rjfk2002 Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 After reading about all these great Pocher builds on this forum, I decided to tackle one of the Pocher classics - the Bugatti. I plan to post some pics over the coming days. I've build the engine and frame and am just starting the rear axle/suspension. My next few posts will catch up this thread to my build. This is my first classic (I've built the Aventador and Testarossa) and I'm looking forward to people's comments and advice! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codger Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Oh joy! Great to have an explosion of Pochers here. We need our own forum category now! Welcome and look forward to your project. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roymattblack Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Great stuff... Let's all see this epic car being built. Any ideas on colours yet? And also - YES - A separate Pocher section please!!!! Roy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjfk2002 Posted July 14, 2015 Author Share Posted July 14, 2015 Thanks I'm very excited about the build. I haven't decided whether to go with the "normal" black/yellow or if I should do a different combo like blue/silver. I will make the decision when I get to the interior/body stage. I was fortunate and able to track down a partially assembled K76 kit with the working differential gears for a really reasonable price. The engine had largely been built but everything else was on the tree or in the bags. I was able to get one of the stand along engine kits on the cheap and so between the two I had a completely unstarted kit! I also picked up the Paul Koo DVD which is outstanding I don't know how one would build these kits without either the DVD or infinite amounts of patience. I started with the engine and its been quite the learning experience. First off nothing fits and all screw holes have to be enlarged. No matter how many times I read about the fit issue on the forums I wasn't prepared for this. That being said, it has been a blast working on all the parts and figuring out how to get everything to fit. It's like a puzzle and with a little bit of work and thought the parts all come together beautifully. First up is the pistons and crankshaft: Next steps were the engine block and side panels. I have been using Tamiya spray cans for everything - first the gray primer and then either gloss aluminum or silver for the various parts (I wanted some variety in the engine). The Bugatti name plates came out really well - primer, then red and finally a sanding stick to take the paint off the raised edges. I decided not to try the turned aluminum look on the side panels. I thought it was beyond my skills and tooling. Despite that I think the panels came out nicely without the turning. Here is another shot with some more work done. The drive shaft isn't fully screwed in hence the droopiness. I still haven't figured out if I'll use the rubber kit wiring or replace with Model Motor Car yellow wire and a metal loom like the 1:1 pictures show. That's it for tonight. Next update I'll show the completed engine (again sans wires) and the start of the frame. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roymattblack Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Looking great so far. Regarding the turned finish on the side panels: Use Google images and search for engine turned aluminium. You'll find umpteen excellent images of the pattern. Copy an image and paste into any prog you can print from - even Word. Re-size the image so the pattern is about the correct size you want. Copy/paste the image on the page so you have plenty. Print the image in photo-quality onto CLEAR waterslide decal paper. Do a paper 'rubbing' of the panel so you can make a template that fits neatly. Transfer the template to the decal paper and cut out a decal. When applied, your engine silver paint will still show through as you used CLEAR decal film, but the turned pattern will be there - nice and 'light' - just as it should be. Voila... Roy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjfk2002 Posted July 16, 2015 Author Share Posted July 16, 2015 Thanks Roy that is a brilliant idea! I will need to look into it. My home printer is pretty ancient so this may be the perfect excuse to replace it. Here is the "complete" engine. Like I said I'm still debating the ignition wire color but figure I'll wait until its closer to install the engine. Then I can figure out if I want yellow or black. It's hard to see in the pic but I sprayed the bell casing & super charger silver and the fan gun metal. The valve covers look a little wonky in the pic but are well aligned in reality. My attempt at BMF for a hose clamp on the water pump didn't hold. I need to find a sticker foil or perhaps I use an extra clamp from the Aventador build (but fear that is too big). I have assembled the frame but will save that for future discussion. I have hit my first roadblock with rear differential. I assembled all of the gears and of course in classic Pocher fashion the gears don't fit in the plastic housing. So I start shaving away at the slots (red circle below - though this pic is the starting point not the end) to get them to fit. I get everything to fit screw it all together and then notice some slop when I turn the drive shaft. I think I shaved too much !! In fairness the "slop" isn't too bad. I turn the axle and everything spins, but I get feel the shaft wobble up & down a bit. My concern is that after I hook the rear differential to the shaft and engine that sloppiness will impact the power transfer... The shaft appears to spin inside the brass ring so I'm thinking perhaps I glue the ring into place and that solves the issues. Anyone else run into this problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codger Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 You could wrap the offending shaft journals with a bit of teflon tape. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roymattblack Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 ...even a few turns of Bare metal foil... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prowler0000 Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 ....& this is why Codger & Roy are THE best Pocher guys on here! Really enjoying this build so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Egads.....Another one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codger Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Egads.....Another one! Why not join the fun Sgt??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I could easily be tempted to sell off all of my surplus 1/72 aircraft and invest the proceeds in something Pocher (or similar). Unfortunately however, I just don't have the space (or tools) to work on something like this right now as my modelling area is entirely geared towards 1/72 AFVs .....Of which, it must be admitted, I still have quite a few left to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codger Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I could easily be tempted to sell off all of my surplus 1/72 aircraft and invest the proceeds in something Pocher (or similar). Unfortunately however, I just don't have the space (or tools) to work on something like this right now as my modelling area is entirely geared towards 1/72 AFVs .....Of which, it must be admitted, I still have quite a few left to do. Understood. But it's nice to have you follow along. Thanks for being interested; it's quite a change from 1/72 anything... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 These are some very impressive kits and I'd love to build one, but now is not the time.....However I do enjoy a good build thread and these have been particularly fine threads featuring some fascinating tips and techniques and ultimately, some truly magnificent models. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mpfiend Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 Really nice job so far. I'm finding there are lots of puzzles to solve along the way in building one of these kits. My Mercedes build has certainly lived up to the Pocher legend so far. Keep up the good work Best Regards Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roymattblack Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 I could easily be tempted to sell off all of my surplus 1/72 aircraft and invest the proceeds in something Pocher (or similar). Unfortunately however, I just don't have the space (or tools) to work on something like this right now as my modelling area is entirely geared towards 1/72 AFVs .....Of which, it must be admitted, I still have quite a few left to do. A bit more tempting needed to get another member into the Pocher club..... Roy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjfk2002 Posted July 18, 2015 Author Share Posted July 18, 2015 Thanks for all the tips. I tried some of the teflon tape and that seems to taken care of the issue! The gears are turning much tighter now and the flex in the tape is keeping it centered. Before the tape I tried to use sprue scraps as a shim and that caused the two halves of the differential to no longer line up. After I finish bolting everything together I will tackle the rest of the rear axle. The leaf springs look really interesting. Unfortunately Pocher mixed up some of the parts giving 3 medium pieces and one small instead of 2 and 2. I'm going to have to drag out the old dremel and hack one down. This is my first classic and I have to say its been a blast so far. Despite all the fit issues (literally no part so far has fit without some fiddling) the detail and complexity of the kit is staggering. Its a puzzle but so rewarding once figured out. I will post some more pics later this weekend after I've made more progress! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjfk2002 Posted July 19, 2015 Author Share Posted July 19, 2015 A little more progress. The differential is complete and the rear axle is starting to take shape. Bending some of the stamped metal parts to right shape was a pain. Thank goodness the black, pressed metal pieces have some give. I bent, unbent and repent a few times. The PE parts, on the other hand, are one bend and done, the joints are too weak. I need to clean up that black tarnish on the brass. I think a dremel wire brush and maybe some brass polish will take care of it. One thing to note to other builders - the black plastic coupling on the gear shaft that attaches to the drive shaft needs to be hammered in tightly. Otherwise it bumps against the plastic with the two clevices next to it. I had to drill the black plastic a bit to get the gear shaft in. I started the rear leaf springs. Surprisingly cutting the medium leaf down to a smaller size was pretty easy with the dremel. Bending the leafs however has been a pain. The Paul Koo DVD calls for bending beyond the curvature of the instructions. That would be fine in the parts wanted to bend! I've tried brute force with little luck. I wonder if I should try heating them in warm/hot water and then bending? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codger Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 Hot water won't bend the metal parts. Test a heat gun on the 1000F setting and hold the ends with pliers. BTW, arching the springs may increase your ride height. Check first before bending. If it's already too high, try removing one leaf. These can look toy-like with too much ride height. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roymattblack Posted July 19, 2015 Share Posted July 19, 2015 (edited) Mr C is absolutely right - but don't go too far the other way. These old cars had high ride heights compared to modern stuff. I can even remember 1950's-60's cars in the UK were high enough for me and my pals to hide underneath. (How dangerous was that!) With my Rolls Torpedo, I spent an age worrying about what I had read about the springs. In the end, I followed the kit diagram but curved the springs accordingly. When fitted to the car, I added a dot of Cyano glue to the shackles so they can't move. With no play in the shackles, there's now nowhere for the spring to 'sag' to - for the springs to sag, the shackles must move outwards. After nearly 18 months, my Roller still sits nicely. No extra cost, no aggro. Pocher didn't ALWAYS get it wrong. Roy. Edited July 19, 2015 by roymattblack 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cati Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 (edited) been lurking for ever following these threads, especially Roys! Wanted to jump on the path of righteousness with poacher and especially tempted by an F40.. until I saw the prices and then thought the most gorgeous car ever made was the Lamborghini Muira and then found this lamborghini miura jota 1/8 - MODELROSSI oh my..... Edited July 21, 2015 by cati Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjfk2002 Posted August 15, 2015 Author Share Posted August 15, 2015 I've made a bit more progress on the build. The frame is complete. Getting the gas tank in there took some fiddling but its done. I need to take some measurements to make sure the frame is even. The rear axle is close to done and will be dropped in next - hopefully tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codger Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 (edited) Keep checking everything for square and plumb before finalizing with glues or fasteners. You can't trust that each half of anything is exactly as long or thick as its counterpart. Then there's warpage from being 3 decades old to start with. Edited August 15, 2015 by Codger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mpfiend Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Keep checking everything for square and plumb before finalizing with glues or fasteners. You can't trust that each half of anything is exactly as long or thick as its counterpart. Then there's warpage from being 3 decades old to start with. Wise words indeed there, check and recheck everything, then when you are certain they are correct check them again. Really nice progress, I'm looking forward to the next update. Best regards Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjfk2002 Posted August 18, 2015 Author Share Posted August 18, 2015 Thanks for the advice and encouragement. The frame seemed even so I dropped the rear axle in (will need to re-measure before adding the front however). There were a few points where I wished I had a third and fourth hand, but with some careful balancing and minor cursing I got everything lined up. The threaded rod which hold up the leaf springs needed work - besides the rough ends, the holes in the frame needed filing to create enough clearance. The paint on the brake shoes is still drying so I left them off for now. I also need to solder the joints in the photo etch parts. They seem pretty thin and easy to snap. I made an attempt to solder the other day but realized it was a losing proposition without any solder flux. I will need to pick up some over the coming days. Is there any brand/kind that people recommend? A few random notes: The MMC stands make an appearance in this pic. So far I really like them. I needed to flip the frame over to get at some screws on the bottom and the stands made it very simple to do so. They aren't cheap but I can see how they will make life easier going forward. Also on the fuel tank, if I could do it again I would put a layer of tape on the edge that meets the frame to protect the paint. Getting the tank in place using the straps resulted in a lot of friction. I scratched up the paint pretty badly in a few spots. I decided not to repaint as it will not seen once the body is on. Just a helpful tip for future builders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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