BRM H16: rear suspension

I have been a way from the modeling bench for a while, partly due to my poorly executed attempt at amputating my left index finger with my kitchen knife (it's all grown back fine, thanks for asking), and partly due to travel. (In that respect, let me just say that the weather in Iceland in March can be pretty variable.) In the mean time I purchased a few new tools, for example the spiffy blue cutting mat in the photos below. So anyway a concerted effort got the rear suspension complete and attached to the engine.



A key challenge was getting the spring onto the shock absorber and gluing it all together with the little washer, without the benefit of a 1:43 spring compressor. Given the spring actually loads up once the washer is in place, this was a recipe for really firing bits off into outer space. However it all worked out and the rear suspension looks fine, although I suspect the camber may be wrong on one or both sides. White metal is forgiving but can be bent or misaligned to a much greater degree than is possible with styrene.



The engine in turn will join the chassis once I have polished up the paint. I've posed it here, where it is evident that the exhaust pipes are not quite perfectly aligned, but this is easy to fix in white metal.



Next will be decals and final assembly. No major disasters yet, apart from a couple of minuscule photo etched bits that pinged off into the ether; true to form, most reappeared eventually mixed with scarf and other microscopic residue, and the few lost bits are not structurally or aesthetically necessary for the finished product.



This is all working out surprisingly well so far. Next: polish the body and apply decals; attach engine and coolant pipes; final assembly of front and rear cowlings, windscreen and mirrors, and tires and wheels. And all of it has been done while peering through my 4X bench magnifier. Stay tuned!