Alpine A110

[Toftdale]

Hi, 

 

This is my first post on this forum, however I have been building models on and off for several years.   Most of my recent builds turn have been a reasonable standard, but some certainly have a better side.  This kit is not a bad kit, but it it certainly not with the normal tamiya fitment and a lot of the builds I have seen online have a poor fitting engine cover (I never know which is the boot or bonnet on a rear engined  car).  So I have spent a lot more time than usual fettling with the chassis and floorpan before spraying the body.

 

Sprayed all the both the floorpan and chassis leaving the attachment points unpainted to ensure a good bond

 

 

It is not very easy to see, but the two do not mate together perfectly. 

 

 

Hence the clamps

 

 

Now I can test fit there is enough room for the engine to fit without interfere. 

 

 

 

Just one more thing to address before starting on the body.  The rear cooling vents could be improved.   So I made an impression in milliput and could use this to make a new vent. (Using stainless steel insect pins)

 

 

Soldered the end and I'm really happy with the result. New one on the left.

 

 

Thanks for looking - Andy PS I'm not a quick builder so don't expect to see this finished very soon 😀 

[Pouln]

Great solution for the vents 👍

[johnlambert]

I finished this kit earlier this year, so it'll be interesting to see how you tackle it.  A few other members have tackled it too, so I'm sure there's lots of collective wisdom on how to deal with this kit's quirks.

 

I think you've made the right decision to improve the air vents.

 

One thing to watch is the assembly of the interior, if you don't get the interior panels and dashboard located correctly then the body and chassis won't fit together.

 

It builds up very nicely, I'm pleased with how mine turned out and I hope you'll end up with a model that you're proud of.

[Spiny]

Looks like a good start, and the grille pin system has certainly worked well. I've got the rally version of this in the stash so will certainly be keeping an eye on this.

 

As for build speed, I wouldn't worry about that. I tend to average around 4 months per build, and there are people on here who are slower than me (and have results consistent with spending the extra time it must be said).

[Andy J]

1 hour ago, Toftdale said:

 

Thanks for looking - Andy PS I'm not a quick builder so don't expect to see this finished very soon 😀 

Fair comment build speed is irrelevant it's the enjoyment of building the kit that is important. I'll be following along with interest and like i say take as much time as you need there's no rush, just hurry up ! 🤣👍

[Hamden]

 

Nice start and I love your version of the rear grilles. Looking forward to watching this progress and as others have said build it in your own time this is after all suposed to be a fun pastime so just enjoy yourself

 

        Roger

[Toftdale]

Hi Gents,

 

Thanks for the tips and encouragement,  as for my building speed I either need to learn to build quicker or by less!

[johnlambert]

56 minutes ago, Toftdale said:

Hi Gents,

 

Thanks for the tips and encouragement,  as for my building speed I either need to learn to build quicker or by less!

I can relate to the idea of building quicker or buying less.  But I think we have to accept that builds take as long as they take; life can get in the way and the a result that you find satisfactory probably takes time to achieve.

[PatW]

It might not be finished soon but it's a damn good start! I was a rally marshal in the day and these were fast! Even though they had a 1300cc engine at the time! I think the body was fibreglass.

[johnlambert]

Yes, the body was fibreglass; they are tiny, light and probably quite aerodynamic.

[MR2Don]

10 hours ago, johnlambert said:

Yes, the body was fibreglass; they are tiny, light and probably quite aerodynamic.

I read somewhere that the later 1800cc Group 4 ones, when Alpine were finding the competition getting a bit too strong, lightened the roof to the point where the crew could see through it! Dimension wise, they were about the same size as my MR2, a bit lower, but half the weight.

[Toftdale]

Well I promised slow progress.   I pretty much exclusively use Alcad micro-filler primer on my bodies and this was no exception.   The paint was fairly old so was not as smooth as I hoped, however will some well worn wet and dry this was remedied. 

 

 

After some consideration I have decided to paint the car blue (as per virtually every one😀).  But with the twist of adding an offset French Racing Stripe, so first painted it white (Zero paints gloss white) and them using 6mm Tamiya tape to make a stripe.  

 

 

The plan is now to use 2mm tape to add the red and blue sections, wish me luck - Andy

[Fnick]

Hi Andy

 

Good job on that stripe and good thinking for doing the white stripe this way as opposed to painting it over another colour (yes I did the latter...☺️)

 

Will look good when finished.

 

Cheers, Nick

[Toftdale]

Oh dear, (that wasn't the exact phrase I used) some how I used 10mm tape instead of 6mm for the stripe😳.  So perfectly dividing the stripe in 3 will 2mm tape is not going to happen.   Just ordered some 3mm tape so I'll end up with the red and blue at 3mm and the white central bit at 4mm.  I knew it was going too well!

[MR2Don]

On 9/27/2020 at 8:56 AM, MR2Don said:

Dimension wise, they were about the same size as my MR2, a bit lower, but half the weight

Well, interesting.

I've got the Fujimi MR2 Mk2 kit and also a trio of A110s. Sitting the Tamiya A110 body shell next to the MR2, it is smaller than I thought; noticeably shorter, narrower and much lower. Maybe a photo to follow to show.

[johnlambert]

A quick online search for MR2 Mk2 and A110 dimensions;

 

Wheelbase: MR2 2400mm, A110 2100mm

Length: MR2 4180mm, A110 3850mm

Width: MR2 1700mm, A110 1520mm

Height: MR2 1240mm, A110 1130mm

Weight: MR2 1180kg, A110 790kg

 

So, the MR2 is 30cm longer, 33cm wider, 11cm higher and 390kg heavier if my maths is correct.

[Toftdale]

Just started a little detailing on the engine,  some of the photos I've seen show the exhaust being wrapped.  I used some 3M tape (I think it came from a first aid kit, but can't be sure) painted Tamiya white (too see through unpainted) cut into thin stripes wrapped around the exhaust and secured to ends with photoetched cable ties.  Not necessarily hard, but very fiddly.  Plus also made a dip stick (also quite obvious on some photos) from brass wire (0.5mm) and a photoetch washer.

 

[Toftdale]

The first stripe is on, it my not look much but it took me ages.  My new plan after my initial c##k up was to have the central white stripe at 4mm and the outer blue and red at 3mm.  However after a bit of thought I decided to try to get all three at 3mm with a half mm border each side.  I devised all sorts of elaborate plans to get the half mm gap using tape, rulers and technical drawing pens and then scraped it all and did it by eye.  Also I'm not brave brave enough with the air brush just to mask around the area to be painted, so I had to mask the lot.  Anyway the main thing is I'm really happy with how it came out 😁.

 

 

The only non metallic blue I have is a Ford Olympic blue, which is a lot lighter colour than I really would like.  Does anybody know of any other approach other than adding black to darken it as I think I would end up with a grey 😏

 

Edited October 29, 2020 by Toftdale

[Toftdale]

Today my pot of Zero Paints French Blue turned up.  So now the racing stripe is completed, this was a fairly simple step, however if you could see me I'm sure you recognise my smug face 😏.  Bizarrely I think me making a mistake on the white stripes width actually looks better as there is a clear demarcation between the body colour and the stripe.

 

[johnlambert]

2 minutes ago, Toftdale said:

Today my pot of Zero Paints French Blue turned up.  So now the racing stripe is completed, this was a fairly simple step, however if you could see me I'm sure you recognise my smug face 😏.  Bizarrely I think me making a mistake on the white stripes width actually looks better as there is a clear demarcation between the body colour and the stripe.

Yes, I think that worked out for the best; without the white I think the French blue of the stripe would be a little lost against the metallic blue of the bodywork.  It's looking really good so far; I completed a version of this kit earlier this year (started many years ago) and it's interesting to see how other people work with the same basic kit to produce something unique.

[FunkyChiken]

Looks amazing, it's sooo easy to pull the paint when making, and yes, it does l better with the unplanned white lines separating the flag! 

[Toftdale]

Well I seem to be build this in a very unorthodox order, but I sprayed the door cards at the same time as the body, hence I thought I might as well finish them, although of masking latter there done.  The reason I build new winder handles is because I tried to be clever and run a razor saw just down the back of the handle (leaving the central section untouched) to give a more 3d appearance.  Let's just say it didn't work a planned, however yet again I think I have benefited from my mistake 😅.   The winder was made from a bit of sprue, plasticard and a pin head.

 

 

 

[johnlambert]

Nice work on the doors, just watch that the thickness of the paint doesn't result in the dashboard sitting too high and preventing the body from fitting properly.  I remember having a bit of a battle getting everything to fit nicely.

[Toftdale]

8 hours ago, johnlambert said:

Nice work on the doors, just watch that the thickness of the paint doesn't result in the dashboard sitting too high and preventing the body from fitting properly.  I remember having a bit of a battle getting everything to fit nicely.

Hi John, thanks for the encouragement and especially the tip.  Knowing these little things can make a huge difference to the finished model and my sanity 👍

[PatW]

Great progress!