Renault Estafette: Paint

With multiple body panels molded in clear where the panel involved includes a window, there is no way to paint this except with lots of tape. So while I was at it I figured why not go for a two-tone paint job. Some cleanup still to be done. 

Next will be getting all these panels to line up with each other and with the chassis, without getting glue all over everything. Stay tuned!

Renault Estafette: Engine and chassis

What a pleasure to cut plastic bits off a sprue and glue them into place immediately without loads of fiddling! Mind you this is a Heller kit, and so a bit fussy, but an easy day's work got the chassis and engine complete. 

Next will be to decide on livery, including interior paint; in turn this means deciding on bodywork. Certainly it will be a minibus with seats for 6 (more if I can find spare seats); and there are some extra decals from the Renault city bus. I'll also be looking at hinging doors. Stay tuned.

Ferrari 330 P4: spark plugs, and little else...

Well, with two weeks gone since bravely stating I was going to build the 1/24 Model Factory Hiro kit of the 330 P4 for a competition on October 2, I've barely got the plug wiring done. Granted there are 24 of them, but still, seems my heart hasn't been in it. So the probability of this being done in time is well below 50% and sinking fast. 

Of course the fact the plugs are tucked underneath the throttle slides doesn't help, but still.

News as it arises will appear here, as always; but I sense something easier in my near future. Stay tuned!

Ford vs Ferrari build-off: P4 versus Mark IV. Decisions, decisions

With just under 4 weeks to go until a local club meet with the theme Ford vs Ferrari, I had to make up my mind and pick a kit from the stash. I boiled the contenders down to three: The old MPC kit of the 1967 Le Mans winning Ford GT Mark IV, or one of two kits of the second-place Ferrari 330 P4, from Fujimi and Model Factory Hiro respectively. 

Now some of you may remember my last post where I ranted at length about the MFH kit of the Porsche 962C, a kit of about the same vintage as their P4 (K133 versus K116). But the Fujimi kit doesn't have a removable engine cover, nor a decent engine, meaning I'd have to build up the Historic Racing Miniatures engine I purchased for it some years ago. Having built HRM's 917K motor, I know the result will be nice but I can also guarantee the fiddle factor just got a lot bigger for this kit. 

Serious reading of the MFH instruction sheet reveals a small number of major challenges, starting with the exhaust manifolds and including various bits making up the rear tubular subframe. But a lot of it looks to be "straightforward", sort of (I am kowtowing to the Prophet Murphy here), so I opened up all the little baggies and sorted it all into a project box. 

Of course I could bypass all the issues around choosing between the two P4s by building the Ford, which is reasonably well detailed, but the P4 is one of the sexiest cars on the planet, where the Ford is slabsided and utilitarian -- the SUV of Le Mans cars. 

So the MFH kit is the one, and it's all off to the acetone bath next. Gad, that shape...  gonna have to not screw it up.

Stay tuned!

Porsche 962C: Complete (#11 for 2022)

OK, Model Factory Hiro kits are extraordinarily detailed. But they also require huge amounts of fiddling, adjusting and general futzing about. I'm glad I finally wrestled this one to the mat, even if I started it in February. 

The 1986 Le Mans winning 962C, driven by Derek Bell, Al Holbert and Hans Stuck, in the classic Rothman's livery. One of the all-time Le Mans greats. Should be a great addition to the Le Mans shelf but right now I can't get too excited. I mean it took all day to get the windshield wiper right -- four flimsy photo-etched parts that eventually required three 0.5 mm rivets from the parts bin to hold it all together.

 

I am rather pleased with the door hinges, but what a struggle. 

Overall it looks good from far but is far from good. Not one of my best, but I'll take the win even if it was was messy. 

What's next? There is a Ford versus Ferrari competition at a meet in just a month from now. Fortunately I've got lots of Ferraris built and ready to go; but maybe I can manage a 330 P4 or GT 40 by then. Stay tuned!

Porsche 962C: Door hinges (cont.)

The right side hinge is now attached and seems to work, sort of. The full opening range is substantially less than in real life, perhaps because the lower hinge is mounted inside the body rather than out; but there was no obvious way to rectify that. 

The M0.6 screws for hinge pins were a life-saver and the proposed MFH route (of using little rivets) would not have worked. Slop in the hinges is crucial as the pins aren't on the same line, as they should be for a functional hinge.

With that challenge out of the way, the left side door, with the broken window frame, will get glued into place.

Back to our regularly scheduled activities, namely decals and finishing touches. The zoomed-in photos show some paint flaws needing work. Stay tuned!

Porsche 962C: Door hinges

Having been distracted by other builds, it's back to this MFH kit. The objective is to complete it in time for a Porsche Challenge issued through a local Facebook group last winter, with a deadline of 9/11. 911, get it? Ha ha. Right, moving right along.

The chassis is complete but pictures never got posted here.

The main issue was the flimsy door hinges which I felt could be improved to better take the weight of the white metal doors. This required ordering M0.6 screws, nuts and washers to replace the rivets provided by MFH. The main issue is the upper hinge that sits on the windshield surround, as the inner one inside the body just needed a bolt. 

M0.6 bolts may be only 0.024" in diameter, but correspond to 0.600", or just about 5/8", at full scale, and this is likely twice the size of a proper real-world hinge pin -- 5/16" or 3/8" Grade 8 bolts would make more sense. However, I'm not sure M0.3 bolts can be found outside watchmaker's supplies, and I surely would have trouble handling them.

The pictures show the MFH bracket glued on to the door window frame with a couple of strips of 0.003" brass sheet to strengthen it, and the M0.6 bolt through it. I am hoping this will not be obvious once painted. You can also see the hinge bolt that will be trimmed once it's all painted and ready for final assembly. 

I broke one of the window frames due to excessive manipulation, and have glued it back together with more brass strip on the inside; nonetheless this door (left side) may get glued into place. 

Paint and decals are next. Stay tuned!