BRM H16: Front suspension installation, and engine prep

An evening in the paint booth got most of the engine and front suspension bits painted. At 1/24, I often do detail painting as I go along, using Testor's enamels and a brush; at 1/43 there is a lot of detail that can get buried in too-thick paint, so I have been planning ahead and spray painting everything at once according to colour. In a couple of cases, sub-assemblies (engine short block and heads, for instance) have been glued up first.



Finding ways of illustrating the scale is always challenging; for example, the engine is actually quite a bit smaller than the picture of it in the instruction sheet. So it seems easy when looking at the instructions, but then you start fumbling with bits because your fingers are just too darn big.



Another three hours got the front suspension assembled and installed. Here I ran into some fit issues, possibly due to mistakes made earlier; a certain amount of grinding of white metal was needed to get the structure supporting the inboard springs to slide inside the leading edge of the monocoque as it should. Part of this was paint but there were interference issues as well.



Another little piece of 0.5 mm wire, used for the leading arms for the lower suspension arm, pinged off into the distance and probably got eaten by Mr Carpet. As assembly progresses, I am hoping that there is excess wire in the kit, otherwise I could run out and get stuck. I may keep my eyes open for 0.015" and 0.020" brass wire as I wander through hobby shops in the next while.



Engine assembly is next. This should be fun, with sixteen teensy-weensy (that's a highly technical term, by the way) little injector trumpets to drop, fumble or otherwise screw up. The clutch housing actually includes a clutch disc, pressure plate, release bearing and fork, so again plenty of opportunities to screw up.



And all this while keeping the CA glue where it belongs (on the joints between parts) and away from places it doesn't belong (my fingers, the tweezers) is an ongoing challenge. All in all, this is great fun! Stay tuned.