Talbot Lago T26 GP racer

[rob Lyttle]

I'd like to put a marker down - and a statement of intent - for this one. 

I've got a couple of options for the group build but this is definitely the front runner right now. 

I've been working slowly on the Mistercraft kit of the same car, which is actually the truly ancient Merit model and is just about contemporary with the car itself. 

I'm nearly done with that one and love the look of it. 

 

So high hopes for the Heller model which is simple enough but a darn sight more sophisticated than this one. 

I'm almost certain to opt for the yellow Belgian team scheme, which is featured on the back of the box, in a flipped photo! 

Flip the photo back and here it is.... 

Proper spoked wheels and rubber tyres with this'un!

🇧🇪 😎🇫🇷

[Wez]

Great choice Rob, we have two of these in the GB which is no bad thing!

 

Catalogue number 721 from 1981 originally.

 

Welcome and good luck.

[Rabbit Leader]

Got to love a 30’s racer and that one looks  really lovely. All we seem to hear from this era are Germany’s Silver Arrows so it will be great to see something a bit diff and in ‘yellow’! 
Cheers.. Dave 

[JOCKNEY]

Delighted to see such a distinguished vehicle joining the GB.

Best of luck with the build

cheers Pat 

[rob Lyttle]

Afraid I'm a little bit behind schedule tinkering with this little rascal. 

Too much work and not enough play 🤨

But I have had a look at the T26C parts and got some shiny spraycan metal on the appropriate parts. 

 

I've found that this particular paint needs a few days to cure properly before handling, so I thought I'd get it on pronto. 

This is not an overly complicated kit. To be honest the box is a bit oversized for the contents! 

These Heller boxes are good though, aren't they!? 

[PeterB]

Hi Rob,

 

Nice choice. I had a Dinky Toys version of this in blue together with a green "Cooper-Bristol" and a red Maserati, or perhaps it was a Ferrari back in my childhood - the first of what we would now call Formula One cars I had ever seen as it was well before they started showing motor racing on the TV - Stirling Moss in his Vanwall finally appeared on the screen several years later I believe. Certainly never came across the yellow Belgian version before!

 

Pete

[Graham Boak]

Ferrari used to bring an extra yellow car to the Belgian Grand Prix for a Belgian driver.  I don't think I've ever seen a photo of one, however.  Presumably this yellow Talbot was Johnny Claes, who made something of a name for himself at the time.  He is mentioned in Paul Frere's autobiography.  When Paul himself finished high, however, it was in a works car. and looks distinctly red in the photos.

[rob Lyttle]

CrazyCrank was good enough to share this link on my Mistercraft build thread, for a quick insight into Belgian racing, 

https://velocetoday.com/belgian-race-drivers-and-teams/

 

Kit-wise the main engine block went together. But my first hurdle was the fact that the inner floor pan needs to go in before the bodywork halves are joined. It's too big to slip in once the sides are together. 

But I want to paint the shell before I fit the interior. 

 

After some dry fitting and faffing around I concluded that my best shot was to cut the pan crosswise just in front of the seat. 

Now the forward piece can be toggled in first and slid forward and the seat part with side panels will then slip down vertically through the bodywork opening into position. 

The joint where the cut is made will be easy to sort. 

So I'm happy with that, and the sides are now glued and drying, ready for the seams to be sorted for painting. 

😎

[rob Lyttle]

Spoked wheels and rubber tyres are a breeze after the ordeal of the old Merit version...! 

I won't be rewiring these - I've had enough of that malarkey for the moment. 

 

 

Pleased to find the lettering raised on the valve covers on the engine. A few sparkplugs and cables to be added. 

[rob Lyttle]

Yayy.... We have Yellow! 

Spraycan primer and topcoat.... 

 

Not the greatest of weather conditions for this, but I think it's OK. 

A few ancillary pieces fitted first, the mirror bulges and a little intake on the right side 

🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨

[rob Lyttle]

Uh-Ohh, hold on......! 

I've just more or less come face to face with the inherent frailty of the modelling condition, Heller style 😏

As well as the seating and floor that can now be inserted with the bodyshell together, no problem there,...... But, 

There's a complete engine /chassis /firewall /suspension assembly that is supposed to go in before joining. 

 

All the pieces interlock and define each other's position. 

Well..... That isn't going to happen 😎‼️

 

Instead, I've worked out a way to assemble the various bits one at a time into the front of the shell. 

I'm actually aided by a previous little crisis. When I was building the engine block, the back section with the rear engine mounts incorporated had very vague positioning. It's got to be right or the whole engine will be sitting ascew in the car. Rather than gamble on my positioning being right, I decided to take the piece off again before the glue set and fix it when I had more clues to correct fitting. 

You can see that piece dry fitted here, 

I can build the subframe in there and then add the engine. 

So let's call this Plan B, shall we? 😎

A couple of other bits, I made an exhaust manifold plate with fixing studs between the pipes that will get some brass paint. 

This is just a dry fit. 

And I've checked that it will fit through the opening on the side of the car 👌😀

And plans are afoot to cut out the grill from the nose piece, and replace it with a mesh. 

I've done this with the Merit car and quite pleased with the results. Definitely better than painted plastic.

 

 

I'll keep you posted on that one 😎

Edited October 7, 2020 by rob Lyttle
Correction

[rob Lyttle]

Always a bit nerve-racking going into an important piece like this, but the drilling is done. 

Building and carpentry experience tells me to keep inside the line. More can be shaved and filed away, but it's a heluva job adding it back on! 

Cut out and dressed back to what is required. 

Noticeable on the Merit Talbot front is a bit of a wobble on the mesh as it tries to make that compound curve shape. 

Depends how the light catches it usually, but it's a bit irritating at times. 

I've tried to overcome it this time, and this was done BEFORE I drilled out the opening.... by pulling a biggish piece of the gauze tight over the nose moulding and wafting a lighter flame around it, without melting anything ‼️🔥

I think it may have worked, somewhat at least. Trimming back the surplus gauze I've got a dished and curved piece that looks like it wants to keep the shape. 

I got to paint the nose piece yellow now, before I try to fit the mesh, but I'll hope for the best on that. 

😎🙏

I ought to mention that there is quite a discrepancy between the Heller size and shape of the grill opening and the Merit version. I wouldn't like to judge which, if any, is right. I'm just going with the given kit shape in both instances. 

[TonyW]

Fascinating.

 

Heller instructions can trip you up a bit!

 

GP cars in general and Heller cars in particular have never come close to my radar up to now. The Group Build is becoming a window on a few different worlds for me.

 

I can see me getting involved with single seaters at some point, once somethings seen you can't un see it!

The period up to 1974 or so pushes all the right buttons for me. An odd year to pick, but it was the last year of the big block Corvette and the arrival of impact bumpers in the USA. Times were never the same after that! That short period, from the thirties to the seventies had it all for me.

 

Tony.

[rob Lyttle]

4 hours ago, TonyW said:

The period up to 1974 or so pushes all the right buttons for me.

Tony, I'm pretty much a plane builder, but I do enjoy the occasional change of scenery. 

I was a fairly keen slot racing kid in the 60s and still have a soft spot for cars of the same era as you're talking about. 

I still get the urge to motorise them! And I pull the occasional scalextric car apart and tinker. 

A change is as good as a rest, they say 😎

[rob Lyttle]

Rather limited for modelling time, what with trips out for shopping and things.... 

😇

But I got some primer and topcoat applied for the next effort. 

Think that's all the yellow done! 

[JOCKNEY]

Looking really good Rob, definitely the right idea re engine / drivechain alignment. That would really annoy you if it wasn't right.

Cheers Pat

[AdrianMF]

Looking good! The Heller range is turning out to be a regular goldmine of off the beaten track (for Britmodeller) subjects.

 

Regards,

Adrian

[rob Lyttle]

10 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

The Heller range is turning out to be a regular goldmine of off the beaten track

Ain't THAT the truth ⁉️

I just had brain fade when I Googled the term "Delahaye 135" and went on Images. 

And then it suggested I might also like "Delahaye 145" etc. 

You can see that Heller have in fact only scratched the surface 😇

[wimbledon99]

Nice start!! I'm tuning in to all the 4 wheels builds so just added it to my list

[rob Lyttle]

Bien venue et bon soir mes amis! 

Je suis retourné à la voiture de course Talbot Lago! Le Delahaye est accompli. Et c'est au tour de la monoplace jaune à nouveau. 

 

As you can see, I'm getting into this 🤣

 

[rob Lyttle]

For a nice easy job to start back in to this build, I sorted the back axle assembly. 

I often think that model cars ride a little bit high on the suspension, especially sport and race cars. And I was prepared to do a modification on this. But after some dry fitting with springs and wheels I came to the conclusion that the ride was low enough. 

So standard build procedure was followed. 

The only change is the drilling of 8 holes in the brake drums, although it turns out that they are all but invisible through the spoked wheels. Having now looked at many pictures of wheels like these, I agree that the spokes are oversized, but I'm sticking with the kit parts. 

The inner face plates are very nicely moulded and detailed but I can't find any refs for brake pipes or hoses on the back. I can see what is installed for the front brakes. Maybe with the solid back axle the brake pipes were closely attached and any flexible hoses were inboard.... 

Anyway, it's a standard kit back axle for this, no brass tubes and messing around here. 

 

While I was doing the Delahaye 135 I was surprised by the number and variety of cars that are covered by that name. It turns out that the name refers to the Delahaye chassis upon which the increasingly stylish coachwork was built. There's also a 145 and a 165. Try Googling it if you want a good time.. ‼️

So, it turns out that the title "Talbot Lago T26" covers a similar crazy variety of cars including after the war, the whole art deco style and into the 50s with what looks like a family saloon type. 

And I guess that underneath the variety of exotic bodywork there is still the same kind of T26 iron chassis and straight six engine. 

[rob Lyttle]

Doing the grill mesh on the front requires a little bit of preparation. The piece that has been cut out of the nose is useful. Unfortunately, after the long interval on the build, I can't find mine!! 

But what I have found is the equivalent bit from the old Merit version that I have done.. 

Either way, the piece needs to be built up again to be a nice fit in the hole. 

With the starting handle hole drilled out, it can go on a cocktail stick as a handle. And there's a matching hole in the mesh, which is fitted on. 

A line of that clear craft type of glue is applied around the opening and the mesh pushed forward into position. 

Using luck and judgement, the stick and plastic needs to be removed while leaving the mesh. 

Plenty of time is available with this glue. (What you don't want is the frantic panic of superglue!) 

Extra adjustments can be done with stick or finger, and later the surplus fabric can be laid down glassfibre style with some more glue. 

 

Here's the item with the radiator slotted in position behind, 

 

 

I had a little silver sequin in place for the starting handle hole which has come off. I think it looked OK and I'll have another go at fitting it in place. 

 

Other than that, some further work on the engine, with ignition wires, the distributor and front pulleys and belt. 

It's now installed in the front of the car. 

[rob Lyttle]

 

The engine is now settled in the front of the car. As well as the sparkplug leads to the distributor, there's a couple of breather pipes exiting the front of the valve covers and dropping down to the sides of the crankcase, as per quite a few photo refs I've seen. 

And a metal heat shield strip on the exit slot for the exhaust pipes. 

I've drilled 8 holes for the 4 bonnet retaining straps - I'll call them bungees as they look stretchy! 

I wasn't 100%happy with the front wheel attachments on the Delahaye build - and I had to remake one side in my own style when it eventually deconstructed itself. 

So I was prepared to set about these ones to improvise an upgrade. But on closer inspection the parts look like they are more capable and better made than the Delahaye kit , so now I'm thinking I'll give them a go. 

And if they prove to be unsatisfactory I can always go back and redo in my own way. 

[rob Lyttle]

OK, front axle assembly went together fine and the wheel drums feel good on their kingpins. And the whole lot slides onto the front. 

 

In my enthusiasm for fitting the sparkplug leads out the front of the engine, I forgot there is a hose to fix from the radiator to the engine. You can see there where I've been giving the leads a centre parting in the hope of mounting the hose piece between them onto the engine front. 

The inside faces of the brake plates are again very nicely done.. 

I've been reshaping the top wishbones, thinning and rounding the shape. They really are quite blocky to start with. 

And covered them with foil..... They're a fairly prominent feature. 

Two pedals improvised on the cockpit floor - the kit parts look rather tiny. 

But the main reason for pulling the floor out is to fit the gearbox bottom on the underside. This can't be fitted under the car once the floor is in place. 

I finally realised that I've been using the smaller front wheels and tyres as a dry fit on the back axle!! When I took the 2 wheels out of the box to try on the front,...... Surprise! They were bigger than the ones I've been working with 😜

With all 4 on the correct axles the car sits like so.... 

 

This is a fraction higher at the back now, due to the bigger tyres, but all in all I think the stance is OK, especially with no driver in the seat. 

Whaddya think ⁉️😎

[AdrianMF]

I think the stance looks fine, and will be less of an issue when you get the bonnet on.

 

looks great!

 

Regards,

Adrian