Codger Posted November 2, 2014 Share Posted November 2, 2014 Blackie; that 1:1 photo is stunning. Thanks for sharing. The dusty / rusty patina is my cup of tea. I should dig mine out and renovate with that look. Maybe next year when I finish the Rolls. Do you have more such excellent photos or a link? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted November 2, 2014 Author Share Posted November 2, 2014 (edited) Thanks Black Night, unfortunately that's not an original Blower race car - the tank doesn't have the correct mountings and stone screens. Maybe a later repro or conversion, or possibly one of the road cars built to homologate it for racing. However, any pics are more than welcome as general fixtures and fittings may be figured out from similar models. I'm still trying to find details of the fuel line runs from the tank and the oil line runs from the firewall..... Here are a couple of originals: After another afternoon and two attempts, here's the final article: Perhaps some paint mixing tomorrow..... Ian Edited July 16, 2017 by limeypilot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted November 2, 2014 Author Share Posted November 2, 2014 Sorry, Black Night, I didn't word my reply very well. What I meant was that it didn't appear to be one of the 4 originally built for Birkin - I was assuming that they would all have the same type of tank mounts, with the upper brace, as evidenced by pics of both the No. 8 and No. 9 cars. I know full well that all were different and by no means profess to be an expert on the subject! The car I'm attempting to build is the No. 8 car, I believe now owned by Ralph Lauren? As to other pics, PLEASE post them! As I stated above, although each car is different I may be able to glean important info about systems from them - I'm still trying to figure out how the fuel and oil lines were routed and can't find any pics anywhere of the front of the engine with the water pump and fan assembly. I apologise once again for my badly worded reply, it was by no means meant to imply that you didn't know your subject, or that I was not grateful for you posting the pic! Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 (edited) Still no paint, but a little more progress on the sidescreens and the leaf springs... Â Ian Edited July 16, 2017 by limeypilot 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 This is clearly a real labour of love.....And it shows! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 Thanks Sarge! I fell in love with these cars when I was a kid, and volunteered as a Marshall for the Bentley Drivers' Club race meet at Silverstone for many years, so I'd like to get it as accurate as possible! Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Interesting build, always fancied one of these! Sounds like some posters need to take a chill pill! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caerbannog Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Very cool build. The Bentley Blower is an all time favorite of mine. Should I ever spot a bargain of the Airfix kit I am in trouble... Rene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianI Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 An interesting build! I have one of these kits in my stash (bought new for £27! a couple of months ago). Looking forward to starting mine once I get my Robby the Robot kit finished! Where did you get that wire mesh from Ian? I'm going to get some for when I start my build. Can't wait to see you progress with this build! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caerbannog Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 27GBP??? Brilliant! Concerning the colour I missed to take my fan decks when I saw one last time. Maybe the following paint from Zero comes close (but maybe it is a bit too vivid): http://shop.spotmodel.com/product_info.php?products_id=17058 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted November 7, 2014 Author Share Posted November 7, 2014 Thanks for the interest gents! Brian, the mesh is from The Mesh Company (Warrington) Ltd. They have have an almost infinite range - you can stipulate both the wire diameter and the aperture size. I've used #22 Mesh which is .22mm wire diameter and .94mm Aperture. It's very close - I counted the number of apertures along the top of the tank sides at 17 and this mesh gives 15 - more than close enough for me! I also got some #60 Mesh, which is .11mm wire and .32mm aperture for the windscreen, horn, and carb screens. It looks to be pretty good also, I'll find out for sure when I get that far! The total for the 2 A4 size sheets was GBP6.65, but the postage to the US was another GBP8.50! Still, well worth it in my view! There is another company in New Jersey that may be better for US builders, but they only stipulated sizes in Imperial and I didn't want to mess around with converting.... Caerbannog, that paint looks pretty good, thanks! I've already got the paints I plan to mix, but if I can't get what I want with that approach I'll give this one a try. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianI Posted November 8, 2014 Share Posted November 8, 2014 (edited) Thanks for the info Ian! Looks a meshtastic website http://www.themeshcompany.com/, not too expensive either! Edited November 8, 2014 by BrianI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted November 9, 2014 Author Share Posted November 9, 2014 (edited) oops! I forgot the link, thanks Brian! I decided today to start to tackle the most daunting part of this build - rewiring the wheels! I had already spent a good while thinking about how best to go about it, so this morning I bit the bullet and went for it. Before I did anything, I used the kit parts to make a jig to hold the hub central and at the correct height relative to the rim, and marked the rim and hub so that they would align correctly. My main problem was figuring out how to accurately drill the holes: should I make a stencil? If so, how? It would also have to be reuseable.... I decided in the end to use the kit parts as their own stencils.... I snipped off the spokes from the outer rim, leaving the stubs at the end, and used those as guides. I drilled each hole from the rim side, and at an angle, to allow for as straight a run as possible through the rim. Initially I only drilled part way through, then trimmed off the stubs and cleaned up the rim. After that I finished drilling through. The hub was marked and drilled, one hole just each side of the mark, and correctly staggered front to back. Then it was a relatively simple job to cut small lengths of .020" steel wire and thread it..."relatively" simple being the operative word..... Â I must say, I'm very happy with the results, and even more so that I got it at the first attempt! Now I know my method works, I'll take step-by-step pics of the next wheel as it's done and post them so that anyone contemplating spending a few days doing this can at least save themselves some of the hassle! Ian Edited July 16, 2017 by limeypilot 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianI Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 Nice bit of wheel lacing there Ian! I've built a couple of (push)bicycle wheels for my road bike in the past, that was tricky enough, so I think I'll stick to the kit wheels when I build my Bentley! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codger Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 Beautiful. These will 'make' the model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roymattblack Posted November 9, 2014 Share Posted November 9, 2014 Looks amazing!!! Will there be a second inner layer to the spokes from the rear of the hub, or is that wheel 'done'? Even if you leave it 'as-is' it's a vast improvement on the kit part. Roy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted November 10, 2014 Author Share Posted November 10, 2014 Roy, Airfix made these wheels in two halves, this is just the inside (closest to the chassis) of the wheel, the outside is still to be done. I may yet redo it....I think the spokes are too thick, so the next one will be built with .015" steel wire instead of .020". I'll then compare them both with pics of the real thing and decide which one looks more accurate - the other one will then be rebuilt the same.... (can we say "sucker for punishment?") Got to be done..... Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roymattblack Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 I frequently look at the wheels on my finished Bentley and think about redoing the wheels so I'll be watching your car with interest. Roy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codger Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Roy, Airfix made these wheels in two halves, this is just the inside (closest to the chassis) of the wheel, the outside is still to be done. I may yet redo it....I think the spokes are too thick, so the next one will be built with .015" steel wire instead of .020". I'll then compare them both with pics of the real thing and decide which one looks more accurate - the other one will then be rebuilt the same.... (can we say "sucker for punishment?") Got to be done..... Ian .015" will be perfect. I did wheels on a 1/16 Benz with .012" which was 'correct'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhaselden Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Hey Limeypilot, those wheels look fantastic! How much do I have to pay you to do the same thing for my Bentley? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianI Posted November 10, 2014 Share Posted November 10, 2014 Roy, Airfix made these wheels in two halves, this is just the inside (closest to the chassis) of the wheel, the outside is still to be done. I may yet redo it....I think the spokes are too thick, so the next one will be built with .015" steel wire instead of .020". I'll then compare them both with pics of the real thing and decide which one looks more accurate - the other one will then be rebuilt the same.... (can we say "sucker for punishment?") Got to be done..... Ian Indeed it does Ian! Think I'll put my bicycle wheel building skills to the test by rebuilding the wheels for the Bentley! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted November 11, 2014 Author Share Posted November 11, 2014 (edited) OK Gents, grab a beer and sit back...... MHASELDEN - hopefully this will negate the need to farm the job out - it's certainly time consuming, but surprisingly easy. I've never attempted anything like this before either! First, the jig -it's pretty basic. A piece of stiff plastic card stock (about 2mm) with a hole drilled to accept a length of 2mm (.080") rod. I placed the wheel on the rod and pushed it down so that the rim was on the card, then cut the back off the rod and glued it in place. This made sure that the hub was at the correct height relative to the rim. A few pieces of .010" card were added around the spindle to take up the slack and stop it wobbling as the hub was not flush with the card. With the wheel sat on the spindle I then glued 4 pieces of thick rod to the card, pushed up tight against the rim, to hold it in the correct place. Next step was to mark the rim and hub to ensure correct alignment. (I brushed some white paint on first to make it easier to see the marks). The first mark is any one of the pairs of spokes where they meet the hub (the larger hub mark in the pic). Next, mark the rim opposite this mark, on both sides of the hub, to ensure correct alignment (notice that the rim marks are between the spokes). Then mark the outer ends of the two spokes that start at your hub marking - one I marked "top" and one "bottom". These two marks should be the third spoke either side of your rim datum mark. You're now ready to cut the moulded spokes out, but make sure you leave the nipples at the rim - these will be your "stencil" for drilling the holes! Here's one I prepared earlier..... (sorry, I've been waiting years to say that - "Blue Peter" fans will understand)) I am going to use .015" (.38mm) wire, so I used a .018" drill bit to drill the holes for the spokes. Drill from the rim side (the back) and make sure you don't drill perpendicular to the rim - for the top (inner) row the bit should point clockwise, for the back row, anti-clockwise. This will ensure that the spokes slide in easily and don't bow, which they will if the holes are perpendicular to the rim. I didn't drill all the way through at this point, and here's why: Once you've drilled all the holes (make sure they are deeper than the nipples on the rim!) you need to remove the nipples and clean up the rim. There is a nasty mould line there that also needs to be removed. Â This will of course fill up the holes you just drilled, so now you can go ahead and finish drilling through. You're now about 2 1/2 hours in.... time to drill the hub: If you're looking at the edge of the hub ready to drill, the top row should be slightly to the right of the marks you made previously, with the bottom row slightly left. Drill these holes perpendicular to the hub edge. Once that's done, the hard work is over - time to start lacing! Bend one end of each spoke to about 45 degrees to fit into the hub holes. Start with your reference marks, then add the bottom row all the way around - they will fit into every other hole around the rim, make sure that you are following your reference mark and fitting the bottom row of the hub into the bottom row of the rim - notice from the earlier pics that the rim holes are staggered! After 6 or so, the hub will stay in position. (I removed the wheel from the jig to slide each spoke through the rim from below, then just slid it back on to the jig to fix the spoke to the hub with a tiny dab of CA gel on the spoke end). About 5 hours after you started (assuming you used a pin vice like I did) you'll be finished! Half of one wheel done! As you can see, the second wheel (with the thinner wire) is much more to scale, so I shall rewire the first one, and stick with the .015" wire for the rest. Time for a beer! Thanks for looking in! Ian Edited July 16, 2017 by limeypilot 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob G Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Marvellous effort, that! Top job, old chap.All jesting and silly voices aside, this gives me hope that one day I will find the time and skill to make a start on my big Bentley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roymattblack Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Amazing. I too need to get my Bentley wheels sorted out at some point. Many thanks for the picture-guide. Roy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codger Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Thanks for a great tutorial and sharing your method. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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