MFH Gulf Porsche 917K 1/24th vs Fujimi Martini Porsche 917K

[Borez]

So the Fujimi engine transkit arrived in the post this morning.  Perfect timing.

 

 

Engine block is pretty good, there's no internal detailing like the cylinders themselves but they're not going to be seen on the final build. Detailing is pretty good on the cylinder head covers and gearbox though.

 

 

Cylinder head cover comparison of the two ( slightly difficult to see here with the contrast, it'll be better once the transkit is primed ) detail in the transkit is good, but not quite on the level of the MFH.

 

 

Anyway, I thought I'd get into it straight away. Armed with a cup of tea and the pin vice I put my head down and got on with drilling all of the 50 odd holes needed for wiring the two distributors, fuel injectors and cylinder head covers. ( I now have a new found admiration for people who replace rivets )

 

 

And because there's not as many parts to the transkit engine I could do a near complete test fit ( minus the alternator and distributors )

 

 

 

 

Pretty nice little transkit all in all, it also comes with a new bulkhead, oil and fuel tanks plus fittings and some parts of the rear frame. 

 

 

All that remains now is to give the resin parts a good clean, remove the mould residue, tidy it all up for priming and then it'll be pretty much at the same stage as the MFH engine.

 

Not a bad mornings work really. 

 

Thanks for looking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Schwarz-Brot]

Maybe not perfect but close enough to the MFH, considering the price difference. Looking forward to some primed pictures. I bet this will not look as crisp as the MFH one. But still - I guess it is a steal in direct comparison.

Edited January 3, 2017 by Schwarz-Brot

[Borez]

 

37 minutes ago, Schwarz-Brot said:

Maybe not perfect but close enough to the MFH, considering the price difference. Looking forward to some primed pictures. I bet this will not look as crisp as the MFH one. But still - I guess it is a steal in direct comparison.

 

Yeah the transkit was £42 including shipping from the US, not bad really considering.

[Borez]

Been busy the last few day so the Fujimi transkit parts have been soaking away, cleaned and then primed this afternoon.

 

Lots of parts ready to spray

 

 

And then primed.

 

 

I don't have an outside space to use rattle cans so everything is airbrushed here. I started using AK interactive primer  after the 956 build, it just sprays really well and you can get a few coats out of it without the airbrush clogging up. Primers like Vallejo just seem to be horrid for this.

 

Gearbox and main block.

 

 

 

Distributors, injector module and alternator.

 

 

One exhaust and oil tank

 

 

And, of course, the cylinder heads.

 

Both the transkit and the MFH heads here but which is which?

 

 

And that's it for today really.

 

I can now start painting both the MFH and the transkit engines in tandem

 

Thanks for looking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[caterhamnut]

Looking great - where was the transkit from?

 

MFH tend to just partially drill the holes IME - actually, they are molded/cast in, really just to show location and diameter of hole -  then in most cases it seems you have to go in and open the holes up. In terms of casting I guess it means they don't have to use sliding cores or post-op work...the resin bodywork is often the same - just a pip that still allows the piece to come out of the mold, indicating where you drill...

 

In terms of the MFH instructions - thing I find most difficult is following where all the wires and cables go!! 'Stage 2' will show 6 black wires disappearing off the diagram - you need to figure out which is which when they reappear on 'Stage 14'!

[shood23]

I would say the mfh one is on the right, it looks a little cleaner cast but honestly they look too close to really notice any differences.

 

Shaun

[Borez]

1 hour ago, caterhamnut said:

Looking great - where was the transkit from?

 

MFH tend to just partially drill the holes IME - actually, they are molded/cast in, really just to show location and diameter of hole -  then in most cases it seems you have to go in and open the holes up. In terms of casting I guess it means they don't have to use sliding cores or post-op work...the resin bodywork is often the same - just a pip that still allows the piece to come out of the mold, indicating where you drill...

 

In terms of the MFH instructions - thing I find most difficult is following where all the wires and cables go!! 'Stage 2' will show 6 black wires disappearing off the diagram - you need to figure out which is which when they reappear on 'Stage 14'!

Thanks. The transkit is Historic Racing Miniatures, I got it from stradasports in the US. It's a nice little kit.

 

Yes. I'm learning this about the holes as I go along. It's all a bit of learning curve the MFH as its my first one. Your own 917K engine is superb BTW, I use it for reference so thanks for that.

 

Wiring I haven't attempted yet. I guess I have that one to come. 
 

 

59 minutes ago, shood23 said:

I would say the mfh one is on the right, it looks a little cleaner cast but honestly they look too close to really notice any differences.

 

Shaun

 

Yes Shaun, you're correct.

Edited January 6, 2017 by Borez

[Borez]

Ok, so some engine spraying over the last couple of days.

 

Gearbox's first in alclad 2 steel. ( they look a bit shiny here due to the light )

 

 

 

And then the cylinder heads and main blocks etc. Allclad 2 exhaust manifold which is not far off the real block and head colours ( I'm thinking about taking the shine of a little  though with some Testors dullcoat.

 

 

 

 

And then couldn't resists a test fit of the two together.

 

MFH first ( cylinders themselves I've left bare, but I feel like they need a bit wash to dirty them up. )

 

 

 

And then the transkit ( no cylinders on this kit but they won't be seen anyway )

 

 

 

And both together

 

 

So yeah, coming together bit by bit, I'll start working on the alternators, injector modules etc next before making a start on the wiring and trumpet air intakes.

 

 

Thanks for looking.

 

 

[Hewy]

the engine's are taking shape nicely borez,looking forward to you wire these up,

Glynn

[Borez]

So I've been spraying some of the smaller engine components for both engines over the last couple of days. 

 

Then I gave them all several washes to dirty them up.

 

Starting to look a little more genuine now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this I really like; the injector pump assembly ( from the transkit, not the MFH parts )

 

 

Also used some Testors dullcoat to take the shine from the trumpet inlet plate ( not sure of the proper name for this part )

 

 

And part of the main block end

 

 

I'll be doing the same on the main black and cylinder heads.

 

Looking a lot better now, the Testors has really got rid of that shine. 

 

Still feel it could do with lightening up a little so I've ordered some Tamiaya Hull Red which is pretty much a dark rust red to wash the block a cylinder heads a little more.

 

Definitely happier than I was with these parts a couple of days ago though.

 

Also greased up the cylinders with a black wash. They were way too shiny and new looking before. Something extremely satisfying about capillary washing these parts. It just instantly transformed them. ( The little things I guess )

 

 

And finally I've mixed up this colour for the transkit fibreglass parts. It's a combination of brown, buff, yellow, orange, flat earth and white.

 

 

About as close as I could get to the real fibreglass parts. I think it'll look pretty nice with a few washes over the top.

 

 

And that's it for now.

 

Next up some paint on the distributor tops and I'll start the engine assembly proper.

 

Had a look at the wiring last night too ( plus drilled a few holes in the covers )  it gonna be a fiddly job at this scale. No doubt about that. Just thinking about threading some of those injector lines is hurting my head.

 

Anyway.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

 

 

Edited January 12, 2017 by Borez

[Dr. Fiat]

Great job on this- looks like it will indeed be a challenge.  And loads of fun!

[Hamden]

 

 

 

Nice looking paintwork

 

  Roger

[Borez]

So, painted the fibreglass air intakes and fan housing for the Fujimi then washed it to get some dirt in there.

 

Pleased with the results. ( it's still wet from a wash here )

 

 

 

And then before I go any further with the Fujimi engine a test fit into what I have at present for a rear frame. The transkit side filling plates and bulk head ( the primed pieces ) are really nice.

 

 

 

 

The transkit also comes with two side frames pieces but to be honest I think I'll have to build my own because ( as you can see from the next pic ) they're supposed to meet with the Fujimi frame at the top and don't come anywhere close.

 

 

The MFH kit has exactly the same part though so I'll try it in there to see if it fits and if so just copy it. The MFH frame parts have just been washed though so they're drying at the moment. I'll have a proper look at them once they are.

 

Also what's becoming apparent is just how tight a fit this engine is going to be in the final frame. There is zero room for error down the sides.

 

 

So it's basically I'm thinking of building a cage that is entire separate from the back of the car, install the engine and then install the cage and engine together into the rear of the model.

 

I've worked it out in my head, it'll fit this way

 

So yeah, a lot of scratch building needed to get this to how I want it. The frame needs top come out at the sides for one and then it need cross bracing to the main cage plus the whole bulkhead side of the frame doesn't exist yet.

 

I've kinda got the gist of what needs doing from this test fit though so time well spent.

 

 

Also the distributors drying after a coat of red. You can really notice the difference in detail between the MFH and the transkit here. Also to be dirtied up with a darker wash.

 

 

 

And that's it for now, just lots and lots of little jobs going on with this build at present. And a lot more to come.

 

Thanks for looking.

 

 

Edited January 13, 2017 by Borez

[NickD]

There's film of them fitting the engine for real, and it is a really really tight fit.

 

Looks like the kit builders are making you work for it at the moment. Watching with interest

Regards

Nick

[Borez]

8 minutes ago, NickD said:

There's film of them fitting the engine for real, and it is a really really tight fit.

 

Looks like the kit builders are making you work for it at the moment. Watching with interest

Regards

Nick

 

Thanks Nick, yeah it's pretty damn tight in there for sure.

 

I'll look for the film, you don't have a link do you?

 

Edit: found it on youtube.

Edited January 13, 2017 by Borez

[Spookytooth]

A tight fit is not the word for it Borez.

Looks an interesting time ahead with the rear framing and supports.

Love the "Fibre-glass" colour, something that have jotted down for future use.

I have the Porsche 935 "Martini" in 1/12 in the stash to do, and there is a lot of fibre glass around the front end.

 

Simon.

[Borez]

Just now, Spookytooth said:

A tight fit is not the word for it Borez.

Looks an interesting time ahead with the rear framing and supports.

Love the "Fibre-glass" colour, something that have jotted down for future use.

I have the Porsche 935 "Martini" in 1/12 in the stash to do, and there is a lot of fibre glass around the front end.

 

Simon.

 

Thanks Simon, it was a little over bright at first but with a really thinned black wash it started to work nicely.

[NickD]

This is a sequence of restoration videos. Long but very very detailed.

 

 

The engine removal video is here

 

 

[Borez]

5 minutes ago, NickD said:

This is a sequence of restoration videos. Long but very very detailed.

 

 

The engine removal video is here

 

 

 

 

Great thanks. I also found this one

 

What's interesting is that they do it without the gearbox attached. Suddenly it all makes sense. Can't do that on the Transkit, but I can do it on the MFH  

Edited January 13, 2017 by Borez

[NickD]

Glad that helped. They seem to have rebuilt a number of 917Ks. The videos are good but so are the stills if you are struggling to find the details of some obscure bit. The only bit I found really hard to get a good picture of is the right hand side of the gearbox.

 

I thought the blow torch they used to loosen one of the engine studs was brave given that the gearbox case is £100K empty these days.

 

Regards

 

Nick

[Borez]

18 hours ago, NickD said:

Glad that helped. They seem to have rebuilt a number of 917Ks. The videos are good but so are the stills if you are struggling to find the details of some obscure bit. The only bit I found really hard to get a good picture of is the right hand side of the gearbox.

 

I thought the blow torch they used to loosen one of the engine studs was brave given that the gearbox case is £100K empty these days.

 

Regards

 

Nick

 

Thanks Nick, I watched their whole series on the 917 restoration last night, absolute goldmine of information and detail on the car.

 

Really appreciate the link thanks.  

[NickD]

No worries - did you like the leather belt holding the fuel tank on - outstanding (at least I think it was this series). If you modelled that no-one would believe you.

 

I love this car as you may have noticed

Nick

[Borez]

1 minute ago, NickD said:

No worries - did you like the leather belt holding the fuel tank on - outstanding (at least I think it was this series). If you modelled that no-one would believe you.

 

I love this car as you may have noticed

Nick

 

 

Yeah, I caught that, interesting way of doing things. I was wondering how well it would have held at speed. I mean, you don't really want your fuel tank falling off at 240mph really.

[NickD]

When it's late, and wet, and you've not slept for 36 hours, and the car is needed now, you probably do whatever is necessary to get the boss off your back and relish 2 hours before you need to think about it again.

 

On the otherhand, one could argue they over-engineered it - it lasted 30+ years! That's the problem with restored cars, they lose some of the patina and can easily be better than original.

 

Nick

[Borez]

I'm waiting for some acrylic paint for the engine as I'm still not convinced about my engine colour, it's a little too dark so I'm going to try and lighten it a bit. In the meantime though I started working on the MFH framework for the front and rear cradle of the car.

 

Slow work this, a lot of holes needed to be drilled out for the joints. You just think you're done then you discover a few more you've missed.

 

Putting it together involves epoxying a couple of the joints at a time and then letting them semi harden before working on the opposing joints to make sure everything fits then leaving both side to harden before starting again on another joint. Plus the white metal on this bends very easily so sometimes it feels like pulling teeth. I was up until the wee small hours last night doing this I can tell you.

 

I basically want the whole thing test fitted before I dismantle the frame into sections for priming and painting.

 

It's getting there though, slowly but surely and the epoxy joints seem to be holding well. I was going to solder the joints but I've scrapped the idea. I think these part are just too small for heat.

 

So front end frame as it stands at the moment, there's a few bits need straightening and correcting but at least it fits.

 

 

The two very front supports need turning out to meet the corners as they've bent out of shape here and there's a central cross brace still to go in. Sidewalls are loosely fitted here too. ( after much bending into shape ) 

 

 

All the pieces that go inside this, brake cylinders, pedals etc have also been test fitted and their holes drilled out. Plus I've had a look at the front suspension arms and that all fits too.

 

 

And the dinky little battery box over the cockpit frame section ( you can see the back of the rear cage here as the firewall/bulkhead is not in place )

 

 

And the rear cage itself. (  difficult to get any depth of field in these photos )

 

Every hole and joint on the outside you can see and inside ( you can't see ) has been drilled out too.

 

 

Held here as one of the joints is drying. Side frame on both sides of the rear and various other bits of frame to add to this. Then of course the rear suspension supports and the suspension assembly itself. And obviously the engine to drop in.

 

 

The engine will go though the front before I add the section of frame that keeps it all held in. Then it's basically screwed up into the car via a rear tab that protrudes out from the main block. You can see where it will eventually go in the pic below, though the rear frame onto the front assembly then you screw up into it from below.

 

 

 

 

 

The rear cage has also been tested, drilled and screwed though the firewall and into the front section of the car. No problems there, it all fits.

 

Getting there though. So many parts on this model to consider for test fitting before I even think about priming and painting though that's for sure.

 

And that's it for now.

 

 

Thanks for looking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 17, 2017 by Borez