1:20 Leyton House CG901B - Grade Up Parts (for Tamiya Kits)

Leyton House CG901B 1:20 — a Studio27 photo-etched set (for Tamiya kits)

This is a set of photo-etched metal parts from the Japanese Studio27 in 1:20 scale, developed to improve the Leyton House CG901B kit from Tamiya. It is not a kit: the package does not hold a model of the car, and you have to have it or obtain it separately. The set is there so that details appear on the finished model that injection-molded plastic simply cannot manage.

The real subject

The Leyton House is one of those cars that won nothing big and that everyone nevertheless recognizes. First because of the light blue, almost turquoise livery — in a sea of red, white and black cars it was the most conspicuous color on the grid. Second because of its designer: the car was drawn by Adrian Newey, then still at the beginning of his career. It was one of his first Formula 1 cars, long before he became the most successful designer in the history of the sport. During the 1990 season he left the team and headed for Williams.

And then there is the story. At the Mexican Grand Prix of 1990 neither of the Leyton House cars qualified for the race. At the very next event, in France at the Paul Ricard circuit, both cars led for a long part of the race in first and second place. Ivan Capelli held first place until the closing laps and finally finished second behind the winning Alain Prost; his teammate Maurício Gugelmin did not reach the finish. It was the only podium in the history of the Leyton House team and one of the most bizarre turnarounds Formula 1 has ever seen. For a collector this car is an insider's piece — whoever has it in the cabinet knows why.

What photo-etched parts add and how to work with them

Plastic cannot do a truly thin edge or a real grille — a molded grille is only a suggested engraving. Photo-etched sheet is as thin as sheet metal in scale, and on a Formula 1 car that holds doubly, because the car is completely exposed and you see every wire and every buckle on it. Let us be honest, though: the parts have to be bent accurately (ideally with an etch bender), they are glued with cyanoacrylate glue, and often the original plastic detail has to be sanded away, which is irreversible. It is work for more experienced modelers — tweezers, a magnifier, a sharp scalpel and a calm hand.

Who the set is for

• Owners of the Leyton House CG901B kit from Tamiya who want the maximum of detail.
• Collectors of Formula 1 at the turn of the eighties and nineties.
• Fans of Adrian Newey who want one of his early cars in the cabinet.
• More experienced modelers with experience of photo-etched parts and cyanoacrylate glue.

This is an additional set of parts, not a model. The basic kit, the glue, the paints and the tools are not included in the package, unless stated otherwise.