Ford GT40 1966, Meng, 1/12

[cmatthewbacon]

 

 

 

Meng did a very good job on these. Each pipe locates snugly but crisply into the X-socket at the engine end, and they pop neatly over and around each other to end up in the pair of 2x2 squares ready to go into the 4:1 reducers. I've built other kits with the same exhaust arrangements that have been a NIGHTMARE to align.... I'm looking at you, IMC Lola.

 

 

 

Despite all its egregious errors, I'm continuing to have fun and achieve satisfaction!

 

best,

M.

[Nick Belbin]

And that's the point! Great progress.

 

Nick

 

[kpnuts]

That engine looks amazing

[cmatthewbacon]

Thanks, Nick and Keith!

 

 

 

 

The back end is starting to look pleasingly busy and solid.There's some clever engineering in there to get the transmission in, but it's nerve-wracking. There's one "polycap" in the whole kit, which goes inside the transmission. "What's that for?" you say to yourself as you put it together. Well... fitting the transmission in place involves unscrewing the lower wheel carrier axle screws, folding the hubs, carriers and brakes upwards, sliding the transmission through with the half shafts in place, getting the poly cap over a pillar on the chassis, then angling the engine and transmission upwards to locate the tabs on the transmission in the slots on the engine and flexing it back downwards to snap fit the block and transmission together, which is only possible because of the flex the polycap provides. After that, bending the driveshafts at the universal joint, bringing the wheel carriers back down with the  shafts inside at the hub and refitting the lower carrier screws is child's play by comparison!

 

 

All that reference is going to really come in useful as the rest of the engine bay and plumbing is fitted!

 

best,

M.

[cmatthewbacon]

Getting near to completing the chassis now...

 

 

 

Fuel pumps and hoses: there are only two of the flexible vinyl hose harness pieces, but they do the job pretty convincingly.

 

 

 

 

Having found a really good reference picture of the distributor in the latest Octane magazine, I came down this morning determined to rearrange the ignition harness as @Codger suggested. And then looked again at this and realised you couldn't see anything or get at it to re-wire!

 

 

All those years of picking up foil and cigarette packet paper paid off... this is the section between the seats, which at least on the 1966 cars is covered in insulation -- the radiator hoses go through there.

 

 

The seats are very clever. These two pieces fit into slots in the soft vinyl "hammock" moulding to provide some structure. Tamiya Titanium Silver spray paint and a fine black marker pen...

 

 

 

And this is where we are tonight. The other seat is having its seat belts built.

best,

M.

[kpnuts]

Looking great matt

[Sabrejet]

Good job! I was incredulous to see this kit selling for £270: I'd assumed its clunkiness and clip-together features would mean it's aimed at kids, but I can't see too many with the money to spare. A strange one, especially since the Trumpeter/Magnifier kit (also a Ford Mk.II) is likewise a clunky thing. Whatever - keep plugging!

[cmatthewbacon]

@Sabrejet it’s certainly not aimed at kids... it may assemble without glue, but it’s a far cry from the snap kits of old. As for “clunkiness”, there’s a LOT of very finely moulded detail. One thing I’ve learned along the way, both with this and the Ninja bike I did as a warm up act, is that Meng are extraordinarily good at knowing what will be visible when it’s built. As you go through the build, there are bits where you think “that’s a bit naff” and four stages later you discover that something else is coming along that hides/enhances what you’d done before.

I think the only screws that you might be able to see when it’s finished are the top suspension pins, and then only if you open the clams right up...

best,

M.

[dnl42]

What a wonderful build! 

Thank you for bringing us along! This is certainly the closest I'll ever get to something like this.

[DarylH]

 Love that fuel pump assy! The firewall behind the seats was covered with insulation blankets,

l

[cmatthewbacon]

9 minutes ago, DarylH said:

 Love that fuel pump assy! The firewall behind the seats was covered with insulation blankets,

Thank you.,.. but not necessarily. If there's one thing I've learned during this build, it's that unless someone comes up with detailed photos taken on 16th June 1966, no one knows exactly what this car looked like in the engine bay or cockpit. There are beautifully restored chassis' that won Le Mans, but not Ken Miles' car. Ken Miles' car is in the Shelby Museum, but I can't find any detail pictures of it, still less period images. As the Octane article about restoring the black car to period points out, although the first six cars built by John Wyer in the UK are more or less identical, the Shelby-built later cars vary considerably, with substantial components in different places and hoses routed entirely differently. Not mention, there's 55 years of development on these cars for historic racing, so what one being put back together now looks like  is not necessarily a good guide to what it looked like in period:

 

 

This is the yellow car in the Simeone Museum, courtesy of a modeller on another site, restored to "as-raced" spec', and there are no insulating blankets on the firewall here. though if I was driving one for a substantial chunk of time, I'd want them...

 

best,

M.

[Jo NZ]

This is the clearest photo I could find that almost shows the insulation 🙂

 

 

[Sabrejet]

2 hours ago, cmatthewbacon said:

@Sabrejet it’s certainly not aimed at kids... it may assemble without glue, but it’s a far cry from the snap kits of old. As for “clunkiness”, there’s a LOT of very finely moulded detail. One thing I’ve learned along the way, both with this and the Ninja bike I did as a warm up act, is that Meng are extraordinarily good at knowing what will be visible when it’s built. As you go through the build, there are bits where you think “that’s a bit naff” and four stages later you discover that something else is coming along that hides/enhances what you’d done before.

I think the only screws that you might be able to see when it’s finished are the top suspension pins, and then only if you open the clams right up...

best,

M.

 

I hope no offence taken Matt - some neat modelling going on here

[cmatthewbacon]

No offence at all... I think for whatever reason, Meng has decided that you should be able to build their kits without glue or paint (if you choose the prepainted version). It may be a domestic market thing, but it’s definitely a choice. The engineering is just superb; I hate to think how others might have done those exhausts, but it’s genuinely foolproof... and I have tested it, so I know!

best,

M.

[cmatthewbacon]

That’s Ken’s jacket hanging up on the hook over the door. He was an Englishman, after all...

best,

M.

[Sabrejet]

5 minutes ago, cmatthewbacon said:

No offence at all... I think for whatever reason, Meng has decided that you should be able to build their kits without glue or paint (if you choose the prepainted version). It may be a domestic market thing, but it’s definitely a choice. The engineering is just superb; I hate to think how others might have done those exhausts, but it’s genuinely foolproof... and I have tested it, so I know!

best,

M.

 

Incidentally, there are some good shots in the LAT digital archive; none specifically of the interior, but some nicely-lit views showing the aft bulkhead:

 

https://www.motorsportimages.com/photos/?search=ken+miles&event_id=4415

[Codger]

Matt I promise I'm not trying to be the GT Police or a troll. But you are fastidiously concerned with accuracy to the chassis number and race day. My point is and has been  Meng is letting you down. Not your ethic or workmanship.

And because you are a deserving, respected builder here your projects always attract a lot of attention. You are absolutely correct about variations due to team, race and time period. All the cars had no 'factory standard' appearance. But Meng has got many corners cut and your readers should know that.

Rather than clutter your thread with examples as I did earlier, I'll just point to one recent one. You can praise Meng's engineering because you're building it but not their accuracy. Your readers should know that.

The example is the fuel pumps and plumbing. That looks more like household plumbing. It appears to be hard pipes rather than flexed lines. And your attempt at anodized fittings is not right.

On anodized fittings, the blue fitting always screws into the appliance (fuel pump, filter or oil coolers).  The red collar is screwed onto the hose and that then screws onto the blue fitting. The very fine threads make the seal. I have done this 1:1. Even fittings left natural without color are exactly the same. My oil cooler fittings and fuel filter are  examples of this. And Stewart Warner pumps are not the blobs Meng gives. The lines to and from the pumps and filter were either black woven or raw stainless weave because they had to flex so much.

You are certainly right that much will not be seen in place or be less noticeable. And I maintain a nice model Meng can be built. But it sorely lacks the character of a MK II. In my Trumpy build I was unconcerned about insulation on the bulkhead. Scruffy wires snaking through the cockpit said much more. I was satisfied in capturing the very accurate proportions, stance and character of the original without being a replica 1046 or specific chassis.

 

[cmatthewbacon]

There’s clearly something light/reflective in there... I think I’ll assume it’s similar to the central tunnel insulation and use some textured foil on the outer corners of the bulkhead...

beat,

M.

[Jo NZ]

Interestingly there were 3 "standards" of build  for the MkII at Le Mans in 1966 -  The Shelby (3 cars), Holman and Moody (3) and Alan Mann (2) cars were similar within the teams, but each team was very different, as the teams race prepared them to their own ideas. I'm sure someone else has all the details, but the main visible differences are around fuel pump positioning/number/pipework and chassis colour. (Blue for Shelby and black for H&M). Both the Trumpeter and Meng kits are based on the Shelby car.

 

Someone in NZ had a totally correct replica built to the "exact standard used in 1966", and painted as the Black no.2 car (Shelby). The only problem was that it was built to their factory drawings by..... Holman and Moody.....

[Sabrejet]

7 hours ago, cmatthewbacon said:

There’s clearly something light/reflective in there... I think I’ll assume it’s similar to the central tunnel insulation and use some textured foil on the outer corners of the bulkhead...

beat,

M.

 

I think this one nails it (copyright Motorsport Images); I have to say I'd never noticed it. Every day is a school day

 

 

[BESTBALSAKITS]

nr5 car firewall on inside & fuel cell hanging out

 

experimental engine nr 42 (not sure what car it fitted in though but he's the best covered so my guess is it's the nr1 car engine)

 

also, i believe the front fenders got dayglo orange added for better visibility @ night stage. I know others think it's just dull orange, or even plain red but i'm pretty sure it ain't...

 

wim

Edited March 30, 2021 by BESTBALSAKITS

[cmatthewbacon]

Thanks, guys... those will be useful, though I don't plan to leave the fuel cells waving in th breeze! Although it may seem like slow progress, off-camera I'm working my way through prepping and painting the main body components. Trying to get them properly painted while making sure all the precise snap fit location sockets and pins remain usable means a lot of masking!

 

 

 

The cabin firewall insulation is probably not totally accurate, but I think it captures the spirit of the real thing -- quite "artisanal". I also need to make sure that it doesn't get in the way of the close fitting door interiors or block the functional latches. As you can see, I have some of Zero's colour matched paint for this car on the go!

 

The front reservoir is just dropped roughly in place to see the effect. It doesn't fit permanently until after the core central tub and door assembly is put in place and screwed down. 

 

 

Although it's only 5 pieces, I think the detail is quite nice, even in unforgiving close up.

 

 

Looking pretty solid and reasonably busy in all the right places. The rear clam interior clips on, swings open and closed and pins neatly into place when shut. Another nice bit of engineering.

 

I think there'll be acres of pale blue in the next update...

best,

M.

 

 

 

 

[elderly]

Have you seen 'Shelby American' available on Netflix?

I seem to remember that there were a few close-ups (to freeze frame) that MIGHT be useful reference?

 

I'm enjoying your build - is it really glue-less? 

[silver911]

37 minutes ago, elderly said:

Have you seen 'Shelby American' available on Netflix?

I seem to remember that there were a few close-ups (to freeze frame) that MIGHT be useful reference?

 

I'm enjoying your build - is it really glue-less? 

 

And also "The 24 Hour War" is on Netflix

 

Ron

[cmatthewbacon]

43 minutes ago, elderly said:

I'm enjoying your build - is it really glue-less? 

Thank you... yes it is really glueless ... or should be if you’re clueless like me! The only glued parts at the rear anti-roll bar links. I clipped them in early in the build onto the wheel carriers, as the instructions suggest, but of course snapped them and their mounting pins off in the course of other construction. TBH, I can’t see any reason they need to be put on so early. There’s room behind the carrier to pop the lower ends in place when the roll bar goes on near the completion of the chassis.

best,

M.