mhaselden Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 Ian, Thank you for those fantastically clear pics showing how you worked your voodoo. I'm still tempted to offer you money to do mine...but at least you've shown it can be done pretty straightforwardly. I just need to find the time to get there (and the patience not to rush the task). Cheers,Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Any chance you could put up a before and after shot of the wheels for comparison? Marvellous work, but you've just put me off trying to build one haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted November 12, 2014 Author Share Posted November 12, 2014 (edited) Here you are Kallisti, Remember, this is just the inside of the wheel, there's another row to go on top - fortunately it has fewer spokes! Ian Edited July 16, 2017 by limeypilot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted November 12, 2014 Share Posted November 12, 2014 So much better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted November 16, 2014 Author Share Posted November 16, 2014 (edited) A couple of notes to add to the earlier post: You will need two jigs - the front wheels have a larger hole for the axle than do the rear and spare wheels. I found that .100" (2.5mm) rod with a couple of small strips of .010" (.25mm) strip on opposite sides kept the front wheels snug on the jig. Don't glue the spokes into the rim until all spokes are fitted. Then add a dab of liquid CA to secure them in the rims, clamp them to the jig, and when it's dry, snip off the ends with end snips. For the outer set of spokes, I marked everything the same way. The hubs are too big, so after marking, trimming and cleaning up, I glued them to the rear hubs and left them overnight to dry. They were then placed on the jigs I'd used for the rear set of spokes and sanded down to the same diameter as the rear hubs. They were then drilled for the spokes. Hole number 700 is finished! No more drilling! (yes that is 700 - 70 spokes per wheel, 5 wheels!) Here is the set of 5 wheels, all drilled, with the front hubs fitted and sanded, and the front rims fitted. I will now play with some paint mixes, paint the wheels as they are, then fit the front row of spokes. I need another beer....or two! Ian Edited July 16, 2017 by limeypilot 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted November 16, 2014 Share Posted November 16, 2014 jaw drop moment! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted November 20, 2014 Author Share Posted November 20, 2014 (edited) The biggest problem I'm coming up against with working on an unfamiliar subject, in an unfamiliar scale, is planning! I thought I was about ready to start getting some paint on this, but I then realised that I had more work to do on the firewall, steering column, and leaf springs. I added the nuts on the leaf spring shackles, and then decided that I needed a different approach to the firewall so that I didn't have an untreatable joint when I put it all together. I therefore cut the front part of the floor off, and attached it to the firewall, added some stock sheet to cover the joins, and filled and sanded as necessary. Much better! I then decided I wasn't happy with the part I'd added for the throttle bracket mounting, so I removed it and remade it, slightly bigger. I'm now happy with that and have redone the aluminium paintwork. Now I am not happy with the circular blanking plate for the fuel lines etc so I'll repaint that later! The petrol and oil header tanks have been added, as well as a new steering column mounting bracket on the rear of the firewall. The end bolts have been added to the steering column and a little more clean up done on that too.   Finally I made up the remaining 140 spokes needed and have prepared them for painting... I'm hoping that by painting the spokes first, all that will be needed when the wheels are complete is a little touch up......we'll see....... Thanks for watching....any pics or details of the fuel and oil lines and where they run would be more than welcome.... Ian Edited July 16, 2017 by limeypilot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gobs of Espresso Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 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. 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! Is this for real? :boom:Amazing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted November 27, 2014 Author Share Posted November 27, 2014 (edited) Slow but steady..... I've put a wash on the engine to tone it down a bit and make it look a little more used - just some pastels applied with a damp brush and worked until there were no more streaks or brush marks. Also painted some of the ancillaries, (pipework and such), which still need a wash to weather them a little. Here's one of the magnetos: I then decided that my interpretation of the water pump mount was wrong so pulled that off, cleaned the area up and made a new mount - which also meant I had to remake the pump outlet pipe as I'd shortened it to fit my modified mounting point...the inlet will have to wait until I have the radiator mounted and can figure out the shape and length. I also figured out (I think) how the oil pump is mounted and will work on constructing that next and adding it to the rear of the firewall before I paint that piece. The hole in the rear upper centre of the firewall (for wiring) has also been cut out. I did actually try to make a start on painting, and started masking the aluminium parts on the front firewall face but it peeled the aluminium paint off so I'll have to rethink that, too! Just to show myself that I have been making progress, I dry fitted the engine, gearbox and firewall.....the gearbox needs a shaft added to the side for the shift lever, which means a hole in the floor, etc, etc..... Â Â Apart from that, I've spent a lot more time trying to find more pics and details. I came upon a goldmine of parts pics at Vintage Bentley Parts Ltd, which has helped a lot on figuring out how the pedals were mounted... Â Â So... the plan....make and fit the oil pump, brake compensator shaft, and brake pedals, and get some paint on it all! We'll see how that pans out..... Thanks for looking in! Ian Edited July 16, 2017 by limeypilot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted December 5, 2014 Author Share Posted December 5, 2014 (edited) A little more progress....as stated earlier, working with an unfamiliar subject leads to planning problems! I decided that because of the way the leaf springs and front cross member are attached (requiring a lot of filling and sanding), I should add those parts before spraying the chassis. So the last few days have been spent building new spring hangers, attaching the front cross member to the springs, and adding the remaining leaf spring shackles and nuts. I'm now debating whether to add the front wheel backing plates or not, as they are in two halves and will no doubt need a little fettling of the gaps too..... The front spring hanger brackets were carved out of 3mm x 6mm plastic rod. Those were then drilled and two pieces of 1.57mm aluminium tube, and .51mm brass rod were cut to fit as the central mounting pins. The hangers are brass strip, drilled at one end for the mounting pins, filed round at that end, and cut to length. Slits were cut in the leaf spring ends and the brass hangers were CA'd in place. I then added the rear part of the hanger brackets from plastic card cut to shape. Â Â Â Â Slow progress, but it's coming on....I hope to get the suspension attached and all the filling and cleaning up done over the next couple of days, then finally I should be able to start putting some paint on! Ian Edited July 16, 2017 by limeypilot 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted December 12, 2014 Author Share Posted December 12, 2014 (edited) I've finally finished lacing the wheels! All that's needed now is to file down the spoke ends and a quick blow over to touch up the paint. While I'm doing that I'll put some paint on the chassis too... Ian Edited July 16, 2017 by limeypilot 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob G Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Those look rather spectacular Ian. Well done, old chap, what what, eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roymattblack Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Ace job there. I really ought to do my own Bentley at some time. Inspirational stuff ! Roy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Belbin Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Lovely work - a pleasure to see. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Looking very good, impressive job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codger Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Great job-they'll be a highlight of the model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhaselden Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Still want you to do the wheels for my Bentley! Absolutely fantastic job. You're really inspiring me here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted December 14, 2014 Author Share Posted December 14, 2014 (edited) Thanks for all the feedback, folks, much appreciated! I had intended getting the chassis painted today, but I found more things that needed doing....so I filled the mounting holes for the headlamp brackets and narrowed the ones for the brake actuators, then added some bolt heads to the top of the chassis frame, replaced the moulded blobs on the front chassis spacer with resin nuts/pieces of .04x.04mm rod, and modified and fitted the horn brackets (and added more nuts!) NOW, I think I can get some paint on it...... Ian Edited July 16, 2017 by limeypilot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted December 15, 2014 Author Share Posted December 15, 2014 (edited) Result, finally! Â The firewall is going to have to be stripped and redone, I'm not at all happy with it. I'll remove all the plastic card that has been fitted and replace it so I have a good base to paint over. Other than that, a little clean up and sanding, then a second coat....hopefully it won't take as long as the first! Ian Edited July 16, 2017 by limeypilot 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elderly Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 Another great build of a large scale car for me to wonder at ...... those wheels are SOOOO Good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mencie Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 This is fantastic. When I saw the thread, I thought you must be mad, now I see its pure talent that wins the day, well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted December 22, 2014 Author Share Posted December 22, 2014 Thanks, Mencie - I'm not sure you weren't right with your first guess though! If I were that skilfull I wouldn't have to keep re-doing the firewall... The painting is going to be the toughest part for me - I'm used to 1:72 WWI aircraft which don't have large areas of gloss on them! Have a Merry Christmas everyone, see you all in 2015..... Ian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 (edited) I've finally made a little more progress, mainly on the firewall which is now ready for paint again! I replaced the front and rear panels with .015" card instead of .005" which I'm much happier with, and shortened the moulding for the throttle pedal bracket a little. I also widened the hole for the dynamo drive, and that has somehow ended up off centre! Nothing I can do about it now though, fortunately it's not too far off! Â Â I also added some detail to the front body frame/scuttle, but I'm not sure if there should be more gaps routed out to lighten the frame, my pics are a little dark here.... Â The last item I've been working on is the fuel tank, which now has the side screens on it and is ready for final painting. Â The chassis frame has been sanded down a little where needed and it is all now ready for final painting. Once that is done I can start installing the engine and firewall and getting on to some more fun stuff! Thanks for looking in! Ian Edited July 16, 2017 by limeypilot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobug104 Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Hi just got back to car modelling ,attempted to build this kit long time ago it finished up on the floor in pieces. Enjoying watching the progress you are making might have a couple of questions at some point if that is ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted January 25, 2015 Author Share Posted January 25, 2015 Fire away, I'll do what I can to help! Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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