Jump to content

Sloucher

Members
  • Posts

    21
  • Joined

  • Last visited

About Sloucher

  • Birthday 16/09/1951

Profile Information

  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Bristol

Recent Profile Visitors

The recent visitors block is disabled and is not being shown to other users.

Sloucher's Achievements

Newbie

Newbie (1/9)

53

Reputation

  1. Thanks for the encouragement PHIL B πŸ˜€ Not a lot to report this week as I've been distracted by a load other commitments (and, it has to be admitted, other models!). Most of the work that I have done has been mainly filling, sanding, and priming followed by more filling, sanding, and priming followed by more....well, you get the picture!! More Sink Holes than the State of Florida! Probably Around the Third Round of Sanding! Yes, I Did Prime the Wrong Version Nose Cone at First! However, the wheels and tyres are now fitted, although the screw thread protrusion in the wheel hubs aren't really long enough, so the wheel nuts are only just gripping! I think if I was to assemble another one of these kits, like the earlier 179 variant, I'd source a whole load of different length self tapping screws first (good source I've found is ModelFixings) and choose a length to suit each purpose. Some of the screw lengths used in the kit are strange to say the least. Some (like the wheel retaining screws) are far too short whilst some are far too long. Naked chassis The next main task is going to be painting the white finish coat on the body panels. Whilst I wait for that to dry thoroughly I'll have a go at the painting and installation of the exhaust manifolds/pipes. Th fiddly part of that will be the four springs that hold the pipes down on the scalloped bracket on the transaxle. I'll document my trials and tribulations on that task later!! Onwards? Bernie
  2. I've just noticed there's been a bit of a gap since the last update. OK, let's bore you a little more then πŸ˜€ I've had one or two, or more, issues with the kit this week, not all with the fit this time, more with the assembly method and my own ham fistedness. The seat belts are finally made and the cockpit almost completed. I had wanted to sew them as suggested in the instructions, but the supplied ribbon material frayed very easily so I bottled out and used CA instead. That made a stain mark on the ribbon material unfortunately which was a worry initially, but after the application of the decals and then a couple of coats of matt varnish, the stains have receded and effectively disappeared. Seat Belts Direction Changer Twirly Thing I then moved on to complete the front end by adding the front uprights and the brake lines. It was at this point I realised that I was never going to be happy with the look of the supplied black vinyl tubing retained by twisted copper wire as instructed in the kit. So Whilst I still used the tubing, I painted it silver and used very fine black insulated wire to represent the more prototypical zip ties. Brake Lines Fitted It was at this point I decided to take a break from the suspension and brakes and address the engine/gearbox assembly. When it gets assembled to the monocoque, a couple of tubes are connected to the front of it, to two features that look to me like they are supposed to be a water pump and another water connection. I think that's a fair guess, bearing in mind that the other end of the hoses will be connected to the radiators! The problem there though is that the pipe connections are moulded as front of the engine block. Now, the instructions call for the pipes connections cast on the front of the engine to be drilled out to allow the hoses to be inserted. The snag with that is there isn't enough material there to do that. The ends of the engine cast pipe connections are nowhere big enough to be drilled out to the required 2mm in order to accomodate the radiator hoses. After a bit of head scratching, I found some brass rod of a size to fit inside the hoses and drilled out the cast pipes to match the rod diameter so I could glue short lengths of the brass rod. Later, I'll push the hoses onto the rods instead of inserting them into holes. The Problem (That's a 1mm Hole) The Solution Then it was back onto the rear suspension, and this is where things really started to try my patience. The rear uprights attach by screws, and during screwing them in, I managed to break the thinner of the two top upright supports - on both sides! CA to the rescue again. The final thing to give me grief in this area was the brake ducts. I just couldn't get the left hand duct to assemble squarely and ended up using loads of filler and loads of time sanding it down to get the profile of the duct to match the right hand one. Lorry Load of Filler After Much Filing and Vacuuming of Dust (plus a Splash of Paint) If there's anything I've learnt from this build, and I offer this advice free, gratis and for nothing - before you use any of the self-tapping screws in this kit, drill out the screw hole at least another 0.2 mm larger, otherwise the screw is so tight you end up snapping things.....yup, I did!! That's just one of the reasons I don't have any decals on the rear brake calipers! Finally, another piece of advice to prospective builders of this kit. When you come to attach the engine to the monocoque, if, like I had, you've followed the assembly sequence and fitted the rear suspension and drive shafts, bad news! Unless you've enlarged the screw holes in the monocoque bulkhead AND removed or better yet, not yet fitted, the rear suspension, you'll have a devil's own job fitting the attaching screws. Unless, that is, you have very strong fingers and a very short screwdriver. There's just no room for the screwdriver with the rear suspension fitted. Restricted Screwdriver Access And finally, finally - don't believe Italeri's number annotation of the screws. According to the instructions you're supposed to attach the engine to the monocoque using a number 12 on one side and a number 13 on the other. Number 12 - fine. Number 13? Best of luck with that, a number 13 screw is 6mm long and the engine bracket is 5mm thick on its own! Use a number 15 screw (11mm long) instead, its not as if they appear anywhere else!! Onwards Bernie
  3. Its been about a week or so since I last updated this build record, so here's the next (less than) thrilling instalment πŸ˜€: The component shrinkage problem continues, as you can see from this before and after shot of the alternator(?) mounted on the front of the engine. Before After I have made some progress with the engine, but I was not particularly happy with the size of silicon tubing supplied to represent the fuel feed lines. Looking at photos of the real thing compared to the photo at the back of the instructions booklet, I think you'll see what I mean. The Real Deal Italeri Model Photo Eventually I decided that 27kg breaking strain nylon fishing line (0.7mm dia) was much nearer scale. So, by using short lengths of the supplied silicon tube as a means of attaching the fishing line to the fuel pump and injectors, I think I've managed a more scale look to things. The black tubing supplied for the ignition leads is als a bit overscale, but heck, I won't tell if you don't! Size Really Does Matter! Tubing Makes for an Acceptable Adaptor! End Result Taking Shape I've also been doing some hacking and carving in an attempt to get a bit of separation of the exhaust manifold pipes so they look more like individual pipes and a leetle less like a solid block of, well, block shaped thing. As Supplied Work in Progress The front wheel hubs are also almost complete. I need to do a little paint touching up and mount the brake ducts. Confusingly, for thicko me anyway, the parts are not marked Left and Right, but SX and DX, which in turn stands for sinister and dexter (left and right), hence the SX and DX penned onto the hubs! To those fans of such, you'll be thinking "Shades of Monty Python "Life of Brian" there pal"πŸ˜‚. To confuse me even further, the parts are the same for both the two brake calipers on each hub, but swapped around front to back. See what I mean about confused...πŸ€ͺ Sinister, Dexter, Sinister, Dexter....Company... Halt!! Last and by no means least this report comes news of the return to the paddock of the grid girls - yaay! Well, one grid girl anyway. As this car is from the 1980 season, I think its probably acceptable. She's wearing my "what if" interpretation of sponsored wear. When this car is eventually finished, the intention is to have it mounted on a dummy grid with the said young lady standing alongside. Unfortunately, I can take no credit whatsoever for the assembly and painting of this young lady (other thsn gluing her leg back on after I dropped her - long story, not proud). That honour goes to none other than Ian Lawrence - many thanks Ian! Grid Girl Front Grid Girl Rear (🀭) I'm afraid I fell foul of temptation the other day.....I now have a Tamiya Gold Leaf Team Lotus heading my way! Gotta love these old kitsπŸ˜€ Onwards....
  4. So, over the last couple of days I decided it was about time to solve the steering trackrods alignment issue once and for all. My first attempt at introducing a twist into the rods however, failed dismally at the first hurdle! Hot water didn't get them hot enough to twist, and a hot air gun sort of made them a bit, well, droopy!! Further manipulation started a fatigue crack which soon became an out and out breakπŸ˜ͺ. I Broke It! I decided at that point the best idea then was to cut the actual rod ends off, insert them into a short length of 2mm thinwall brass tube and then use a length of suitable diameter (1.5mm) brass rod as the actual track rod. I could then adjust the angle of the rod ends to any angle I wanted. Rod Bits Making a Rod For My Own Back However, before I settled on the angle of dangle, I thought I'd have another look at the cause of the wrong angle at the actual steering rack. Long story short, after leaving it for a few hours in the freezer, I started to prise apart the steering rack to investigate. Freezer time was a waste of time, as it took just seconds to get back to room temperature and then a good hour to prise apart - very carefully! Anyway, the answer to the mal-aligned steering soon became very obvious. The inside of the "tube" of the steering rack, when both halves were joined together, was not circular but oval, and hence was pinching the steering rod and wedging it into the wrong orientation. Judicious use of a small round file soon solved the problem. Carefully glued back together the refurbished rack now had an unexpected bonus - the steering now actually operates - win, win! It did mean of course that my work on the trackrods had not actually been necessary, but to be honest, I think my fabricated rods (with no introduced angle) look more prototypical than the kit supplied ones, and are certainly stronger, so another win! Working Rack and Track Rods After taking a break to watch the qualifying sessions for the British Grand Prix, I then picked up the engine and gearbox to make a change from tweaking the chassis tub. All went together quite well with the help of a bit of fettling here and there. One problem that niggled me for ages until I had an "Aha!" moment was that the gearbox sump/base panel (bottom cover) just wouldn't fit without a large gap between the flanges at the front. The "Aha" moment came when I was puzzling over why filing the flanges as flat as a billiard table wasn't solving the problem, and re-examined the parts. The actual problem was that the two parallel ribs on the inside of the gearbox bottom cover designed to locate it squarely on the gearbox was actually bottoming out on the internal location posts of the gearbox. A few quick passes of the already useful small round file on the locating ribs solved the problem. Gearbox Locating Posts Mod to the Gearbox Bottom Cover Locating Ribs I'm now working on filling the rather prominent, but awkwardly positioned gap along the top of the gearbox. Unfortunately, one side is slightly proud of the other as well as there being the gap between them. With the suspension mounts having to have been mounted during the assembly of the two engine/gearbox halves, its now a very tight access to get any tools in there. Awkward! Well, if nothing else, this kit is making me think on my feet!! To infinity and.........
  5. Actually @Schwarz-Brot and @Pouln, I would suggest that the current size and shape (square headed) is just fine for the 1:8 scale Pocher 8C Monza as I think they are slightly oversize for the 1:12 Italeri.
  6. I must admit, I had thought about doing just that @Codger, but I'd promised myself that I'd keep this build as near "out of the box" as possible πŸ˜€. However, thats not to say I never break promises 🀫. I may choose a halfway house eventually and drill out the kit eyes to fit some brass rod. I'll then connect them back together with the brass rod glued into them, albeit with the necessary axial offset. First though I'll try hot water, brute force (not too much!) and a great deal of ignorance πŸ˜‚.
  7. So, I've made a little more progress with the 179, but it's fighting me every inch of the way! Before the obligatory photos, I'll explain some of the pitfalls with this kit to forewarn any potential builders. There is a lot, and I mean a LOT of shrinkage, cavitation and flash with this kit, especially on the sprue with the front suspension arms. I suppose I should have expected it, as the moulds must be quite long in the tooth now, bearing in mind that even though Italeri only released this kit in about 2018, it's been around since being originally produced by Protar in 1983, so 37 years ago! My main fitting annoyance, so far, has been (or still is at the time of writing) the steering rack. As I mentioned before, I've glued it fixed so it doesn't actually operate, but in addition to that, when placed into position with the steering shaft located in the under dashboard mount, the clevises at the end of the steering rods finish up at an angle instead of horizontal as per prototype. This means I'm going to have to introduce an axial twist along the steering arms so they meet the wheel upright at the correct angle, i.e. horizontal. 🀨 Hmmmm, That Angle's Not Right! The only other annoying hitch so far has been the shrinkage in the instrument decal locations on the dashboard. If I'd just applied the decals without addressing this issue, they would have been very concave, so it was a matter of filling the sink holes and sanding them flat using abrasive paper glued to the bottom of a couple of suitable size drills. My Special Tools (Drills with Abrasive Paper Stuck to Them!) Other than that, its just been a matter of using a lot of aluminium colour paint!! Unfortunately, my best aluminium colour paint is a solvent based paint, and as the bodywork is the only area I plan on using solvent based paints, Tamiya TS-17 rattle can is plenty good enough for this "out of the box" build. Bottom Half of Chassis Tub The instructions suggest black as the colour for the master cylinders, but I disagree. All the photos I've seen show polypropolyne type resevoirs which are an off white colour with black caps. Interestingly, most of my reference photos also show an pressed sheet aluminium structure in front of the cylinders with the fire extinguisher mounted on the front of it. Hey ho, must remember this is "out of the box" and no mods!! Top Half of Chassis Trial Fit Believe me, those black netting type covers on the top and bottom of the radiators are a right b^%$r to glue on!! Instruments In Place I've not installed any of the pipework yet, even though its all been trial fitted. When messing around trying to sort out the steering rack issue, they just kept getting in the way, so I've left them off until such time as their locations are in danger of becoming inaccessible! I intend making a start on the engine next. Again, as was my original intention with the 8c (RIP), this won't be a pristine museum quality representation of the car, more a mid season, raced look. Onwards and upwards!
  8. @Schwarz-Brot, it will be my pleasure πŸ˜€ Here are a few photographs of the incomplete build of my 8C, showing the wirelocking bolts: They certainly added that missing element to the Italeri model. I just wish I'd been able to finish it!
  9. Its been a week or two, but I have at last made a tentative start on the 179. I've been spending time trying to resuscitate the 8C, first with some success, but latterly not so well. Its now residing in a black plastic bin bag - in several large pieces! Long story, not part of this build, but lets just say I won't be buying any more of Vallejo's decal fix and decal set! Anyway, onto the 179 build. After looking this kit over, and bearing in mind my wasted efforts to detail the 8C, I've decided to make this model almost "out of the box" and not fret over detailing. The moulds for this model are obviously so old that the detail is starting to blur on some parts and the flash and ejector marks are going to make things more difficult than they should be anyway. The fit of parts is nothing to write home about either!! So, onward and upward. I've decided to build the 179C variant, probably the one driven by Bruno Giacomelli in the 1980 season. I'm going to use mainly Tamiya acrylics except for the main body panels. They will be painted using Zero Paints colour matched fluorescent red and white paint set, which is solvent based. I may use the odd brushfull of Revell paints for some of the small detail stuff. Not a great deal done yet (other than the parts in the attached photo). The steering rack didn't go together too well, as it is supposed to actually work, but the rack and pinion are a bit crude and the fit of it all was a bit tight so I've glued it up solid. Who needs working steering on a static model anyway! I still need to tidy up the paint edges of the steel straps. More reports and whinges as progress is made πŸ˜€
  10. Well, after totally ruining my 3 month build of the Italeri Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza (see below), it's got hidden away in a box until I can pluck up the courage to look at it again without crying. I've decided instead to have a go at spoiling a different Alfa kit I have in my stash instead, an Alfa Romeo 179C. This next build will probably be of the 179C that was driven by either Mario Andretti or Bruno Giacomelli back in 1981. My original plan was to have an Alfa Romeo racing car from the early days and one from nearer to today. Unfortunately, due to my ham fistedness with an airbrush and unfortunate accident with a Q-tip (do NOT ask!), its now just going to be the later car! As per usual, I'll be totally ignoring the order of build as advised in the instructions and so will probably end up with lots of containers all awaiting detail painting! I'll be using Zero Paints to apply the finishing colours but first a lot of research has to be done as I'll probably be adding and amending parts as I go along if the 8C was anything to go by! Build progress photos to follow - when I actually do make some progress!
  11. Hi @Coors54. I've seen Fernando Pinto's facebook page, but have no idea how to find out what they produce! There's a whole load of photos but I want to see what they produce and prices, and have no idea of either!
  12. Just received the 3d printed wire-locking bolts from @Schwarz-Brot. They are absolutely perfect! Big shout out to Jan, many thanks mate πŸ‘ŒπŸ‘
  13. Absolutely superb Renek. I have this kit too, so I can see just how much work you have put into your build. Well done πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘πŸ‘
  14. Absolutely agree with the posts above. A superb build that has given me, for one, that incentive I needed to get mine finished as well. Look forward to seeing all the finished build photos πŸ‘
  15. Looks very good @Renek. Are you going to scratch build the ignition advance mechanism? I'm part way through that process! Its just a pity that no one does any aftermarket pieces for this 1:12 kit in the same way they do for the 1:8 Pocher kit!
×
×
  • Create New...