silver911

Many thanks Chris...much appreciated Whilst I freely admit it's not 100% accurate to the 1:1...I do feel it's an improvement over the basic kit parts...likewise with the steering rack etc. ...the best result I could get with what materials and tools I have. Cheers Ron

I sincerely apologise Thierry (and have corrected my error)...my bad...it's an age thing 😱 Ron

Whilst prepping more of the hub associated bits...and studying some ref pics...I noticed a detail missing from the disc hubs! The kit parts..... As you can see...there are no ventilation holes around the central cover plate. A bit of careful drilling later..... To make it easier to clean them up the screws and nuts are used for mounting in the Dremel. to be continued............

Your kind words are much appreciated Thierry I admit...I try to think outside the box when looking for parts and accessories to replace kit parts...it's quite amazing what is out there if you look hard enough. Much as I enjoy making things...sometimes a ready made solution comes in very handy. Ron

Carrying on with the steering rack and hub connecting rods...time to sort the hub itself. I purchased some RC car hubs...with the intention to replace the plastic parts...along with the supplied screws and nuts...for something closer to the 1:1. I knew they would need machining down to mirror the fit of the kit parts...whilst still giving the impression of the actual parts on the real car. In the first pic are the kit parts..... Whilst in the second pic you can see the RC parts before and after machining down to the correct size..... I will adjust the length of the shafts to properly retain the wheels...and also drill holes for the retaining clips later on in the build. With that done...next came the connecting points for the steering control arms I previously made...a case of removing the small plastic bar and drilling 1.2 mm holes for the bolts. And this is the complete assembly..... to be continued............

Your criticism of the top bends is justified...it's crap! Put quite simply Pascal...I had only one piece of tube the right diameter to work with (with needing to cut slots for the crossbar and rear bar supports rod would not work for me)...and even using heat didn't help...so it's the best result I could get using what I had. With an inner diameter of 1.8 mm...it was impossible to use a bending spring or sand...and I didn't have any larger diameter posts to bend it around. The above are not excuses for poor workmanship...merely an explanation for the less than perfect result. I welcome your critique...and accept it in the vein it was intended Ron

Next mix of scratch and kit parts...the steering rack and hub connecting arms. With only the ends of the steering rack ever being visible...I decided to utilize the main body of it...and just replace the ends with metal couplings..... Just a case of cutting off the plastic ends...drilling out the main tubular sections...and replacing them with the scratched metal ones..... Then it was a case of making metal replacement connecting arms to match the kit and 1:1 ref parts..... Finally...a test assembly before cleaning everything up..... to be continued............

Glad you approve of the effort Poul...having had to remake the rear bar and front cross bar twice each as well as the headrest...it was nice to finally get it sorted and together Ron Glad it may be of help when you tackle yours. Ron Thanks for those kind words...and yes...I am pleased with how it turned out. Ron

Superb scratch work Pascal...that really is some serious pipe work. Ron

Finally got the roll bar together and test fitted...the headrest pad is real sponge/rubber...pictures speak for themselves..... to be continued............

Thanks for kind words Andy...and yes...will remain in bare metal 👍 Cheers Ron

Thanks.....but it's still 'RON' 🤣

Many thanks Poul Another 2 - 3 days should see it done When I decided to use metals for it...what appeared to be quite a straight forward task...quickly became a serious challenge of will power. What I didn't take into account...was the number of parts involved...the kit consisting of just two parts...whereas...the metal version contains nineteen pieces...all scratched 😱🤬 But that is the nature of this hobby I guess. Ron

Gradually coming to fruition mate...and appreciate comment Would love to see the 312T4..... Ron

Continuing on with the 'roll bar'...first...a word of warning for any that may want to go this route (replacing it with metal)...the kit parts are all but useless as an accurate template! 🤬 Not so much the front hoop...but the rear section is fraught with problems when following the kit parts as a guide...suffice it to say...I scrapped my first attempt...and started again from scratch 😱 With the front bar/hoop...the main areas you need to consider are...height/width and clearances to the upper body...cockpit shroud and air box...with the height of the crossbar and headrest being yet another trap that is easy to fall into and get wrong. When it comes to the rear hoop...the most important dimensions to get right are...the width...angle to meet the front arch...clearance of the oil tank...and finally...that it does not interfere with the airbox to body fitment. What you see in the pics are the result of four days of work...with each small adjustment seeming to create yet another problem ☹️ It's especially frustrating when you see the tiny bit of the rear section that will be visible on the finished car! I will let the pictures tell their own story..... In theory...all that remains to do are...the cross bar mounts...and mounts to the front and rear top mounting points...then bolt it all together for a final check before moving on to polishing etc. ...and adding the headrest padding. to be continued............

Thanks Ian...as said...still a lot to do...but hopefully will be worth it 🤔 Ron

Another area that needs dealing with before any start can be made on the main body...the roll bar. Again...the kit parts are very basic when compared to the 1:1..... The real deal..... In keeping with both wanting to replace as much as I can with metal...and also in line with what I did with the 312T...it was a natural progression to make it from metal again. What was obvious was the complexity when compared with the Ferrari...and as you can see from my ref pic...a whole lot more details to be made and added. First step was to create a bending jig for the main hoop using the kit part as a basic template.....then I inserted some posts to guide me in the bending..... I used a heat gun to aid in the bending...and did it very slowly a couple of millimeters at a time...each time just heating a small area...and managed to get this...(the tape across the struts is to hold it in place for cutting to length)..... The rear support required no bending...just some angles to shape to meet the centre post...then it was a case of fabricating the finer details...one of which are nuts and bolts to hold it together as per the 1:1..... Very much in it's 'raw' state at the moment...with a lot of refining (such as the welds which look awful in the close up!) and clean up still to be done...but you get the general idea. to be continued............

Many thanks Dan Much appreciated Chris 👍 Ron

Thanks Poul...much appreciated Having to adopt a very different approach to the 312T is somewhat confusing...and a lot more time consuming...with little progress to show for the effort...although...once I can get the main body painted the assembly will be much quicker. Ron

Rather than bore you with in progress pics of every stage of the above...here are the pics of what I came up with...needless to say...there were some moments of stress along the way but...I am pleased with the end result..... Next in line is to finalise the front suspension. to be continued............

With a lot of loose bits accumulating on the bench...I was looking to get some of them into sub assemblies...with the front bulkhead/servos and radiators being a prime example. Whilst the kit provides the basic parts...as always...there is considerable room for improvement. These are the main components in the kit..... One area that had me worried was the tiny locating pins for the plate that goes between the rads...each about the size of a pin!..... Some strengthening was definitely needed...so my solution was a couple of 1.5 mm fillets to increase the contact areas...plus a 0.6 mm nickel silver brace along the top and bottom to improve the rigidity of the weak centre area..... A further aid to creating a stronger assembly...was to replace the branch pipe with metal..... Then it was a case of adding some of the missing details. First up...on the 1:1...the top of the rads has a plate with holes...through which you can see the fins. I scored the top of the kit part with a scalpel to represent the fins...then added some ali plate to imitate the holed plate..... Next a shot of some of the other bits I am using to add some more detail..... I also wanted to refine the servos with fittings and lines which...strangely enough...Tamiya hint at with stubs for hoses/lines...but no instructions to do so...weird ! In the pic you can see some spare PE cap tops I added...which I later removed after having found a better ref pic...with the fittings and silver wire to be added below them..... Now I just have to implement all the modifications and details. to be continued............

Impressive indeed 'maestro' 👏 Ron

Glad to help Ron

This might help...if you scroll down it gives a good idea of the pattern size..... https://www.spotmodel.com/product_info.php?products_id=3754&language=en#image6 Ron

One trick I have used many times...especially on the 312T...soak the decal in warm rather than cold water...but before you slide it off the backing...brush some MicroSol over it and let it sit for about 10 - 15 seconds...which helps a lot with flat area decals...but very much so for those meant for curves and depressions. Ron