Fastcat Posted April 20, 2022 Share Posted April 20, 2022 Hi CC, Great result and far better than what was there originally. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted April 20, 2022 Author Share Posted April 20, 2022 Good evening guys I've not be able to spray my clear coat over the bodywork, because I was late in decanting my can of Mr Hobby Super Clear Semi-gloss, and the jar where I decanted it was always releasing gas 2 hours ago, so it will be done tomorrow, if weather allows. On the other hand, the test runs on the chassis and under the body being conclusive with the test engine, I started to assemble the final engine, and there, without counting all the preparation and cleaning of the parts because of the flash and the molding lines or ejection pads, I spent several hours, while studying my reference pictures, to drill the holes in the right places in which the injectors, the spark plugs, and the different hoses will fit. I also spent a lot of time filling all the gaps between the 3 assembled parts, due to bad fit of the kit parts, with several layers of polyester putty. But now, the engine block is ready and I have applied 2 coats of primer/filler, which give the engine block a really nice aspect. Once the primer is fully cured, I could give the engine a good sanding with 3000 grit to prepare it to receive the final paint.. Stay tuned if you like 😎 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted April 21, 2022 Author Share Posted April 21, 2022 Evening gentlemen First tlight layer of semi-gloss clear coat have been sprayed , it has slightly darken the aluminum color, which appears always good. Tomorrow will be time to apply the decals, an then 2 new coats of clear will be sprayed, a mist one and a wet one. A the moment, no issue with this, just a micro-micro-dust on the bonnet. The engine block has been sanded and sprayed with aluminum, a pulley (? not sure that it is a pulley, b-ut it's visible on the original engine) has been added on the front side. It's been made on the lathe with 5 mm aluminum rod. Thats all for now, guys ! stay tuned if you like 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted April 22, 2022 Author Share Posted April 22, 2022 Evening mates The first layer of clear, although light, wasn't strong enough today and I didn't want to run the risk of damaging it by putting the decals, so I'l do it tomorrow. In the meantime I have not been idle: - I've detached all the parts that will go on the engine from the sprues, cleaned them of all the flash, some others have just had a bit of putty applied to fill in unsightly moulding holes. - I primed two alternators, 2 coils, 2 oil filters, 2 injection pumps, rocker covers etc. - Finally I did a little precision work, very meticulous: * by making the 8 injectors, from 0.8 mm brass tube * and the 16 spark plugs (2 per cylinder) from a 0.6 mm brass tube threaded on a 0.8 mm brass tube, and 0.25 mm electric micro-cable, threaded in the hole of the 0.6 tube. Each 0.8 mm tube will be threaded into one of the holes in the top of the engine block, to the right and below the air intake pipes, but before doing so the head of each spark plug must be painted black and the base aluminium. Some pictures to illustrate this: And on the first picture, what you can see in my photo booth, is a blueprint of Mercedes 300 SLR chassis I found on the Internet. Is it close to the real ? don't know, but despite everything , very helpful 😎 Stay tuned for next adventures 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted April 23, 2022 Author Share Posted April 23, 2022 Good morning, gentlemen I began to put the decals. Those are aftermarket ones I found here: Indycals for 7 USD plus shipping cost. The seller is a very good fellow, very reactive 😎 I thank @modelbautony who gave me his own decals stencil. I did tries with them on my wife's deskjet printer, and wasn't happy with the result, due to the pr quality of this first price printer. So, rather than buy another better printer, I preferred to search on the net, and bingo ! They are of very good quality but must be cut off one by one, following thoroughly their outlines , with a very sharp and thin blade. I apply them after several examinations of the pictures available on the MB archives website. See you soon for the next ones 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fnick Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 Looking very good Thierry. One observation though. Is it me or does the "2" on the right hand side have a bit of the black outline missing? Nick 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted April 23, 2022 Author Share Posted April 23, 2022 16 minutes ago, Fnick said: Looking very good Thierry. One observation though. Is it me or does the "2" on the right hand side have a bit of the black outline missing? Nick It's you... and the picture where there's just a small reflection on the second "2" surrounding . I prouve it: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fnick Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 I stand corrected!🙂 Nick 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted April 23, 2022 Author Share Posted April 23, 2022 Left and right sides done: . Here, the difficulty was to correctly apply and cut the decals on the left side, around the door. She seems to come alive, don't you think ? See you soon for the end of decals 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted April 23, 2022 Author Share Posted April 23, 2022 Well guys, decals job done, not without some difficulty with the right side "2" on the trunk, because of the opposite curvatures of the body at this place. With a lot of Micro Sol, I managed to do it ! Union Jacks decals were a piece of cake As you can see, the centre numéral "2" on the trunk lid covers partially the raised letter "D" (for Deutschland, and accessorily it was the handle to open the trunk), as on the real car. Later on, the con covered parts of "D" will be painted with Molotov chrome. The 3-pointed star of MB and the name "300 SLR" will be added later on, over the decal "2", but I've planned to make some paint touch-ups with red and black to give the impression that the "2" is applied over the letters and numbers, as it was the case on the real. Now, I've to wait for a good drying until tomorrow before spraying the clear... So let's go on with the engine... Stay tuned if you like 😉 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted April 23, 2022 Author Share Posted April 23, 2022 Good evening, gentlemen I've painted and varnished all engine components but exhaust lines, which need a special treatment to become realistic. All these parts are drying quietly, and tomorrow and the following days, I will still have a lot of work to do to improve some of these parts like: - the alternator: manufacture of the strap that attaches it to the engine block - the coils: red-brown paint of some parts, insertion of the 8 spark plug cables on each of them - the water cooling line: manufacture and addition of the different hoses, simulation of the rubber seals and their metal straps on the line and on the 8 outlets - Air intake line: Same as above. Furthermore, I have to paint the 16 spark plugs, make the fittings and hoses that connect to all these parts and to the engine, weather this too new engine bloc, highlight some details, etc... It looks like nothing, but it will take a lot of time, patience and energy ! Steel grey metallic for these parts (the rendering is not conform to the real) And white aluminum for the last ones: Stay tuned for next adventures 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 Good evening guys I've made some progress on the engine today: - First I've painted the 16 spark plugs and then inserted them in the dedicated holes on the engine block top. Now, the engine looks like a hedgehog or a porcupine 😄 - I've glued in place the oil filter - I've glued in place the rocker covers and the front piece. - I've begun to detail the intake manifold and the water cooling line, painting on them in Tamiya Rubber black, the parts which are rubber sleves. I've still a LOT of work to do on this one. - Highlighting some details - Fabricating or simulating the metallic collars, 37 or 38 of them, I'm not perfectly sure - Fabricating the connectors for all hoses, a lot ... - Detailing the alternator, and coils - Fabricating another missing part situated on the left side of the engine block, above the oil filter and below the alternator, where to hoses connect. - This list is long, etc. - Not to mention the weathering of this too-new/neat engine ! However, to see how it looks on the chassis, I've put the engine as it will be with intake manifold, injection pump and water cooling line. IMHO, this is very promising ! And it is a BEAST ! Stand connected for the next post: clear coating is quite achieved 😉 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted April 24, 2022 Author Share Posted April 24, 2022 1 hour ago, CrazyCrank said: Good evening guys .... Stand connected for the next post: clear coating is quite achieved 😉 It remains to spray a 4th coat for a perfect finish after wet sanding 6000/8000 to remove 3 dust micro-particles on the bonnet. Indeed, the semi-gloss clear I sprayed this morning looked too mat, so I have sprayed this afternoon my third coat with a mix 2/3-1/3 between Semi-Gloss and Gloss, and now, it's too shiny on some places (where I probably insisted too much !) So tomorrow the finishing coat will be a mix 75% / 25% between Semi-Gloss and Gloss. See you soon 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted April 25, 2022 Author Share Posted April 25, 2022 Evening guys Too wet weather today to spray the last clear coat. I haven't taken the risk to spoil the good result I already got. So, I went on adding "quills" to my porcupine 😄 First, I've achieved the alternator, taking inspiration of this photo: It's been easy to paint black the right part of the alternator body Easy too to scratch the fixture: 1 strip of BMF Okra Brite Chrome, two 1.5 mm sections of .5 mm brass tube, a bit of Molotov Chrome on them It remained to scratch the wiring: 3 cables, of which 1 is 0.3 mm copper wire ended by a rubber sleeve, very simple to make with a section of 0.5 mm black electrical tube. The 2 others, 1 red and 1 black, made of 0.5 mm electric wire, and both end with a brass pod, covered by a rounded rubber cap: - To make this, I used a 0.6 mm brass tube in which I inserted the electric wire. - Then, I flattened the brass tube with flat pliers, at a distance of about 1 mm from the beginning of the tube where the cable entered - Then I drilled a 0.3 mm hole in the flattened section, threaded a 0.3 mm copper wire in the hole, cut off the excess part of the copper wire on the top, and keeping 1 mm o the bottom, this 1 mm being threaded in the dedicated hole I drilled previously on the alternator. - A last, to create a rounded rubber cap, I covered the top of the flatten section with UV resin, cured it with UV light, and painted this in Tamiya rubber black. Some pictures to illustrate my explanation : What took me the more time to do is the distributors wiring (sorry because in the previous posts, I made a mistake calling them coils) I'm sorry and I apologize because, in the heat of the moment I totally forgot to take pictures of the makig-of So, a long explanation: Each distributor has is centre part painted en a mix Red hull/ Flat red, as on the photo above. This centre section has eight holes and I've had to insert and glue in each of them a short section of 0.25 mm black electrical wire: these are the spark plug cables The top section receive a red wire, that I've scratched too. The 8 spark plug cales are retained together with a strap that I made with 1.0 mm Tamiya masking tape painted Rubber black. That was relatively easy, thorough, time consuming but easy. It is afterwards that it became difficult ! The 8 spark plug cables of each distributor join in a big rubber hose, and this last one climb on the top of the engine and leads towards the right rocker cover. - I had to find something to simulate the big rubber hose. Looking thoroughly to my ref. photos, I've been able to determine its dimension by comparison with other elements, and found hat a 1.3 mm cable would match. - Fortunately, I own 1.4 mm electrical cable, and I decided it would be perfect for the scale - But, once the metal wires stripped of the tube, I saw that the inner diameter was about 0.7 mm, and so not enough to thread the 8 cables into it. - I had to enlarge the end after heating it cautiously , using a little punch. - And then it was not still that easy, because I had to thread the 8 cables simultaneously, but I managed this difficulty. And the results: But the difficulties don't stop there when it comes to ignition. The worst is yet to come: - When the time comes, the two big pipes containing the spark plug wires have to be applied against the central part of the engine, - fixed with a flange, also to be scratched, on the top of the left rocker cover,- brought down to the right rocker cover by passing between the air intake pipes, - connected to the 2 "flutes", also to be made, - and finally, the 8 spark plug wires, which go from the spark plugs on the top of the engine, have to be threaded through the 8 holes of each flute. A big job of patience! The 2 distributors are fixed on the engine block The alternator will wait, because I've still to scratch additional parts and fix on the left side of the engine block, and also I must fabricate the fuel lines coming from the injection pump and install their ends in the 8 injectors BEFORE glueing the alternator. AFTER, it would be quite impossible. As you can see, all action has to be planned and made in a precise order, otherwise, we are heading for a catastrophe, or at least a big disappointment Stay tuned for next adventures 😎 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pouln Posted April 26, 2022 Share Posted April 26, 2022 Thierry, you are adding so much to this engine. Looks really good. On first glance the paintwork looks a bit crude, But I amagine that you have magnified these pictures many times. What size is the alternator? Can,t be much more than somewhere between 0,5 and 1 cm. Right? In any case, at that scale, this engine will be impressive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted April 26, 2022 Author Share Posted April 26, 2022 2 hours ago, Pouln said: Thierry, you are adding so much to this engine. Looks really good. On first glance the paintwork looks a bit crude, But I amagine that you have magnified these pictures many times. What size is the alternator? Can,t be much more than somewhere between 0,5 and 1 cm. Right? In any case, at that scale, this engine will be impressive. Thanks Poul The alternator is 12 mm large, and the distributors 10. The pics have been taken with mi iPhone 13 in macro mode, and, in any case, the embedded camera see always details that your eyes don't catch ! Moreover, the alternator and distributors are painted Tamiya metallic grey, which is a bit glittery , and varnished semi-gloss. All this , magnified by the camera, explain your impression the paint is crude.. The magnification on the photos above is 12 times ! The paint is really not crude. However, particularly for the distributors, the red zone where ares inserted the 8 cables may have been spoiled a bit by the CA glue I used, despite my carefulness ! hereunder some picture I've just taken at a distance of 15 cm, after having verified that what I saw on my phone screen have about the same dimension than what I saw simultaneously with my eyes: Pic size is 400x300 pixels and on y iMac screen, so without any magnification : - the whole engine is 4 cm large, exactly its real size - The alternator is 12 mm, exactly its real size as well. But you must take in account that, having reduced the resolution of the pics to 400x300 to show you the real size at 15 cm with the naked eye, the have lost A LOT of details, that your eyes really see at this distance, so the pics below are not really what you can see (which is much more precise, detailed, and neat) Thanks for your comments, much appreciated 😎 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted April 26, 2022 Author Share Posted April 26, 2022 Afternoon chaps Little post quickly, before my appointment with the anesthesiologist (nothing serious, don't worry) This night and this noon, I've simulated the Cerflex collars situated at the base of the pipes of intake manifold and on its body, and as well on the water cooling lines, using first BMF, which was too weak and didn't resist to handling , and finally Hasegawa Mirror finish, not perfectly convenient (too shiny), but stronger ! You must know that each strip is about 0.5 to 1.0 mm wide, so very tiny, and difficult to place. In all they are17 on the intake manifold and 13 on the water cooling line ! A Benedictine work under magnifying glasses, which took about 4 hours ! Hereunder the result : Once weathered, the shine will be drastically attenuated. I've also added on the water cooling line the first hose, it remains 4 to fabricate and fix And I've one to fabricate for the intake manifold. To be continued 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver911 Posted April 26, 2022 Share Posted April 26, 2022 Thoroughly enjoyed catching up with this build Thierry...utterly delicious details...great work Ron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vesa Jussila Posted April 26, 2022 Share Posted April 26, 2022 Really nice details. It's always pleasure to follow your builds. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted April 26, 2022 Author Share Posted April 26, 2022 Evening gentlemen I'm pleased to announce that the painting/clear coating job is achieved for the bodywork. The main body is perfect and don't need any sanding or polishing. However, it will remain, in 24 hours, to fix a very very slight orange peel appearance and a couple of dust micro-particles, on the bonnet ( and one on the trunk lid). I managed to obtain the satin paint I wanted to get 😎 But I've not finished with the bodywork ! - I think it would be possible to scratch and add the wheel housings, which exist on the real car, and are not supplied in the kit. I'm not 100% sure, but I've already ideas to reach this purpose. - Furthermore, the real car has a wide metal protective shield under the engine, and I think it would be interesting to add it, but making it removable . - Also, I've to paint the inner side of he bonnet in mat black, and scratch a new air intake coz the kit part that is supposed to represent this is ugly and unrealistic. And also to add on the inner side the air duct which connect on the front end of the air intake manifold. - And also to scratch the system with retain the bonnet when it's open. - At last, not to mention the side chrome fillets, the door release button, the finish of the trunk release system with the rear spoilers etc., I also have to paint the interior of the body where it will be visible in the tub and under the car. So a LOT of work ahead ! We'll see that in the next weeks 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pouln Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 Paintwork looks good. Not too glossy, so I think you made the right choice, Thierry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fnick Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 Magnifique ! Nick 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted April 27, 2022 Author Share Posted April 27, 2022 Afternoon guys Thanks for the kind comments, always appreciated. I wrote yesterday that after 24 hours drying, I should fix some slight defects on the bonnet and trunk lid. In fact, at this very moment, the clear has fully cured and what I thought to be dust particles has totally disappeared ! As well for the slight orange peel appearance. 😎 So, best being the enemy of the good, I would simply level the surface by lightly polishing it with MicroMesh 12000 , what can't spoil the varnish nor creating scratches I'm currently working on the engine, and particularly on the top water cooling line. It's almost achieved, it just remain to add 2 "collars" over the rubber bottom end of the brass lines of the left side. These brass lines will be painted aluminum, and their top ends will receive the same treatment than the bottom ends, BUT only at the very end of the installation of engine and front axle. In fact, they are not yet glued on the water cooling line, just inserted in their holes, because their exact position will be determined only after having installed the front brake drums and the steering system. So far, it looks like this: Funny bug, right? It looks like a plasma For comparison, I placed next to the piece being worked the raw part of the kit The water-cooling line, OOB, has 2 parts, and at the moment, there is 27 on the modified one, and once achieved and installed with the radiator, there will be 31 ! I've also painted and detailed the bottom water line, which connects backward on the left side of the engine block, above the distributors, and forward on the radiator . It has been glued definitely on the engine block, because it was time to do it, and especially because it was impossible to determine the lengths and the bending angle of the brass pipes that come out the water-cooling line. Indeed, this brass pipes connect on this piece. Now, I'm going to scratch a hose which connects the front part of the injection pump and the front part of the air intake manifold, still a difficult task ! Stand connected, and thanks for watching 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PROPELLER Posted April 27, 2022 Share Posted April 27, 2022 3 hours ago, Pouln said: Not too glossy, so I think you made the right choice I totally agree! Well done Thierry, for the new parts too... Dan. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyCrank Posted April 27, 2022 Author Share Posted April 27, 2022 For the fun, before going on, some pictures of the different parts of the engine already almost achieved and placed together on the chassis frame: What a beast ! and what a beauty ! I'm madly in love with it 😍 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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