Pocher 1/8 Aventador

[Gobs of Espresso]

I too am one of those who read the "blurbs". I am interested in how you got to where you are and it explains a lot on the pics posted. Just don't quiz me on anything. I have a memory the size of a peanut.

I do hope that someone from Pocher is reading your build and taking notes on how to improve the kit even better specially the display aspects of it.

[roymattblack]

But to a point, I agree. In my own Rolls thread, many view, some give flattering comments but few offer advice / criticism. I like dialog. I post tips and methods throughout my work.

I thought the whole of the UK went on holiday during my thread.................

Know what you mean. Maybe Summer is a holiday time for us all - I too was away for nigh on 4 weeks with only the occasional view here when there was free wi-fi from the hotels etc.

Good idea about the magnets though - I have a small bundle of them clinging like limpets to the radiator next to my bench.

The main problem is getting past all the chassis bits etc that fit 'inside' the bodywork though.

Much of the rear body wraps around inner frames and so on.

I need to work out a way of separating the main body at the back into 'bits fixed to the car' and 'bits that are easily lifted off' without affecting the integrity of the whole.....

Ideally, one big lift-offable bit, if you get my drift.

Roy.

[Codger]

Yes your idea to make all the work 'displayable' is worth examining. Beyond technically accomplishing it though is the danger of harming the factory paint finish.

Are you prepared to re-do if necessary?

That's a big task in my (limited) view Roy...

[Rocketcrazee]

Hi Roy

I also enjoy reading the blurb and the mods you are adding to this beast

"A picture may say a thousand words" but it is not telling the whole story

I now have this kit in the stash just waiting for me too pluck up the courage and give it my best shot,although it will never be to your standards

Phil

[roymattblack]

OK.....

A bit more waffle to go with the above pictures:

The rear end is comprised a large wrap-around HEAVY die-cast piece and numerous plastic body panels that screw to the big bit.
The engine cover is also metal and is fixed with superb little metal cantilever hinges that screw in place - flippin' fiddly to fit too!

There are small hydraulic 'pistons' that have to assembled that hold the lid open and actually exert pressure when you try to close the lid too quickly.

The rear spoiler also fits with cantilever hinges so it works prototypically.

Rear screen is 3 separate window panels and an internal sound proofing panel surround.

All very accurate.

The tail end screws in place after assembling the complex rear light clusters that had to have the triple 'Y' pattern lenses outlined in black as per the real car.

Fiddly, but worth the effort.

The lights have 'proper' internal metal reflectors, multiple coloured lenses and a clear outer glass cover.

All fitted into a black housing which then fits into the body.

All of the vents are fitted with etched meshes that have to be folded and bent to fit but look really nice when in place.

Once the rear end is assembled, it has to be 'wiggled' into place around some metal parts on the engine frame, and under the rear end of the roof.

Side panels behind the doors are screwed to the upper rear deck, and then to the sides of the cockpit.

This is the area I'm trying to 're-design' so my rear end is easily removable.....

The front of the car is being looked at presently and I have to say that fitting the 14 MINISCULE LED running lights in the front lamp housings was fun!!!

Roy.

[noeyedears]

I, too, read the squiggly bits between the pics :-P. threads like this are where i get tips from ! The eye candy is always welcome too ;-)

[Rocketcrazee]

The front of the car is being looked at presently and I have to say that fitting the 14 MINISCULE LED running lights in the front lamp housings was fun!!!

Roy.

Ok this sounds interesting look forward too reading the write up and seeing the pictures

Phil

[roymattblack]

The front end is just about sorted as it's a fairly simple assembly - only about 60 parts................

Fitting the 14 tiny marker lights - 7 per side - into the lamp housing was a challenge as they each have tiny vertical lines etched in the faces so they all need to be fitted carefully so the lines match up and none of them look 'wonky'.

Fitting the front lid (bonnet/hood) needed three hands - to hold the superb tiny cantilever hinges, hold the lid in place, locate the piston support and hold a screwdriver...... A wee bit of cursing here...

Nice detail decals inside the lid.

Etched grilles were fitted to the shrouds, then fixed in place.

The light units were painted, foiled, assembled and fitted and that was just about the front end - except in typical Pocher fashion, they have included a beautiful real-carpeted luggage trunk that fits inside the front end.

The trouble is, it screws in place from beneath, totally hiding all the inner front end detail !!!!! GGGRRRR....

After some careful hacking off of the locating tabs, trimming the edge lip of the 'box' and thinning down of the real rubber gasket, the luggage box now drops in from above as it should, and is easily removed to see the inner bits at the front.

Doors next.......

The hinges are real soft-sprung ones that let the doors open unaided, nice and slowly. These were screwed in place.

Inner panels were masked and painted to match the rest of my interior.

More to go.....

Roy.

Edited September 2, 2014 by roymattblack

[Codger]

Great work. I think now from what you say that the spendy cost of the kit may be due to the engineering that went into those perfectly-working hinges.

Sure the normal Pocher lapses still exist but you're besting every one of them.

If you refit the rear for display-ability, does touch up paint seem necessary?

[roymattblack]

I don't think there will be any paint touch up needed except on parts of the black rear engine frame.

Several body locating tabs have to be sawn off and filed smooth.

They aren't prototypical anyway, so the finished result should look better than kit-spec.

Also, the rear inner-lower oil coolers - one each side - need the intake shroud mountings removing meaning the coolers need fixing in some other way.

I'm working on that one.....

Fortunately all the other bits that need cutting off or trimming are hidden from view.

Roy.

[roymattblack]

POCHER 1/8 LAMBORGHINI AVENTADOR

Making the rear end removable

The Pocher Lamborghini Aventador is a superb model that is only really let down by a few things.

There could have been a lot more engine/transmission detail included in the kit, but this is easily remedied by the determined modeller.
However, no matter how much more detail you add, 90% of it will be forever hidden by the all-enveloping rear end.

OK, the engine cover opens but that still only shows a fragment of the goodies hidden beneath.
If the kit is built ‘out of the box’, then the vast majority of the engine, transmission and rear suspension hardly even needs fitting. It is impossible to see, so why bother?

The logical alternative is to make the entire rear of the car from the doors back, easily removable.

Not as difficult as it might at first seem.
Fortunately the Aventador kit is built in stages and the rear body is one of them.

The instructions tell us to build up the whole rear section and then screw it forever to the main car assembly.

Why?

With a bit of forethought and careful (and simple) modifications the rear end can be dropped into place and easily lifted off to show the wonders beneath.

Here’s how…..

First:

Build up the whole rear end as per the instructions.
The rear is a large and hefty assembly that easily supports its own weight without distorting. This is a major plus.

Next:
Fix the side body panels to the rear of the door openings, but do NOT fix them to the upper rear body as per the instructions at any time.

Cut off the upper rear body mounting points from the upper back end of the chassis frame.

These interfere with the cooling ducts mounted inside the rear lower body on each side.

Trim the cooling ducts to a shorter, less ‘flared’ shape at the inner ends.
This will help clearing the chassis frame later on.

The front upper air intakes need trimming shorter.
This is one aspect that will look ‘different’ to the real car but with care, the trimmed off parts can be fixed to the upper underside of the roof behind the doors so the result is hardly noticeable.

Omit the etched mesh grille from the inside ends of the aforementioned vents.
These interfere with the fitting of the rear body and are not visible anyway.

Trim off the tiny ‘lip’ from the upper front edge of the vent panels on each side of the rear body.
These lips are meant to tuck under the roof but are completely irrelevant and only cause fouling issues with the rear body.

If all the above is followed, the entire rear body will now drop into place over the engine.

First, lower the front end into place, under the roof.
Keep the rear end as low as possible whilst doing this.
Once the front end of the rear section is in place, the back end just drops down over the rear of the car.

Done.

Now, in a matter of seconds, you can just lift the whole back end of the car off to show your admiring audience the superb engine and rear mechanicals of the car.
A few seconds later, and you have put it back.

Roy.

Edited September 2, 2014 by roymattblack

[Codger]

Brilliant work Roy and a great service to all Lambo builders.

[noeyedears]

Well done for sorting that out. Just shows with a bit of thought everything can be improved.

[roymattblack]

Just a test....

Can anyone see the picture posted below?

PB seems to be not working for me.

All I see is either a grey box, or a little picture icon.

Roy.

[noeyedears]

nope

just a broken link icon

[roymattblack]

Looks like PB is working again........

Roy.

[Codger]

I got it.

[roymattblack]

Righty ho....

The doors are assembled and fitted - a real mission as the hinges are soft-sprung so the doors open slowly by themselves when you want them to.

A case of three hands to get the doors in place and the screws fitted.

Next was fitting the nose - another three hands job but once again, top marks to Pocher for the exemplary fit of the panels.

After that it was a case of upending the car without damaging anything - at around 6 kilos so far, not a simple job.

The brakes were assembled and I gave the discs a dusting of cream paint followed by smoke as pics of the real car discs show them to be more off-white than silver.

After that the wheels were fitted.

Looking nice so far.

Next, the inner wheel arches were trimmed as from the box, they foul the floor panel at one end and don't sit properly.
A bit of Dremel work sorted that one.

Back up the right way, and it was a case of test the rear body now that the rear arches are in and the doors in place.......

Perfect, easy drop-on fit.

This is how Pocher SHOULD have made it in the first place.

One thing that was bugging me was that the rear tailgate sat a fraction high just behind the roof.

No amount of tweaking and fiddling seemed to fix it.

Close inspection was needed so the rear body was almost entirely disassembled.

The culprit?

I had used the wrong screws to fix the tailgate gas struts in place.

I had used round heads when they should have been countersunk.

The fractional dome of the screw heads was enough to stop the tailgate from fully closing.

New screws, back together, and it all fits!!!

Although the car is now looking fairly complete, there are still a LOT of parts in the box and quite a bit to do.

Roy.

Edited September 4, 2014 by roymattblack

[Codger]

Roy,

What protection are you using on the windscreen and does it really prevent scratches?

Looks like Friskit paper..

[roymattblack]

The glazed panels have a thick kind of 'cling film' on them as supplied.

It peels off cleanly but I've left the windscreen mostly covered whilst I still need to upend the car......

Roy.

[roymattblack]

All done.........

Roy.

[Codger]

All done.........

Roy.

Huh?? Why don't I see it in the 'Inspection' section???????????

[noeyedears]

nor do I??!!

[roymattblack]

....nor do I.......

[Codger]

....nor do I.......

Roy,

I understand and largely agree with your point.

But not to see your project in its entirety, with a simple background, would be a shame for we builders and admirers of large scale and your craftsmanship in particular. I, for one, 'go to school' on your stuff.

Uploading just 5 or 6 more photos should not be onerous after all your obvious effort of the build.

I hope also you still plan to WIP your Alfa and Sedanca too; I can't get enough of those classics.

Please??