Delahaye 135 (Henri Chapron coach builder) by Heller 1/24 scale

[harveyb258]

Nice work, Thierry.

[CrazyCrank]

Good morning guys

 

A big progress on the engine build and detailing since my next post:

 

- The fuel pump and its in and out copper pipes have been added (0.29 mm copper wire)

- the inlet manifold, carburetors, piping and the throttle linkage have been assembled and put in place on the engine block

- the copper pipe which goes out of the fuel pump has been connected to the first carburetor

- and two 8.5 mm sections of MFH 0.22 mm clear tube have been placed between the 3 carburetors to simulate the fuel lines between them, glued with a very very microscopic drop of Micro Kristal Klear.

 

All that hard work with so tiny parts have been made with magnifying glasses, and quite without breathing 🤥

 

And now, some photos. They are not top quality and do not justice to the model, alas:

 

  

 

  

 

 

 

 

Theoretically I should cut 3 2-3 mm sections of a 0.2 steel piano wire, and glued each one between the cams on the throttle linkage and the cams on the carburetors.

I think I'll do not do that this time, for 2 reasons:

- It would be a much hardier job than all I've ready managed to do, and there's a risk, willing make enhancements, to ruin the previous work, for instance  due to a wrong move

- I believe that, instead of enhance the visual appearance, there's a risk to blur it with too much as invisible details

 

However I'm open to any suggestion

 

And now, I'm going to assemble the hammock 😎......for my wife 😪 and then mow the lawn (53820 square feet !)

 

Stay tuned if you like

 

[johnlambert]

I just wanted to say that I love this build (apologies if I have said this before), it's really inspiring.

 

With the throttle linkage I would ask this; how visible will it be when the model is assembled?  If you can't really see it, then don't risk messing up the great work you have done.  I think the expression is, "Don't let perfect be the enemy of good".

[harveyb258]

Good morning to you too, Thierry and may I say what a fine job you're doing... hat's off.

 

41 minutes ago, CrazyCrank said:

and there's a risk, willing make enhancements, to ruin the previous work, for instance  due to a wrong move

Aaaah, the dreaded "detailers' curse".... for every extra part you successfully attach, another half a dozen get knocked off in the process. I know it well.

 

50 minutes ago, CrazyCrank said:

However I'm open to any suggestion

I think if you'd felt inclined towards it, you would have already done it, tbh, so stick with your initial thought.... why risk ruining an already beautiful model?

However, if at some point you find that you cannot live without this virtually invisible detail, then, you are more than capable of achieving it.

[CrazyCrank]

5 hours ago, harveyb258 said:

 

I think if you'd felt inclined towards it, you would have already done it, tbh, so stick with your initial thought.... why risk ruining an already beautiful model?

However, if at some point you find that you cannot live without this virtually invisible detail, then, you are more than capable of achieving it.

Good evening, Gentlemen

 

Finally, I did it, with 0.17 piano wire, 3 mm sections, that I gently glued with MicroLiquid tape, a glue normally dedicated to install canopies on plane models.

This glue dries slowly, allowing to rectify the position of the glued parts, and is invisible once dried.

 

I'm cautiously enthusiastic with the result I got, because the levers on the the throttle linkage are not perfectly aligned with the carburetor's ones.

At least, I showed myself that I was capable to achieve it.

 

Hereunder some pictures:

 

  

 

Please, tell me if I should remove the wires, or not...

[johnlambert]

1 hour ago, CrazyCrank said:

Please, tell me if I should remove the wires, or not...

No, they look good.

[harveyb258]

53 minutes ago, johnlambert said:

No, they look good.

I concur.

[CrazyCrank]

Afternoon Chaps

 

The engine has been glued in place on the chassis, not without difficulties, because - Do you know what ?...It's a Heller kit, so... - parts doesn't fit well at all, and, as usual, a lot of adjustment works have been necessary.

The oil radiator and the water-cooling radiator have been painted semi-gloss black, and the oil radiator has been put in good position.

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

A trial fit has been experimented with the cabin floor and the firewall.

 

  

 

  

 

The more observant people will have noticed something.....I'll turn it over to you now, guys 🤔

 

 

[harveyb258]

Oil radiator is no longer fitted???

[CrazyCrank]

1 hour ago, harveyb258 said:

Oil radiator is no longer fitted???

Yes it is, but the photos with the cabin floor has been taken before I fit it 🙄

You have a second chance...

Edited June 1, 2020 by CrazyCrank

[harveyb258]

Got it!!

brake drums are wrong way 'round.

[CrazyCrank]

18 minutes ago, harveyb258 said:

Got it!!

brake drums are wrong way 'round.

Well done, I forgot this mistake (unfortunately unrepaireble) for the front brake drums.

There's another one, that you can guess on last picture.....???

 

[CrazyCrank]

Evening guys

 

Tonight, water-coolant radiator, a very little progress on this build, but in reality, very time-consuming.

 

In fact, there's a lot of assembly tests to do, to adjust correctly the radiator slope, what is absolutely determinant if one want to fit correctly the bonnets later on.

 

Furthermore, I've decided to not use the parts provided with the kit to simulate the water hoses between engine block and radiator. They are ugly and unrealistic.

So, I used black electrical wire 1.5 mm, to replace those parts

This stuff has been glued with CA gel, and I let it dry a few hours, before fitting the whole set on the chassis.

 

     

 

Stay tuned if you like and thanks for watching

 

[Mr Mansfield]

That engine is a work of art. Looks great in place, I’m learning a lot by following your build

[CrazyCrank]

Good afternoon Chaps

 

Mounting of the radiator done, not easily.

Once the radiator cap painted brass with AK true metal, I got a pretty stuff:

 

      

 

On the left side you could see the good aspect of the water hoses scratched with electrical black wire

 

 

The chassis is now quite finished with the fixation and light weathering of the exhaust muffler:

 

  

 

The rear section of the exhaust system will be glued in place at§ the very last of this build because the assembly notice of the kit is absolutely non-explicit !

 

However, it remains to paint another time the 4 wheel drums.Their actual look is heartbreaking 😪

[harveyb258]

That's a nice bit of weathering, Thierry. Well done.

[CrazyCrank]

Good evening Gentlemen

 

Wheel drums enhanced after having painted them steel, using AK True Metal.

Now, the chassis is achieved, or so

Very frustrating in fact, I had a lot of fun with that  🙁

 

Having received my electrical adaptor, I've nickel electro-plated the 4 plates articulating the vertical and horizontal parts of the front seats.

Once cleaned and polished, I've glued them on the seats, and then glued the front seats on the cabin floor.

 

  

 

  

 

And now, what ?

 

Stay tuned for next steps

 

[Pouln]

As allways, you are creating a splendid detailed model. Love it!

[CrazyCrank]

Evening chaps

 

I'm thinking since 2-3 months about scratching new spoke wheels for my Delahaye , and have seen a lot of tutos on the Internet, more or less suitable for my purpose:  72 spokes by wheel in 3 layers of 24.

And haven't yet decided which method I could-would use to manage this insane project.

Probably I'll fail or abandon or even never begin to do it. Because, despite the allegations of those who already achieved to do that, it's really an extremely difficult job at this scale, if one want to get an accurate result.

I will never use aftermarket photo-etched spoke wheels, not only because of their exorbitant price, but also because I'd prefer to build them for myself.

 

However, as my chassis need wheels, I'm going to use, perhaps temporarily, the kit's wheels, and so, I've de-chromed them (only 40 too much thick spokes), and am going to re-chrome them, to get a less shiny and more realistic chrome aspect.

Hereunder their actual state after de-chroming, cleaning, and spraying 2 coats of  primer and 2 coats of Alclad gloss black:

 

 

A new session of cleaning is needed before spraying AK 477 Chrome .

 

That's all for now, because, this week-end, I've had to take care of my best scale model (My grand-daughter Emma)

 

Stay tuned if you like

 

 

 

 

[CrazyCrank]

And after the first thin coat of AK Chrome, it looks already good:

 

 

More about this in the next issue

 

[CrazyCrank]

Evening Gentlemen

 

My build has been put in standby because a few days ago, I broke irreparably the outer half of a wheel while assembling it with the inner part. 😒

 

I think that the plastic had be weakened during the successive baths for dechroming, stripping the remaining paint and then cleaning up before painting.

So, I've had to purchase a second kit on the net, and I'm waiting for the delivery before being able to go on with this.

 

Meanwhile, I'm still thinking about different techniques for scratching spoke wheels, and have already tried to turn the hubs on the lathe.

 

Have made many attempts with an aluminium bar, very nice to watch, but unusable actually.

Some hubs are made of a single part, others of two.

All that stuff will probably be thrown in the trash, but it was very funny to make them, at such a scale, and this allowed me to improve my skills on the lathe.

 

On the following pictures, the discs that have a deep groove are 6 mm diameter and approx. 1 mm thick, the groove is approx 2.3 mm deep and 0,3 mm wide (Made with a jeweler saw)

The second part of the 2 parts hub is 4.5 mm large

The 2 parts are drilled 1.5 mm on the center.

 

  

 

The 2 following hubs are a bit too large and the two grooves at one end are separated too far from each other

 

 

But try after try, I improve the technique and I believe that one day, I would achieve to get something useable.

 

Stay tuned if you like

 

 

 

[JeroenS]

1 minute ago, CrazyCrank said:

So, I've had to purchase a second kit on the net, and I'm waiting for the delivery before being able to go on with this.

Hmm... that sounds familiar 😉  Heller must love you!

 

Your wheel hub project looks interesting and it would definitely be a feat if you should succeed! 

[CrazyCrank]

Good morning chaps

 

I've not been very talkative nor prolific these last days.

I was waiting for the delivery of my second kit, which occurred yesterday.

In the same time, I was very anxious because my father's health was declining since 3 weeks, and  - I know that this forum isn't the better place to tell it - , he has passed away yesterday evening.

Just to say I feel devastated 

 

Hereunder my last update and I'll probably be very silent during the next weeks.

 

Front fenders have been stuck on the body shell.

 

  

 

  

 

  

 

 

See you soon, my friends, and keep up all the good work

 

[JeroenS]

That's sad Thierry, my condolences. 

[harveyb258]

That's such sad news, Thierry. My thoughts are with you and your family, my friend.