harveyb258 Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 I really feel for you! It's heart-breaking when that happens. Something similar happened to me a couple of yrs ago.....I STILL can't look at it and it remains in a drawer! Cheers, H 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Jampton Posted June 11, 2018 Share Posted June 11, 2018 Such a shame but we all do it and it always lands on the side that does the most damage. It was and can still be a great build so don'tlet it defeat you. On another note these 1/43 models are crazy, Christ knows how you do it, 1/20's bad enough. My hat comes off to you but your bloody mad. Regards John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 Hi Sabrejet how are you? Have you dared looking at it yet? Have you tried contacting MFH about the mishap? If they have any heart surely they will help you out! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted June 14, 2018 Author Share Posted June 14, 2018 Well first of all thanks for your kind comments and suggestions: I managed to take a deep breath and went back in to take a look. The back end of the car had completely separated from the front, held on only by the thin copper wire fuel line I'd added. The fuel tank also detached and that bit looked the worst part. In fact that whole assembly seems to have gone back together reasonably well and with little evidence of the impact. The front end hasn't fared so well: the front outriggers took the brunt of the fall, and these are the bits sticking out in front which are supposed to attach to the bonnet assembly. A few of the tubes had detached, the shock absorbers ended up in the carpet and one of the springs did too - though I didn't notice that til just now and fortunately managed to find it. With the use of a pair of flat-nose pliers I seem to have got all the bits reattached, and have put the engine in permanently to make sure it's all sensibly located. A LOT of paint touch-up has been done too, so it looks sort-of OK in photos but it isn't perfect by a long shot: You can also see (just) that I've attached the ignition coil and added a maroon top and red LT wire from it to the distributor. Unfortunately it still isn't all well, for though the sump lines up with the chassis tubes (or at least the space between them), I have a few gaps where there weren't gaps before, and a couple of chassis tubes which no longer seem long enough to connect (circled below). I will fill these in but I do now worry that the bodywork won't be a very good fit. I think I'll have one last look to see why the front end seems longer now (should be the opposite surely?), and if nothing's obvious then I'll neaten it all up and worry about the bodywork later... Oh and I think I will glue the wheels and tyres on soon, just in case. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 Well, it doesn't look too bad, but there's some structural damage for sure. Maybe the front part is now longer because of loss of tension due to the breaking of some of the tubes. 1 hour ago, Sabrejet said: Oh and I think I will glue the wheels and tyres on soon, just in case. And put the handbrake in too while you're at it 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiny Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 I must admit I was fearing much worse from the way you described it. Mind you, it's so easy to imagine the worst and remember the really bad bits when something like this happens that it can be almost a relief to go back later and see things aren't quite as bad as your memory had convinced you, Really glad to see the repair work seems to be going well, aside from the few bits circled. Hopefully the body goes on as well. And if it still doesn't seem quite straight, it's always worth remembering that there aren't many raced cars which haven't had an crash at some stage in their lives. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted June 23, 2018 Author Share Posted June 23, 2018 Well it lives on! Despite being dropped a second time (it's quite difficult to handle - well that's my excuse), the TZ2 is coming along. I think the engine bay is just about finished - added the two, three-part water and oil radiators and sundry airboxes, master cylinders, battery etc. And a slightly different stage, with the radiator duct faces added (PE steel). I was also able to do a fit-check of the bonnet and I can now see the effect of those two 'crash' episodes. It generally fits OK but the oil tank filler (on the RH side near to the scuttle) is too far outboard to fit the hole in the bonnet (when the bonnet is closed). So I'm now thinking of a couple of options: Glue the bonnet and body together and display them separately to the chassis (or as separate parts); or put it all together but have the bonnet open. For sure it doesn't look as though the bonnet can be poseable, which is kind-of OK, though not perfect. Still, plenty to do before I get to that bit so I'll enjoy doing the body and forget that for now. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted June 25, 2018 Author Share Posted June 25, 2018 Interior and sundry bits almost finished: just seat belts and spare tyre to fit: 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 Very good looking! Glad to see you've made an excellent recovery 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harveyb258 Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 15 hours ago, JeroenS said: Very good looking! Glad to see you've made an excellent recovery 🙂 Ditto!! Great job matey! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted July 15, 2018 Author Share Posted July 15, 2018 Managed to get some bodywork prep done at last! First you need to add three small ducts that are arranged around the car: all are body-coloured so need to go on before the paint is applied. Each one is tiny and comprises one small vac-formed part and a piece of photo-etch to represent the mounting flange. There is a fourth piece of vac-form which serves as the windshield wiper shroud. The instructions show each vac piece (V- item number), plus the matching PE: And a not very good scan of the vac parts: Then all applied and with a coat of primer: And the bonnet section prepped, and shown alongside the main body part: I managed to get some paint on today and with luck decals this evening: will post more soon I hope! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted July 16, 2018 Author Share Posted July 16, 2018 Decals on and a coat of lacquer: getting there! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted July 21, 2018 Author Share Posted July 21, 2018 Slowly getting there, but as ever, the last few bits take the longest: since it's about the journey I'm OK with that. First of all the rear end is done: each tail light comprises a PE backing plate and a clear resin lens - the larger light clusters also have a tiny oblong PE centre part too. I've also just about finished the bonnet section, though I'm not happy with the PE headlight surrounds (black, as on the actual car) because they are too small - certainly too short front-to-rear anyhow. I'm still happy overall and the intricacy of this one-piece white metal part is astounding. Just some PE straps to add on the rear sides: Since that dreadful moment when I dropped the main chassis, it has been apparent that I wouldn't be able to get the bonnet closed and so I decided to display it off the car. To make it a bit more presentable I have made a stand for it out of plastic card: And on to the last major bits - the front and rear windscreens. Both have to be cut out of a larger vac-form sheet (the same one that has the headlamp fairing covers), but MFH do a great job of providing clear indentations to show where to cut... And finally I plonked the screens in place just to see how they will look. They will fit better once glued in place: MFH provide screen surround trims, but as with the headlamp surrounds, they seem a tad small. Fortunately I think I can get away with painting the recesses black since the colour will show through the windscreen adhesive and the real car seems to have a pretty flush surround anyway. I'll paint first and then decide once the glue is dry! As with this kit, and other MFH builds I've read, if something doesn't fit, it's most likely not an issue with the kit 🙄 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted July 21, 2018 Share Posted July 21, 2018 Good idea to have a separate display for the bonnet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted July 24, 2018 Author Share Posted July 24, 2018 Windows in! And these are the PE window surrounds. I'm happy with the black-painted surrounds as part of the bodywork that I painted before putting the windows in, so I'm going to leave these off. I have no idea how I'd have attached them without getting glue everywhere anyway. Plus they (like the headlight surrounds) appear to be a bit too small. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiny Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Fantastic detail, it's hard to believe it's only 1:43. I dread to think how fragile those window surrounds are though - they can't be much thicker than a hair's breadth. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian T Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 I’ve just come across this build and I am very, very impressed by the quality of the work and the kit, but working at that scale ..... no comment apart from the fact that my eyesight or finger dexterity wouldn’t allow me to approach this. I’ll leave it to the experts and I’ll watch from afar with awe. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted July 25, 2018 Author Share Posted July 25, 2018 (edited) Well through thick and thin, I managed to finish it! Here: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235041228-143-alfa-romeo-tz2-model-factory-hiro/ Many thanks for watching and thanks too for your kind comments. Time for a lager and a rest before I decide what to do next. 👍 Edited July 25, 2018 by Sabrejet 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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