had dried, and I sanded it down along with the rest of the body. I sanded it using 3M Fine Sanding sponge in preparation for the first coats of primer. I mocked up the rear wing with the body to give me an idea of how it will look and make sure it will sit correctly when fully assembled.

That's it for now. For next week, I hope to have it in primer and initial wet sanded. As always, any comments or suggestions is appreciated. Thanks!