Scale 1/20 Kit Manufacturer Tamiya Grade-up Parts Studio 27 Acu-Stion Thunder Valley F1 Year 1987 Driver Ayrton Senna (Brazil) Event 1987 Detroit GP

1/20 Tamiya Lotus 99t - 1987 Detroit (US) GP

The 99T was the Lotus entry into the 1987 Formula 1 season. The drivers that season were Satoru Nakajima and the late Ayrton Senna running the number 11 & 12 cars respectively. It used the active computerised suspension system which compensated for track conditions, speed, steering and even weight changes caused by the ever-decreasing fuel load carried by the car. The car won at Monaco and Detroit and showed the way for Formula One to evolve in the next few years.

The dimensions of the 99T dwarfed those of the Williams FW11B which also competed that year. As well as the poorer drag factor of the bigger body the active suspension proved very definitely to be a double edged sword. It's hydraulic pump, driven off the back of one of the camshafts, used a chunk of power from the Honda engine. And there was a weight penalty of around 12 kilos. In effect the Lotus Honda needed more power and therefore more fuel to match the straight-line speeds of the of the Williams Honda. With fuel restricted to 180 litres, Senna often had to think economy, which was not his natural way in a race car.
Ayrton eventually took third in the drivers championship, Nelson Piquet took the title with Williams.

I will de building the Ayrton Senna car (No.12) raced at the Detroit Grand Prix of 1987. This differs slightly from the Tamiya kit in several areas and I will be using the Studio 27 transkit in order to correct these differences. The majority of the upgrades to the kit will be made using the Thunder Valley F1 detail set, this is an exceptionally detailed set and a snip at the price too. For more info see it on the TVF1 site [here]

Reference Material used - 1/20 Lotus 99T

Grand Prix Fascination Formula 1 by Reinhard Klein	F1 in Camera 1980 - 1989	F1 Modeling Iss.5 (pages 20-21)	F1 Modeling Ayrton Senna Giga Special (pages 88 -91)

Details added:

• Replaced plastic parts/decals with photo-etch / white metal as follows;
  Radiators
  Gear Lever
  Exhaust System
  Turbo Units
  Air Intakes
  Roll Over bar
  Rear Wing Centre Elements
  Front & Rear Wing End Plates
  Wheels Nuts
  Rear Wing Mounts
• Added photo-etch / White Metal & decals as follows;
  Radiator Grills
  Exhaust Support Brackets
  Floor to Engine Block Brackets
  Floor pan Heat Protection
  Tyre Valves
  Wheel Balancing items
  Electric Cut off Switch
  Front Monocoque Catch
  All monocoque rivets
  Front antenna
• Scratch built add ons;
  Antenna (front and centre)
  Brake Cylinder Reservoirs
  Numerous details to engine
  Leads from rear of dashboard
  Eletrical cabling on sidepods and on top of monocoque
  Brake Cables
  Active Suspension units
  Rear suspension springs
  
  All in all a very enjoyable build, there were no overly difficult areas although getting the holes in the shell in the correct place to fit the air intakes took some time to get right. The Thunder Valley F1 detail kit for the model is again outstanding and really allows the builder to take the kit to 'another level', I would also recommended the Studio 27 Detroit/Monaco transkit kit too.

Completed pics