Jump to content

MFH - 1:20 Eagle T1G 1968


PC2012

Recommended Posts

Wonderful to hear of your rally Paul. May the Surgical Gods  and the Modeling Gods hasten your complete recovery! And get you back in action here. You still owe us the completion shots of the Maserati 450, which I personally am waiting for!

 

C'mon man !

C

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Codger said:

Wonderful to hear of your rally Paul. May the Surgical Gods  and the Modeling Gods hasten your complete recovery! And get you back in action here. You still owe us the completion shots of the Maserati 450, which I personally am waiting for!

 

C'mon man !

C

 

I second that :)

 

Best wishes

 

Ron

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

58 minutes ago, PC2012 said:

Silver911 Thank you very much. 

Codger, you know, I KNEW that's what you would ask for! I've got some spare parts now thanks to Profile 24. I will finish that first I promise you!! ☺

In good time my Good Man - check with the various Gods to make sure you're good to go.

-And I never forget an outstanding model...:cheers:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

I'd try Mr Surfacer 500, brush it on over the gaps and wipe it off when dry with some cellulose thinners or Isopropyl on a cotton bud.  It does sink when it dries, so may take 2 or 3 applications.

 

Alternatively, as it is white metal, you could use any filler from Halfords, like P38 or even some Stopper.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Personally, I would solder the joints with low-melt (70deg) solder....nice and strong. White-metal melts at approx. 180deg, so I set my iron to 100 (it's lowest setting) and works a treat! Any of the previous suggestions will also work well if you don't have soldering implements!

 

Cheers, H

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 6 months later...

Very sadly, as you may have read here already, you would know that we are dejected to have lost our dear comrade and brother in modelling Paul aka PC 2012...

 

Therefore, Codger, Silver 911 and myself are going to finish assembling the car as was Pauls’ wish and when completed, return it to his gentle and grief-stricken wife Zoe. 

 

To be very clear, we are not building the car but merely finishing the job almost completed by Paul.

 

Paul had spent long hours as you may have seen from the early posts, exhausting his hawkish eyes on riveting thousands of tiny rivets. Certainly, only a few would have had the patience or skill required to do all these tiny precision drills and placements repeatedly. Even with a nuclear magnifier from Nasa, i am not sure i could have.

 

This is scale 1:20, it is all soft metal and requires milli-metric watch-making precision to piece together hundreds of small metallic pieces.

 

Paul immaculately painted the body, faithfully reproducing the metallic blue and white colours representing the racing colours of American cars of "when men were men". 

 

It is no surprise Paul would build this car which is so symbolic in many ways. 

Paul was a very decent, courageous and principled person - a simple example; why would he want the car finished by his pals when he knew he could not complete it ? A man is someone who goes all the way and finishes what he has started, and if he can not, he makes sure it is finished as he saw. Above all i realised he was a loving husband, a beloved teacher, he was passionate about space, IT, and of course scale modelling. I learned all about this, and his family and dog and cat in his last days. While working on his car, i can retrace the steps Paul went through and i can see the footprints of his logic, his style, his precision, tenacity, the traps he anticipated and avoided, and his thinking in constructing this difficult build. So i feel quite close and inspired and even honoured by Paul. This is like a relay race towards a finish line.

 

For those interested, this car is a symbol and a legend on many levels. It contains numerous technological innovations for its time, such as using Titanium parts. The car was completely American made. In fact, the team Dan Gurney created to build and race this rocket on wheels was called AAR; for "All American Racers". They chose a bold eagle as the symbol and called the car 'Eagle". So, everything was American, when 'American' symbolised so much positivity and hope. The car was very advanced for its time; a very rigid chassis, a very powerful V12 engine, delicate due to oil circulation issues. The car innovated in using new alloys used in few industries such as magnesium and titanium. Above all, it was driven by the immensely talented driver; the great Dan Gurney. Such a gentleman and exemplary in his ethics, he was even encouraged at one stage to run for President of the USA. A long time ago from today.  

 

This car came to race in Europe in 1966. It was so light, so powerful, with a rigid chassis suitable both on twisted and on long fast curves, it beat the Ferraris, Lotuses and Brabhams of the time more than once and fair and square. It was so light and fragile with highly flammable alloys, fuel tanks surrounding the driver, Dan Gurney used to compare it to "driving a Ronson cigarette lighter".

 

This is the USA i personally grew up admiring and loving as a kid where everything was possible; Nasa, Apollo, Carol Shelby, T-bone steaks, Le Mans’ Ford GTs beating the Porsches, Dan Gurney of course, but also A.J Foyt, Phil Hill, Unser Senior, Andretti, Hollywood, Sinatra, Brando, Marilyn Monroe, Indianapolis, Jasper Jones, Warhol, Coca Cola, ketchup and so on…This is when the USA of the time represented the free world, all what was supposed to be good and ideal.

 

You can see in the first picture below, how much Paul had completed the car.

 

Paul had completely assembled and wired the engine. Picture below.

Even if i use gloves every time i handle these finished parts, i am dammed scared to damage anything.

 

so what is left to do ? 

Small details on the engine, assembling the front and end parts of the chassis, mounting the engine, the titanium spaghetti exhausts, the long gearbox, and polishing, painting and attaching the suspensions and 4 wheels and the immense, legendary Good Year slick tires.

 

Believe me it is easier said than done.

So the three of us agreed that I will pick on Codger's and Silver 911's very experienced brains and talent, and be the hands to assemble the remaining parts and post weekly updates on our behalf.  We also agreed we will not do this is in a hurry, having our ‘other life’ obligations to attend as well.
 

Silver 911 has just finished hand painting the famous titanium exhausts which were primed by Paul and has sent them to me by courier. 

 

These beauties are carefully packed and i will post a photo when soon i will take them out of their box to place them where they are supposed to be.

Soory but i just want to avoid too much manipulation.  You will see them soon.

 

For now, a couple of parts were added to the engine which is being prepared to be placed it in its cradle, together with the gearbox. This part still requires a little polish, sanding and painting.

More to follow soon on a weekly basis.

 

apologies for the long post, in remembrance of Paul,

the next ones will be brief and 

Thank you for watching,

cheers to all.

Sam

 

 

L1040371L1040344L1040350

 

 

L1040348

 

  • Like 13
  • Sad 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am sorry to hear of the loss of so talented a modeler and wish to send my very sincere condolences to his family.

There could not be 3 better modellers to complete this model for him. 

I will watch future updates on this, Im absolutely certain he will be looking down and proud of how this progresses.

Sad, sad times.

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On behalf of my 'Project Mates', I'd like to thank all those who have expressed kind sentiments and  'likes' about the continuation of Paul's project. I am sure Mrs Calvert will be warmed by your positive thoughts.

 

To be clear, Sam and Ron are doing all the heavy lifting here - I am just driving a keyboard. Both my mates are determined that Paul's vision and wishes are carried out to the highest standards to which he always strove. We all want the Eagle back on his display shelf at home. Their skills will make that happen.

 

I encourage any MFH - experienced builders to pop in and offer any advice Sam may ask for. These are fantastic kits for accuracy and detail and their varied materials often require special handling and skills. Many of you have produced fantastic replicas from these highly advanced kits.

 

Your support will honor the memory of Paul's skill and enthusiasm as a respected Britmodeller member, builder and friend.

C

 

 

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...