Vinegaroon3

I think what you suggest is a good idea, and might help significantly.

In this thread I wrote kind of a long narrative about the problems I had building this kit: As far as a jig....I thought about that...but could not really come up with a way to do it. The problem is that there are few (or none) frames of reference about how the kit is supposed to align...hard to explain but you will see what I mean as you start assembly....

Exactly....that is one of the main factors that makes MFH kits so difficult. Most of the assembly simply must be done with painted parts....going in blind. So when corrections are needed, they need to be done on parts that have already been painstakingly painted. I personally have never really found a way around that one. The painting demands are far too complex to do once the assemblies are completed. You wind up having to do endless precise touch-ups and re-paints.

I was reluctant to post more in the Cat's thread...since I kind of sidetracked it already. But with his blessing...here goes: The "fiberglass" parts in the kit are IMHO far too transparent compared to the real thing. All I did was take advantage of the translucence of the parts and gradually tint them with thinned paint mixes. Most of the "yellowish" tint was thinned mustard yellow....the same color one would use to paint late war German WWII armored vehicles...various paint brands all call it different things...but if you have done any armor at all you know the color I am referring to. I just selectively sprayed a very thin mix of it (one side is sufficient since the parts are transparent and the aim is just to "tint" them). The shaded spots were a very thin reddish brown/black mix of paint. I just sprayed the thinned colors on very gradually, constantly referring to photos of actual 917s...concentrating the darker color in the corners and recessed areas with more of the yellow in the open areas. The key is to apply thin layers, since I wanted the parts to keep a very slight translucence like the real thing. You don't want to completely cover them anywhere with solid color. Regarding the problems with the build (takes deep breath)....... The basic challenge is that the entire rear half of the car is a complex tubular frame structure. The "tubular" parts that come in the kit are very soft white metal, and in my kit virtually all of them were bent. The construction of the rear portion of the car consists of many, MANY steps, and is far too complex to have any hope of test fitting the integrity of the overall structure. So all you can do is move forward, step by step, but there is absolutely no way to evaluate whether the parts are aligned correctly as you move along. Since you will find yourself straightening many bent and very soft metal parts, the odds of misalignment are huge. This is complicated by the fact that there is really no good way to securely glue the tube ends where they are supposed to go. The gluing surfaces are just too small to hold well. I tried both epoxies and CA glues. I soldered the early ones...and that worked well....but as you move further along you are forced to work with painted parts so soldering is not really an option. So, what happens: As you progress with the structure, you are forced to constantly tweek and fiddle on it to correct minor mis-alignments so more parts can go on. When you do this, time and time again, prior glued joints will pop loose. And I mean over and over and over again. On the real car, the structure is thoroughly triangulated to be as rigid as possible. On the model...this means the structure does not want to bend to correct alignment issues....it wants to come apart. Where this all really becomes critical, is that the fit of the bodywork is completely dependent on the tubular structure and attached components being 100% aligned and spaced as MFH intended. But, as you build it, there is no way whatsoever to check alignment. In my case the result was that the rear bodywork did not even come close to fitting on the chassis. My engine was too high, and the fuel and oil filler caps were way off from aligning as they are supposed to with the holes in the body. The only way to fix the alignment, would be to tear the rear chassis completely apart, undo months of work, and start over. And your chances of getting it right the second time would really be no better than they were the first. Maybe worse. I realize in the pictures it looks like the rear bodywork fits decently....but that is only because I had to do massive amounts of modification to the rear engine cover to make it fit. I had to extend the leading edge by perhaps 3mm, extend the lower edges by about the same amount, change the shape/location of the wheel openings, change the shape and location of the engine opening, and fill/re-drill the openings for the fuel and oil filler caps. The frustrating part is that I don't really think there is any good way to avoid these problems. It is an issue of tolerance stacking as you proceed with a complex assembly with lots of "slop", bent parts, and judgement calls as to how something should be positioned. There are no points of reference along the way where you can correct inaccuracies. So one imperfection leads to another slightly greater one, and away you go.... I think these kits would be vastly better if the metal parts were cast from brass and had some rigidity. They would also be easier to solder. I'm sure MFH has their reasons why they don't use brass...perhaps cost.... Another issue: The doors are heavy white metal parts and are designed to hinge and be movable. I tried and tried and tried, but I simply could not get the doors to open/close and still look decent when closed. The alignment and gaps were all wrong when closed. I don't think this was just me, as I have talked to others who built this kit.....I am willing to say doing so would be almost impossible. I finally resolved to glue them closed, which was kind of heartbreaking because I put a lot of work in the wiring and super-detailing of the cockpit. This work is now more or less invisible. Don't get me wrong....I love MFH kits and I am addicted to them...but it is certainly a love/hate type of relationship. I realize they are not intended to be "easy". I previously built the Porsche 956, the Ferrari F2008, and the Ferrari GTO. All those builds had their challenges and issues, but none fought me like this build did (well, the 956 was very challenging, thinking back). I had other problems with this one that were not the kit's fault. For example, I clear coated with 2K urethane clear after all painting and decals had been done. Turns out the hardener for the urethane had "gone bad" and the clear remained slightly tacky for weeks. So I had to strip everything and start over, but that was nothing to do with the kit. Mr. Hiro was willing to sell me more decals.... Any other questions, please ask....

Here are a few..... Like I said....I found it a difficult build

Caterham, Thanks for posting all this, I have been thinking seriously about ordering that Jag kit....and it looks really good from your pictures. Perhaps even better than the "normal" MFH kit. We conversed a bit last summer on our concurrent builds of the Porsche 917K....have you done anything more with yours? I finished mine a month or so ago, and I gotta say it fought me all the way. It was my fourth MFH build and by far the most difficult.

It looks like it is....maybe just a bit of sanding needed in the tight areas. Nice to be able to give it a second go with a clean slate, huh?

Please let me know if the IPA strips the urethane....I didn't realize it would and knowing that would be useful for me.

Another thing to think about.... I once had a similar problem with "spitting" like you did. I got little chunks of partly cured 2K clear in the finish....just like you did. I think it came about because I re-used a bottle to mix the 2K in that I had previously used, and I think I failed to clean it adequately and it still had some of the old finish in it. Anyway....I went ahead and sprayed my wet coat over the "spitting". Then once everything was fully hardened and cured, it was very simple to sand/polish out the bumps and flaws from the spitting. They were sort of encapsulated in the urethane and completely disappeared. Just something to consider if you run into similar problems in the future.

One important thing about 2K clear coats....they feel dry to the touch in about 12 hours....but remain too sticky to sand/polish well until they have thoroughly hardened over a few days. Make sure you give it that time before you try to sand or polish them. Looking at that finish it is hard to know what you did wrong. When properly applied....the 2K clear almost comes out "too" shiny....it should look like the model was dipped in clear syrup. In addition to the spitting, it looks to me like you did not apply a thick enough coat....more of a "mist" coat. The other challenge with them is that if you make a mistake there are really no chemicals to strip them off....you pretty much just have to sand them. I would address this problem by: 1. Make sure the clear has dried for a few days. 2. Get a good assortment of Micromesh polishing cloths and thoroughly wet sand the car....not just the spit marks....but get the entire finish smooth. 3. If you burn through in a few small spots, give those spots a slight texture with fine steel wool or Scotch-Bright, then re-prime and touch those spots up with your base color. But if you burn through a lot you might as well do a complete repaint. 4. Make sure you have mixed the clear according to the instructions. Most of them call for 4 parts clear, 1 part activator, and then add roughly 20% reducer. Then try different pressures and techniques on something scrap to make sure the finish does what you want. From the pictures it looks like the "spitting" is from your airbrush clogging then spitting out the partially cured finish. What airbrush/tip size are you using? I generally spray 2K clear at about 20 PSI, but I have found you need a decent sized tip, I use .5mm or larger. That should cure the spitting. You also have to apply a "mist" coat of the 2K....wait around 5 minutes....then you want to apply a fairly heavy coat. You get the best gloss from a fairly heavy coat, but obviously you don't want it so heavy that it runs. Only way to get this down is to practice a bit on something you don't care about. 5. Sorry for the frustration....we all certainly know that that is like.

Caterham, Just wanted to say make sure you bring your "A" game to step #5, assembly of the rear chassis framework, if you are not there already. I found it to be pretty fiddly and tricky to complete. The overhead view of the chassis framework provided in the kit is a great help, but getting everything aligned and glued together is a chore. The fit of the various parts is marginal, and it took me a lot of tweaking and improvising.

The thing that really becomes an issue, as mentioned, virtually all of the "tubing" winds up bent either in shipping or in the process of unpacking it and removing parting lines from the casting. Thus when assembling the "cage", it is very difficult to know when you have it lined up correctly. In my case I soldered the main connections in my "cage"....because as a main structural element in a very heavy model I wanted to make sure none of the joints came apart down the road. But that was maybe not a great idea, because now all the corners are very rigid and it limits the ability to tweak things so that the tubes are straight and the angles correct. As with Cat....my engine mounts did not line up either. The engine is aligned correctly in the critical spots...it is centered in the framework where the front of the engine attaches to the bulkhead....and if you look at the center seam on top of the gearbox it is centered in the "X" brace at the rear of the cage....so I hope I got it right....or at least close enough. The problem with these kits as far as aligning things....there is no 100% solid frame of reference because the soft nature of the metal parts makes them so easily bent.... My rear frame parts looked like pretzels when I started working on them. These kits are challenging, at least for me. The hardest part always seems to be getting the bodywork to line up correctly....because by then any errors in building the frame components are greatly magnified....and minor dimension errors are almost impossible to avoid during the build. Regarding the colors, every photograph I have seen of the fiberglass fan/cooling shroud parts on multiple Porsche racing cars has showed them to be pretty distinctly yellow in color. I think the various brown shades on the engine parts are a result of a protective coating for the magnesium....similar to anodizing on aluminum....and the "brown" color varies greatly. I have seen pictures showing it anywhere from reddish brown, to grey-brown, to a very rich almost chocolate brown. The cylinders, being aluminum rather than magnesium, and a completely different color....typically bare aluminum. Another thing about MFH....I personally would ignore many/most of the recommended painting colors they list in the instructions. They are very often (usually) in conflict with my research.

I found your thread through an internet search....I am currently building the same kit and I am in almost exactly the same place with it as you....I just inserted the engine into the rear framework structure. I wanted to mention I ran into pretty much the same bumps in the road as you....routing the fuel lines...and I also found that the rear portion of the cam covers interfered with the frame structure. In my case I filed clearance into the frames rather than the cam covers, but the results are about the same. I think it was a slight engineering error in the design of the kit, good to know we both ran into it, as that gives me hope that I have not screwed something up....yet. This is my fourth MFH kit (Porsche 956, Ferrari 250 GTO, Ferrari F2008) and like you I find them addicting. No matter how carefully I approach these kits, the basic frustrations and challenges remain the same. They are too complex to trial fit most of the assemblies, and everything has to be painted before assembly. The result is having to make numerous fit adjustments for the first time after everything is painted....resulting in a whole lot of touch ups and re-painting of parts. These challenges are complicated by tolerance stacking....a small error in fitting early in the build tends to become more and more of an issue as sub-assemblies stack on top of sub-assemblies. Because of this, as outstanding as the kits are, I have sort of a love/hate relationship with them and always find them challenging....I have never finished one without a good assortment of choice four letter words along the way. I hope you don't mind me including a couple of photos....I always find individual takes on the same kits to be interesting.

I finally got my hands on a Cromwell Cougar....via Ebay and paying out the $*&&^^ for it. It is a nice kit but nothing legendary....I have not started to build it yet. Before that, I did bite the bullet and try to buy one from Gordon....since he was accepted PayPal I figured I had little to lose. Basically people should know nothing has changed with Cromwell models. Good communication at first....Gordon quoted a two week or less delivery time....I PayPaled him the money....and he dropped off the face of the earth. After two weeks I tried to contact him several times for updates with no response at all. After about a month I contested the issue with PayPal. Gordon apparently did not respond to PayPay either...I got my money back...and that was the end of it. He could practically write his own ticket if he could get his act together....but that obviously is not going to happen.

I'm surprised some other manufacturer, be it short run resin or injected molded mainstream, has not done something with the Cougar. I think it is among the more interesting of the current era of modern vehicles. I would be just as happy to build a Mastiff, which is pretty much the same vehicle. Oh well, I guess we can't have everything can we?