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Eldridge Fiat Mefisto 1/12 Italeri - Brief WIP


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Thank you VT and Larchiefeng !

Yes would be nice to meet someday. I live between Switzerland and Saudi Arabia and so am not one of the lucky three who are somewhere in the UK (?). I wish i were. By now i would have laced the wheels of the Fiat 806 ! by the way Larchiefeng, great build on your 540 K, the engine alone is a piece of art.

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Thanks, it seems like ages since I built it. Funny that you should mention the engine, I have a Bugatti engine sitting on the bench in the background that I'm going to tear apart and rebuild as both of my other builds go on. All of you guys are doing a great job on all aspects of the build. It's really interesting to watch how you all feed off of one another and each one you add something different as the build goes on.

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Bugatti engine.. uhm... music :violin: and always ahead of its time.

yes, great camaraderie and immense talent on this site,

it is motivating and personally i have learned a lot in a short time.

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Hello the camp!! ...........................

Hey Sam ... apologies for not appearing in the thread so far, although it has made for a pleasant and interesting hour this fine Sunday morning. My forum opens with the "what's new" page and I usually just scan that for items that grab my interest and then go straight to "items I've contributed too". So consequently if you slip off the page before I get to it - well sorry but you're gone :weep: ................ and I've noticed that "new posts" fill the page; by the minute.

Anyhoo ........... now I've found you I can finally sit, relax, and enjoy this build of yours. And what a great start you've made - all things lovely are happening in here, and some nice new takes on established techniques too - well done.

If I ever get around to this kit I'll know where to come for my reference, you've done an excellent job on that score - although as we all know, that's a double edged sword is that one. I could see my brain fusing at the available imagery on this kit - drive me bliddy mad probably.

Looking forward though to seeing how you tackle this engine - a good start and plenty to go at it seems

Bonne chance mon ami........................

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Thank you Andy and Jeremy for your kind words.

Cher Andy, Merci mon ami, when it comes to engines i think you are the master... studying your Citroen engine made me realize - amongst many things - how much more i had to dilute the paint and weathering. work on thin layers, i still have a way to go for the spring covers above.

The Mef. engine is a joy to study and try to duplicate. i hope you will go for it after the 806. (But...... after the 806 i may propose another gangshow build; how about some classic rusty car dio, mellowing and crumbling in the mist of nature, vines or abandoned hangars...à la "Baillon collection... but in a big descent scale" :mental: ?)

Back to the Mef. i will also soon come to you for advise on the body paint, i would like to reproduce the roughness of the body paint brush marks without overdoing it, and just giving it the vintage look. Gravity paints have a special varnish formula & wax to reproduce the vintage look at scale, it seems.

While building the engine, i am studying the pics of the body. I am thinking of starting with a thin layer painted by hand, leaving some brush marks one can see on the pictures, then apply the primer ( spray ), then the final layers of lacquer also at low pressure airbrush. How would you do it ?

As someone said on this Forum, i agree that Acrylics will not be good to finish off the body work, so i have ordered some Gravity paint lacquers... but more on that when the bridge comes !

Joyeuses Pâques to all, from rainy but lovely Lausanne :cow6:

Edited by sharknose156
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Hmm ..... Sam' - I'm not one to tell folk how to finish their projects. In fact I studiously avoid trying to explain my techniques (such as they are) and this simply because they are so esoteric. There's no set process or product ... although experience dictates that certain formulas work for me, as do certain materials.

Because of my grounding (Fine Arts) a lot of my material is exactly that - Fine art pigments bound in various fashions and with assorted substrates or vehicles - Pastel, Gum Arabic, Oil and or Resins. I'll apply these with assorted mediums - thinners and solutions ... and sometimes just plain old spit!!

Now, all that pre-amble brings me to the one thing I am pretty keen on .......................... Scale, and the Look! ................. Check out pretty much any of the photographs "plein aire or Museum" and I doubt you'll see any sign of brush strokes or pigment build-up. Even if you were to put your eyeball on the model itself you're still technically seeing it from several feet/metres away, and you won't see any of the aforementioned brush strokes. What you will see however is the lack of a gelatinous shine, at best what one might see is what can only be described as a lustre, and even this will be uneven as those pesky brush marks catch the light.

Myself? ...................... I would go with my favoured primer (Halfords Auto Grey primer), build up my colour with again my favoured topcoat - and this could easily be an Acrylic - it will need to cure fully so a drying time of days rather than hours .... and here's where I would depart from the accepted norm' ................ I would then finish with several coats of "Artists" Matt Varnish (acrylic). "Winsor and Newton" is a very fine and respected brand ... you would apply this by "laying it on - and laying it off" an old Coach-painting technique where you use a broad soft brush in order to softly stroke the paint on, and then as it's just starting to turn, you "with broad long strokes - lay the paint back off again" ... alternate coats in alternate directions, leaving a gentle weave effect - an acquired skill but one that results in that stunning hand finish you're so desperately seeking.

Leave this to dry - FULLY! And of course it will be totally matt. But now with a soft cloth you slowly start to GENTLY buff the surface, and the weave effect which is in there but unseen will slowly reveal itself as that deep soft lustre we were talking about.

You'll need to play with this on some spare sheets - but you can bend the technique to your will, and it will respond to your administration - "just be gentle - it's old school".

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Dear Andy,

Thank you very much for this amazing and very interesting technique.

Yes, 'lustre' is exactly what i am looking for and as you said some areas with lack of "gelatine shine' !

Thats exactly what i am seeking and have been scratching my head about for quite some time.

I will experiment with the "laying it on / laying it off" technique. I did not know this was the way for painting the old coaches. Very interesting.

Yes, scale is crucial as well. I think i am starting to have a plan for the body paint and finish. The art shop in town has "Windsor and Newton" Matt Varnish.

will go there tuesday.

A very big thank you for this art lesson !

i shall test it and get back on this.

Merci !

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Hi Sam,

Whichever route you choose to go for the paint, do take into account the thickness of the decal. The decal supplied is very thick so you might have trouble hiding the decal edges especially that of the 'mefistofele' word.

After a few coats of gloss to hide the edges, you might find you hard work gone to waste. I put on 4 gloss coats with polishing in between, then a final coat of semi gloss.

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Thanks Jeremy,

i plan to paint the FIAT letters on and not use the decals at all. I will try to reproduce the crackling thin lines of the white paint of the 2 x FIAT letters.

As for the letters 'Mefistofele', i am told this was added by Agnelli when he bought the black car from the Eldridge heirs in the 60's before restoring it, had it painted in Corso red, and placed it into the Fiat museum. So as of now i am not thinking of putting those letters. But thank you for the heads up.

However, on the stand i plan to build for the car, i will emboss a small history of the car and mention the 'mefistofele' nickname.

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Sam, this might sound mad, but here it goes.

Mask out the FIAT letters and spray 2K gloss onto the "FIAT" letters. Then spray on heavily thinned white. After a few coats, you will find that the thinner in the white will affect the 2K gloss causing the cracking of the white.

Do not ask me how i know :banghead:

Anyway, best to test it out on scrap piece first.

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Thanks Jeremy sounds great ! i wanted to reproduce them with a thin pencil H2 then coat them with varnish, but i think your technique sounds interesting. i will test it first.

crackling%202%20copy_zps4lupjo9a.jpg

Now back to the bench, i am having fun and frustrations with the engine. :shutup:

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello Mefisto enthusiasts !

Tried to finish the valve springs, 24 of them , and place them under caps as close as possible to the real design,

and then make them look like they are 100 years old !

had to play with the sizes of the springs, then experienced with different caps. the best solution was to cut a plastic card 2 mm and bore a small hole in the middle so the valve arm can fit. I am not very happy with the results, specially when you take a picture ! could have filed them a little on the side to make them more round. I will next time.

also, tried to make the springs look like they are in different positions, extended or compressed, not in harmony.

then placed 4 nuts on each cap, all the 6 caps.

in any case here it is:

6e44c47b-656f-451b-a1cb-20d75fdf101c_zps

sorry about the quality of the picture. Here it is overexposed on purpose to show the springs clearly.

aac20bd6-25ba-42af-a2f2-46a5b3a72873_zps

28ebeea1-2bc5-4a31-954b-3e5ed64a016e_zps

Then i started preparing the collectors. They are an essential part of the beauty of the engine.

i tried to reproduce the 'wrinkles' and soldering seals with some putty and tamiya tape.

the colour in the picture does not do any real justice to the end result.

Believe me, It came out a beautiful copper, old, shiny, wrinkly, hand hammered.

I used AK interactive, some alclad mist, some red translucid color also from Alclad, still needs to be buffed and add some shades.

also to be added later after it dries well, all the contours around the welding seals and the welding line on one of the collectors. This will be painted iron with a small brush

L1030005_zpstxnlhowk.jpg

L1030041_zps5wj9aikz.jpg

voilà, back to the bench ! cheers.

Edited by sharknose156
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Sam, looks great. I really like the look of the collectors.

You might want to plan ahead on how to secure the rubber hoses from the collectors. They are rather fiddly if you don't have hoses that give a snug fit to the collectors.

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Thank you gentlemen

Jeremy: thank you for the heads up. I plan to use heat shrink tubing and PE etched hoseclamps from Autograph.

Andi: Thank you ! they work yes ! :bounce:

i am not 100 % happy and next time i will do things a little different to make the look more crisp. But it is always like this, the next one is better !

On a "pleasure to trouble" ratio, it is a low number, i would say 1 : 3 :banghead: so i leave them at is, they look ok if you are not using a magnifier.

Edited by sharknose156
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On a "pleasure to trouble" ratio, it is a low number, i would say 1 : 3 :banghead:

Ahhh ....... Steve's infamous FIF! ......................... Everybody's got one apparently - mine usually kicks in about the third time of trying ... :frantic:

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Andi, but from what i saw here, your degree of building, painting and weathering qualifies as Art,

as for mine is more like "happy go lucky as i limp along"... :work: but i have fun :hmmm: trying.

following your advice on the final paint job, i went to the local art shop and they recommended the following (they did not have the varnish )

what do you think ?

L1030063_zpsi8gnpf0w.jpg

also, i received the paints from Gravity Colors for the vintage Rosso Corsa.... i tested it and the color is really like a vintage race car....i will soon upload pics.

i have not yet tested the wax.

Edited by sharknose156
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Sam, I'd be tempted to try good old fashioned shellac as an alternative/addition to Andi's idea. You could simulate brush marks with it and it has a clear brown colour which may give the chosen colour an aged look.

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Nice work on detailing the valve springs and retainers, they look much better now and suitably grubby for an old engine. I think that I'm going to have to pay attention to what you guys all use in the weathering techniques and materials used. This is one area that I haven't ventured into when building a car but, I think that I might have a go at it when I get around to building my Pocher Alfa. Taking notes on your build along with a few others. There are a lot of good techniques going on here, very nice work.

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I have to say that you bunch over here are making a serious contribution to the data base of weathering and patina on the site. You all bring assorted skills from several disciplines which are enormously effective at portraying age and nostalgia and the 1:1 finishes of the days gone by. Truly 'iron age' 'industrial revolution' stuff and a pleasure to see. Also a pleasure is the scratch-building and the refusal to accept wonky kit parts to get to your goal.

My interest comes from my own efforts on my Rolls and I have found plenty I could have used from you gang. Thanks to all for sharing and look forward to spectacular results here.

Bravo and carry on! :clap::frantic:

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following your advice on the final paint job, i went to the local art shop and they recommended the following (they did not have the varnish )

what do you think ?

L1030063_zpsi8gnpf0w.jpg

Oh Crikey Sam, ................ what you have there is a totally different animal ......... and the danger signs are "OIL and WAX". If at all possible and you have no other use for it? It'll pay you to just return it for a refund.

.................................. http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B001HJLB1A

This is the product I was referring to/use .............. sorry if I caused any confusion.

PS ..... I'm not very impressed with your shops ability to recommend a sympathetic substitute.

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Dear Larchiefeng & Codger ...

Gentlemen when it comes to engineering, execution and weathering you two are master builders across the universe. :worthy:

Thank you for your heartwarming comments. Coming form you they truly mean a lot.

My brothers in arms "Fiat Gangshow" deserve the praise and your comments more than this humble thread. Thank you. :)

Andi, the art shop will take it back no problem. Thank you very much for the link, i shall get it tomorrow :banghead:

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