Simply Abu Dhabi III

THE MODELS HOW THEY ARE MADE To start with a pattern is made for every component of the model, using a wide range of traditional engineering and pattern making skills along with leading-edge techniques such as laser cutting and CNC machining. Epoxy pattern board, sometimes known as chemical wood, is used for the large components and we use cast acrylic or brass for the smaller items. The patterns are used to make ‘soft’ tooling from clear silicon rubber, into which the prototyping quality resin is poured to cast the components. These moulds faithfully reproduce even the most complex details and textures, providing outstanding levels of accuracy in the casts. For the suspension and some of the other smaller components, patterns are used to create a vulcanised rubber mould into which molten white metal (pewter) is poured under centrifugal force. The white metal components are carefully fettled and polished, or if they are to be painted, the resin parts are joined and prepared for painting with the authentic manufacturer specified paints. The model components are given several coats of primer, followed by a colour base coat and several coats of lacquer. Lastly, each model is cut and polished to achieve a beautifully fine finish. 133 SIMPLY ABU DHABI The manufacturer’s artwork is used to produce screen- printed decals to ensure absolute authenticity and compliance with the original logotypes. The tyres are modelled to the exact tyre type used by the original race cars and are cast in rubber. Finally, a team of three to six model makers precisely assemble the cars, each model taking around 250 hours to complete. At the core of the company is a highly skilled team of model makers. The team take around three months of painstaking research and development to create the master patterns for one of our 1/8th scale cars. It is all about attention to detail.