Ligier JS 41 English

During the 1995 Season, the Benetton B195 Renault and the Ligier JS41 models had a very similar design. Therefore, it is possible to build a Ligier from a Benetton.

It is obvious that all graphic material, like decals, are one of the first things that all modelers take into account before starting any job … what if I don't have the decals later?. That is completely true, it is useless to get the shapes if we don't have the logos and all those details which make modern F1 cars attractive. Some modelers are able to produce their own decal sheets (they are really fortunate) but this is not the most common case.

Fortunately, F1 Specialties developed conversion decals to make this job easier; the # J20.

These decals include all that is necessary for the conversion, as regards the external aspect of the car.

The conversion

The items used for the construction of this model are:

Academy Kit #1564 Benetton B195 Renault
Conversion decals #J20 from F1 specialties
Perfect Parts BBs golden wheels #GS02

Modifications

In order to make this conversion, there are some modifications to be made:

The Benetton model has a small bulge on its nose, that needs to be removed.
The front aileron side deflectors must be modified to make them smaller since those from Benetton are bigger.

The Ligier was powered by the Honda Mugen engine, while Benetton was powered by a Renault engine. Since I did not have the Honda engine available, I decided to build a model with the engine cover closed and glued.
I used the parts of the rear suspension that have been discarded (since they were not visible with the engine cover closed) to build in scratch the front suspension, which is not supplied by the kit.

Those who wish to build the Australia '95 version, can do this by modifying the front and rear ailerons.

This is really an excellent kit, the fits are perfect and the plastic material will give you no hard times when the time comes for gluing and painting. Therefore, once all modifications were done I completed the construction process without any problems or surprises.

The painting job (I used 31 Bright Blue from Molak), as well as the application of decals, is really a simple task thanks to the one-color scheme and the high quality of the F1 Specialties decals, which are very thin, have minimal carrier film and settle down very well on any surface.

In order to obtain a more realistic effect I used carbon fiber decals on the inner part of the ailerons and on the suspension arms. Here I had to use decal set in order to make them settle down on the surface properly.

The axle of the wheel supplied by PP has a slightly bigger diameter than the one of the model. Therefore, I had to widen the brake holes in order to be able to insert the wheels properly.

The "task" of building this model was really exciting and fun. Once finished, the model looks great and according to the reference pictures I have. I will be pleased to answer your questions about this interesting conversion.

For those of you who are not acquainted with this Academy kit, I can say that the quality and philosophy of construction is similar to that of a Tamiya kit. In fact, the tires look better than the ones supplied by Tamiya for some of its 1/20 kits. If you take into account that there are few plastic models in this scale, specially "rare" subjects, you will find that this kit (Academy 1995 Benetton B195 M. Schumacher / J. Herbert) and the conversion decals from F1 Specialties are really a pleasure for modelers.

Conversion of the Academy #1564 into the "Bridgestone Test Car" (Ligier JS41). You will have to paint the engine cover completely red. The decal sheets include the red, black and silver strips to detail the model. The decals include the versions for Damon Hill and Aguri Suzuki. Like in the case of the model discussed in this article, the front aileron can be built in scratch for a more realistic effect. #B41