1:18 Mercedes F1 W05 cardboard model

[kosioBG]

Hello everyone!

This year, I abandoned my tradition of waiting for Alonso’s car and made the decision to
build another 2014 model.
After reading your comments, I made yet another decision: to enlarge the scale from 1:26
to 1:18, which means the car will now be about 30 cm long (more precise measurements to
follow). I also introduced huge changes to my technique, looking at Paul’s deigns. So here we
go: another “journey” begins, the construction of Lewis Hamilton’s championship winning
Mercedes F1 W05. I hope you’ll join me and follow the process, commenting and sharing
your views along the way.

The monocoque

As usual, the first component to be built is the monocoque. As I said, the technique I use has
changed significantly. It is now closer to the structure of a real car. Another improvement is
the headrest, which will now be removable. This allows for a realistic, wide cockpit entrance.
Also, there are cutouts for the electric battery and oil tank.
Here are the first few pieces of the car:




This should be the fuel tank, however I didn’t build it. The structure forms the rear wall,
where the seat will sit



The inner side of the monocoque. You can see the steering column, the carbon fibre texture.
At the back, but hardly visible, are the supports for the nose. The K314 was my first car with
a removable nosecone, but it was a bit wobbly, so now I added supports.



The cockpit entry with CF texturing. Also, you can see the slots for the mirrors.



Here’s the lower half of the chassis, with the pedals. Sadly, there was very few info/pics on this
area, so it's not very detailed.



The two halves were bonded together. Next I covered it with a grey sheet.



Here, I covered the headrest with grey. It was a very complex piece of card. Also note the inner side
of the unconventional, bodied sidepods.



The airbox with its “ears” and supports was OK, but I had to rebuild it, because it was too
short. It will be different in the following pics.



The mirrors. Not much to say, but I tried to make them smoother than last time.



Here’s the airbox area, painted in dark grey. I also glued two black holders for the sidepod
panels.



I’m quite happy with the turning vanes.



And a couple of photographs of the completed monocoque. Sadly, the grey of the printed decals doesn't completely match the grey cardboard underneath. Also, the varnish isn't perfect. But apart from that, it's not a bad start.







That's it for now! Be sure to stick around for more! Next step floor

Thanks for watching
Cheers!

[Alonso Fan]

All I can say is WOW!

Looking forward to the rest

Keep it up!

[kosioBG]

Hi guys,
it's time for my second construction report.

The floor

This time I wanted to build a very detailed floor. Thankfully, I found golden photographs (of the undrbody and nothing else) and that helped immensely. The main structure consists of 6 layers of cardboard (not visible on the pics). It was then covered by a puzzle of thin black paper. Then, I added the details. The completed floor consists of about 70 pieces, which is a total record. I have to say, I'm proud with the outcome.

This is the initial template i drew. Also I bought a new metal ruler


Bending the diffuser:



I skipped a couple of steps, here's the completed floor from underneath, with the varnish missing.



The barge board and the front end. Sorry for the bad quality of the photo. I wasn't too sure how exactly to build this area, as there were different speced barge boards and I wasn't sure which is from when. I think that my floor is a combination which doesn't actually exist because the slot in the middle of the diffuser is old, and the split in three barge boards are newer. Nevermind


This little detail from the back, just above the gurney flap, caused some trouble. You can see how tiny it is, especially the two flaps between the "endplates"


The little devils went to their final positions, thus completing the rear end.


Here you go. A floor was born.


And after varnishing, it got even more beautiful. I love it! If you're wondering why it's dry in the middle - that's where the monocoque will be glued. I decided to leave it that way.



just look at it



That's it for now, the monocoque will soon get married to this nice floor. After that, it will get interesting, as I'll start, for the first time ever, the powertrain [-o< hope it goes well

Cheers

[Rhodium]

impressive !

[Alonso Fan]

Looking good

I hope they live happily ever after

[turbof1]

If you need some help figuring out the front wing, just give me a pm.

Anyway, looks very nice indeed!

[NewtonMeter]

Very impressive! Good luck and please keep us posted. =D>

[kosioBG]

Very impressive! Good luck and please keep us posted. =D>

Looking good

impressive !

Thanks for the kind words

If you need some help figuring out the front wing, just give me a pm.
Anyway, looks very nice indeed!

Some help is always welcome! I'll pm you when the time comes

[kosioBG]

Powertrain, part 1

As I said in the last post, constructing a powertrain is something entirely new. I was very excited. The level of detail is not too high, but on the whole I'm satisfied. The main reason it took me so long to manufacture relatively simple parts was the lack of info on the components. Take the MGU units as an example. No images on the internet at all. Big thanks though to everyone who posted very helpful pics and drawings here on F1T and to Scarbs.

I started with the radiators as I decided they're the most straightforaward bit.


Next came the engine. After some consideration on the shape, here is the basic block.


Adding detail was quite enjoyable.



And then I needed a week to build the other components: the battery, MGUs, oil tank (which Merceds decided to design in an awkward shape, just for fun) turbos, pipes and exhausts, engine manifold and airbox. Most of the time I spent on them went for looking at images and drawing. Also, I had to rebuild components on several occasions.
DIY powertrain:


A preview before assembling:


I glued the monocoque to the floor and started installing each component in place. Halfway through:


And the result, with some pipes to/from the radiators missing. And, of course, the gearbox, which will come next.


The car after exactly 1 month and about 320 pieces (it's starting to get heavy) looks like this:



Stay posted
Cheers

[kosioBG]

Powertrain, part 2

This report will cover the completion of the powertrain. Actually, since my last post, I only had the gearbox, rear crash structure and exhaust left.

I started with the gearbox. The basic shape is pretty simple, however it has to fit very well. Note the cutouts for the exhaust and the slots for the rear wing beams. There is also an undercut which isn't visible here.


Adding the details was pleasant work. You can see the pickup points (and some more setails) for the suspension + the exhaust supports and heat shielding.


And that's the curve I mentioned earlier.


The rear crash structure: two endplates, three ribs inbetween + the lower and top wall. And at the back, there's an additional curved extension facing downwards


And here's everything assemled. I also added the pipes from the radiators to the turbine compressor and the engine manifold, even though I'm not at all sure what their true layout is.



Here's a beautiful photo of the free space under the gearbox.


And the current car status. The powertrain consist of 170 pieces; only the rear light is missing, but I'll add it as soon as I print the next set of decals.


That's it for now, next step is the suspension, but it will be probably a bit late as I'll be out of town for a few days.
Cheers

[kosioBG]

Suspension

After completing the powertrain, I started with the next component of the car - the suspension. Quite some time has passed since my last report - I was away for 5 days, and the completion of this step took 10 more. The wishbones (and pull- and pushrods), brake ducts and brakes consist of 181 pieces. My technique developed mostly in the area of the brakes, however some improvements have been made also in the wishbone manufacturing.

Of course, the first steps were to design and draw the wishbones


and to fold cardboard tubes in 5 different diameteres as a base.


I then assembled the wishbones. A few words on the development here: firstly, a metal wire now runs (almost) the whole length of the tubes for support, whereas earlier, it was glued only to the ends for connection purposes.
And also, the tubes are covered with thin black paper, ensuring a very smooth surface. (before and after pic below, you can see the clothing on the right)


Attaching and varnishing the wishbones. Not much to say, but I used Moment express fix for this step, as I did on previous cars, with the difference that I tinted the glue itself black.


Next came the brake ducts (and the pushrods+ steering rod and pullrod at the back). I tried to be as precise as possible, even though photographs of the rear ones were hard to find.




After securing them in place, I covered the area with the simplified uprights. I decided not to build the details such as electronics etc. in that area, as it would have disappeared under the brake covers anyway.


The most significant improvement were definitely the brakes. You can see the brake disc, now with vertical holes too (sadly, they're not visible any more), the calipers and the axles (especially the rear with its colourful nuts).



And finally, the brake covers. A cardboard tube, this time with tapered edges and covered with carbon. Also, note the cooling duct at the front.




And the current state of the car.



That's it for now, stay tuned and enjoy the start of the season
Cheers!

[Alonso Fan]

Nice work.

How are you planning to fix the bodywork on afterwards? I read that Paul is working on a fastening mechanism for his lotus

[kosioBG]

How are you planning to fix the bodywork on afterwards? I read that Paul is working on a fastening mechanism for his lotus

I'm not 100% sure yet, but:
1) mercedes' sidepods are different from paul's lotus, the extend all the way to the front
2) the front edge will fit in a slot just next to the side impact structure
3) next to the "E" sign, there's a black support piece with a hole, it will hold
4) i might need to glue some more fasteners

and 5) let's hope everything goes to plan

[kosioBG]

Bodywork

In this short report I'll cover the bodywork build. Now I want to emphasise that having to end up with removable panels that fit well was entirely new to me. One week ago I had almsot no idea how I'd approach it, but I'm pretty happy with the outcome. The sidepods and engine cover fit reasonably well, stay in place even when the car is tilted and look nice too.

The building process was both simple and complex - here's why.
Starting with the sidepods: I built them from two sections. The front one extends from the leading edge towards the "E" sign, the second one covers the area from the end of the airbox cover to the rear suspension. I chose older speced sidepods, as the new ones feature a carbon fibre extension reaching almost the rear wheel centreline, which would be impossible to fit. Essentially, I cut several different templates until I reached the desired shape, then covered the final one with appropriately coloured smaller card pieces. Same applies to the engine cover.


A decision I had to make was where to attach the vertical aerodynamic elements rising from the barge boards. Glueing them to the floor would have been both less precise and more eposed to damage. So I glued them to the sidepods. There was a slight alignment problem, but I guess this is inevitable. Then I applied the decals and varnished, as usual, with two layers of different varnishes.


That was pretty much it. Here are three photos - of the undercut, the overall fit and the car's current state.




That's it for now, stay tuned!

Vote for the compound of tires I should fit! Available are Supersoft, Soft and Medium

Cheers

[kosioBG]

Rear wing, front wing and nosecone

So guys, Here is one of the last reports. I took some more time off and that's why it two weeks have passed since my last post. But to be honest, when the construction phase lasts months, it's necessary to take a break every now and again. Enough blattering though

I started with the rear wing, because it's simpler. New are the curved endplates, but apart from that, my technique here hasn't changed too much. As I said though, the endplate structure is more complex. You can't see that in the photographs, but they consist of three differently shaped layers. Also, the DRS flap is more detailed than last time. Here are all the components:


And assembled:


The stays and the monkey seat. I chose a simple one, as a larger spec, such as the ones used in the second half of the season would have taken too much space and got ugly.


And the mounted rear wing.


Moving on to the front wing now, and some serious development has taken place here. Starting with the main plane, it now features a wing profile, carbon texture which overlaps the profiles and more precise ends.


The endplates are also more precise (but they are too high - a mistake I realised I'd made too late ) The two last flaps are ok, even though achieving their complex curvature, as pointed out to me by turof1, was no easy task. And I couldn't completely imitate the wing connectors.


The cascades and the little vertical element, in contrast, turned out very well.


Here's the completed front wing, and I'd like to thank turbof1 for his help




Next step was the nosecone. It was both a huge success and a disappointment. A success, because with the help of multiple layers and pieces I achieved an almost perfect shape. A disappointment is the fact that it's a shade too long and too high, which means that the front wing doesn't sit where it should.
Here's how the shape was created:


Skipping a few steps, the completed nose and fw. The TV cameras turned out nicely. On the whole, I'm pleased.



The metal poles are much stiffer than last time and as a result the nosecone sits very firmly.


And the car's current status, after approximately 820 pieces.


Stay tuned, we're almost there
Cheers!