keefr22 Posted October 25, 2016 Share Posted October 25, 2016 Oh dear, thinks...' shall I add this to my Telford sales list',,,?! Real shame Nick, how long have we waited for one of these? Shame Airix couldn't show a proper interest in 1/24 cars... Keith PS I still hope to see your two at Telford, may re-kindle my interest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Belbin Posted October 26, 2016 Author Share Posted October 26, 2016 Well it won’t be me Ashley – I’m happy to have a good starting point! The two builds I’ve seen are perfectly acceptable, it’s just me and my issues that are making such hard work of this. Go for it Keith, I’ll be getting another one. It looks like an Escort – more than Academy’s Spitfire XIV looks like a Spitfire. I was hoping to have sprayed the red on the Alan Mann car last night. I didn’t. I was looking over the bodyshell and realised that I hadn’t put in the filler pipe/cap on the rear wing. I looked through some of the internet references as well as the Passion for Racers kit and found a few other details that I need to add for this version including a couple of extra cooling slots on the front valance. So that means some extra time to be spent on it that I can ill-afford at the moment. I shall concentrate on the Roger Clark car for Telford. I’ve finished the making of another pair of inner wings (making three sets so far) and added those to the Clark car last night. Looking at them again this morning, I found that I’d goofed up by not trimming enough off the back where they join to the bulkhead – and while removing them damaged the bulkhead with a couple of cuts through it. Apart from cursing myself for my stupidity and the time lost replacing them, I’ll now have to cut another bulkhead to line the interior side. That does have a positive side because I’ll be able to sort a mounting point for the pedals more easily (hopefully). I must say though that I am enjoying this kit, it’s mainly my cack-handedness that’s causing the problems. I’ll get some pictures up in the next few days – most of the work has been preparation (filling and sanding) in preparation for paint so nothing of any interest at the moment. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 I shall (hopefully!) build it one day Nick - but it'll have everything closed up & probably only 4 link boxes as any additions to the shell. I had been thinking of selling one of my Passion For Racers kits but changed my mind. Then when going through my stuff for the kit swap, I also found a quattroroutte that i'd completely forgotten about that I've started modifying the shell to a Twin Cam & also a narrow bodied resin shell that I'd also forgotten i had! The latter still requires a whole lot of dremel grinding to reduce the thickness of the inner bits, which when it came were a scale foot or so thick....! So many Escorts...!! Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Belbin Posted October 26, 2016 Author Share Posted October 26, 2016 You can't have too many Escorts . . . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetroRacing Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 Ooo selling any car kits Keith? And Nick what you're doing might only be for your peice of mind as it were, but you are never the less finding and correcting faults that shouldn't be there. if this was an Airplane it it would've been rendered unbuildable by now for not being accurate haha. Ashley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted October 26, 2016 Share Posted October 26, 2016 12 minutes ago, MetroRacing said: Ooo selling any car kits Keith? 34 going into the 'kit swap' at the last count Ashley! K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Belbin Posted November 22, 2016 Author Share Posted November 22, 2016 Well, despite my best efforts, I failed to get this done in time for Telford. Up until then, I've been cleaning up and painting various components and begun some assembly. The two items holding me back have been the seatbelts (because I don't like the material supplied) and the rear bulkhead mounted 'tool-roll'. Here's a couple of pics showing the underfloor in situ: I replaced the panhard rod with a length of brass. I decided that some black paper would be ideal for the seatbelts, having a nice weave to it. And thought that might do for the tool-roll support as well. The original tool-roll back was another piece of flat plastic onto which a vinyl set of pockets is mounted. I wanted something a little more representative of the real thing but my first attempt with paper failed and I didn't think that kitchen foil would be strong enough. As is normal with this slow witted person, it took a couple of days before lead foil dawned on me. So this week I've managed to make the roll. The original vinyl pockets' edges were thinned and the set cut into three because I wanted the fire extinguisher pocket (second right) to fit more tightly around it - a 'v' cut into the bottom of the pocket allowed the sides to be squeezed in. The fasteners attaching the roll to the bulkhead rivets are spare GT40 seat rivets. The last image shows one of the front struts now in place in the fabricated inner wings: I think there's going to be a fair bit of negative camber there - luvverly! Until next time, cheers. Nick 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetroRacing Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Wow. All these little changes certainly improve the look of the kit a lot. And great tips for those who wish to follow suit. Ashley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helios16v Posted November 22, 2016 Share Posted November 22, 2016 Awesome build. I'm probably going to borrow some ideas when I build mine. Though I'll be going a slightly different route...I'll be modifying the kit for a tarmac circuit car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstone48 Posted November 23, 2016 Share Posted November 23, 2016 Hi Nick I'm currently building the same kit Did you find anything that stripped the chrome off, so far I've tried bleach, brake fluid and revell paint stripper but if anything it make the chrome even shinier? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Belbin Posted November 24, 2016 Author Share Posted November 24, 2016 Thanks, Ashley and Chris. Chris, you might have picked up the fact that I'm doing an Alan Mann car as well, so a specialist tarmac car. Research has shown a there is a whole lot more to be done than I originally thought and that applies to the Passion for Racers kits as well. Even though I have the Passion for Racers kits that have the correct wheels (they AREN'T Minilites but Elektrons according to the Castrol promo sheet), I ordered three sets of Renaissance tarmac conversion kits. I haven't studied them in great depth but I'm hard pushed to see any difference in the axle and shockers. I think the wheels are wider (I wanted them mainly for a MkII) but the tyres are more low profile and slick which I'm a bit disappointed about. I'll dig them out over the weekend and try a comparison pic next week. If the tyres are proven to be too small (I'll need some guidance there) then I'll need help in finding some alternatives. There's a guy on Shapeways/Facebook who does some 8" and 10" Minilites for the MkII but he hasn't responded to email - dang! dstone48, I didn't try as many options as you, giving up with oven cleaner. I tried to strip the chrome when modifying the radiator grill but it failed. While cutting and filing the grill, I found a copper layer beneath the chrome plate that I've not noticed on any other kits. Whether this has a bearing on it, I'm not sure. Because I had to respray the grill using Alclad (my first time and I'm amazed at how good it is) I decided I'd do the rest of the chrome work including the windscreen wipers that are white plastic and supposed to be painted black. I started with the bumpers and found horrible seam lines on the corners which would have to go. I used fine/medium sanding sticks and literally sanded all the chrome off. The bumper mounting bolts disappeared as well but I've managed to replace them. I've not been convinced about the rear light part in the kit either. Apart from seam lines on that, it just looks like a soft blob to me so I'm scratching those. Again, pics will follow next week. I've been fitting seat belts over the past couple of sessions and I have to say that the instructions are not very helpful - I would have hoped that they might give a clue on how long to cut the belts but I can't see anything. The buckles are drawn as though some folding might be involved but they are just flat. I found that I had to fit the seats so that I could gauge the lengths from that. And whilst I'm having a moan, the dials on the centre console don't have any depth so I've drilled them out; and the clocks on the Speedmaster(?) are slightly recessed in the kit whereas they should be a couple of clocks mounted onto a box - that's getting sorted as well. Despite the moans, I'm thoroughly enjoying this kit. Nick 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetroRacing Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 Hi nick. Slightly off topic ut do you know where I could get some gravel tyres that fit the ESCI/Revell mk2 wheels. A pet peeve of mine is slicks on a gravel event Ashley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Belbin Posted November 24, 2016 Author Share Posted November 24, 2016 Unfortunately not, Ashley. I seem to remember that I bought an ESCI kit when they first came out and put some tyres from a Lamborghini Miura on. But I'm pretty sure that the ESCI/Revell's Minilites are a bit too big in diameter anyway. I have an idea . . . I'll get back to you. Here's a bit more info on wheels: A link to the wheels I found: http://www.fireballmodels.info/fmr-049.htm but got no response. I'm sure somebody will do some soon I've recently bought the Alan Mann book but haven't started reading it yet. Here's a link to the poster that is sold on the AMR website: http://www.alanmann.co.uk/shopping/amr-castrol-poster-a1 I also recently got hold of the 'Works Escorts in Detail' book, Ronnie Spain's on the GT40 and 'Ford GT40 How Ford Silenced the Critics, Humbled Ferrari . . .' - that's got some great pictures!! Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbdesignart Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 (edited) I too have heard that someone in the UK is producing a set of resin wheels and tyres for the AMR and Broadspeed Escorts soon. Doing a bit of searching on the term 'Electron' this could refer to Magnesium Electron of Manchester a company who either provided the metal and/or cast the wheels. A couple of articles in Motorsport have references to this but also refer to the wheels as 'Minilites' I hope Nick you don't mind me adding the links to this thread. Mark http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/march-2010/120/ford-escort-mk1 http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/october-1978/60/competition-wheels-ltd-wheel-craftsmen-magnesiu Edited November 24, 2016 by mbdesignart extra information Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Belbin Posted November 24, 2016 Author Share Posted November 24, 2016 Absolutely not, Mark, all really useful info!! And that competition wheels article is full of typos - must have been a Friday afternoon job. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 2 hours ago, Nick Belbin said: Unfortunately not, Ashley. I seem to remember that I bought an ESCI kit when they first came out and put some tyres from a Lamborghini Miura on. But I'm pretty sure that the ESCI/Revell's Minilites are a bit too big in diameter anyway. IIRC Nick, when I measured the ESCI wheels they are just over 14 inch scale diameter - 1/24 inch wasn't enough to bother me! I have the old MRM (do you remember them?) Cossack conversion kit that includes resin Minilites with knobbly tyres. I offered to loan them to William at PfR when he was doing the Escort, but unfortunately when I checked them they were none too round! So I think he sourced some from the Hasegawa Safari 240Z kit & modified them to enable him to cast his own gravel wheels/tyres. Unfortunately I don't know if he's still selling them. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Belbin Posted November 24, 2016 Author Share Posted November 24, 2016 You're right, Keith, the discrepancy isn't really noticeable but the low profile slicks don't help - the Miura tyres made a helluva difference though; something else to dig out and photograph methinks. MRM. Hmm . . . not sure if I remember them or not. Did they do a range of resin car bodies? Even if that was them, I certainly don't recall a Cossack conversion - what did it consist of? I never dealt with William of PfR directly either, I think I bought through Scale Auto. So is William still selling at at all? Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted November 24, 2016 Share Posted November 24, 2016 Nick, MRM were a small British outfit who had a stand at SMW (or the Nats as we then knew it as) & many other shows for years, IIRC they were from Hereford. They did a lot of really useful aftermaket motorsport bits & pieces including decals & conversion kits - like the Cossack one which had the wheels, RHD dash & a nice decal sheet. Shame they disappeared as car modelling seems more popular now & they had some very useful stuff. I don't actually recall them doing resin bodies, but I think I vaguely recall the guy running it (Mike something I think, memory failing again!) saying he was working on a couple of full resin kits (including a Mk1!) the last time I saw him. Don't think they were ever released. Unfortunately the only contact I had with William of PfR was through the GPMA e-mail message group on Yahoo. One of the members had his address book hacked a couple of years back & was sending out a couple of hundred spam e-mails a day. I changed my e-mail preferences with the group to stop them, & was never able to change them back again. So I don't know if William is still doing anything, or even if the group still exists. The last thing I heard he was working on was a 1/24 full kit of a Ford Anglia - I would have liked a couple of those too...!! K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Belbin Posted November 25, 2016 Author Share Posted November 25, 2016 Thanks for the info Keith. I've had a slightly more in-depth look at the Renaissance tarmac conversion set. I can now see that the front struts, shocks and mounting pins on the axle have been reduced in height by a millimetre or so. The wheels are exactly the same width as the Belkits wheels, the difference being that the rims are flat allowing the included slicks to be slid on easily as opposed to the huge ridges on the Belkits'. So Ashley, your luck is in. Because I have a spare set of Renaissance wheels and the Belkit Escort comes with a set of spare tyres, you can have them for your MkII - pm me. As for building the kit, I've continued with making seatbelts and working on the centre console . . . Nick 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 Any chance of a pic of the Rennaissance set when you have a moment please Nick, the wheels especially? (apols if you've already posted one but I did have a quick look at the previous couple of pages & couldn't see any) Ta Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetroRacing Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 Thanks Nick. I've PM'd you. I've also been looking at that website you posted and I've also seen they do a set of 15" minilites. However those are rather basic having a brake disc moulded to the backing plate. I wonder if the ESCI/Revell wheels are supposed to be 15" as I know both 13 and 15's were used. Maybe even 14" too lol. Recently I've been thinking a lot about casting my own wheels and tyres. Specifically Hasegawa's Lancia Stratos Safari wheels as I need more sets for future projects that require the gravel wheels. Unless I can find someone who's good at casting? lol Ashley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Belbin Posted November 25, 2016 Author Share Posted November 25, 2016 Here you are Keith: Ashley, I've got your address, will try and post tomorrow but I've got a pretty hectic schedule. Oooh - just noticed - an exhaust tunnel on the axle!! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetroRacing Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 No worries Nick. Oh no not another exhaust tunnel! Haha Ashley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted November 25, 2016 Share Posted November 25, 2016 Thanks Nick. Wheels look quite nice, wonder if he sells them separately.... K Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Belbin Posted December 19, 2016 Author Share Posted December 19, 2016 Right, bit of a catch up here and probably the last before Christmas. Even though I've been quiet on the posting front, I have been busy getting on with this kit! The interior was finished a couple of weeks ago but my camera tended to focus on the roll cage which didn't help. I've borrowed my wife's SLR for today's batch of pics: Should have dusted it off a bit first! Anyway, I quite like the mixture of textures in there. I was always unsure about the rear light clusters so I've rebuilt those by sticking various layers of 10 thou' plasticard together. The real clusters sit within a chamfered bezel that then sits in a plastic/rubber boot that creates a waterproof seal and it's very obvious on paler coloured cars. The cruelty of close up photography!! These are actually 11mm long . . . Then something a little simpler and quicker was picked to get on with - the wheels. A tyre valve was added to each. Firstly, the base for the valve (part of the wheel casting) was a circle punched out and a very fine slice cut away. This was glued to the inner rim with the cut to the outside. After setting overnight, it was then drilled and a short length of 20 thou rod glued in. A couple more drops of glue were added to represent the valve cover. Then painted . . . Something didn't ring true about the front lamp brackets so a simple bit of research (looking at the image on the box end!) revealed that they should be the AVO style twisted and welded steel type. I needed some brass strip for these but couldn't find any at the size I wanted. Fortunately, I had an 'L' section so was able to cut and file a piece 100mm x 1.5mm for the components - and there was a fair amount of time spent filing! A little bit of twisting and a bit of soldering resulted in these: The light mounting bolts are a bit of brass rod soldered in and then some drilled 1mm hexagonal rod representing the nuts added both sides. I wasn't convinced that just simply glueing them straight to the bodywork would be strong enough so I will add pins where the bolts go then add some more hex rod. Some attention was given to the Cibies; I removed the original fitting pins and added the bulge around the locating bolt. The five rivets around that were added as well as the grommet for the cable. This pic has been taken mid way through painting . . . The shell is in the process of polishing after having been revisited to fill in the holes for the original light brackets. So that's it for now, hopefully I'll find some time shortly after Christmas to continue. But in the meantime, Seasons Greetings to all our readers!! Nick 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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