Matt Bacon
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Posts posted by Matt Bacon
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Apologies... I know it's been a while since the last progress report. A combination of going away for a long weekend somewhere hot and having to take several goes to get the next bit right has slowed things down somewhat... not to mention the fact the lawn is growing at a ridiculous rate and needs repeated attention!
You need some kind of engine bay walls to hang some of the key components off. The base kit gets away with none, mostly by not including things like a battery or coil. The boxing in of the wheel wells provides the walls, but it took several attempts. In the end I used White Tak to take a profile of the body interior to get the shape of the end wall right and let that set in place, and then drew the bonnet edge profile onto plastic card to get the top curve of the inner fender. Finally some careful measurements along the chassis tubes sorted out where I needed gaps for the suspension components. The battery is sourced from spares and I built a tray for it to sit in.
Trying to get everything to fit in and join up the plumbing and wiring is complicated by the fact that you have three main assemblies to bring together, and many bits of cable and tube that connect from one to another. For example, the upper radiator hose runs from the black "rubber" tube on the left hand end of the shroud over the hood hinge to the front of the engine, which is attached to the chassis. The battery cable runs round the firewall and down to the starter motor on the bell housing.... etc.
The eagle-eyed will notice I've relocated the coil; on my reference pictures it's clearly alongside or ahead of the distributor, so it needed to move further forward. I hope I won't need to separate the assemblies again now, and can just start joining things up. It'll be interesting to see if I can run the steering column in something vaguely approximating the right place, and fit the two frame braces that connect the transverse hoop at the firewall to the front suspension frame uprights.... somehow.
best,
M.
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That's beautiful, Anders. Lovely finish, detailing and photography. It's a great kit, too, but you've made the very best of it. And I would say this, having done the same, but you've built it in the best color combo.
I also think the original is peak American styling, before it all went nuts and then square... Your showroom checker base is great, too... Well done!
best,
M.
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That looks lovely, Justin. Great colour scheme and beautifully executed paint and detailing. Is there actually a hinge in the bonnet?
best,M.
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13 hours ago, DonW said:
They really don't make 'em like they used to!.
Yes, the hands of those carpenters at Versailles were rarely idle…
best,
M.
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Obviously attempting to defeat the speed cops' radar guns with 1970s era Stealth technology...
best,
M.
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3 hours ago, rrb124@sbcglobal.net said:
Panasports/Minilites and side drafts!
Take the bottom lip off the air dam and leave off the wheel arch extensions and you're well on your way to a Super Samuri, with rather less effort than some... 😜
best,
M.
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I haven't stopped working on this, but progress was slowed down by building a big Lego motorbike with the family... The cockpit is pretty much complete, though I wont be finally fixing the seats and steering wheel until the final assembly stage.
I'm quite pleased with the AC badge on the wheel! The box of the kit that I bought had wire wheels with two-ear knock-off hubs. When I looked at them closely, they were AC branded, and Revell had moulded tiny but exquisite badges on the hubs. I sliced them off very carefully with a razor saw and one is now the steering wheel boss. You'll see the other two below, replacing the Cobra badges on the body...
Finished the final details on the engine. Now I need some air filter decals....
The other two badges in place, along with the other details. The "bumpers" are cut out of the kit parts, cleaned up, and repainted with SMS Hyperchrome. Fixing the rear lights and fuel filler cap was nerve-wracking -- the sockets they recess into need to be created right on the seam line of the narrowed fenders, and I was very worried about opening up a crack somewhere visible. But I got away with it!
I've made a hood stay with some guitar string socketed into a bit of brass tube under the right hand fender. You can also see the radiator header tank relocated from the firewall to the front of the engine, replacing the flat rectangular tank on the 427 Cobra. The top water hose needs to wait until the chassis and body are fully fixed together.
best,
M.
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Yay! A short nose. Well, THAT opens up the possibilities...
best,
M.
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Interesting find while haunting the 'bay:
"Speedline" Porsche 936/76. It didn't have a scale listed, and I couldn't find anything about the kit online, but Scalemates lists the SPD-29 decal sheet as 1/24 scale, so I took a gamble. And yes, it's a rather nicely detailed and cast resin full kit in 1/24, with two bodies in (I can't see the difference between them). It makes the early 936 without airbox, but the decals are there for both the stealthy and cool matt black Nurburgring test and launch car, and the white car used for the ongoing campaign and Le Mans win. The black car needs minor surgery -- cutting down the rear fins and the wing lowering, and some scoops reprofiling. I got it for a very good price -- less than the decal sheet alone seems to go for, and the Strada Sports price label on the box says $90-00, which is about three times what I paid!
best,
M.
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This one sounds like someone forgot to latch the cowling shut properly. What I’d like to know is what are SouthWest’s procedures for pre-flight walkarounds? I’ve watch the Jet2 Captain or Co-pilot check their 737s from the lounge window at Leeds often enough, and they check all the opening hatches they can reach by giving them a good shake, including the cowling panels… as well as checking all the air data probes, sticking their heads in the wheel bays, and taking a good look up the jet pipes…
beat,
M.
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I know there are those who don't think that Lego builds are kits, or models, but I beg to disagree. Modelling is building smaller scale impressions of a real thing; modelling using match sticks (or carved bones) has a proud tradition. If the value is in how much fun we have doing it, and how happy we are with the resulting creation, then I reckon Lego counts. It may be constrained by the parts and assembly system on offer, but on the other hand, how many of the regular kits we build offer a fully functional 4 speed gearbox, operated by pedals just like the real thing, pistons on a working crank, or a prototypical working suspension...? Anyway, it looks cool...
best,
M.
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If you have a nearby gaming shop where you can buy Citadel/Warhammer colours they have a range of dedicated washes/"contrast colours" which are ideal for this kind of work. Nuln Oil and Black Templar are the ones you want for a dead black effect, but for panel line/shutline shading on colors so they don't look as harsh as pure black, they also have a whole spectrum...
best,
M.
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I originally thought it was one of these:
but having discovered that it wasn't, I didn't manage to find the alternative. I think Mike's point about the potential markets not wanting "special" dedicated vehicles probablyapplied to the Ox as well, despite its top-notch designer's best efforts...
best,
M.
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Got the engine wired, which is another good excuse for a mock-up to see if it will all fit together eventually...
I think it's going to need some (at least vestigial) engne bay walls. The coil and various ancillary electrical and fluid components are mounted on them along with some cable runs, so that's this weekend's detailing project!
best,
M.
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On 3/10/2018 at 7:49 PM, Matt Bacon said:
The Meteor is a Merlin adapted for powering tanks... ie only at ground level. Most “Merlin” powered mad cars you hear about are actually Meteors..
Though come to think of it, a two stage Merlin would have made for a heck of a Pike’s Peak contender, if you could carry enough fuel!
best,
M.
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Well, it's not what I thought it was, nor designed by who I thought.... back to thinking...
best,
M.
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Issue #223 has touched down here in South Yorkshire. Still no sign of #222, though...
best,
M.
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A bout with COVID starting last weekend has put a bit of a dent in progress. Just about starting to feel normal now...
I should have taken a proper "before" picture, but I didn't think about it in time. I pondered how best to the flip the dash for a while. It's made easier by being a flat panel. In the end I decided just to _actually_ flip it. I cut the ends off cleanly, then punched the two big dials out with a leather hole-punch. I drilled the smaller dials through, and small holes in the locations of each of the switches. I scribed out the glovebox door. Then I flipped it over and glued the big dials back in place. I made switches from plastic rod, and a new glovebox door from card traced through the hole. I backed the whole thing with plastic card, and textured the main dash with liquid cement. Then a coat of matt black, scratch out the dial markings on the small dials with a pin, dry brush the raised detail in the big dials, and add "glass" to all using Citadel 'ardcoat varnish. Finally the switches with an SMS Hyperchrome pen and a black paint maker.
Tub finished with textured paint and then Vallejo Dark Prussian Blue. The pedals actually stay the same way round as the LHD version. Gear lever surround done in BMF.
Moving forward, if slower than I would have liked!
best,
M.
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60s and 70s cars in the UK and Europe very much came painted body colour all over (and under). Rust proofing and weather protection was an aftermarket service and Ziebart, Waxoyl and DiNitrol were big names to the enthusiastic motorist (and motor sport fan… their sponsor stickers are very visible on rally cars of the period especially). The canny owner or sensible garage mechanic gave the underside a good wipe over or spray with the used engine oil after a change… those were the days!
best,
M.
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10 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:
Design by committee...each member got to add one line or squiggle.
, but with the paper folded over each time so each one couldn't see what the people before had done...
best,
M.
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That nose panel can’t have been much fun to fabricate for an aluminium bodied car…
best,
M.
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Jensen, AC and Bristol were top of mind, but given what I’m building at the moment and that “family resemblance” I narrowed it down to AC pretty quickly…
beat,
M.
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This is just mocked up rather than assembled... there's more painting to do before I get to actually put it together, but I wanted to reassure myself that the engine would fit in the chassis. And it does:
I moved the locating pin on the transmission back by a 1/16" or so and put a shim on the mounting point to lift the tail end by a similar amount, which then meant that the sockets on the engine lined up with the mounts already on the chassis. That seemed to indicate design, though it might be blind luck. A couple of short lengths of square plastic rod formed new lugs on the block that would drop into the mounts. The bell housing is right behind the transverse chassis tube, but I only had to reshape the lower rear edge of the sump to get it all to fit and align horizontally, rather than having to shorten the sump significantly. I also had to shave the bottom of the starter motor, but not so's you'd notice.
Boy, that 427 is shoehorned in...
best,
M.
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32 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:
I guess my real question would be is if anyone has had any interaction with this promising looking company in California.
They also say that "We are happy to plate anything you desire, ie, toys, model figures, etc"
I don’t know the company, Steve, but there are companies in the UK that will “chrome plate” things like your baby’s first shoes. If no one knows the specific company, it might be worth exploring similar operations in the US?
best,
Matt
AC 289 Sports MkIII, starting with a Monogram Cobra
in WIP: Model Cars
Posted
So it did have to come apart again one more time..... access to the firewall wasn't good for attaching all the little boxes and greeblies... but now, I think I'm calling this engine bay done, and moving along.
The top radiator "hose" is some aluminium florists wire I bought in several sizes for things like this and exhaust pipes. It's very flexible but not floppy, and goes where you put it and stays there. The rubber ends are heat-shrink tube. The characteristic and brightly-coloured "289 High Power" label on the air cleaner is a home printed decal... I found some old "Lazertran" paper lying around which promises that the inkjet colours dry and don't need a clearcoat, and to be on the safe side I freed the decal by putting the paper down on a damp cloth for a while rather than dropping it into water. The little boxes around the firewall, foot-wells and wheel wells are a combination of parts sliced from the original kit, some reading of a handy 289 Cobra wiring diagram and a Mustang parts supplier's online catalogue (want to know what the starter solenoid switch looks like? pretend you're buying one...), and some creative "gizmology". I should probably put a wash bottle in there somewhere. There is a steering column that runs almost to the right place, and I did manage to slip in the two diagonal frame braces in a way that looks reasonably convincing, thanks to the flexibility of styrene rod and the reasonable amount of wiggle room through the frame as I was working them into final positions. Time to get the wheels and exhausts on and then finish up the cockpit...
best,
M.