Peter Browne Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 I had previously posted this short review below of this revamped kit in Vehicle Discussion, but am now moving it to this build, which seems to make sense. I had previously seen the build of this kit at http://italianhorses.net/gallery/resin/hirof156/f156.htm which identified a number of shortcomings with the kit, including the cast white metal body, no battery and no water tank (which is a biggy). Opening the kit a few weeks ago, I was delighted to see two beautifully cast resin pieces for the body. Exquisite. Looking further I see a battery in the instructions and the water tank! Also finely detailed cast white metal pieces with no noticeable grain (or at least very little). Included are also the wheel knock-off caps, which I think were also omitted in the original release. Tubular chassis. Instructions are typical MFH... Photo etch in steel and thicker than your normal brass PE that you find in plastic kits. Wheel spokes on the left and disc brakes, panels, radiator grills, steering wheel arms etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Browne Posted October 4, 2021 Author Share Posted October 4, 2021 Parts sorted and ready to begin. Engine first up. Some parts wire brushed and any mould lines removed. Engine internal structure glued as well as gear box halves. Not really that much to do so far in cleanup, though some fine steel wool polishing needed for over zealous brushing 🤨 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Browne Posted October 4, 2021 Author Share Posted October 4, 2021 Engine block has been assembled and glued. I'm using Loctite Professional which is very strong and avoiding soldering at this stage in case I need to undo anything... The engine has some great fit in places, but there were areas where fit wasn't so good, despite checking alignment, clean-up, and dry fitting several times. Consequently there were a few 1mm to 1.3mm gaps in places, mainly along some join seams. I was originally planning to polish the engine and apply a wash, but now I have had to fill some of those gaps, so engine will be primed and painted. Filling was done with Green Stuff Green Putty, thinned with a bit of water and eased into the gaps. We will see how that goes after cleaning up the filling in a few days. I guess others would have soldered to fill in the gaps. I will post some more photos of the engine in a few days. This will be a slow (weekends only) but steady build... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Browne Posted October 10, 2021 Author Share Posted October 10, 2021 OK, closer inspection of the assembled engine showed the lower section very slightly askew to parallel to top section, so I decided to take the engine apart (it was glued with super glue) by soaking in acetone for 30 minutes and for soldering. Cleaned up parts again. Now waiting for HAKKO FX-888D soldering station to arrive with knife tip. 🙂 In the meantime disc brakes added on transmission and a front and a rear wheel done. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malc2 Posted October 10, 2021 Share Posted October 10, 2021 Mmmmmm MFH wire wheels! All looks great, will be interested to see how you get on with soldering the parts together, I never had the courage to do that! M. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Browne Posted October 11, 2021 Author Share Posted October 11, 2021 @Malc2 Thanks, The wheels were pretty straight forward and at 1/20 pretty amazing to look at. I was originally planning to just use superglue, and some epoxy on the heavier joins. Now I will try soldering the major bits, mostly for strength, but also to get 'seamless' joins, particularly for the engine and frame which I don't intend to paint. I'll use low temperature solder. Otherwise I'm using Loctite Professional on the small bits, which is pretty strong stuff. Hopefully post some pics next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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