16 replies to this topic

[Harry P.]

I'm just getting started on the Pocher 1907 Fiat Grand Prix racer. After the Pocher Alfa I just finished, this one is child's play. No lights, no fenders, no windows, no interior upholstery...just a huge 4 cylinder engine and a chassis, basically.

I scrapped the ugly brown plastic kit pieces that are supposed to represent wooden planks on the floorboard and dash. First I removed the "metal" band from the dash...



and used the Pocher piece as a template for my new wooden parts made with thin sheet balsa wood. Walnut stain and a coat of satin polyurethane gave me exactly the look I wanted:



Gauge "glass" is clear 5-minute epoxy.

A little more progress...



The engine still needs a lot of additional work (like the entire induction system for example!)...but it's looking pretty good so far:

[Jairus]

Very cool looking build so far Harry! I am looking forward to seeing this one. A note on the wood.... if I had heard you were going to use balsa for the wood planks I've tried to talk you into using "Bass wood" instead. The grain is denser, the wood stronger and it looks more realistic in my opinion. BUT, you pulled it off with the balsa my friend. I agree, the look is perfect!

[Harry P.]

The basswood didn't have any real grain to it...it was too "plain" looking. Plus, I figured the balsa would be so much easier to cut (it is!). Maybe the balsa grain is a little out of scale, but I like the way it turned out. The stain turned out just right. I'll have to post a photo of the floorboards...they look pretty cool, IMHO.

[Harry P.]

A little more progress...the engine installed in the frame, gas tank and rear axle, and my scratch-built balsa floorboards.

[Jairus]

Are those spring shackles really brass or just plated plastic? I am thinking that the brass is pretty enough and your build is beautiful. But, the real car would NEVER use brass in this location! Brass is too soft a material for such a critical part.

J

[Harry P.]

Are those spring shackles really brass or just plated plastic? I am thinking that the brass is pretty enough and your build is beautiful. But, the real car would NEVER use brass in this location! Brass is too soft a material for such a critical part.

J

All the kit pieces that look like brass actually ARE brass. And you're right, spring shackles would never have been brass. In fact, I've painted a lot of the brass chassis pieces and crossmembers red, because on the real car pretty much every chassis and suspension part is red. But the brass parts are just so cool looking...I hate to paint them all, even though it would be more realistic. But the shackles, yeah, I think I'll unscrew 'em and paint them red too.

[Harry P.]

More progress. And Jairus...please notice that the shackles are now painted red...they're not brass anymore, now they're "steel"!

I used the same walnut stain on the leather belts that I used on the floorboards. The belts were too light, and the stain brought out the grain of the leather. The fuel lines are pre-formed, but in the grand Pocher tradition of poor engineering they didn't fit...so a lot of re-bending on my part to get them to go where they're supposed to go!



The kit has the hand operated fuel pressure pump attaching to the side of the seat, which is wrong. It should be attached to the side of the cowl, which meant the line to it had to be scratchbuilt, because the kit piece ends at the side of the seat. Also, I used short lengths of K&S brass tubing to scratchbuild the "T" coupling. The kit doesn't have any outer seat shells, so I made them out of thin sheet styrene and painted them red. You can also see how my balsa floor and dash look when installed.



I still have to remove the front spring shackles and paint them red, per Jairus' instructions!

[Harry P.]

Lots of progress since my last post...in fact, it's done!

[sjordan]

Lots of progress since my last post...in fact, it's done!

Terrific – one of the best I've seen yet!
Now get back to the Jag.

[Harry P.]

Skip, you'll be glad to know that I painted the Jag yesterday. Clearcoat later today (probably after the kids finish ringing the doorbell this evening).

It's back in production!!!

[sjordan]

Here's a very talented guy who builds these things to order – the Fiat is $2,000 (at least at the time the page was posted). I think yours is more realistic.

http://www.shousha-i...x.php?cPath=101

http://www.shousha-i...ails.php?mid=45

[Harry P.]

Yeah, I know about this guy.

There's no way possible to say this and not sound bigheaded...but I agree with you...mine IS more realistic. But it's not for sale.

[ismaelg]

That turned out beautiful! Great job.
Is that 1/8 scale? Are all Pocher's 1/8?

Thanks,

[Jairus]

This build is really beautiful Harry! The pictures look soooo close to the real thing is is hard not to accept them as 1:1.
P.S. I like the shackles.

[lonewolf]

Top notch work Harry. You're not going to try and slip that by us in ROM somewhere down the road, are ya?

[Harry P.]

That turned out beautiful! Great job.
Is that 1/8 scale? Are all Pocher's 1/8?

Thanks,

Yes, it's 1/8 and yes, all Pochers are 1/8.

Thanks, everyone!

[Mr.1/16th]

WOW THIS IS A VERY BEATUTIFULL KIT