hendie Posted March 30, 2024 Posted March 30, 2024 nice update Ian, and some fine detective work to boot! (see wot I did there?) okay, okay, coat time. I get it 3
Terry1954 Posted March 30, 2024 Posted March 30, 2024 Great update Ian. She's coming along fine indeed. Enjoy your US trip! T. 1
The Spadgent Posted April 29, 2024 Posted April 29, 2024 Brilliant work. I adore the new grill and painted it looks amazing. I love the 3D printed elements and the old school modeling bouncing off each other to create something far better than what was there before. Bravo that man. Johnny. 2
Brandy Posted May 1, 2024 Author Posted May 1, 2024 Thanks all! Just a quick update as I haven't been totally idle... The inside of the rear wheel wells is now done. After a coat of flat white a little more fettling and sanding was needed but I'm now happy with it. I have no idea how accurate the fuel tank is as I have no photos. but at least the bodywork looks acceptable and fits with what I can see in pics and what I would expect to be there. ie the bodywork extends down to the chassis behind the running boards and mudguards with no change of profile. I think that's an improvement over this: ] I've also completed the first drafts of the brake drums. Front and Rear and the wheel rims plus a jig That's it for now. I need to run a test print of those to check that everything fits and see what, if anything, needs adjusting. I do think I may have to design a replacement front cross member to fit everything onto, but I'll know for certain once I get the test printed. I also need to design some friction shocks as there are none in the kit. So much for OOB! Ian 5
Terry1954 Posted May 2, 2024 Posted May 2, 2024 22 hours ago, Brandy said: I think that's an improvement over this: A definite improvement I'd say. The brake drum drawings look promising, and I'm very impressed with the wheel rim jig. I can see many fine spokes in your future Ian! Terry 1
The Spadgent Posted May 4, 2024 Posted May 4, 2024 Improvement indeed. 🙌 nice looking Digital modelling too. I’ll pray to the printing gods all runs out well. Johnny 1
Brandy Posted May 16, 2024 Author Posted May 16, 2024 Hi all! I may have been quiet, but the printer has been working overtime as I tried to find the right settings. Here are the brake drums.. There was a little bit of distortion to the roundness where the supports were, but I think it's acceptable after a bit of sanding down. Rims look good, but I foresee a lot of drilling....60 spokes on each of the 5 wheels! I have also completed the jig, adding a support to keep the hub at the right height, and guide markings around the edge which match every 4th spoke to help get the threading right without constant recounting. The other task now completed, which took a while but has no visible outcome as yet, was to work out the spoke numbering so I can thread them correctly. Only final threading will show whether I have got that correct or not! That's it for now, Thanks for looking in! Ian 9
hendie Posted May 16, 2024 Posted May 16, 2024 Those should look great under a coat of primer- nice work Ian. 1
Brandy Posted May 21, 2024 Author Posted May 21, 2024 On 5/16/2024 at 11:19 PM, hendie said: Those should look great under a coat of primer- nice work Ian. Thanks Alan, they do indeed, read on! Just to remind you what the kit brake "detail" is like.... Yes, well.... I had to remove the diff and front crossmember, not a difficult task, then clipped the plastic away before sanding it down to fit the new drums. Then yesterday I gave them a coat of gloss black. Annoyingly there are some striations showing, which I didn't see before painting. They won't come off now, so they'll have to stay as they are. I also reduced the size of the fittings on the front drums slightly as I think they are a tad oversized, but that won't help this build! All in all, a big improvement and well worth the effort. I spent most of yesterday afternoon redrawing the seat backs, and I'm much happier with those now, although I may need to add some more there. More photo checking is required first to see if my reference is standard, or an over padded restoration! Then on to the friction dampers and interior gearbox cover. Thanks for looking in! Ian 6
Terry1954 Posted May 21, 2024 Posted May 21, 2024 Nice work on the drums Ian. I quite enjoy working with brass myself, so if we could get someone on a keyboard and another on strings, we'd make a nice quartet I reckon! 4
hendie Posted May 21, 2024 Posted May 21, 2024 It's amazing just how much these old kits can be revitalized with a bit of custom printing. 3
Brandy Posted June 25, 2024 Author Posted June 25, 2024 Blimey, is it really over a month since my last post? I have been doing bits and pieces here and there, but nothing major until I sat down this weekend with a view to designing the front friction shocks. That unfortunately brought to light another error with the kit. The dampers on this car mount sideways, parallel to the front cross member. Unfortunately, there isn't enough room! I measured up and compared to plans I have, and came to the conclusion that the front of the chassis frame is slightly too wide, meaning the space between the springs and the crossmember is too narrow. Easily solved with a saw! In the following pic you can see the moulded in engine mount between the chassis frames. I cut this out with a fine saw, cleaned up the cut edges, and reglued it. It's not a huge reduction in width, about 1mm, but enough (I hope!). The front bodywork was also cleaned up a little with a jeweller's file to trim it to size. You can also see now how wide the springs are, compared to what they should be. To correct the springs, I removed the front cross piece. This should be round anyway, not half-round, so 2 improvements in one there! A piece of 0.75mm plastic rod was glued on after recessing the front of the springs and the chassis rails slightly to accept it. After reattaching the springs, I placed the front cross member on top for a pic. One side is in the locating hole - you can clearly see how much narrower the chassis is now. Which of course means I now need to design and print a new cross member! I did that this afternoon and it is printing as I type, along with the slightly tweaked seats and front brakes. When I test fitted the drums it was clear I had made the steering arms too short, so those were lengthened and angled down a little more. Along with previous adjustments reducing the size of the mountings, that should improve the space available for the friction dampers. So now I need to test fit the bits that are printing now, then design the dampers. Progress has also been made on the wheels. I spoked the rear half to check my spoke arrangement and it all looks good! I then gave it a coat of aluminium paint. along with the other hubs, as I wasn't sure I could reach under the outer part of the hub. I needn't have worried, it all covered nicely! That wheel can now be finished off, and the other 4 done, but not today! That's brought everything up to date, thanks for looking in! Ian 11
hendie Posted June 25, 2024 Posted June 25, 2024 Nice work, Ian. I love those wheels - they're really going to lift the build to another level. 2
keefr22 Posted June 27, 2024 Posted June 27, 2024 That wheel is already looking superb Ian, it's going to look completely stunning when finished - really cracking work! Keith 2
The Spadgent Posted June 28, 2024 Posted June 28, 2024 On 25/06/2024 at 13:27, Brandy said: Progress has also been made on the wheels. I spoked the rear half to check my spoke arrangement and it all looks good! I then gave it a coat of aluminium paint. along with the other hubs, as I wasn't sure I could reach under the outer part of the hub. I needn't have worried, it all covered nicely! That wheel can now be finished off, and the other 4 done, but not today! This is Fantastic! The perfect blend of old and new modelling skills. Beautiful. 🙌 Johnny 1
Terry1954 Posted June 29, 2024 Posted June 29, 2024 Lovely spoke work (again) Ian. I've bookmarked this thread for reference. I was sorting through the older parts of my stash recently and found a half built Heller 1/24 Delahaye 135 that I hadn't touched for many years. Such spoke work as you are doing here would look great on that old girl. A few other shelf queens to get over the line first though 🤫 Terry 1
Brandy Posted July 6, 2024 Author Posted July 6, 2024 On 6/25/2024 at 5:56 PM, hendie said: Nice work, Ian. I love those wheels - they're really going to lift the build to another level. Thanks Alan, that's my hope! On 6/27/2024 at 2:15 PM, keefr22 said: That wheel is already looking superb Ian, it's going to look completely stunning when finished - really cracking work! Keith Thanks Keith, more below! On 6/29/2024 at 1:00 AM, The Spadgent said: This is Fantastic! The perfect blend of old and new modelling skills. Beautiful. 🙌 Johnny More old school in this update Johnny! On 6/29/2024 at 1:08 PM, Terry1954 said: Lovely spoke work (again) Ian. I've bookmarked this thread for reference. I was sorting through the older parts of my stash recently and found a half built Heller 1/24 Delahaye 135 that I hadn't touched for many years. Such spoke work as you are doing here would look great on that old girl. A few other shelf queens to get over the line first though 🤫 Terry I'm looking forward to seeing that one Terry! Right then, what have we been up to lately? Let's start with finishing what I started earlier - brakes and attachments. As mentioned, having narrowed the chassis at the front, I needed to design and print a new front crossmember. That took quite a few attempts as I tried to get something that both left enough space between chassis rail and crossmember for the friction dampers, and also put the wheels in the right position with the track correct. I played about with printing, adjusting, printing, adjusting, and so on until finally I had something I was happy with. With the tweaked and reprinted brake drums fitted I'm satisfied that I have it about as good as I'll get it. and the track matches the rear too! That's that job done then! The seats have also gone through quite a few reincarnations as I try to get something approaching accurate. Here's the progression so far from left to right, kit item in the left. It's close. I'm happy with the curve across the back, but I still think the seat back needs to be flatter at the edges. I'll come back to that later. Wheels. I left you with a teaser of one half spoked wheel. I now have one fully spoked wheel. What a pain the front row was! Due to that, I adjusted the length of the pin at the front of the hub to make it easier to get the line around it and not keep slipping off. I've reprinted the hubs with this adjustment for the rest of the wheels. Once the wires were all set, I ran some thin CA on to the top off the hub. Once set I gently filed the top down flat. The knock-offs will (I hope) hide the mess. Just a reminder of why it took so long... I'm very pleased with that. Only 4 more to do! So on to more palaver with the bodywork. A dry fit of the front with the wheel fitted didn't look right. The wheel was too close to the edge of the bodywork. But the track was correct! This is where it should be I didn't have enough hands to photograph it, but the centre of the tyre was further out by the lowest part of the wing. Or was it? Thanks, Matchbox! The outer edges of the wings should be parallel all the way to the final curve on the front. They aren't and angle inwards for the last 15mm or so. Right then, old style adjustments were called for. Out with the sprue goo and plaster it on! The top surface of the wings should also not curve down at the edges. Guess what, the left side does! More sprue goo to raise the edge, a touch more at the front left to lower the bottom of the rounded part, and a copy of the plans cut out and glued to a piece of card to use as a template. Might as well get it all done! You can see the slightly different shape either side, as I gently sanded the tops of the wings with a sanding stick laid flat across both. the areas of exposed plastic are clearly not equal. Anyway, it should all look much better once done, which is the whole purpose! Time for a beer and the footy I think! Have a great weekend everyone! Ian 9
hendie Posted July 6, 2024 Posted July 6, 2024 Ooooh, this is getting exciting. More work for you but lots more fun for us to watch. 1 1
keefr22 Posted July 6, 2024 Posted July 6, 2024 That's a good update Ian, all coming along very nicely! And that wheel.... 3 hours ago, Brandy said: Only 4 more to do! Didn't they offer a spare wheel cover as an optional extra.... Keith 1
The Spadgent Posted July 8, 2024 Posted July 8, 2024 Oh bravo! The new arches are looking good and those wheels. 👌 It’s all looking rather spiffing. Johnny 1
Brandy Posted July 21, 2024 Author Posted July 21, 2024 Mail call! On 7/6/2024 at 6:57 PM, hendie said: Ooooh, this is getting exciting. More work for you but lots more fun for us to watch. A touch of schadenfreude perhaps, Alan? On 7/6/2024 at 9:59 PM, keefr22 said: That's a good update Ian, all coming along very nicely! And that wheel.... Didn't they offer a spare wheel cover as an optional extra.... Keith Thanks Keith. Unfortunately, I haven't seen any pics with a cover, but I'd have to make that too anyway! On 7/9/2024 at 2:38 AM, The Spadgent said: Oh bravo! The new arches are looking good and those wheels. 👌 It’s all looking rather spiffing. Johnny Cheers Johnny! Right then. After multiple episodes of "prime, fill, sand, repeat" I think I've finally reached a state with the front wings that I'm happy with. They have been widened along the front 15mm to make them run straight all the way from front to back, and the curves on the front ends have been adjusted to be as equal as I can get them, with the apex in the right place relative to the wheels. Having just checked after the latest repaint, there's still a small area inside the right wing front that needs a little more smoothing off, but other than that it's OK. I also primed the seats to get a better idea of how they looked and see if I needed to do any more work on the design. I've found some pics of a car with seat backs that had a slight curve, so I think I'll go with these now. Certainly a big improvement over the kit seats! Onwards! Thanks for looking in folks! Ian 6 1
Terry1954 Posted July 21, 2024 Posted July 21, 2024 1 hour ago, Brandy said: After multiple episodes of "prime, fill, sand, repeat" Ah .............. we know that one so well! Front wings are looking good, and that replacement seat looks much better than the kit part. Well done, carry on! Terry 2
keefr22 Posted July 21, 2024 Posted July 21, 2024 Some very nice progress there Ian, all looking good under some primer. And yes the seat is just a bit of an improvement...!! Keith 1
Brandy Posted December 9, 2024 Author Posted December 9, 2024 Blimey, over 4 months have passed apparently! Ooops! In my defence, along with a loss of mojo, a lovely lady has entered my life and takes up a lot of what used to be my modelling time, although she fully supports my hobby, so that's a plus! So what have I been doing ? The answer is, quite a lot of 3d designing, test printing, tweaking designs, reprinting, etc. Most of this work has been in the front wing/suspension area. The kit has no braces for the front wings, or friction dampers, so those had to be done. These are the braces: The trick here was to get the curve right! I started by looking a little more closely at the inner wings where they meet the chassis and realised that the moulded bodywork was too rounded at that point. Problem solved simply enough by attacking the inner wings with a scalpel blade and paring it back to a) give a sharper edge, and b) take the edge back to meet the chassis rails. Then a piece of solder was pressed into the wing to give me the correct shape. I took a photo of that against a pair of rulers. The pic was imported to Fusion as a canvas to give me a reference to work from. [/url] The basic design... That was printed to check the fit, adjusted as necessary, and detail added. I had to reduce the length by a couple of mm but the curve was good first time. This pic also shows how much I removed from the inner wings to take them back to the chassis rails and square them off. The final version looks like this One further issue I noted was that the kit moulded front springs are flat across the top instead of curving downwards. After measuring everything and realising that the springs are pretty close to the correct thickness and the axle is at the correct height, I decided to accept the kit springs as I don't want to get into issues with the ride height (it's correct as it is). After printing the wing braces, the next item to tackle was the friction shocks. Since I had no size references, I decided the best way to go was to cut a paper mock up, try it for size, adjust it, then take a pic against a ruler and import as a canvas in the same way as I did for the braces. It was pretty small! The design was pretty straight forward. Printing revealed that the two legs are not the same length so that was adjusted, and they were reprinted. There is also a small linkage between the front crossmember and the damper attached to the rear of the wing brace, so I decided to adjust the front crossmember and reprint it. I also adjusted the front brake drums slightly to lower the actuating arms and reprinted those too. A test fit of the new front end parts was satisfactory! While I was on a roll I decided to go ahead and print the steering linkages. I don't have any pics that show the fitting to the left brake drum so I had a best guess. The connection to the steering box was deliberately made too long, that will be adjusted later, but the fit and angles are, I think, OK. After that little lot, I looked at the steering wheel mounting and realised that the dashboard was wrong. The moulded recess where the steering column mounts should not be there! So I snipped it out with a pair of snips. Bad move! Oh well! Nothing for it then other than to design and print a replacement dashboard! I managed to remove the part without damaging the bodywork, photographed it, and imported as a canvas to draw around. Some small tweaks were required to the left edge, and I enhanced the dial bevels a little, giving me this... Sometimes it helps to be clumsy with the snips! I think that's a big improvement! While in that area I decide to do the grab handle for the passenger. I seem to have forgotten to take a pic of the printed handle, but they have come out nicely! I have since painted the new parts and will update soon. The next step will be to get some bodywork colour on the undersides of the wings and running boards before fitting the chassis and new parts. Stay tuned, I promise to update again within 3 months! Thanks for looking in! Ian 10 2
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