Auto Union Typ C, German GP '36

[CrazyCrank]

Astonishing work, as always, Jörgen

I'm overall impressed by the top quality of your painting job, and I do like your interest in vintage cars, as several of us on this forum 😎

 

[Vesa Jussila]

Brilliant work! I need to stop some day in Audi museum too see this type C.

[RadMax8]

I’m very impressed with this build! Such great patience and quality. I’d have broken some of those thinner resin parts just looking at them!

 

Being a massive, albeit relatively young, motor sports fan, I usually think of 50’s and 60’s racers when I picture truly vintage cars. But the pre-war stuff is so wild, and just cool to look at. I’m glad you have such a passion for this era and have the skills to do these cars justice. 

[Bengalensis]

Thanks a lot gentlemen for your kind comments. I'm glad to hear you like the build.

12 hours ago, RadMax8 said:

Being a massive, albeit relatively young, motor sports fan, I usually think of 50’s and 60’s racers when I picture truly vintage cars. But the pre-war stuff is so wild, and just cool to look at. I’m glad you have such a passion for this era and have the skills to do these cars justice. 

This era is steadily growing on me, and it was a striking level of development in the late 20's and the 30's, many details that happened then defined a lot of what was to come and can still be considered quite modern.

[Mr Mansfield]

I’m a bit late to the party, so I’ve just gone back through the whole build. This is amazingly good. Some beautiful detail in there 

[Bengalensis]

I decided to once again take the easy(?) way out with the bonnet hooks. I created an assortment of them in 3D and patterned a sufficient number to cover two Typ C, one Typ A and hopefully one Typ D, if I can tweak the lower part a little. Or I will just rework them for the D if needed when I'm there. I threw in a hook for the Mercedes W154 bonnet while I was at it, just to see if it works.

 

 

 

 

Remains to be seen if Shapeways swallows this without whining. So far no protests, but it's early days.

[Mr Mansfield]

Very interesting. I’ve never tried 3D printing, do you have your own CAD software? Are any of the other parts 3D printed?

[Bengalensis]

6 hours ago, Mr Mansfield said:

Very interesting. I’ve never tried 3D printing, do you have your own CAD software? Are any of the other parts 3D printed?

Yes I have my own software, I'm working with it. There are free 3D software online one can use, but myself am not familiar with any. There are no other printed parts in this project, but I'm using the technique every now and then, quite frequently sometimes. Me and a good friend have been doing our own special model parts this way for ten years now actually. Time flies... Just like when I started printing my own decals including white, it opened up many interesting possibilities. It was mostly wheels that got us started.

[Mr Mansfield]

19 hours ago, Bengalensis said:

Yes I have my own software, I'm working with it. There are free 3D software online one can use, but myself am not familiar with any. There are no other printed parts in this project, but I'm using the technique every now and then, quite frequently sometimes. Me and a good friend have been doing our own special model parts this way for ten years now actually. Time flies... Just like when I started printing my own decals including white, it opened up many interesting possibilities. It was mostly wheels that got us started.

It’s very impressive, I’d love to give it a go. But I think I would need to put quite a bit of time aside for it. I’ve tried home printing decals before, but it’s a lot of work & they tended to not be very defined

[Bengalensis]

2 hours ago, Mr Mansfield said:

It’s very impressive, I’d love to give it a go. But I think I would need to put quite a bit of time aside for it. I’ve tried home printing decals before, but it’s a lot of work & they tended to not be very defined

It does of course take quite some learning time to master 3D-CAD software, or graphic software in the case of decals, but doing some basic shapes in 3D is often quicker that one thinks. Then it's often a question of how bad one wants the parts that one dream of putting on a model. If the desire is strong, learning is easier, and it's certainly not a demand to work with it professionally, even if it helps of course.

 

The needs to get a good result in either 3D-parts or decals are often the same for both; you need to use a good software and understand to use it well, and you need to use good hardware to convert all you bytes of data into parts or decals. And still the 3D-parts usually require work and preparation after they are printed to be good enough.

[Bengalensis]

The bonnet hooks took some time to get printed, but today they arrived. I had to resort to the "print it anyway" option as they protested some of the finer dimensions, but it worked out OK. The success to failure rate is good enough and the whole tree has now been sprayed gloss black enamel in preparation for Alclad Chrome.

 

[Bengalensis]

It took some time for the gloss black enamel to dry, but yesterday I could spray the whole tree in Alclad Chrome. This morning I started work separating the W154 eye hooks.

 

 

These where then put aside in the box they belong for future use.

 

 

Then I started with the straight version for the front bonnet, separating the four needed from the tree.

 

 

As I made the choice earlier to have the bonnets removable I then cut them in halves near the lower hooks.

 

 

With small drops of Kristal Klear I glued each piece, carefully adjusting their position as best I could.

 

 

Then I repeated the process but with four angled parts for the rear bonnet. I choose the medium version I made which worked fine. Should I have built the model with a fixed bonnet, which would look better, I would have used the most angled at the rear. Now it didn't matter.

 

 

All the other pieces were stored in marked bags.

 

 

And put aside for future Auto Union projects.

 

 

When the Kristal Klear had dried the bonnets were carefully lifted and all glue joint were reinforced with a tiny amount of CA. Then the rubber band sections were painted flat black.

 

 

 

I think it gives a descent representation. Fixed bonnets would of course allow a better look.

 

 

With this last detail at last installed I will call Bernd Rosemeyer's 1936 German GP winning Auto Union Typ C finished. It has taken some effort, but it's been rewarding work. Will try to sort some photos for the RFI-section soon.

 

[Hamden]

 

Another outstanding detailed build Superb craftsmanship all round!

 

   Stay safe        Roger

[UKmodeller-Reborn]

6 hours ago, Bengalensis said:

Just been reading this thread. An incredible model Bengalensis

 

Well done 👏👏👏 Truly inspiring and can't wait to get my 1:12th Bentley from Airfix, hopefully this Autumn. You must be very proud of such a stunning model.

[Bengalensis]

Thanks a lot guys, I'm very grateful and humbled by your kind words. One day I will probably have to tackle a Le Mans winning Bentley seriously too. The pre-1940 era is very rewarding to work with, and at this point in my life it's taking up more interest.

 

I have added a few photos in the RFI-section here. I hope you will enjoy them.

[johnlambert]

Incredible work, so intricate!  It's been a joy to read through the entire build thread.

[Sabrejet]

Lovely job: it's a shame we don't have scale sound to go with it. Now there's an idea....

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

Your builds are the kind where each step of the construction is as enjoyable as the finished product.

The parts, contradicting Gestalt, are equal to the whole 😉

Fantastic job.

[Bengalensis]

31 minutes ago, Moa said:

Fantastic job.

Thank you very much, you are most kind, as always.

[Aster Builder]

On 11/05/2020 at 11:27, Bengalensis said:

Thanks a lot guys, glad you like my work.

 

The upper suspension arms with shock absorbers have been fitted, as has the steering linkage.

 

 

It became clear that the hydraulic brake lines had to be added at the front. Nothing sophisticated, just pieces of thin black insulated monofilament wires that could be sanded matt and bent to the desired shape, with some paint at the ends.

 

 

Here the fuel pump and lines have been fitted, as best possible given the circumstances. A lot could be modified, added and detailed in the engine room, but this is enough for my ambitions today.

 

 

The epoxy glue for the front wheels is setting, remembering the slight positive camber.

 

Talking of glue what glues do you use throughout the build off this superb effort! I see you use epoxy resin but do you also use MEC and superglues? Oh and BTW what is Evergreen?

[Alan R]

59 minutes ago, Aster Builder said:

Oh and BTW what is Evergreen?

Evergreen is a brand of polystyrene sheet, strips, tubes and pipes in various sizes and thicknesses.
It's a US product, but there are many shops in the UK where you can source it. It's not too expensive, either.

 

Hope that helps,

Alan.

 

[Bengalensis]

4 hours ago, Aster Builder said:

Talking of glue what glues do you use throughout the build off this superb effort! I see you use epoxy resin but do you also use MEC and superglues? Oh and BTW what is Evergreen?

 

I mostly use CA (superglue), I prefer Loctite, working on a resin kit like this. Sometimes Epoxy, sometimes for small details Kristal Klear (sort of thin white PVA wood glue), and I even use clear paint for very small photo etch parts. Not sure what MEC is, Methyl Acetate? If so I doesn't work in this case, but I do use it on ordinary styrene plastic kits.

 

Evergreen is covered well by Alan R.

[Aster Builder]

14 hours ago, Bengalensis said:

 

I mostly use CA (superglue), I prefer Loctite, working on a resin kit like this. Sometimes Epoxy, sometimes for small details Kristal Klear (sort of thin white PVA wood glue), and I even use clear paint for very small photo etch parts. Not sure what MEC is, Methyl Acetate? If so I doesn't work in this case, but I do use it on ordinary styrene plastic kits.

 

Evergreen is covered well by Alan R.

Thank you Jorgen and Alan R. That helps a lot. MEK [not C] is Methyl Ethyl Keytone and has been recommended for use as a glue by Slaters a plastic producer for the modelling world. They specialise in sheet strip and rod material known by the manufacturer as Plasticard. It welds plastic parts together by running a seam of the liquid down a joint using a small paint brush. There is no deformation as the weld takes place at the interface. I brought the subject up because of course the plastic material used in the Merit kits in the 50s and 60s might work well with MEK. I will experiment with a bit off sprue from the kit.

The Plasticard materials are much like the Evergreen you have used I would think and I have quite a drawer full of many sizes highly suitable for our work.

One of the problems with modelling in the tiny scale we are in is the application of tiny amounts of adhesive. How do you apply superglues in tiny spots to a joint? In joints where epoxy is a better choice using 5min two part glue can be a nightmare getting to a joint without having whiskers of glue trailing across the workpiece. Do you have a favourite epoxy that minimises this danger?

Certainly Jorgen your beautifully executed modelling techniques are something for us all to try and emulate. You produce truly such superb work. Perhaps when doing your WIP s that I enjoy SO much perhaps you might consider adding a few words about. 

[Bengalensis]

1 hour ago, Aster Builder said:

Thank you Jorgen and Alan R. That helps a lot. MEK [not C] is Methyl Ethyl Keytone and has been recommended for use as a glue by Slaters a plastic producer for the modelling world. They specialise in sheet strip and rod material known by the manufacturer as Plasticard. It welds plastic parts together by running a seam of the liquid down a joint using a small paint brush. There is no deformation as the weld takes place at the interface. I brought the subject up because of course the plastic material used in the Merit kits in the 50s and 60s might work well with MEK. I will experiment with a bit off sprue from the kit.

The Plasticard materials are much like the Evergreen you have used I would think and I have quite a drawer full of many sizes highly suitable for our work.

One of the problems with modelling in the tiny scale we are in is the application of tiny amounts of adhesive. How do you apply superglues in tiny spots to a joint? In joints where epoxy is a better choice using 5min two part glue can be a nightmare getting to a joint without having whiskers of glue trailing across the workpiece. Do you have a favourite epoxy that minimises this danger?

Certainly Jorgen your beautifully executed modelling techniques are something for us all to try and emulate. You produce truly such superb work. Perhaps when doing your WIP s that I enjoy SO much perhaps you might consider adding a few words about. 

Thanks.

Yes MEK, I use it, but on ordinary styrene plastic models.

I usually apply glue with the tip of an Xacto #11 knife blade. I put a drop of glue on a little plate and pick the amount I want with the knife blade tip. I have a special "glue knife" set aside for it, cleaning the blade very often. There are many methods but this is my usual.

[DreamGarage]

Incredible! Where did you buy the kit and how much did it cost? Thanks