MFH Porsche 917/20 Pink Pig 1/12 aka "Biting off more than I can chew?"

[NickD]

There's a good series of videos about refurbing a more conventional 917. One episode showed the engine being removed.

. It worked but it looked very tight.

 

The other showed it being put back. Different car and engine.

 

It will be interesting to see how the model compares. At least you wont risk your fingers.

 

Regards

Nick

[DoctorB]

Thanks Nick will take a look at those later

 

[DoctorB]

Small amount of progress on suspension parts in the last few days... plenty of small parts ready for priming and then gluing these parts.

 

 

I'm also taking the precaution of washing all parts.  The metal ones to make sure that all of the sanding residue is gone.  The resin parts because... that's what everyone says is needed!

[klubman01]

11 hours ago, DoctorB said:

I'm also taking the precaution of washing all parts.  The metal ones to make sure that all of the sanding residue is gone.  The resin parts because... that's what everyone says is needed!

Great work so far.

 

Very good idea to wash the parts.  You are correct regarding the reason for metal parts.  The reason for washing the resin components is the remove any mould release agent that remains.  This can cause problems when painting if not removed.  

 

Trevor

[keefr22]

Seems my notifications to this part of the forum aren't working as I missed the excellent start to this thread - great looking work so far! I shall look forward to seeing the Pig progress!

 

I've considered selling half my stash to finance one of these MFH 'superkits', but I don't think I have enough modelling lifetime left to even just sort out the parts...!!

 

Good luck with the rest of the build!

 

Keith

[DoctorB]

Progress on the engine today... 

 

 

 

 

Next step - air intakes.  Lucky me!  There are 12 of the fiddly things which need quite a lot of clean-up for part-lines, flash etc.

 

 

 

 

 

[klubman01]

That looks really good.  Great work.

Trevor

[Neddy]

Being a newcomer I'm slightly late to the party here but mightily impressed (a) by the kit, and (b) what you've achieved so far.  I stick almost entirely to large-scale car models and appreciate the difficulties but oh boy is it rewarding!  Mind if I tag along?

[DoctorB]

Afternoon, everyone... today's progress is in the planning phase.  Ive looked at the wiring and fuel pipes plus the one thread where i could find a 917 engine build (another forum, link https://brexitmodeller.com/forums/topic/412-mfh-112-porsche-917k/ ,hope that's ok to post), and i am slightly in despair.  This is going to be right at my limit of skills, possibly beyond.  Can I ask for some help?

 

The red wiring for spark plugs is - as the post says - wire and i can both drill a 0.6mm hole and get the wire through.  I can get 0.6mm holes drilled into the distributor and spark plugs.  So the challenge will be patience and layout of the wiring.  Plus buying some extra 0.6mm red coated wire if i need to.

 

The fuel lines look like a whole other level.  As the post says, it is not really possible to pass the tube through a 0.6 mm hole.  The proposed solution was to insert small lengths of 0.6mm wire into holes and wiring looms as needed, and proceed on that basis.  Haven't looked for an extra supply of off-white 0.6mm tubing but I'll guess that it or something similar exists.  

 

Please send positive thoughts and advice  plus also some extra supplies of patience and encouragement.  Especially any guidance on good suppliers for modelling wires etc., if there is any guidance on that.  (Assumption is that it's all standard stuff so it doesn't matter where I buy it from)

 

The above link also shows the difficulties in fitting engine to frame.

[silver911]

This is my go to shop for wires........https://www.componentshop.co.uk/chg1/super-thin-wires.html

 

A search of their site will get you a good selection.

 

Another source is Ebay...with old fashioned PC cables of the 'IDE' variety being among the best sizes for thicker wires...simply strip the outer away.......https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203446718342?hash=item2f5e5e8f86:g:IeQAAOSw~Gdgl-Zq

 

Both the above options are considerably cheaper than after-market model supplies.

 

Hope that helps some.

 

Ron

[DoctorB]

Thanks, Ron

[DoctorB]

Today's update...

 

1) Getting the rest of the parts for the build organised.  As I'm sure most of you know, the parts really do arrive as a 'bag-o-bits'.  So I decided to tackle getting these organised in preparation for when the engine is done.  Thanks to Homebase for the very handy storage solution, and 3M for the ever-useful Post-it.  In the end, the process of sorting and identifying the parts went faster than expected.

 

I now feel like i've got more control over the situation.  While I haven't done a part count, it feels like most of them are in the engine and its subframe!  There are certainly many steps in the manual which use only a few parts.

 

 

 

2) Progressing on the engine wiring.  This will be familiar territory to MFH 'old hands'.  For those of you that have never tried one of these kits, there is a lot of drilling out.  I am starting to find it very therapeutic.  I've also put on the first of the wiring loom 'holders'/brackets.

 

 

 

3) Testing out wire lengths etc.  I bought some spare wire of the approximate thickness to test out wire lengths etc.  Long story short, the wires from distributor to spark plug need to be 7-9cm, so I'll measure how much comes with the kit to see how careful i need to be in preserving supplies.

 

 

4) Testing out the wire spigot solution for fuel lines as recommended in Brexitmodeller post.  I bought some 0.4mm wire which I've tested on one of the fuel line brackets.  Seems ok in principle.

 

 

Overall, I have recovered from my wiring mental 'wobble' and it's time to crack on.  Let's see how it goes over the coming days.

 

[DoctorB]

This weekend...

 

Ignition wiring started.  Getting the wire through the holes was a tight fit but it does go.

 

 

Also started the workaround on the fuel pipes... photo not great but it seems to have worked out well.

 

 

Then started working on the engine subframe.  This is when the swearing started.  I can get the parts to dry fit fine.  Gluing looks like it could be a challenge.  Any of you guys solder?  Never tried it myself.   Worth it?

 

 

 

 

[Mumbly]

30 minutes ago, DoctorB said:

This weekend...

 

Ignition wiring started.  Getting the wire through the holes was a tight fit but it does go.

 

 

Also started the workaround on the fuel pipes... photo not great but it seems to have worked out well.

 

 

Then started working on the engine subframe.  This is when the swearing started.  I can get the parts to dry fit fine.  Gluing looks like it could be a challenge.  Any of you guys solder?  Never tried it myself.   Worth it?

 

 

 

 

White metal soldering is for the brave.  Low melt solder and a low temp iron is essential, white metal melts so easily.  I have typically soldered on large white metal pieces, for small and delicate items, CA or 2 part epoxy.

[DoctorB]

Thanks, Mumbly. Sounds like glue is the way forward. 

[DoctorB]

Forgot to mention in my last post when the swearing actually started.  I had decided to use epoxy glue to start assembling the engine subframe.  First part went on well.  Second, too.  Then the third turned everything into a gluey mess.  I was in too much of a hurry, the first parts hadn't fully set... you can imagine the rest.

 

Anyway, all parts cleaned up.  First try with superglue.  Taking my time.  Will allow these parts to fully set then move on.

 

[DoctorB]

Next two parts added to engine subframe... no drama... a few parts need straightening and the overall shape is not fully square, so I'll tackle that once the glue has completely dried.

 

 

[Tankerman]

I soldered my frame using low melt solder, lots of flux but a normal temperature iron. As soon as the molten solder flowed freely into the joint I quickly withdrew the iron and let the assembly cool. I had no problems as I have had a lot of experience with white metal locomotive kits but it does take practice to get it right.

My reason for doing it this way was that I had read that although the engine fitted in  the frame it was very tight and I did not relish the thought of various frame joints coming adrift with epoxy or CA glue as I was trying to insert the engine. This way the frame was quite robust and I test fitted each component of the engine as additional parts were dry fitted to ensure no parts were fouled as the engine was slipped in to place.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DoctorB]

Thanks Tankerman.  I'll see how it goes with CA.  Most of the joints feel very solid.  The top front ones not so much.  Hoping that on balance all will be well. Otherwise it'll be a crash-course in soldering.

[MikeA]

I ended up soldering many of the joins in major parts like the engine block, oil tank and fuel tank etc on my MFH 250 GTO, as well as much of the frame members. I used a low melt solder and a normal soldering iron without any issue at all. They key is to not spend a lot of time on the join with the iron, so somewhat counter-intuitively a hot iron works better. The lower melt point solder and a good flux keeps everything under control. The joins are certainly way more robust and clean up much nicer than a CA'd joint.

 

There's certainly plenty of scrap white metal "sprue"buts on these kits to get a feel for it.

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

[DoctorB]

Taking a break for the moment. Re-stocking enthusiasm with a Tamiya 1/12 Ferrari