Little Andi

Hi, John ... no worries on the rusty aluminium, I've seen rusty fibreglass too? ... although I reserve the right to have some oxide residue around bolt heads and the like - both ferrous and non-ferrous. And I doubt I shall have the paintwork falling off in sheets, I do fancy peeling a bit back though - we'll have to see how that goes? The orange is supposed to imitate a layer of "yellow ochre" which was an old coach painter's technique, used it as a filler primer by all accounts and whilst a bit grand (and redundant) for a racing car I liked the idea and it served my aesthetic needs. I have a few more interesting ideas and effects I'd like to try so perhaps more surprises yet? Thanks for tagging along and as always, your enthusiastic encouragement. Cheers ............................

.............. Yes, that is the premise. In my mind it's been bricked into a foundation arch at the end of which is a high up grating to ventilate the cellars. Each day a shaft of sunlight strobes across the basement floor and as the years wax and wain this dappling light gently flickers across the haughty flanks of this once proud and trembling steed; it's only company now the birds and rodents that make their homes in and amongst the bones and entrails of a quietly, and patiently slumbering beast ........................ or some other such gibberish!!! Thanks for your kind remarks gents - you have the flavour of it now.

In my own defence, this will be a lot subtler once it meets the chassis and the bonnet. I've been a bit "over the top" as I know I shall "knock it back//" in order to mesh the component's together as a whole. Pics' .......................................... There you go then - that'll give you some idea at least as to just how weathered this poor little thing will be? And sorry I haven't been around as much as I would have liked - real life- summer and just general stuff as gotten in the way. More soon .................... Oh, and PS .................... I've gone for a worn and weathered nickel coating on the grill as opposed to hard chrome - I just think it fits the build and what I'm after a little better.

Hi Jeremy - glad to see progress on this; it's a stunning build. Lots of groovy widgets and things. I have one in the stash and have been tempted to build a chassis only version if only to show it at this beautiful stage ..... very well done.

Nice work Steve .... good to see some movement in this thread too. Shame about those cooling vents in the drums - sounded like a great idea till you thought about - "that'll teach you"? For myself the drums look terribly emaciated - I shall just thicken them up a bit ... make 'em a bit more manly.

John .... saw your post last night - but was already in bed mode (it was one o'clock) so excuse me if this now seems tardy and dismissive!!! ... I am still working on the 806, although it has slowed a little, more the time of year and outdoor distractions than anything, as you know one almost feels emotionally blackmailed if the Sun should peek from behind a cloud - such that you should enjoy it (I can still hear my Mother telling me to go out and play in the Sunshine). Also, I'm at one of those points where I'm working on a lot of the next set of sub-assemblies so that's a fairly invisible process - starting the weathering on the body which I'm only slowly feeling my way through; enjoying it though. Every passage seems to throw up some other bright spark idea or scenario. I'll try and post a pic' or two of the radiator assembly soon ... nearly finished that so far! But that'll be about it for a while I guess??

Congratulations Sam' will speak more a little later (Long night, now late for work)! ............. well done.

Hi Codger, nice to know that some folk are still wandering by ... and thanks for the endorsement on the rivets and louvres. I know they might technically be a touch on the big side but they get the idea across and people can just take in the image at a sweep so it makes for a far greater confection for the eyes, and thus hopefully most folk will go away happy? Steve bloke, ................... the first two pic's are a set and feature strong contrasts (tone, hue, and chroma) :- the second two are a separate topcoat that although covers completely, is in fact quite thin. The idea is as you know so the pre-shading shows through the topcoat to give me a headstart on the weathering - the staining you spotted is intermittent coats of hairspray and there'll be another one before a final pink misting to give me a dead chalked layer. All this will then be scrubbed and chipped back to give a heavily aged finish that has suffered long term exposure and no little onslaught of generations of fauna and general critter attack, also this topcoat has been applied with strong vertical and horizontal spray marks - this should allude to the process of "laying off"-(Coach painting) ...as I cut back through the layers .................. Some folk may be shocked and upset at the level of weathering and patination I intend to unleash on this poor model. Till then ... then ................................ ps, I know the little Italian badge is silly but you can't say there wouldn't have been one there - plus I liked it!

Well, it has gone a bit quiet in here? ... although in the UK we are in the middle of an unseasonably warm summer spell so I'm guessing those with groovy things to do are doing them. Having said that it is of course, raining this morning. I have been making a little headway after a few false starts, and only post this small update because it really announces the start of much major weathering on the body and various assemblies. I am actually very tempted to "red" everything - suspension, wheels ... as this is often as it's presented in all the period posters of the time, or at least most of the motor racing cars of the era. And I think I like it - very nostalgic and dashing, and so very flapper! Anyhoo ................ pictures.............. These couple of pic's are included to try and show the pre-shading employed - also as a complimentary reveal when I hopefully manage to "Chip" the paint at a later point. And finally the "final" Red? ................... it might be noticed, although awkward in these pic's ... the sides and lower areas are a full bloodied Italian red whilst the tops and upper areas are a much lighter "orangier" tone, again trying to put in a touch of pre-shade but much subtler now. Messed about with the radiator, more just for effect than anything, and to make sure that you're aware of something happening behind that grill. also, just a little fabrication to allow the starting handle to engage through the radiator structure - truth be told it lines up with the sump plug, but I'm kind of getting a bit tired of doing it appears Italeri's job for them, and I'll not be taking any shots from that sort of angle anyway - this is obviously the level of my FIF? More as it happens .........................................

Not so much an update, more of an excuse to say I'm quite pleased so far - (this will not last no doubt). but I've finally got the body into primer, and I do enjoy this stage as all those disparate elements finally come together and result in (hopefully) a pleasing result just as you'd anticipated? I was just going to carry straight on and work through this but decided in the end that it might just be worth a few quick pic's? A bit soft and fluffy but you get the idea? ... Those louvres after all the worry came out pretty good - perhaps not rivet counter proof but I likes 'em! All the changing of profiles seems to have worked out well enough - and the thing I like the most? .............. If there's such a thing as a plump over-ripe rivet, well that's what I've got and I reckon they look the biz' .............? That red on the chassis, by the way, is the red I'll be using ... Naphthol Red, it's an artists pigment which I've made up in an acrylic base, some blending medium, a touch of flow enhancer let it down with a goodly swig of distilled water and we're good to go!!! ........... basically it's Postman Pat red and it will be nowhere near this colour by the time I've finished messing with it?

Thanks for your timely response Jeremy, I did think about the wisdom of leaving the crank-handle in or not, but my backstory sort of dictates it might be there?? - Now I know I'm not losing the plot though I shall wait till I'm a bit further along and see what it all looks like with the engine in etc? ............. thanks again.

OK, general question; but probably for Jeremy as much as anyone. .............. the radiator core! I've assembled it in the hand and have now glued it up. But, I've noticed a discrepancy I can't explain to my own satisfaction. It would appear as if when assembled as per the instructions (which are quite clear), the hole for the crank handle is several millimetres above the hole in the grill; is this correct, or am I missing something?

Not bad at all Sam, looks for all the world like a hinge, and it folds like a hinge - hereto it must be a hinge! As ever don't beat yourself up, you're doing a great job and one you should be very pleased with. And I'll grant you it was a bit of a fiddly exercise, but I believe the effort is rewarded by maximum kudos for having a folding bonnet hinge. Not sure if I said but I used a 1.0mm brass tube (0.8,iØ) with a 0.75mm iron wire core ..... I cut mine into 10mm segments with 5mm endpieces. Perhaps most important thing was cutting a concave groove along the bonnet edge to accommodate the tubing this is what keeps things aligned and helps tremendously with the adhesion of the cyano'. All very simple really, but like most of my modelling can be tedious?? ...

That's all coming together nicely John, engines looking good and the solution to the ill-fitting throttle linkage is quite elegant. I like the floor too ... well done chap, keep up the excellent work.

Hi John ............... good to see you too, thanks for popping round, and of course a couple of rather large cream cakes never goes amiss. Re' the plugs, mine are from the block - 5.5mm to the top of the porcelain insulator, 7mm (overall) to the top of the conductor .................... As you know these digital pic's crucify the reality of the piece, but it gives you something to go on? Regards "Andi" .............. it's not an affectation more of a nickname (in the spelling) ................ during an English lesson way back when; we were discussing the differing rules for utilising a "y" sound on the end of a word and how this was related in inference to its spelling. There were three Andrew's in the class and as an exercise "she" (teacher) referred to us as "Andy, Andi and Andie" I just became; in the playground, Andy with an I - and it stuck as these things do in playgrounds, I just adopted the taunt, and it's only ever started to feel fey since the Americans genderised it and/or it felt like I was trying to be trendy or something - trouble is it's been like that for the best part of sixty years and changing it back would almost feel like a betrayal now.

I agree entirely Jeremy, the idea of this thread was to provide a forum in order to help and support those less confident in their skills. I realised early on that this kit was at best a compromise of fact and fiction and chose to build within that premise ... I created a back-story that fit the facts and I'm providing the fiction as I go along - you're going to cringe at some of the stuff I'm going to do later? Having said that we have some top-end modellers here, and they are having fun too. They are to be admired and emulated as much as one chooses - but, and this sounds harsh they are not to be held as the acme of what is acceptable or desirable. They are generously offering their insights and skills up for scrutiny and consumption. But no-one, certainly not by me ... is going to be thought of any the less for working within the parameters of their own skill set, or indeed their own ideals. Hope this comes across OK? ........... just trying to keep the thread planted firmly on the ground where everyone can reach it - everyone is welcome and encouraged to contribute. ................

Good grief man - how on earth, or rather "what" on earth are you using to make those piercings in the body shell - first the square, then the circle and now those radiused slots - they are are surgically accurate, and clean ... oh so clean. Now I'll admit I wasn't going for super neat when I did mine but this makes me look like I did it with a pick and shovel. These look for all the world as though they've been done with computer controlled lasers .................. "have they"? I know this isn't a competition, but looking at this level of work why I ask myself, am I bothering ..................................

I'll tell you what my thoughts are - I'm not bliddy well changing them now - and that's a fact!!! .......................

Actually nothing that clever ... just "poundland" cyano' - pretty good stuff, and so cheap you can afford to replace it as soon as it starts to go stale and not grab immediately. BUT, I did run a concave groove of sympathetic diameter the length of the bonnet, the brass was annealed with a flame and then scuffed up for some bite. To be honest when I cocked up a couple of times - (the cyano' wicked into the hinge - grr) it really took some getting off without completely trashing the whole assembly. Once it was proven and working I added several layers of glue over the top building up a fillet which I've since sanded back flush - I'm more worried about paint build-up now as it's a very fine little assembly. Regards opening and closing, I went to great lengths to make sure it wasn't hinge-bound, and then lubricated it with some petroleum jelly, and to be honest it won't be "used" that often - probably posed for pic's and lifted off completely for full inspection. It has made a better job of it than I might of give it credit for when I started. Sometimes it's nice to know my thinking does pan out - it's not always the case.

Sorry I was perhaps being a little too flippant - that is indeed exactly what I did ............... otherwise it wouldn't open and close (see first pic'). .... PS ................ when it comes to casting Vontrips your man ............... I tried it and I'm rubbish.

A couple of three pic's to bring us up to date, and topical seeing as we were discussing hinges? My solution was a simple as, just gluing some thin brass tube along the edge of the bonnet and shoving a bit of florists wire up the middle - tadah!! Actually it was a bit more fiddly than that, and I ended up jiggering it up at one point which is why it doesn't look as neat as I'd like. But, I've engineered in reasons for rough workmanship with my backstory so I'm covered (see you all thought I was being daft didn't you - (there was moth-ed in my medness). Oh, and I opened up the louvres too - it's a lot easier when you say it that quick!! ................. Actually it wasn't hard it was just really tedious, but it's done now, including the odd repair, no doubt it will need a bit of fettling when I get the primer on it. You'll have to excuse the screw heads but I've just assembled the main parts to see if I've got any fit issues, and have in fact trimmed the bonnet here and there but by and large it goes together pretty well - also for the first time I/you can see just how purposeful this little beasty looks. More as it happens ...................... cheers all.

Sam looking it again this morning I really can't rule out the fact that it's something as crude as "gauze" fixed to the carburettor body with something removable like "Blu-Tac" or some other "Clay" like substance. If you look at it with your "just off" peripheral vision it's quite easy to see an aperture at all these locations and one that fits quite comfortably with the idea of being a simple air intake. ....................... just my thoughts.

For me it's a bit clunky and over-scale - BUT, it's a cracking find and a telling sign that you're starting to develop "scale eyes". And it's amazing what comes into focus when you apply those to your surroundings. Great eureka moment - and now stored away in my mental "A-ha!" compartment.

I'm not quite ready to put this part of the body into primer yet, but felt I'd moved on enough that details would be lost - should that anyone is following and might be using these notions as guidance? Much happier with the louvres now, still not prototypically correct of course but nice and and open and flared - to me they now "look" like louvres as I might expect to see them. And without going off on some philosophical debate I think this is the essence of my modelling ... I tend to represent things how I think they should look rather than how they are - which probably explains why when I look in the mirror I see someone much taller and better looking! .................... I'm not joking now but after speaking to someone for a considerable time on the phone - that was their opening statement on finally meeting!!!!! Pic's ........................ Obviously there are a lot more rivets visible in these pic's than you might expect - kind of my point up above really. I'm sure once this goes into primer paint and then weathering these will sit well back into the build and provide a little relief onto what would of become quite a blank canvas - it'll give me something to work with (if I need it) when the heavy weathering starts. Probably far more important is the amount of work that's gone into fettling those cockpit cowls - all but completely changed the profiles in order to make it look as though the rivets really are holding the darn things on! Spent a lot of time fettling the bodywork in general, hence the splashes of filler primer and grey primer just so I could see where I was going with it!! I'll be happier when it's all into primer though and I can make a final check that all is well and it/she looks clean and tidy ...................... Bonnet and Radiator cowl next - phew!

Ha,ha,ha ............................. You laugh now but wait till you call whining ... "can I borrow your burny-bendy thing" ... Oh yes, it'll all be different then - you just wait and see! ...