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MFH Alfa Romeo 159M


Endeavor

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I installed twenty-one rivets, five fittings for wires to pass through firewall, the ignition switch, steering box, a photo-etched plate that will later accept a decal, and the airbox.

 

The rivet heads are 1.5mm and the wire fittings are 2.4mm, into which I drilled 0.5mm holes for the wires that will come later.  To pick up and place the tiny parts, I wrapped painters tape, adhesive side out, to the end of a styrene rod.  This was easier for me than handling the parts with any of my three tweezers.  Once again, as I worked, I wondered how an expert would do this.

 

The instrument housings are just placed in position for the photographs.  They await decals, lenses and, if I dare to attempt it, a tiny rivet and a needle for the tachometer.  The instructions say that the "meter needle" with its "flat rivet" are an "option".

 

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The air intake for the carburetor originates at the cowl.  The air flows into the airbox, through the large hole at the top of the cowl, and through the polished duct shown earlier.  The airbox is  a white metal piece  wrapped in a photo-etched part.

 

Two small magnets are positioned on either side of the airbox, covered by the photo-etched cover.  Major body panels will be attached to the chassis by magnets, which makes it easy to remove the body to view what's underneath.  Nice. 

 

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Edited by Endeavor
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On 3/23/2018 at 4:48 PM, parryj said:

Hope you don't mind if I 'LL borrow this!

That's why I described  the process.  I hope the description proves to be helpful.

 

Don't be too bothered if you don't get it right the first time.

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The tape is a good solution for holding small parts.

 

Here is another one....https://www.emodels.co.uk/flex-i-file-sticky-micro-stix-smart-and-original-hold-2716.html

 

Or....a trick I use....is to cut the point off a cocktail stick and apply a small blob of blue tac....similar to the above....but much cheaper!

 

Advantage being you can access smaller/awkward areas.

 

Regards

 

Ron

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On 3/25/2018 at 1:32 AM, silver911 said:

The tape is a good solution for holding small parts.

 

Here is another one....https://www.emodels.co.uk/flex-i-file-sticky-micro-stix-smart-and-original-hold-2716.html

 

Or....a trick I use....is to cut the point off a cocktail stick and apply a small blob of blue tac....similar to the above....but much cheaper!

 

Advantage being you can access smaller/awkward areas.

 

Regards

 

Ron

 

On 3/25/2018 at 5:51 AM, Schwarz-Brot said:

There's also Wax Pens: http://www.greenstuffworld.com/en/amazing-tools/368-wax-picking-pencil.html

Very useful for light and small parts.

Now I know how experts do this.  Thanks!

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Slowly making some progress.

 

Gear lever and linkage, blower, carburetor, and air intake.  More importantly, all components in the photos now have been secured with two-part epoxy.

 

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Edited by Endeavor
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On 3/31/2018 at 4:24 PM, Codger said:

What was the solution for the tank weathering David?

I have not yet decided how to finish/weather the tanks.  

 

I think the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th photographs at the beginning of this thread are of the 159M owned by the Alfa Romeo Museum.  It is probably not typical of the Tipo 159's at the time they were raced and helpful photographs of prototypes are not easy to find.  

 

Unlike the 159 in those three photographs, the Alfa in the first photograph, and in the first two photographs below, does not have engine turning on the dashboard or a obvious pattern on the fuel tank on the right side of the cockpit.  In addition, the structure beneath the dashboard, unlike the prototype in earlier three photographs, has a different finish than the dash panel.  

 

Tipo_159_Alfetta.jpg

 

 

The photograph below shows the engine and firewall of the car in the photograph above.  The firewall is not engine turned.  

 

Eleven.jpg

 

 

The photograph below shows a prototype with a rear fuel tank that looks dull and oxidized.  It appears that the rear tank has an engine turned pattern, but it's not as clear or well defined as in the three photographs at the beginning of the thread.  It is very possible that this is the same car, a bit less well cared for at the time the photo was taken.

 

visconti.jpg

 

 

The following photograph shows a Tipo 158 dashboard.  The instruments are the same as the Tipo 159, but the tachometer and the three gauge cluster are reversed.  The dash panel is not engine turned.

 

Six.jpg

 

MFH specifies fewer engine turned surfaces than the Alfa Museum prototype.  The MFH instructions say to paint the tanks silver, but a photo on their website has a photograph of a superb customer built model finished differently. 

 

159_08.jpg

 

 

Undoubtedly there were differences among the 159's when they were competing, it's likely that museum display 159's have been upgraded a bit, and MFH's and various expert builders' design details vary from the prototypes.  

 

I want the fuel tanks to look reasonably realistic without drawing too much attention to them.  I am still attempting to develop a suitable finish.  My current best result was produced with two applications of Vallejo gray wash over bare metal.  The side tanks must be finished and installed before I can proceed with the next steps of the build.

Edited by Endeavor
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I attached the radiator, dashboard bulkhead, and tubular chassis members...

 

I placed the rear tank on its support structures but, as you can see, the front mounting points are not installed properly so it is tilted.

 

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View from the rear...

 

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Rear view with structures to support the rear tank added.

 

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Rear tank placed on the chassis.  It - and the two side tanks- will have to be finished before they and all the surrounding components can be permanently attached.  

 

The top of the tank shows my first attempt to produce a suitable finish.

 

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Edited by Endeavor
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It has been suggested that my posts would be improved if the photographs were better lighted to show more detail.

 

So I replaced three of the photographs in my last post.

 

Below are two photographs that show the result of better lighting.

 

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Edited by Endeavor
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I've been enjoying this topic, it's a lovely car type and you're doing a great job replicating it. 

 

At Retromobile 2018 in Paris there were two Alfettas. One of them was discovered a while ago in parts in an Italian shed and was painstakingly restored to more than perfectly match the original racer. This car, originally driven by Giuseppe Farina, was one of the surprises and highlights at Retromobile because until then it was widely considered to have been lost. The paint having barely dried, they were only just able to show it in Paris. I'll post these pictures and vid for your reference, hoping you can use them. Mind, it's an 158 but there should be several similarities with the 159. 

 

Driving this car, Farina became the first Formula 1 champion (1950 season). 

 

 

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The other one (next to a 1926 Talbot-Darracq Grand Prix car):

 

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39408331110_0e2d6102de_b.jpg 

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1 hour ago, Roy vd M. said:

I've been enjoying this topic, it's a lovely car type and you're doing a great job replicating it. 

 

At Retromobile 2018 in Paris there were two Alfettas. One of them was discovered a while ago in parts in an Italian shed and was painstakingly restored to more than perfectly match the original racer. This car, originally driven by Giuseppe Farina, was one of the surprises and highlights at Retromobile because until then it was widely considered to have been lost. The paint having barely dried, they were only just able to show it in Paris. I'll post these pictures and vid for your reference, hoping you can use them. Mind, it's an 158 but there should be several similarities with the 159. 

 

Driving this car, Farina became the first Formula 1 champion (1950 season). 

 

Thank you for your comments, the history, and for the wonderful photographs.

 

I wonder how the designers, mechanics and drivers of these cars would react to the museum quality restoration and upgrades.

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Beautiful model Endeavor!

 

Schwartz-Brot, thanks for the tip on the wax pens, they will certainly complement my sometimes not so fine motor skills ;-)

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Here are two photographs of the three fuel tanks with the MFH factory primer removed.  I applied one coat of Vallejo grey wash to the two front sections of the rear tank and to one part of the right side tank to see if it would give the effect I want.  The first application looks better in the photographs than it did in real life, but is a promising start.

 

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Below are the three fuel tanks after three applications of grey wash.  Still more work to do, but I like the results so far. 

 

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Edited by Endeavor
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Below are the four driver's seat parts: the resin seat base and back, the resin partition that fits behind the seat, the white metal seat cushion, and white metal seat platform.

 

Five patterns are provided for cutting the pieces from the "suede" sheet included in the kit. 

 

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Below you see that "suede" pieces have been applied to the seat cushion and the rear partition.  The third "suede" piece wraps around the outside of the seat.

 

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I am disappointed by the color and texture of the "suede".

 

I am thinking about substituting the leather shown in the photograph below.  The problem is that it will have to be thinned from its current 0.7mm down to about 0.35mm.  The "suede" is about 0.35mm.   Reducing the leather to a consistent thickness will be a challenge.

 

DSCN2391.jpg

 

 

Edited by Endeavor
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Nice progress on the tank finishes.

 

With skiving leather, I've had success as follows. Leave the leather oversize - do not cut the actual shapes yet. Tape down one wide edge and then pressing down on that to keep the skin taught, rub the skin away from the held edge with 100 grit on a block. Measure thickness every so often. It's messy and takes good effort but does get the thickness down evenly.

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