F1 Brabham BT46 Alfa Romeo

Model, text and photos
by Anthony Calderisi

I would never have thought to dislpay this model on GPMA, but Kevin's desperate cries for entries behooved me to display this Brabham BT46. I built this Tamiya kit when I was around 15 years old. I bought it after a friend convinced me it had the most detailed engine of all of tamiya's F1 kits. I bought his story and the model and away I went.

I guess this model marked a new era in model building for me. First of all I spray painted the body successfully. Translation: No drips or sags, or orange peel. And I was building more 'clean' no glue marks in difficult areas.

This kit is from a time long before I had ever heard of things like 'Resin' or 'aftermarket', 'photo etch' and 'sanding back'. Those things would come much, much later.

This is showing the effects of time, and my mother who insisted on dusting my models when I was a kid. Cracked decals, rearview mirrors that have been reglued numerous times, and metal bits holding up the suspension are all tell tale signs, but this personal piece of my modeling history is still in my display cabinet, casualties and all.