Malc2

Noice! You gonna do tyres as well? If so - which tread pattern? Blockley? M. PS, just remembered - the Bentley number plate needs re-doing with a much wider font to match the real thing.

As a few future 1/12 suggestions:- Lotus 49 brake calipers (kit only supplies half a caliper for each wheel) Honda RA273 brake calipers - (kits are fiction and only supply half a caliper) Honda RA273 accel cable pulley wheel and mount Lotus 49 rear wheel rims (kit has wrong profile) Lotus 49 wheel nuts Lotus 49 front top wishbones (kits are wrong profile) Lotus 49b front top wishbones as above and swept forward to extend wheel base There are a heap of other changes to the 49b including wider tyres and different size wheel rims. M.

Looking great (despite the tape paint peel!). M.

Ahh, not a Facebook member. No plan to either....... Have you considered opening a thread on F1M? Britmodeller is great and I love it but you would get much wider audience. M.

I have received a set of the Honda RA273 exhausts and can confirm that they are fantastic! Future suggestions:- Wire wheels for the 1/12 Airfix Bentley (although I am sure you are already doing these?) Suspension dampers for the same Is there somewhere for suggestions on the website? M.

Thommo, Yes, BMF is self adhesive. The great thing is if you mess up you can just peel it off and start again. Its not very good at sharp double curves (EG bumper over riders), but would do a roof for example. Great for screen surrounds or trim lines. Put an oversize piece on and trim to size after smoothing down with a cotton bud, then cut the excess away with a sharp knife. M.

Thanks @keefr22, do you mean Revell Aqua Clear Gloss? M.

Hi Roy, Agree about Molotow giving great results, but how do you protect the finish? Clear over the top? If so which type? I have found it very fragile to finger marks which destroys the finish. M.

Yes please! Your work on this is too good to be wasted on Fotobkt Or use ImgBB? M.

Good question, previously I had been told for the Bentley about 4.5mm (11/64 in freedom units), but today I was at a car show, so measured the spoke diameter of a 1927 4L Bentley as a shade under 5mm (3/16), so 0.4 in 1/12 scale. So apologies to @Mumbly, your pins are closer than I thought! The Alfa spokes do appear thinner than the Bentley spokes in photos. @nick - how much shrinkage (if any) do you get on the printed parts compared to the CAD data? Latest iteration of wheel looks great! Your work rate is phenominal. M.

Plus 1 to that. Well said Saberjet. Comparing Tamiya with MFH is grossly unfair, the comparison should be with similar companies such as MG models, and MHF are light years ahead of them. Tamiya is a multi million dollar company, MFH is half a dozen enthusiasts in a small industrial unit making kits for a niche market. I agree that some things like engine internals are unnecessary, and MFH have learned from this via customer feedback, and with each release MFH have tried to improve while trying to keep costs down, clearly some things worked and others didn't, the MP4/4 is an early 1/12 MFH release. The balance between white metal and resin is driven by economics and I never had a problem with it. You get the kit, have a look and improve the bits you don't like, same as any kit - even the best Tamiya kits. Replacing fasteners is quick, simple and cheap, especially with the recently available Meng fasteners. I still say OOB it makes a very impressive model. If you like the subject and think you can do it then go for it. There is nothing you can't fix with time, superglue and isopropanol! No MFH kit is ever going to be a shake and bake like recent Tamiya releases. Where else are you going to get a 1/12 kit of an MP4/4? (OK there is a 1/12 die cast, but it is curbside and poorly detailed by MFH standards). M.

Hi Mumbly, 0.5mm is too large for this application, as Nick says - spokes need to be 32swg or 0.274mm for the Alfa, or at most 0.35mm for a Bentley which has thicker spokes. Piano wire comes in lots of different diameters. (Plus I have some and use it a lot for aeromodelling, so am used to it!). Each to his own though! M.

I'm a big fan of replacing the Tamiya tube with either copper wire or solder, then painted as required. Copper wire can be stripped from cabling and comes in an infinite choice of diameters. Solder comes in fewer diameters, but is easier to bend in larger sizes. (coolant tubes). They can both be bent easily and will hold the bend, rather than plastic or vinyl tubing which will try to strighten. Unless you want clear tube which is a whole other problem! Malc.

Having worked in an Automotive development enviroment, you have no idea how relevant that is! I planned to use piano wire, comes in straight lengths of about 1 meter. M.

Love the fact you are showing us your prototypes including the mistakes! All looking very promising. Making the dimples in the rim for the spoke retainers was always going to be impossible for me modifying the kit parts, so this is going to be great. M.

Both currently available in 1/32 from Aerotech (Marsh Models) M.

These rims look great. I can think of several applications, you could even do the correct size rims and tyres for the Italeri Fiat 806. Plus the 1/12 Airfix Bentley of course! Broke my favourite coffee cup yesterday, so I know how you feel............ M.

There is a part finished one here on Britmodeller:- Wonder why it stalled? Malc

Well, the answer is not a lot really. OOB it makes a very impressive model. As with every kit you can always add 'extra detail'. A lot depends how good your references are and how far you want to go, have you got the MFH MP4/4 detail book and a heap of good photo references? To help you on your way here is a link to the instructions so you can have a look at what is in the kit. The tyres are real rubber. https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1463812/Mfh-K429.html#manual You also get all the correct smoking transfers and a sheet of templated carbon of different types. M.

Looking fantastic, I am impressed with your technique for making the masking for the top wing, I shall have to remember that. Why have you chosen to keep the fuz in two pieces? Malc.

Aww shucks..... Never mind, still looking forward to your BT44 build! Who did you buy it from? M.

Good job! First time I have seen a model correctly painted with the stripe on the port wing! I assume the stripe was to line up with the pylon to accurately judge the turn? Malc.

Good stuff, always nerve wracking cutting up a kit this expensive! Is the BT55 from Neko in Brazil, or the super rare S27/Hiro kit? I would be really interested in some pictures of the kit if you don't mind, as I have always wanted one. You could say the BT55b became the MP4/4 by virtue of the fact that the designer Gordon Murray moved to McLaren and had another stab at the low line concept, and we all know how that car dominated the 1988 season! Although some sources have down played GM's input to the MP4/4, the visual similarities between the two cars is undeniable. Edit, In the remote chance anyone reads old posts, more info has come to light re BT55 Vs MP4/4 in the form of a very enlightening interview with Steve Nichols:- Malc.

This is really great, following with interest as you chase the trail of available evidence to piece it all together. Looking forward to seeing the next iteration of model to come from the latest drawings. Malc.

Good to know, thanks.