Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 RS: 7 day build. Day 7. Complete (#30 for 2020)

Well, a disappointing finish in spite of the injector stacks and exhaust system from Scale Production. Too many bits are poor fits, very surprising given the high quality of some of the other Fujimi kits I've built. And this was discouraging meaning the finishing touches were not really up to par. But so be it; a sad end to a sad year.

The kit was selected for the 7-day buildoff because I expected it would be detailed but easily assembled, as was the case for the 356C, also from Fujimi. Sadly not the case, but it'll still look good on the shelf.

What's next? While 2020 has been very productive in terms of builds, it's been pretty sad otherwise. Here's looking to better times. Stay tuned!

Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 RS: 7 day build. Days 4, 5 and 6.

I got started on the morning of Day 4, promptly broke a couple of small items, and decided to shelve it. Plus the spot on the roof is back. Maybe the big drip was still drying out... time for more polish.

On Day 5 I fiddled about with it, not getting very far. On Day 6 I got the body shell on the chassis. The number of fragile little bits and poor fits was unexpected given the quality of other builds from Fujimi. 

Stay tuned, it will need to be done tomorrow, flaws and all, one way or another. I'll post pictures with Fujimi's excellent 356 for comparison.

Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 RS: 7 day build. Day 3.

Two steps forward, one back... the paint needs fixing. The roof has a new coat of white, which once again has a big drip. So more sanding and polishing ahead. 

Meanwhile the engine and chassis are done. The engine, in typical Porsche fashion, is complex, while the suspension is simple. The headers will be fitted once it's all in the body shell.

Tomorrow: more body work (this is why I do paint first on these time-limited competitions) and initial steps on the interior. Stay tuned!

Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 RS: 7 day build. Days 1 and 2.

One of the Facebook modelling groups decided on a 7-day so-called Quik Build, from December 24 to 31. (You can tell we're all locked down...) I picked Fujimi's excellent RS on the basis that it would all fit, even if it's a complex kit; no customisation or fiddling would be required beyond a certain level of detailing to be decided based on time available.

Day 1: 

Step one, if I am in a hurry, is to get the bodywork out of the way because otherwise screw-ups here can add days at the end.

• Paint and sand the body, apply decals, apply clear coat, polish. I considered just polishing but this requires an excellent plastic body, and there were a couple of flaws that needed fixing. 
  
• Paint engine and transmission main components (spray paint).
  

 

 

 

Day 2:

The body went well so I decided to spend the time on detailing the engine. Plug wires are Detail Master DM 1025, a realistic 0.012" in diameter; injection piping is silver 26 ga Artistic Wire at 0.41 mm (0.016"). 

• Assemble engine
• Detail painting of engine and transmission (brush)
  
• Wire ignition and plumb injection

The stock engine was modified with injection stacks and a free-flow exhaust from Scale Productions, eliminating the piping which serves to pre-heat air heading to the air filter as well as the air filter itself. 

 

Come back tomorrow evening for interior and chassis work! By Day 6 I should be on to the finishing touches -- lights, wipers, glass, etc.

Maserati 3500 GT: Blast from the Past

This packaging is the original 1964 Aurora kit of this car; it later was re-released under the Monogram label. While it lacks in detail in many ways compared to the best modern kits, it features opening hood, doors and trunk which leave open the possibility of poor fit.

Flaws so far include a couple of broken bits, easily fixed and not unexpected for something that has been rattling around since 1964. As well a tire had left a mark in the hood; I am lucky the glass, while scratched up, was not damaged in this way. Putty and sanding has cleaned this up.

Minor mold separation lines and sinkholes were also cleaned up. 

The body at this point has been painted with Tamiya TS-32 Haze Grey, with TS-74 Clear Red over it for the dark red roof. The rest of the body will be finished in TS-67, IJN Grey. IJN Grey is darker than Haze Grey, which was used to keep the roof from being too dark. 

The engine is complete and I am moving on to the interior. The instructions wrongly refer to a 'carburettor'; this is the later version of this car (technically a 3500 GTI) with Lucas fuel injection. And, as is often the case for high performance vehicles of this era, the engine features a twin-plug head.

Stay tuned! I might even get another one completed for 2020.

Honda RC166: Complete (#29 for 2020)

What a lovely kit. And while it might be 1/12 scale, there is a very large number of very small bits that would be moulded into larger parts at 1/24. 

After a lot of thought I decided to leave the fairing off as it will hide the mechanicals. The bike was raced with the fairing, of course, and looks good with it on, so I include a picture of the bike with the fairing in place. (Once installed, it can't really be removed, so it's on or off.)

So there are a couple of other 1/12 kits in the stash, including a pair of the Italeri Italian GP cars from the 20's and 30's. But maybe it's time to get back to 1/24, especially since I have agreed to a quick build on one of the Facebook groups that leaves 10 days from December 23 to January 3 to complete. 

So stay tuned, I might even manage 30 builds in this pandemic year.

Honda RC166: Detail-up parts

I bought three of the four detail-up kits for this. I didn't buy the rivet kit as I figure I have enough rivets... Anyway I've built two and the score is Tom 1, Detail-up kits 1.

The wheels in the kit are pretty bad. The wires are flimsy and very fragile, but still too big. The Detail-up parts are very small, but with the included jig and my 4X desk lamp, I was able to put it all together. The result is superb. 

The chain, on the other hand, was a problem. The jig is fine, and dealing with the little rollers (0.034" outside diameter) and pins (0.020" diameter) went OK (again with help from the desk lamp). But the second set of links that go on the other side was a problem. The links are meant to clip over the pins, and if even one doesn't clip properly, you are screwed when you pull it out of the jig. 

In the end I gave up and went with the plastic one in the kit; but as it is all held together with screws, I could remove it and try again if I were willing to soak the chain in acetone (I used a quick drop of CA glue, as per instructions, to lock the pins to the clip-on links. 

Disappointing because the metal chain looks so much better... but I'll write it off to experience.

The third kit, which included a clutch as well as front forks, has worked out OK for the clutch; the forks are still to come. Stay tuned!

Ferrari 156: Complete (#28 for 2020)

What a kit. The box as delivered in July 2019 weighed about 1100 grams, the completed model 982 grams. 288 holes to be drilled just for the spokes for the wheels; another 208 rivets to be drilled. Almost 14" long, it will dominate the display cabinet until I get a separate display case for it. One of my better paint jobs; and the engine stands out even if you can't see it inside the bodywork. Just some minor paint flakes to fix. Sharknose indeed! The pictures speak for themselves.

So what's next (apart from a glass of bubbly)? No idea, stay tuned, but the 1/12 Honda bike is from the same era.

Honda RC166: Engine and frame

What a detailed kit. I've made a couple of changes, mainly replacing the 1 mm rubber tube provided for spark plug wires with 0.50 mm wire from the stash. At scale this is a more realistic 1/4" diameter.

The accessory package that includes upgraded clutch and front fork also includes six little carb trumpets, and is therefore well worth it.

Spark plugs are very fragile but I managed to get them into the head and attached to the wires without breaking any. Well, OK, I only broke one but managed to fix it.

The black tubing is probably a little big for throttle cables but not by as much as if it were used for spark plug wires.

The upgraded clutch includes 4 each plates and discs, and will be free to turn if you are careful with the glue.

Next, back to the Ferrari 156 where I need to polish out some dust that got into the paint somehow. Stay tuned!