Pocher F40 with Autograph transkit upgrade challenge build

[Pascal]

Very nice work Wayne.

 

I'm a bit late, but here's a photo of a hose clamp as used on Ferrari cars  :

 

 

Sincerely

 

Pascal

[larchiefeng]

Thanks Pascal, I sure wish the transkit hose clamps looked that good and they came like that. While I was looking for some aluminum to put between the clamp and the screw part for soldering I happened to notice a bunch of square sided toothpicks sitting on my bench. Solder isn't going to stick to wood either and the shape of the toothpicks made them the perfect thing to put inside the folded part to hold the shape and better form them. The next you know, I'm making hose clamps like an assembly line! Here's how the whole thing went.

 

 

 

 

Now, I have about 30 clamps to just continue working without having to stop and make them as needed.

 

Here's the first hose to get the clamps, I had to remove the outlet from the back of the head to get the clamps on but, now I know that the clamps will have to go on the hoses before being attached to anything.

It's just so much easier to deal with than trying to wrap a hose clap around something already installed in a small tight location.

 

 

I was working on this before I realized that I need to write more instructions and I got on a roll with the clamps. However, I did print about 75 pages of engine reference pictures for the next few steps and I'm trying to sort through them and get them in order for the next set of rewritten instructions. Tomorrow, I'm going to do some more work on the engine and work on the instructions off and on. So, I should have some more pictures tomorrow. Toothpicks! Who would have thought that that was the answer to assembling hose clamps? 🤬

[larchiefeng]

Not much to show here tonight despite spending about 3 hours on all this little stuff. Most of the time was spent repairing the pieces that came off of the old assembled model that were broken for one reason or another. The first couple of pictures are the A/C compressor that gets one PE piece but the bracket had been broken off the bottom of the engine and the tabs that the compressor attach to were gone. So, that's the first little bit here.

 

Old piece and new piece but, I decided to use the old part and if I broke it more, I still had the new piece. The belt adjusting bar had to come off anyway to be replaced with the PE part.

 

 

All the parts that needed work. The flat piece need the old molded adjust bar cut off and cleaned up and a hole drilled for the new PE piece. 

The bracket in the bottom left had a few tabs broken off and needed brass rod for new tabs. I thought the A?C compressor clutch was a PE replacement but, I 

don't see one anywhere on any of the PE sheets. 

 

Everything cleaned up and repaired

 

 

Everything repaired, painted and ready to be assembled

 

I had to take some more off of the ends of the water pipes that touch the sides of the heads for the two sets of gaskets that mount on the end of each pipe.

Here, I'm just test fitting to see how much more I need to remove so it all clears. The picture above actually shows the pipes in the engine with the A&N fittings painted silver

in preparation for the clear red and clear blue. There's still a bunch of little stuff that needs to be prepped before this layer and front layer can be attached to the engine, as I move on to

the next bits and pieces. Lots of little mods, painting and fitting but, it's starting to come together.

[larchiefeng]

So, I've been working on each of the small pieces getting them ready for installation onto the engine. Painting and adding washes to the alternator and A?C compressor as well as brass bolts to the A/C clutch and all the pulleys and adjusting brackets etc. When I flipped the engine over, I realized that, I had not put the oil pan bolts in so, I had to add those. You'll see some rough spots on the front cover and alternator bracket etc. and I wish that I had taken more time trying to clean the glue off of them before painting. All of the excess and bad spots are where the engine was disassembled before rebuilding it. I think that most of these bad spots will be hidden behind the cam covers and or in the way the engine is finally mounted inside the car. This whole front section of the engine is virtually invisible when in the frame and the body is in place. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dinky]

Nice work, that engine looks very nice so far

[Codger]

Well-meaning advice; When completely done, make a workstand for the beautiful drivetrain and photo it in a well-lit, uncluttered area. Like the front porch:

[larchiefeng]

Hey guys, just a quick update here. I got pretty sick back in January and it just lingered for a few weeks and really put me off doing anything. Once I got better, we started getting snow storms one right after the other and we really got snowed in for days, 15 to be exact. Then we got 8 1/2” of rain in 48 hours. After we got sort of dug out we got two more snow storms. The last one ended Sunday into Monday. Now we’re expecting another storm this afternoon going through Thursday night that, is supposed to drop another 13”-24” of snow on top of what’s already out there. 

This is kind of a long way around to say, pretty much any and all of my “free time” has taken up either sick or outside in the rain and snow. I’m so over winter right about now!! This is usually the time of year when you can stay inside and work on models but, this year has been different. I’m hoping to get back on the bench soon so, hang in there it’s just a matter of time. Thanks guys!

[JeroenS]

All the best with riding it out!

[Pouln]

Sorry guys, I have been absent for nearly 2 years.

I have been way to busy with work, packing for the move, lots of delays in getting the new house arranged, unpacking etc.

Things are falling slowly in place.

Sorry to have neglected this forum and thereby you for all this time.

I spent some time the last week in catching up.

What a wonderful build you are doing here, Wayne and it is so great that you share with us all the steps, minor mishaps but above all, the wonderful accomplishments.

 

My shop is not ready yet. Have to do a lot in the new house before I can restart my work on the Alfa Coupe.

I will get there and, if you all like, I will share the progress (and steps back) with you all.

 

Don’t expect the next update anytime soon, but I hope that I can show you progress later this year.

I still have too much work in the house but alsoin my job., but I’m planning to retire (at least decreasing the hours of work to 20 hrs max) somewhere next year.

This should give me much more time to work on the model(s).

 

Quite a big stack you have there, Wayne. And your workspace looks great. Hope you will find the time, the energy and the motivation to continue this epic build.

 

[larchiefeng]

Thanks guys! I have also been a little absent as well over the last couple of months. Believe it or not, we are just now starting to see some sustained sunshine the last week or so. It's been rain and snow for about three months solid up here in the mountains of Southern California. The awful weather coupled with being sick off and on hasn't been conducive to doing much modeling. I haven't been totally idle but, not really doing enough to post and also not working on the F-40 too much. I took a little break from it and got back to my Alfa Monza build. I do not have a thread started on it anywhere and I'm not sure if I will but, I have been taking a lot of pictures and notes so, that, if I do, I will have all the documentation of the build to post. The main thing that, I have been doing on the Ferrari is going through all the white metal parts and cleaning them up and experimenting with two different types of metal and etching primers to see which I like and what works the best. I sprayed all of the metal parts on the Alfa suspension with the Zero Paint two part etching primer and in this first picture, I decided to use the Tamiya metal primer on the F-40 metal parts. What really brought this whole project on was, I was getting to the point on the engine that, I was starting to use a lot of the white metal parts. Having used the two part Zero primer, I knew that I didn't want to stop and mix up that paint every time I need to paint a metal part. So, I decided to just clean it all up and prime everything now and when I got to another part it would already be primed and ready for color. It was about this time I remembered the Tamiya metal primer. The Zero Paint etching primer is gray and the Tamiya is clear and is a lot quicker and easier to use but, I'm not sure that it's as chip resistant on the metal, hence the experiment. 

So, here's a picture of some of the Ferrari parts with the Tamiya primer followed by what has been keeping busy when not working on the Ferrari.

 

 Some and by no means all of the Monza pictures. I have probably a couple hundred pictures of this build. I had pretty much finished the engine until I got the bright idea of opening up the rear engine cross member mount that linkage actually passes through on the real car. I had a lot of the MMC parts for this car and I thought that if I'm going to add all the expensive after market parts, I should try and do a better job.

 

 

Opening up the tunnels on the mount.

 

 

Miscellaneous progress pictures from the last few months. I feel like I've been cheating on girlfriend, the Ferrari, with the Alfa, the other woman!!

 

 

So, that's what I've been doing when I'm not working on the F-40. Sometimes you need to take a break and do something else. This is by no means on the level of what David is doing with his Alfa Spyder but, it's just a fun no pressure build. When Poul posted on my thread here and reminded us of his Alfa Coupe it prompted me to share a little bit of my Alfa here on the Ferrari thread. Nothing like taking a break from a Pocher build with a transkit with another Pocher and a lot of MMC parts. I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment! Lol I hope you will forgive me for this little detour 😜

[kpnuts]

Great work, as always.

[Schwarz-Brot]

As some of you already know I now also own an unbuilt yellow Pocher F40 and a brand new Autograph Transkit. This will probably be the most expensive and extensive build I'll ever do. So I'm going to do it the best I can. Also I am in the same situation as Pouln, rebuilding a 1:1 house. Doing all we can on our own this will keep me occupied for quite a while, so I feel you. I won't start my F40 before the new hobbyroom is done.

I have abandoned several 1:24 builds, some of them where posted here. I know some folks are waiting for progress, and I will return to these projects when I feel like tackling them again.

 

Larchiefeng, I'd totally love to see a thread on your Monza, whenever you decide to post it. And it is not cheating, it's just an open relationship 😉

 

All of you guys impress me on a regular basis and show me what can be achieved with enough willpower, persistence and creative problem solving. This pushes and motivates me quite a lot, so this is just a thank you for taking your time to share what you do and help where you can.

I do not care when a project stalls totally or better just for a while, though I totally love to see any tiny bit of progress. It is totally understandable when a project never gets finished, after all this is "just a hobby" for most of us and should bring joy into our little spare time.

[Pouln]

Hear, hear!

to Wayne, this reminds me that I need to do something about my springs. I have the stock Pocher mounted and they come with the famous built-in sagging feature. Not a pretty sight at all.

 

Great work on the Monza and yes, do share more of it if you feel up to it.

 

 

 

[larchiefeng]

Thanks guys! Because these two builds are similar in nature or least they are both Pochers. The Monza is probably one of the easier Pochers and, the addition of MMC parts doesn’t really complicate it much. They just add detail where it’s needed and improve the kit quality. The F-40 is a really simple kit made into something intensely more complex with the addition of the Autograph transkit. Sometimes, I just have to take a step back and think about the next step and am I overlooking anything. Sometimes it might be about having my skills improve enough to move forward. I have been pretty quiet about the Alfa build only because it was easier to just work on it without feeling any pressure to post progress and feel like I have to work on it. Like SB said, it is a hobby and meant to be fun. 

If I do start a thread for the Alfa it will probably only be to not be adding it to the F-40 thread; I don’t want to mix up the thread with two different cars.

My intentions on the F-40 thread is to try and show all the issues, problems and what I did to address them for the very few that will probably ever be able to acquire the transkit and actually attempt the conversion. During all my research of all the other guys that did the build and posted it on the various forums what, I found was a lot of good information but, not a lot about how they worked their way through the lack of good instructions etc. I now know of two of you guys that, actually have the transkit and both of you have new F-40’s to convert. Other than the entertainment value to everyone else, if there really is any entertainment here, this is really aimed at you two guys for future use. I’m not trying to bore everyone else with some of the minutiae, I’m really trying help anyone else build a better conversion than mine. Information is your best friend on this build.

Poul, I had somehow acquired a variety of MMC Alfa parts in other kits or the occasional separate purchase and it was on my bench to be built after the Mercedes but, when I got the Autograph transkit I back burnered the Alfa. Every time I got stuck on the F-40 I went back to it because I just couldn’t let all those MMC parts go to waste and not get used. So, the main build became the Ferrari and the Alfa was my secret retreat build. The springs, shocks, brass front axle and various other parts really make a difference on the suspension. I’m hoping to get the frame pretty much assembled these parts will show up. I read up on how David solved body to frame fit by doing some cutting the body in the arch of the frame and I was going to do the same thing. But, the more I sanded and worked on the body after removing the molded rivets and drilled them out and added the metal rivets, the body started to conform and fit better on the frame without cutting it. I guess we’ll see if it turns out in the end. The other thing that I decided to do along with moving the engine back is to lightly trim the edges of the rear engine mount that is a main frame member. I don’t want the completed engine in the frame while trying to do all that fitting and suspension work. I’m making it so that I can slide it into the frame later on. I don’t think that I’ve seen anyone else do that but, I think it’s pretty easy and makes more sense than trying to work around a detailed engine when doing the rest of the assembly.

Well, hopefully I will get back the Ferrari some this weekend in between painting the Alfa.

Sorry guys I didn’t intend to ramble on, especially without any pictures to break up the monologue 🤖

[Jo NZ]

1 hour ago, larchiefeng said:

The other thing that I decided to do along with moving the engine back is to lightly trim the edges of the rear engine mount that is a main frame member. I don’t want the completed engine in the frame while trying to do all that fitting and suspension work. I’m making it so that I can slide it into the frame later on. I don’t think that I’ve seen anyone else do that but, I think it’s pretty easy and makes more sense than trying to work around a detailed engine when doing the rest of the assembly.

Well, hopefully I will get back the Ferrari some this weekend in between painting the Alfa.

Sorry guys I didn’t intend to ramble on, especially without any pictures to break up the monologue 🤖

I didn't slide it into the frame, But I did fit it later. There are no bolts through the chassis on the 1:1, as it bolts through the engine mount inside the frame. I filled the holes in the chassis, and drilled the ends of the engine "wings" to take a piece of rod the same size as the hole in the engine mount.

 

As you're moving the engine back this may not be of use...  I'm a bit sceptical of moving the engine - I've built it in the standard place and it certainly looks right.

 

Here's how it worked. Even with the frame firmly CA'd together, it will spread enough to insert the rod into the holes (not with the body fixed though!)

 

 

 

 

[larchiefeng]

There seems to be a lot of debate on moving the engine and how much. I’m only going 3mm-5mm which isn’t much. I think going back a minimal amount is best just because of everything else that would need to be addressed. If I remember correctly, you can go back somewhere in that range and still be able to use all the linkage as is. 

But, I like your solution and it’s good to know that I’m not the only one who didn’t want to have the engine in place when working on the rest of the frame.

[Codger]

12 hours ago, larchiefeng said:

My intentions on the F-40 thread is to try and show all the issues, problems and what I did to address them for the very few that will probably ever be able to acquire the transkit and actually attempt the conversion. During all my research of all the other guys that did the build and posted it on the various forums what, I found was a lot of good information but, not a lot about how they worked their way through the lack of good instructions etc. I now know of two of you guys that, actually have the transkit and both of you have new F-40’s to convert. Other than the entertainment value to everyone else, if there really is any entertainment here, this is really aimed at you two guys for future use. I’m not trying to bore everyone else with some of the minutiae, I’m really trying help anyone else build a better conversion than mine. Information is your best friend on this build.

 

I salute you Wayne because this is exactly what is entertaining and informative for any interested builder. Especially any considering a first Pocher or extending one into extreme areas of improvement.

The additional value here is that it attracts comment and advice from other highly skilled builders such as Jo and Poul among others. A goldmine of info for builders at any level.

So thanks for your highly detailed, logical text and excellent photos. This is quite a body of work.

We all benefit from this.
C

The Not-Bored Codger...

 

 

 

[Schwarz-Brot]

Exactly as Codger says, it never gets old to see any amount of super-detailed fiddly bits from every angle and beyond. I really appreciate all the work it takes to write down the last detail, especially about mishaps. As I am going to build the F40 I am one of the lucky guys to directly profit from your work, I really don't know how I ever might repay your effort.

But I am sure, not only those building a F40 profit from your work. Every step and every trick may inspire someone just enough to find or adapt a solution for some problem. This is what happens to me all the time when I read through the WIP sections. If I have nothing better to do I even read through some detailed WIP-threads in the planes and ship sections. I am not really into these topics, but I appreciate the craftmanship going into models of any type. One never stops learning.

 

So keep it coming, not matter what it is.

 

Jan - also not bored.

[kitdoctor]

Greetings Wayne and all those members following this thread.

 

I'm new to the forum having just registered.  Just a short intro. I'm rediscovering scale modelling for the third time having ceased the second rediscovery in about 2009.  Being a tragic collector I've hoarded a few Pocher Ferrari kits, the Autograph F40 engine transkit and L&P ISMA transkit.  At the time funds wouldn't stretch to also secure the full Autograph transkit.  I have recently retired (almost 12 months now and never been busier) which is almost an essential step I think before attempting a super-detailed F40.  I can't start a build in the foreseeable future (more on this later) but am enjoying this thread.  It has got me started on some research and thinking about whether I have all the parts I need.

 

Anyway I plan to make a positive contribution here and look forward to engaging with other forum members.

 

Cheers

Noel

 

[larchiefeng]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the support. Welcome aboard Noel, I will look forward to hearing your thoughts and contributions. 

I agree Jan, I also wander into other topics just to see some of the great work other guys are doing. It’s not that I don’t like armor and airplanes and dioramas, I just don’t have some of the skills those guys employ. The other big reason is space for completed models and probably the fact that I have a few hundred car models sitting in boxes. I started acquiring a lot of 1/24 and 1/25 models of my favorite cars with the intention of having sort of a “hobby shop” stash for when I retired and then I could just happily work my way through the pile. I also started picking up a few 1/16 and then all the 1/12 Tamiya F-1 cars and pretty much all the 1/12 cars I could find. But, in the bottom of the pile I had a 1/8 Pocher Mercedes True Roadster that I bought back in the 1990’s which I started but quickly realized that it was beyond my skill level. I had already built the Pocher

F-40 which made me think that I could build the Mercedes; completely different animal! 

After I hurt on the job and sort of retired, I found this forum through Roymattblack and met Chas, Codger, when I decided to go back to the Mercedes. I had a lot of time on my hands but not the confidence and skills that I acquired from seeing what these guys were doing. When things really took off was when we became friends and I was persuaded to take some risks with the build. Once I finished my Mercedes I went pretty much all 1/8 Pochers and sadly all my previous acquisitions are now mostly wall art in boxes. 

I also started looking at other guys like Hendie who, has built some remarkable helicopters and is scratch building a train car. Both are not the normal subject matter that I would normally gravitate to but, his incredible skills are what drew me in. I have learned a lot about scratch building from him. All this is just to illustrate the point that Jan was making, you never know where you will get new information from without opening up your options and look at other types of builds and disciplines. 

In my own small way I’m just trying to share what I’m doing in the hope that it will inspire, inform and at least be of moderate interest to all who read my thread. It’s a hobby and this forum is meant to share ideas and techniques not, just showcase how good you are and show pictures and nothing else. 

I know that without all these guys and a couple in particular, I would not be doing this build so, thanks to you all for the confidence to make the attempt!

 

[Pascal]

Keep up the good work Wayne.

 

If you need info on the F-40, just ask.

 

Sincerely

 

Pascal

[larchiefeng]

Thanks Pascal, 

Once again, another very talented builder that, I have learned a lot about scratch building from, makes my point about it being a great sharing experience here on the forum. 

So, Noel you have come to the right place to get inspired and motivated to get back to the workbench! All these guys bring a lot to the table for you to get going!

 

Edited March 30, 2019 by larchiefeng

[pg265]

Hi,

 

I’m a F40 lover and already built this 1/8th Beastly Beauty with the transkit.

Greeeeaaaaaat build!

Can’t wait to see more progress.

 

Pascal

[Codger]

15 minutes ago, pg265 said:

Hi,

 

I’m a F40 lover and already built this 1/8th Beastly Beauty with the transkit.

Greeeeaaaaaat build!

Can’t wait to see more progress.

 

Pascal

Show us please

[pg265]

1 minute ago, Codger said:

Show us please

That was maaaany years ago, before APNs and not for me (😢)...