Jo NZ

Not quite everybody else... I haven't been able to build a kit out of the box for about 20 years! It's a hobby - you do what you want. Looking great so far.

As you said, I'm using the circular array on the pattern. It worked on the front tyre, but the rear has a more complex tread pattern and I think it's just too many points for my processor.... I will try building a section of the tyre and tread - good idea. I did look at that method for the lettering, but after many tries to get the tread pattern to work I put it to one side! As long as I have four reasonable tyres to use while I'm still building, I'm OK. I'll address the rest when I feel braver, and maybe with a video card upgrade....

(from Facebook)

With the photos of the magnetos came the solution to another mystery - how is the front of the front engine supported? The engine can be moved in order to tighten the chain drive between the two motors. I could only see half the story in my pictures - now I know. There is a frame that rests on the chassis rails so that it can move Also on this drawing is a (fictitious) magneto mount, in the style of other mounts of the period and placed to put the mag in the right orientation and distance from the motor. I can't see JVB mucking about with different chain lengths or position, both of which would probably affect the timing... Anyway it's almost completely invisible, which is why I don't have any pictures! Tidying up some other bits I hadn't modelled, the rocker gear I started to draw the other rocker, and then realised that I can mirror this when it's printed. Springs will be from my old scrapped printer collection. I decided not to vary the position of the rocker arm, they can all be at TDC! Here's a rocker, and in the background, the steering box. No idea what it's from, even John Bolster didn't know. It's far too small to make work (at least, it is for me) so it will be for show only. I might remove the bracket and make it in brass for better strength The rear suspension looked a bit odd, once again like nothing I had ever seen before. When I got down to it it was actually quite easy. I knew the size if the spring support plate, and the spider spring is the same as on the front friction damper Needless to say, the other side has a different support strut back to the frame, but I'll make those parts in brass. Jo

I looked at the M23 Haynes manual. My first thought was that all the pictures are taken from US TV - the NTSC system - Which means "Never Twice the Same Colour". There's even a picture where the cockpit surround (at a different angle) is a completely different shade to the bodywork. I was around F1 in the 70s but I don't remember the M23/M26 being particularly dayglo. AFAIK McLaren went more dayglo in the 80s.

I replaced my 1275 Midget with an MG Metro in 1983. What a difference! it was faster, handled better, used less fuel and carried four people. However we also had an Austin Metro - first year of production (well actually the second, W reg cars were freshly made and the early cars were introduced into the X reg year) and the handling difference was noticeable. 20mph faster on a given roundabout in the MG on Uniroyals over the Austin on Michelins,,,,

Thanks Trevor. The chain tested my patience too. I think I walked away 4 or 5 times.... I'll try it with the next chain. Please don't mention 1/12 scale chain again, I'll have nightmares....

The one component that I had no details for was the magneto. It's buried under the front of the engine and all I had on my photos were tempting glimpses. I scoured the net for details, the first problem being if you google "magneto" it leads you to X-men.... I did find pictures of some magnetos (mainly Lucas and Bosch) but nothing that resembled the scant details that I had. As a last resort, I contacted the Beaulieu Heritage Trust, and sent them the link to the flickr folder where the build photos are. They answered almost immediately with the offer to take some pictures for me! They also identified the mag as a BTH. Searching for BTH magneto turned up a lot more data, why I'd never found it before lies in the depths of google's search algorithm... Two of the photos from those wonderful chaps at Beaulieu I found a maintenance manual for the BTH mag, it had a scale drawing in it that was almost completely illegible If you turn your head sideways and squint you can just about read the overall length, which curiously is in mm. I scaled off the drawing, here's the result The drive chain that I'm using is the 1/9 scale MFH chain set. I thought that putting together the 1/6 scale Tamiya chain was difficult, but this is even harder. The links are PE, 1.6 mm wide and 3.3mm long. You need sharp pointy tweezers. I drew up the drive sprocket to match the chain pitch, knowing that there were 10 teeth. I drew it in 1/8 scale - a mistake, as I couldn't use any of the standard parts in Fusion - castellated nuts and threaded rod. Here's the non castellated version I used the drawings of the J.A.P. timing case, with the chain cover on it, to get the dimension and angle for the magneto position. It all looks like this when assembled ..at least the rear engine does. I had to imagine the magneto bracket as this is one part that seems to be totally hidden. However, the front engine is canted forwards so that the rear cylinder is vertical. The front magneto is horizontal, so that means another bracket for the front engine... The chain still needs a bit of working to get it floppy. I'm hoping it will droop nicely. More pictures

If the paint is matt, I've done this in the past (turn away if you're squeamish). Wipe the tip of you finger on your forehead (or down the side of your nose) and gently rub it into the paint. It gives it a slightly shiny and grubby look....

Also this one at the first Goodwood revival. He is lower than the roof of the grandstand.

A good question! I wanted to fully scratchbuild something, and I didn't want to get overtaken by someone producing a kit before I'd finished it! (That's happened twice so far). I came across BM while researching the Birkin Bentley, and I was intrigued by it's small size and apparently simple build. As far as the size goes, I want to display it next to the 1/8 Pocher Alfa Monza - it's only about 2/3 of the length and half the height. I went to visit my sister in West Sussex in 2019 and Beaulieu is just down the road - well 2 hours down the road - and I took about 240 pictures of Bloody Mary. Not enough, as usual! Did I say simple build ? Even John Bolster didn't remember where all the parts came from, and very few of the components he used are documented anywhere. I was thinking that I'd bitten off far more than I could chew, but then discovered that there were drawings for the engines. Another modeller kindly supplied me with a part drawn 3d model and I could see a way forward. I'm still enjoying it and have learned heaps doing it.

The tyres need work, I've discovered that they are much more flexible if hollowed out (currently with 1.8mm wall and 30% support) and I tried printing them at a slight angle, but the last bit to print distorts. The printer also needs to run at 25° C as the resin is so viscous. I'm trying not to make mistakes as it's twice the price of ordinary resin... The pattern on the front tyres is OK, but I'm struggling with the rears - I'm drawing a section of the tread pattern and then using "circular pattern" to cut right around the tyre. Sometimes it works, sometimes not... I will approach it with a bigger stick later on. The central patterns worked OK though. So here are the tyres.... At last I feel I'm getting somewhere!

Sorry, I should have been more explicit. I meant the transfer box behind the gearbox….

But what is it for?

The rear wheels are 19" Rudge Whitworth. With a 4'' tyre width, the recommended rim width is 2.5", and with no other information, that's what I've used. This wheel has two rows of spokes on the rim, in the centre and on the outside web, 36 spokes at the back and 24 at the front. Here are the basic parts The jig is similar to the front wheel. I used 3 spokes on this one so it's easy to tell the difference from the front one. No spoke guidelines, I only get confused! This was my reference I had to make a shortened spoke nipple for the outer row as there isn't so much rim to go through I spent a while getting the square adjuster right on the end of the nipple, even though it's difficult to see in 1/8 scale.... First row of spokes And a completed wheel This time I've got the tyre valve in the right place - where you can get a hand to it... I've got some F69 resin to print the tyres - more on that later. Another curiosity on BM is the rear brake. The drum is attached to the rear drive sprocket and the brake actuator (from the outside handbrake) must come from another vehicle, but I've never seen one... This photo looks back to the rear axle. The drum is on the right, and on the left of the contraption is the operating arm. You can see the shoe return springs inside the drum. The front of the arm is bolted to a piece of shaped steel and rests (!) on top of the gearbox (this is a top view) Here's the basic arm, I'm going to use brass for the bit that rests on the gearbox (ooh metal again at last!) Jo