1/9th Brough Superior SS100 (Model Factory Hiro)

[Cratecruncher]

I'll start with some eye candy! This is what I hope to end up with when finished. I'll not hold back on the polish and bling so if you were hoping for something "rode hard and put away wet" this isn't that thread.

This is what the box looks like. The MFH sister-site "Barchetta" has documented everything included in the kit here: http://www.club-barchetta.com/SHOP/K485.html

Wish me luck. I'll need it.

[Cratecruncher]

Assembly starts with the heads of the monster 1,000cc J.A.P. engine. Each rocker bearing consists of two polished photoetch plates and six white metal screws. Multiply that times eight bearings and you end up with a lot of tiny holes to drill and a lot of tiny parts that go "ping" off your tweezers into another dimension unless you are really careful.

This picture is magnified 10X to show the tiny screw that was hiding in the earlier photo. Just cutting the part from the rail distorts it too much to fit in the hole. Only 41 more to go.....

Edited January 5, 2016 by Cratecruncher

[larchiefeng]

Very cool kit, I'll be watching to see how this MFH build comes along. I just read this morning that a whole cache of Brough Superiors was found in a barn in Cornwall and will be auctioned off by Bonham's in April. Of course none will be in the condition of the picture. Yesterday, I received a MFH 1/12 Ferrari GTO, and being my first MFH kit I was surprised at the high quality of the resin and parts. These are quality kits and definitely not for the faint of heart; having seen your workmanship on your Ferrari 250 GT I know that you will make this an entertaining build worth watching by all.

[Cratecruncher]

Thank you for the encouragement Larchiefeng. I've been enjoying yours and others' threads here for a while and feel like I should contribute something. I hope my muddling through this kit doesn't put you off to the new motorcycle series or wonderful world of MFH kits generally. They really are a treat and your 1/12th GTO is perhaps the best kit they ever made. Lots of parts in that one!

I hadn't heard about the Cornwall story but Broughs are really hot among collectors right now and people occasionally pay more for original barn finds than perfect restored examples. I'm just glad to see more classic motorcycles being appreciated these days. Crazy prices at the top though.

[larchiefeng]

Yea, they found 8 of them, all in very rough shape but, worth a fortune even rusted out. The MFH 250 GTO is probably not the kit I should be starting on just yet; the wire wheels make the Pochers look like child's play. I should have gone for any one without the wire wheels but, I got it at a price I couldn't refuse. I think I might keep an eye out for a MFH Cobra or a 917 Porsche to build first. I would think that this Brough has just as many challenges as the Ferrari on the wheels. They give you a rim and a hub with holes in them and a couple dozen foot long 0.5 mm stainless steel wires that need to be cut to length and formed in a template. Then you have to lace then and cut the nipples to length to slip over the wire. That is the one and only thing that has me worried on that build. So, I'll watch and learn from you on this bike and take copious notes.

[Borez]

Oh man, looking forward to this build.

[Mumbly]

Superb! I saw this on Hiroboy and thought add that to the wish list, and today I noticed the '67 Eagle-Weslake. Arrrgghh too much choice and not enough cash.

Best of luck with this, always a challenge as these were all bespoke from the factory, so no two were the same.

[keefr22]

I'm not much of a fan of modern motorcycles, but do like the classic bikes. I was tempted by this kit when the Hiroboy newsletter popped up in my in box, but I managed to listen to my sensible head for once & resisted it. So I shall look forward to watching your build instead - it'll be much cheaper, & the end result will almost certainly be better than my fumble fingers could manage these days!

Looks to be a lovely kit!

Keith

[imster]

Nice choice!!! Subbed and popcorn ready!

I cant wait to see more progress

[Cratecruncher]

I appreciate the enthusiasm everyone. I have a contest in San Antonio in mid February I'm shooting for and this thread will help keep me focused.

I gave up trying to use tweezers to install the tiny pin bolts and instead went back to using my toothpick trick I use with tiny photoetch. I flatten the tip of a round toothpick and then dip it into some bare metal foil adhesive to make it a bit sticky. I can then pick up the bolt by the head without any "ping" inducing clamping force. Once the bolt is in it's bore I just slide the toothpick sideways to release it. I managed to knock out all the bolts pretty quick without losing any parts once I had a system down.

Then it was onto the heads and cylinder assembly. Just a note on paint choice. White metal needs etching primer for the color coat to adhere and I like Tamiya Metal Primer. It works great but has been difficult to find in the US lately. I'm down to fumes and waiting for some Gunze brand stuff I ordered through my hobby shop. I'll report on how it works out once I've tried it. I also like the Tamiya TS colors but have had problems with their semigloss black (TS 29). I just seem to get inconsistent sheen no matter how much I shake and heat etc. So for this build I decided to try some automotive trim paint I bought for a different project. It's called SEM 39143 Trim Black and it's amazing! I think I might use it on the chassis and tank under my 2K coat. combined with the Tamiya Metal Primer it adheres great and the sheen is very consistent. I even touched up some spots with a brush and I couldn't tell where I'd done it. I love this stuff. Enough yakkin'. How about some pictures?

Here are the head and cylinder assemblies all laid out for test fitting. There are a lot of opportunities to assemble this motor wrong and in a couple of places you need three hands so I test assembled everything several times before mixing up any epoxy. No surprises!

It's been so long since I've done one of these WIP threads I'd forgotten to use the macro setting on my camera, doh. With any luck, future photos will be a bit clearer than my first few. Questions and comments welcome. Until next time....

Edited January 7, 2016 by Cratecruncher

[TGA]

Man these kits are so unbelievably beautiful and nicely detailed. Really something special. I'm loving the WIP so far!

[larchiefeng]

Nice trick with the toothpick, I'll have to try it. I've also had the same problem with the TS semi gloss black being uneven on a painted part. Nice progress on the engine so far and good luck growing that third hand. I use my Panavise a lot for the third hand.

[gbondoni]

Nice! I love MFH kits, but can't justify the cost... So I'll be enjoying this one vicariously!

[vontrips]

Looking fantastic Crate; they really look like they've nailed this one. Not keen on some of MFH's earliest offerings, but they seem to get better with every release. Their Porsche 550 is still a real dog though!

[Cratecruncher]

Thanks for the comments everyone. Vontrips, I agree that MFH kits have gotten better over the years. Most of my stash and completed MFH models are the first 100 (K001-K100). The first 100 had a lot of fit issues and very rough cast surfaces. They were very challenging, some requiring scratch-built replacement parts just to assemble them. MFH listened to feedback and began making bodies in white resin and polishing their 3D printed parts before tooling them. The kit engineering got much better too.

But as I'm sure you know, not even higher number (K101 and up) MFH stuff will just magically assemble together like a Tamiya kit. I've built a lot of Tamiya stuff including their brilliant RC 166 with upgrades and love them. But I've built enough Hondas for three lifetimes! Only MFH does the obscure stuff like a Brough Superior SS100 and rare subjects is part of what drives up the price. They have to amortize development and tooling over a much smaller population of kits.

MFH have made their kits much easier to build the last few years but they still require some thought and planning to ensure success. If you just blindly start painting and gluing you'll quickly end up with a mess. I've read some threads where others have grown discouraged at the "lack of quality for such an expensive kit". The quality is there. It's just not easy to access like a Tamiya product. Those who've endured the stress of a classic Pocher kit to completion will know what I'm talking about.

This model, being their first in what will hopefully become a regular series of classic bikes in 1/9th has some "challenges" in the wheel rim area. They've tried to strike a balance between cost and scale accuracy by creating wheel blisters where the nipples (tensioners) emerge. It's a lovely detail featured prominently on the real motorcycle. Since most all Broughs have painted rims it's also a bit of a waste to machine the model part out of a HUGE bar of aluminum for every kit. Thus white metal and they aren't drilled. There are just divots on each side of the rim as a guide so good luck and bring your modeling skills! I've talked to someone already that's botched one of his rims and warned me to be careful drilling them from the outside because there is a good chance of the bit wandering and missing the center of the blister on the rim.

So, I decided to take a break from the engine detail and see if I could come up with a more accurate method for drilling and assembling the wheels. It may not work for everyone wishing to build this model but maybe it can help clarify some things that the instructions don't mention.

My first task was to establish the directions to drill. I lifted the angles directly off the overhead plan view in the instructions. Note there is a difference between the left side and right side of each rim that is not even mentioned in the instructions. There are 40 spokes total on each wheel, 20 on each side. I concentrated on the front wheel to start. The spokes on the right side are set at more eccentric angles than left because of the spoke pattern and larger hub diameter on that side. (Left and right are relative to the rider seated.) I decided to just concentrate on the right side of the front wheel to establish a process I felt comfortable with.

Next I used a T-pin to make a hole center in the very middle of every other blister on the right side - 10 total. I skipped every other hole to help me avoid drilling the wrong hole knowing if I make a mistake here it will be hard to recover. The white metal is much softer than aluminum (and thankfully easier to drill) so care must be exercised when exerting force on these rims lest they be bent out of round. Then I used my 1.0mm drill to just start the bore about a half millimeter deep.

Now it was time to do the serious drilling. I used the guide I'd made from the instructions earlier to do the first 10 holes from the left (yellow highlight). If my drawing and drilling ability are accurate the bit will emerge in the very center of the divot on the outside of the rim. Now I repeated the process for the other ten holes using the green line as a guide. Notice I covered the knurled portion of my pin vise contacting the rim with electrical tape.

I did a test assembly of the 20 holes I had done to see if the process worked and was kind of surprised (and relieved) that it worked out pretty well. Notice the differences in the angles of the nipples as they emerge from the rim. There is some tolerance in the parts to allow a little bit of wiggle room. I plan to paint the rim with primer, color, and clear so some of that tolerance is for paint thickness. Also, I'm not too sure the paint will withstand the T-pin contact around the rim without damage so more to be done there.

Notice that the nipples are all centered on their landings on the outside of the rim so the drilling direction guide worked well. The jig is just T-pins nailed into a board on the outer circumference of the rim. The compass I used to draw the circle left a nice pin mark to locate the center. Notice the hub has been centered to the rim by shimming the rim up. On bikes it is important to get the rim in the center of the fender by centering the fork contact points with the rim. Also, it is very important to have the hub and axle perfectly vertical or the whole wheel will be wobbly with a comical amount of runout. I need to do more to stabilize that hub from shifting around with the current setup. Notice I tried to hook all of the spokes on one side of the hub (like the real bike) rather than alternating each spoke, ten on each side like the pattern in the instructions. It looks like poop because it got too crowded. Oh well, that's why it's a practice run. I'll revert back to alternating sides next time. The spokes were held in to the hub with ordinary white glue so disassembly is a snap. I also discovered the spokes need to be deburred BEFORE assembly or the nipples won't slide on. I learned a lot from this dry run!

MFH provide an assembly jig in the kit that is made from white metal and I'm sure it will work for most people. I didn't use it because I wasn't sure how to center the hub with the rim using it. I like using a board and pins because it's how I do my scratch wheels and it's just what I'm used to.

Edited January 10, 2016 by Cratecruncher

[Brandy]

Lovely work on the wheel. I'll be following this one, as a fan of European v-twins......

Ian

[Cratecruncher]

Welcome Ian and thank you. I've not updated the thread in a few days because I've been drilling lots and lots of tiny holes and there isn't much real progress to show. I've just about got everything ready for one big marathon session at the spray booth with a big bucket of black paint.

[CliffB]

This is fabulous - you must have nerves of steel!

Cliff

[Torchy]

Wow ,outstanding work,ordered this kit today,will follow this build with relish ,love the wheel jig

[krow113]

Expensive , comprehensive , a true classic bike, what more can we ask for?

A '36 Knucklehead would be nice...

Cracking job so far.

An udate for me < I just ordered this kit from HiroBoy, I couldnt navigate the MFH site.

Edited March 12, 2016 by krow113

[Mpfiend]

Is there any more progress on this?

Regards

Keith.

[Spookytooth]

Awesome work sir .

Simon.

[heloman1]

Wheel lacing what a great pastime, I need a fix... Good looking engine too. Do yourself a favour, get rid of the X-acto blades and get yourself a box of Swan-Morton scalpel blades and a number 3 handle, they really do the job.

Colin

[dadgaddad]

Many years ago I knew an elderly gent by the name of Tommy. Despite his advancing age he was always very dapper, with a smart jacket and neatly trimmed moustache. He was also a raconteur of great skill and had a store of tales which would always have us in fits of laughter. As a young man, he once told me, he owned a Brough Superior which he rode everywhere. As an inveterate tinkerer he made a few modifications to the engine to increase the compression and get more power out of it. One day, he met another Superior owner and although he didn't get the man's name, they got to know each other and it wasn't long before Tommy had made the same modifications to this other bike as he had to his own. Sadly, this other man was fatally injured in an accident involving this bike and it was only some time afterwards Tommy found out it was T.E. Lawrence himself. I have no idea whether the story is true or not but Tommy would often tell us he was the man who killed Lawrence of Arabia!

[Cratecruncher]

Mpfiend, on 13 Mar 2016 - 07:15 AM, said:

Is there any more progress on this?

Regards

Keith.

Sorry about neglecting this thread everyone. I've been busy getting my Ducati back on the road lately but I did get some progress done on the Brough Superior recently.

These two photos are the front wheel. After my trial assembly I broke everything down and painted the rim and hub with etching primer followed by Tamiya TS-14 Black and DuPont Chromaclear. Assembly was very straightforward. I placed a tiny drop of 5 min epoxy on the spoke where it touches the hub, then slid the spoke into the hole in the rim. I carefully balanced the tweezers under the spoke to hold it next to the hub while the epoxy cured. Then I slid the tensioner onto the spoke end and into it's hole in the rim. A drop of thin CA on the end of the spoke wicked into the tensioner to lock that end down. Overall, the wheel came out nice and straight with no runout. The hub is centered too so the tire will be in the center of the fender.

Now if I could just find a better front tire! The T E Lawrence bike that inspired this model has a rear tire on the front wheel for some reason and MFH copied it. Ciao for now.