Lancia Delta S4: Engine and chassis

The last of the Group B cars, the rules were rewritten the following year after an S4 was involved in a fatal accident. But meantime here's a 1.8 litre motor with both turbocharger and supercharger, sitting in the back seat of what had once been a little hatchback and making 600 hp.It will look fine next to the other Lancias in the fleet (Beta Monte Carlo, 037 and a pair of Strati).

Here's the motor, complete with intercoolers, before it disappears into the chassis.

Chassis bits are coming together, starting with the rear. 

There's an engine in there somewhere, buried under all those intercoolers. I think the air filter housing needs to be rubber-coloured, not this poor painted approximation of fibreglass.

The front is also together. Next will be the interior. 

A lovely kit by Beemax-Aoshima, everything lines up and fits with lots of detail rewarding careful painting and assembly. The dress-up kit is not as nice as some, though. The "fiberglass" decals are not terribly convincing but are better than flat desert sand. 

Stay tuned!

Triumph GT6+ update

Build a crappy kit they said ... the doors have been put into the body, and the dashboard attached to the interior as per instructions. A new windshield has been made from 0.010" clear sheet plastic. So far so good. 

But for the record: the door hinges, once the body has been stretched over the interior and chassis, don't clear the dash. So the body will have to be carefully removed and the Dremel brought to bear. 

 

 

This would have been a lot more obvious if the dash had been attached to the body rather than the interior. 

So it's on the Shelf of Doom for now. Stay tuned!

Thundering Lightning: Complete (#17 for 2021)

Started 3 years ago, this mid-engine, cab-forward Thunderbird joins my Starliner from 20+ years ago. The Allison will probably outdrag the 390, assuming the tires will take it... 

I am particularly pleased with the canopy, which is a clear plastic spoon from Costco. 

 

What's next? Hard to say. The GT6+ is still eyeing me from the Shelf of Doom... Maybe I'll try something easier, like a Model Factory Hiro kit. Stay tuned!

Thundering Lightning: update

About three years ago, inspired by the Model King Allison Thunderland kit, I decided to build my own version (click here) of an Allison-powered Thunderbird. It's been on the shelf of doom ever since, really just needing a bit of putty and sanding before putting on the paint. 

This involved a mid-engine design with a gearbox from a Freightliner and Corvette hubs on a transverse leaf. (Front suspension is the standard Thunderbird setup.) Yes, woefully inadequate at full scale, but this is at 1/25.  

It also involved a forward-control driving position under a clear canopy made from a clear plastic spoon from Costco. I also debated using the upper body and tail fin from a 1/48 WWII warplane (Spitfire or equivalent) but decided to keep it subtle.

The latest update involves a scratchbuilt scoop for the carburettor, more putty and sanding, and a final coat of primer. Colour went on and it's looking good in my view; just the suspension to fix and some final detailing. 

 What's next? Hard to say! There's a Triumph GT6 on the Shelf of Doom... Stay tuned.