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Pocher Aventador Roadster 1/8 kit build incl. LEDs


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Hello everyone,

I came across this forum while doing some research (Google image search), and found the work of roymattblack. I originally had bought my Aventador as a decoration for my living room, so the goal was to complete it asap. I was already halfway through and about to connect the engine part to the passenger cabin when I saw what Roy did to his kit.

Wow! I loved the tiny little details he added and was so inspired that I started taking my almost completed rear part apart again. I did more research and found more and more things looking wrong on my model. I did build a couple of Revell planes some 15 years ago but didn’t plan to dive too deep into the diecast thing again. Fiddling around with those super tiny water decals for the cockpit buttons and windshield wiper arm was already way more than what I had planned.

I went and bought some colors, but the first results were not very satisfying. Turned out I had bought the wrong silver color, mine looked almost white and not shiny (Revell 06 AFAIR). I went back and bought more colors and more stuff, my normally super clean homeoffice turned more and more into a messy place, and the sheer number of small tasks waiting to be completed seemed overwhelming, but I loved it.

I took the engine further apart and added more detail, mostly inspired by Roy and the great work this guy had done. My vision is just a little impaired, so I had recently bought a lens lamp which is an enormous help. I’d say this kit cannot be properly build without one.

I will keep posting progress as it unfolds.

First part that I build with more love to detail was the front axle:

image_zpsigkmhmvv.jpeg

custom battery cable (+) and paint job, active suspension (still looking for a way to get black Öhling decals)

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My workplace(s):

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redone engine:

image_zpspagrbn3d.jpeg

By the way: I did manage to press the exhaust manifolds, probably the most illfitting part in this kit so far, into place without altering the attachments by the use of sheer force and super glue. It still holds :)

image_zpsldlsipgd.jpeg

I'd like to add that I mainly focus on the visible parts since most of the engine will forever be hidden under covers. I did add some extra piping but no fuel lines or oil filters.

What amazes me is the fantasy you can bring into such a project. The brackets on the airintakes are made of gift wrapping band :)

Fitting test:

image_zpsnwjbt2bp.jpeg

Visibility tests:

image_zpsrmfrjll0.jpeg

Fitting & visibility test:

image_zpsa3elhhuf.jpeg

Progress:

image_zpstubjrqzk.jpeg

Edited by Danny_G
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Some more pics:

Added engine room heat shield (can't believe some people are leaving this away, it is clearly visible from outside, I believe even with closed engine hood.

image_zpsnujngimv.jpeg

The material is less than ideal, it's from an instant ice tea bag. May look into the cigarette paper someone was using.

Another big task that is currently delaying the project and further assembly is the fact that I want to add lights to my model, and as I am a nit-picker and detail guy, it should look as real as possible. Major obstacle is that I only have one shot, and I absolutely don't want to mess up my headlights as they are some of the main eyecatchers

image_zpsjvr0bpi3.jpeg

Too bad it looks better on photo than IRL but I'm working on that. So actually I'm doing a lot of soldering and testing (PoC). I'm making some progress on the headlights but with the rear lights, which are iconic IRL, I'm really unhappy. May end up making my own in one way or the other.

The lights will have no intelligence (no IC, means no braking lights, indicators etc.). Just the usual lights you'd expect to see on this car when idle, daytime running lights, rear lights, some illuminated buttons and after all, illuminated displays.

Edited by Danny_G
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Way cool. I absolutely love the Aventador roadster and I'd give my left bean to be able to buy this kit, but instead I shall watch you build it instead :)

Great idea to light it as well. Are you going to light the dash as well?

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Many thanks Danny...

I'm glad my Aventador build gave you the urge to add extra details.

It really is a great kit but there are a lot of missing details, especially at the rear end.

Hopefully you'll do the 'entire rear end removable' bit.

It's a simple mod that allows you to see all the work at the back.

Built as standard, 90% of the engine/rear is forever hidden.

Keep it coming.

Love what you've done.

Roy.

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Thanks Roy. That was fast, I did not expect to attract your attention so quickly :)

I've been following your work in recent days on some of your older models, which is simply staggering. I'm glad I don't have to make mine look used/old :winkgrin:

If I make the back removable as yours, then I'd HAVE TO make all the missing details... Also this would contradict with the lights I want to add, as there will be plenty of cables I'll have to add. The LEDs keep getting more and more.

Madhatter: yes I want to light up the dash. I'm doing a proof of concept using the righthand side steering version of the dash (I'm building a leftsided version car). I will use fiber optics to light up the buttons and want to light up both displays, main and satnav (using this video as inspiration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p1LnwWfDqU)

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I've been working on some sick details today and yesterday.

I got my hands on some mesh which I removed from an old rounded IDE-cable. However this required that I disassemble the entire rear part again :doh:

In the end I think it was worth the effort, really proud how this turned out after a lot of messing with this cumbersome material.

image_zpsahxgntcm.jpeg

Doing research I came across many finished Aventadors which had when pictured from behind raw shiny plastic in their exhausts. I wanted mine to look more accurate. As mentioned I had acquired some Rubber Paint which is extremely flat, so I had already used this to blacken the interior of the exhaust pipes.

This morning however after disassembling everything I thought why not give it a try and make it really go through. I needed some more experience with my Dremel on this plastic material anyway, this is how it turned out. Bit difficult to photograph but I'm also proud of how this turned out in the end:

image_zpsdrjh6mkw.jpeg

I put some black foam in the exhaust so that under no circumstance should there be any light visible.

Using cigarette paper I have also replaced the heat shield on the rear of the passenger compartment. I like the texture on this one, the old one was too clean. Had a hard time removing those papers as they are glued into the boxes, ended up using hot water. I then pressed them overnight using barbells and kitchen paper.

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Speaking about sick details, this one drove me crazy. I wanted to insert a red piece of plastic into my seatbelt locks. I had to use the watchmaker insert in my lens lamp:

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Red plastic is derived from a cap of a dry pen

I now have real screws in my intake carbon cover :D Really happy how this turned out:

image_zpsur6ytzxz.jpeg

Tried to find some on ebay but instead of ordering 1000+ screws from China not knowing if one fits, I had an inspiration to use screws from sunglasses (used 2 give-away plastic sunglasses).

  • I moved the brackets on the intake tubes further towards the throttles. Note that I already had sanded the plastic tubes to give them a rubberish look. I thought about applying the rubber paint but then decided not to after comparing with reference images. Would have turned out too flat. I like them how the look now.
  • I painted the main cable/pipe with my new rubber paint and cleaned the fuel line from silver residue and added a sticker.
  • Added some more pipes and isolated them in the exhaust area with spare cigarette paper and spend about an hour altogether fixing the read marker on the vacuum hose on the left. What a PITA.

image_zpsl48dqxri.jpeg

Edited by Danny_G
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Wow, Danny. Fantastic detail. I agree that the hoses have a very real life shine.

Don't know what you mean with: "I further moved the brackets onward to the throttles as they are almost aligned IRL"

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Good morning Pouln. Thank you for your feedback. Sorry I was very tired when I wrote that and edited the post like 20 times also.

I meant this:

brackets_zps0zdyqoii.jpg

(photo on the right is from a real-world Aventador I once took a couple of pictures from)

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There isn't much progress at the moment as I'm rather working backwards then forwards. I have now also disassembled the entire cockpit as far as possible, even the seatbelts. Some parts are glued so good that they cannot be separated (guess I used superglue to attach the steering column...). All the material is visibly suffering from the repeated treatment (keep in mind I assembled half of the kit with no Intention for detailing, that's why I have to work 'backwards' now). Another thing I've been working on is the center console, trying to illuminate the display. Looking good but needs further improvements.

Also tried to glue the seats for the umpteenth time, still not attached properly, pretty frustrating. I will also add carpet to the cockpit floor (very thin self-adhesive velvet), have tried to attach the first piece when I discovered that the material I had left was no longer sticky. Odd because it is only 2 years old but I will buy some new today.

Biggest progress is that I finally discovered the work of Paul Koo, have ordered immediately one of his additional water decal kits with all the missing decals. I have spent a lot of time, effort and also money trying to make my own. Search function in ebay is sometimes really odd, because I was looking for something like tat and couldn't find a thing.

Also detailing has become an obsession. I am trying to find a way to fill that hole (white area in photo) which in real life is the place of a canister (hidden halfway) and two pretty prominent cables leading to it (the mock-cap of the canister is there):

image_zpsbljxz4wi.jpeg

edit: image link fixed

Odd thing is, not even the super expensive Tommaso Transkit has this as far as I could see.

Edited by Danny_G
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I doubt that there isn't a question that can't be answered or a problem that hasn't been been experienced and overcome on this or any other Pocher model by the guys here on this forum. All you need to do is ask and I'm sure you'll get a number of solutions. As you know, Roy has already built this car and can more than likely answer any questions that you might have regarding this particular build. I know Paul Koo fairly well and talk to him frequently, I can ask him anything else you might want to know. Codger's a Rolls builder but is also a fantastic resource and there's a lot more guys here with Pocher building experience so, you have a lot of experience at your fingertips if needed.

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Rather than buy new carpet, simply spray the back with 3M 77 spray adhesive.

For the mystery hole, I'd either make a new canister from tube or make recess a mesh screen with black backer in its place.

Going back on previously done work to super detail or modify is a character builder. You CAN become obsessed. But if you have the patience and temperament, it's all really worth it and gives you a very advanced build.

Edited by Codger
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Are you making the rear removable? I ask as you will want to make sure you leave room around the canister so you can get the rear on and off without accidentally snapping it off. Excellent job so far. The lighting effects are really impressive!

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@larchiefeng: Thank you very much for the offer that I will gladly accept once I encounter something I can't seem to overcome. I know you guys are very proficient in what you do. Main problem probabely is that I'm working on too many things at once. I guess I'll make a specific post with mishaps/bad looking things and ask for solutions.

@Codger: Thanks. For the carpets, I will use adhesive spray or doubleside tape/foil. The 'hole' issue is fixed, I have built a canister from a Display Port connector and attached some cables, turned out really good but forgot to take a photo. I dremeled a round opening into it which will attach to the white cylinder partly visible throught the hole, so the 'canister' will be attached underneath the rear cover and barely be visible. Photo will follow.

@rjfk2002: No, I do not plan to make the rear cover removable as I will add LED lighting and there would be a lot of ugly cables visible. Plan to place the 9V battery into the trunk so it can easily be changed.

I have again removed the air intake system and have been looking for a way to make the engine struts have a coarse surface like the real thing (fig. a). After sanding them to be painted I found out that using the nail file creates a very similar effect.

image_zps27d4k0wt.jpeg

Note the ominous 'hole' [fig. b] edit: image link fixed

image_zps0uwoziic.jpeg

I will leave them this way. They look better than pictured here. I tested a special color which creates a stone like effect but this will make the surface become too rough. (edit: If anyone could tell me why some Aventadors do not seem to have these struts I'd be really happy)

I have also kind of finished the steering wheel:

image_zps74txhff2.jpeg

This is painted with 'rubber paint' which I'm planning to use for the entire cockpit.

Edited by Danny_G
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Shot & quick update:

Final light test (again it looks a tad bit better on the photo):

image_zpsyknwdlej.jpeg

Carpet phase 1 completed:

image_zpsurob8mtt.jpeg

This is the canister I build from a Displayport Connector and some spare cables to be place in the ominous 'hole' (see fig. b in previous post)

278ea879-d3a8-476d-95a2-d8f699b87cce_zps

I will hotglue this underneath the rear cover. Need to make a slight adjustment to give room for the X strut. Also painted the rear cover flat black underneath so there won't be any white edges visible again.

Edited by Danny_G
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I was finally able to fix the center console display, thought I had messed it up beyond repair. Not sure if I'm going to light up some buttons, I'm scared as hell I could mess the center console really up. Also at the moment, I have no access to drills <1mm and fiber optic cable <1mm which I intended to use as light sources.

image_zpsn0ixgwdr.jpeg

Note some interior parts are still unpainted.

What do you guys think of the color scheme I more or less have decided to apply:

blackwhite_interior_zpssh8ehjvm.png

(this is made with the awesome Lambo configurator over at LamboCars.com )

Edited by Danny_G
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I experimented with fiber optic cable on my Mercedes for the tail lights because of the small diameter of the cable and where I was trying to run it. I had to abandon the idea because it just didn't give me the amount of light I needed. What I also noticed was that it only gives a light at the very end of the cable and how bright it is depends on the source. A 1mm or less fiber optic cable will be disappointing so buy a few sizes of cable and check what you're seeing before doing anything. I like the color scheme of the interior.

Edited by larchiefeng
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Nice colour scheme for the seats.

And also thanks for the link to the configurator. Will use it to select colours for my roadster.

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Great color choice. The seat material doesn't seem to take well to paint. I have seen some builds where people have successful gotten the paint to stick but not sure how they did it. I will be curious to learn how you paint them.

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Great color choice. The seat material doesn't seem to take well to paint. I have seen some builds where people have successful gotten the paint to stick but not sure how they did it. I will be curious to learn how you paint them.

That bothers me too, that's why I haven't started to paint a single piece in white … Dumb thing also is that now the seat vinyl finally has decided to stick on the seat shell, so I can't test on the inside of the seat. I will now try on the right seat at the lowest point, have sanded a small area using 2601 sanding paper and will test there.

@larchiefeng: I know what you mean. I tried this for the rear lights with a real high power LED. The dots were really bright, but not enough to really fire the thick red plastic of the rear light.

But in this case, I only intended to light the cockpit switches & buttons as in the YT video I posted earlier. Problem is as it seems, I have to order everything from ebay, ordered decal softener just yesterday. Shops around here don't have this stuff, already happy to have one nearby that is selling model paint. They just have R/C stuff and drones.

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I also ran across this video on YT a while back and it is what got me thinking about lighting up my Testarossa build. I started acquiring various parts from eBay and Amazon over the past few weeks as well. The only bad thing about the video is there is no sound or explanation of some of what he's doing. I'm curious about the size, wattage and voltage of everything. I made a couple of mistakes when I bought the LED's and mixed up the voltages on a couple of them because I was too focused on the size of the bulbs. I'm now trying to find the small SMD LED's in the correct voltage. I'm planning to run the Eightyone81 controller and I will have to use the same size voltage as the controller but I don't have it yet. I think it's literally on a slow boat from China. Are you or have you ever used the SMD LEDs? If so I'd be curious to know what you used. So far you've done a good job of going back and detailing areas that will be visible. Do you think that you could use leather or a suede on any part of the interior like the seats that is the rubber like plastic instead of trying to paint it?

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Regarding the painting of the seats, I suggest you look at paint suitable for leather and vinyl. That paint is flexible and will not crack and should dry perfectly (did not test it myself though).

Somewhere I read of some one who painted it and after drying, found it remained sticky. He used talcum powder and rubbed that in the paint. After that it did not stick anymore.

Edited by Pouln
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