Fujimi Brabham BT46B 1/20
This is my first try building a Formula 1 car. I choose the famous ‘Fan car' that was used by Brabham with drivers Niki Lauda and John Watson at the Swedish GP in 1978 (just a few months before I was born). Lauda won this race.
The ‘Fan car' was introduced in Sweden as a counter to the dominant ground effect Lotus 79. The BT46B generated an immense amount of downforce utilizing a fan, claimed to be for increased cooling, but which also extracted air from beneath the car. The "fan car" concept was withdrawn by Brabham after one race even though the FIA had ruled it could be used for the remainder of that season.
This build was really different from the armour I'm used to build. It required very precise work, especially the spraying of the bodywork and the neat placement of the decals. In that respect I am very satisfied. Point of attention for next time: the engine and the gearbox have to be placed very precisely in the holes of the bodywork, otherwise everything will not fit in the end. I solved this ‘problem' by making some drastic changes to the ‘fan' section, which aren't visible after installing the rear panel and fan anyway. But next time, when I don't have the fan I have to work this out better.
Excellent result, Harm, your modifications are invisible, worthy of Gordon Murray himself. I hope this is the first of many F1 cars from you.
I have a few nice ones in my stash @chinesegeorge. I really loved building it!
What a wonderful build, Harm @hptiggelaar
The beautiful result of this first try on an F1 car does indicate that you definitely should go for more of those builds as said by @chinesegeorge.
Thank you John @johnb. I sure will!
Nicely done first F1 Harm @hptiggelaar F1 kits can be a bit finicky.
Thank you Robert!
Nicely done Harm, I hope to see more !
I’m looking forward to it Alan! @kalamazoo
Excellent Brabham, Harm! One of my favorite f1 cars!
Keep them coming!
Thank you Spiros @fiveten. These cars really are a great new topic for me. 😊