Ebbro/Tamiya 1:12 1968 Matra MS11 F1

[Nacho Z]

If its Monday night, it is time for an update.  Now that the front bulkhead is complete it is time to cover up all of that hard work 😉.  I added the water tank, radiator, radiator hoses and pipes.  I know I am biased, but I think the front end of this car is sooooo cool!

 

This is the back half of the water tank as supplied in the kit.  It had three legs but, in this configuration, the bottom leg would interfere with the three reservoirs that I just added.  I cut off the bottom leg and made two new ones.  You can see the pencil marks showing where I would add the two new legs.

 

This is the front radiator. I painted the entire unit Tamiya LP-3 Flat Black.  Once cured, I masked it and painted the housing Tamiya LP-5 Semi-gloss Black.

 

Subtle variations of a color can make a large visual impact.

 

I added a Matra logo decal, braces painted in AK Interactive Xtreme Metal Chrome and hoses with PE clamps.

 

A close up of the PE hose clamp.

 

Here she is with everything added to the front.  It was very difficult to get everything lined up and glued into place.

 

The long metal pipes on each side of the body will be covered by fuel tanks.  They will connect to the engine via more hoses.

 

That is it for this update.  Thanks for checking in on it.  Next update will be back at the engine.

Edited March 7, 2023 by Nacho Z
Typo

[CabDriver]

I read through this entire thread tonight and really enjoyed it - great masterful building of an interesting subject!  Love the extra little details you’re adding!

[Chris Smith]

This is coming together so well, I can see where trying to get everything lined up can be a bit of a ass clincher 🤣

Your knocking this out of the park!!

[Nacho Z]

On 3/6/2023 at 11:14 PM, CabDriver said:

I read through this entire thread tonight and really enjoyed it - great masterful building of an interesting subject!  Love the extra little details you’re adding!

Hi Jim, thanks for taking the time to look through my build thread.  Hopefully I don’t ramble too much throughout the postings…lol.  I always enjoy reading other builders threads and I learn so much.  I am just trying to pass on the same thing here.  There is not a lot of information on this model or building it.  I have two builds in particular that have been very helpful to me.  I’m just hoping to be of help to someone else.

[Nacho Z]

On 3/7/2023 at 10:43 PM, Chris Smith said:

This is coming together so well, I can see where trying to get everything lined up can be a bit of a ass clincher 🤣

Your knocking this out of the park!!

Thanks for the kind words, Chris!  The kit supplied vinyl (?) tubing is fairly pliable in long lengths but when you have to cut short lengths it is much harder to make the bends.  I had one radiator support “leg” on the bottom kick out of its hole and smear a small amount of CA glue on the front bulkhead. Fortunately, it really isn’t visible when viewing the car from a normal perspective.

[Pg265]

Hi,

Clean build and nice paint job and details.

 

Pascal

[Nacho Z]

On 3/12/2023 at 3:05 PM, Pg265 said:

Hi,

Clean build and nice paint job and details.

 

Pascal

Thank you very much, Pascal!  The Matra is not anywhere close to the level of your work.  I see your work over on FB and am just blown away!

[Nacho Z]

Here we go with another update.  I've turned my attention back to the engine.  More specifically, the exhaust.  Anyone who has ever built this type of exhaust knows that it has the potential to be a nightmare.

 

Here is a photo of the real thing.

 

I have said early on and maintained throughout this build that this is not up to the standards of a modern Tamiya kit.  The next two pictures prove my point.  There are 10 more individual exhaust pipes just like these two.  I spent a considerable amount of time cleaning the 12 pipes up to make them presentable.

 

Keeping track of 12 relatively similiar exhaust pipes could get tricky.  I made labels for each exhaust pipe as I removed it from the parts tree and placed them in individual baggies.

 

After a lot of test fitting and a little frustration I had 4 sets of 3 exhaust pipes.  Note that these are not painted.  They were primed so that I could check the quality of my parts preparation.  Also, they are only mocked up in the engine block at this point.

 

[Chris Smith]

I bet getting  those spaghetti noodles into decent shape was a bit frustrating. They look great after you took the time to get them rite. Until next week 😉😊

[Pierre Rivard]

Wonderful John. You upgraded the exhaust pipes beautifully and they belong on that glorious V12.

The picture of you holding the engine makes me realize how big 1/12 is (I've only done 1/24) so the detailing is not a nice to do but a must do.

[Belugawrx]

Engine is looking great John ! 

I like the use of the split ring trick on the intake screens👍

And you got all those snakes to behave nicely...Cheers

[Smilesperhour]

Love matras and the world needs more v12s.

 

 

[Nacho Z]

On 3/13/2023 at 11:13 PM, Chris Smith said:

I bet getting  those spaghetti noodles into decent shape was a bit frustrating. They look great after you took the time to get them rite. Until next week 😉😊

Thanks, Chris!  Yes, there were definitely some frustrating moments.  You can’t immediately commit to permanent glue as you have to fiddle around with each pipe and how it interacts with the others.  Truth be told, I’m not sure that they are exactly as they should be.  White glues take too long to set up.  I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir…lol.  Thanks for checking in on the Matra.

[Nacho Z]

On 3/14/2023 at 7:48 AM, Pierre Rivard said:

Wonderful John. You upgraded the exhaust pipes beautifully and they belong on that glorious V12.

The picture of you holding the engine makes me realize how big 1/12 is (I've only done 1/24) so the detailing is not a nice to do but a must do.

Hi, Pierre!  Thanks for the kind words, as always.  Yes, these 1:12 kits just beg to be detailed.  I’m really trying my best to add what I can.  There is a lot more plumbing to do once the drivetrain is installed and all of the ancillary tanks, pumps, etc are added.

[Nacho Z]

On 3/14/2023 at 8:51 AM, Belugawrx said:

Engine is looking great John ! 

I like the use of the split ring trick on the intake screens👍

And you got all those snakes to behave nicely...Cheers

Thanks, Bruce!

[Nacho Z]

On 3/15/2023 at 7:05 PM, Smilesperhour said:

Love matras and the world needs more v12s.

 

 

James, I’m right there with you, Buddy!  Nothing like a V-12 singing it’s song 🙂

[Nacho Z]

I pulled a 16 hour workday yesterday so I missed my usual Monday night update.  Better late than never, as they say.  One thing to add to this update.  This update will pretty much take you up to date on this build.  I have a few other small things done but not enough to warrant their own post.  With that said, this will be the last update for awhile.  I really hit the wall and am in a pretty bad funk at the moment, both modeling and overall.

The last update was the exhausts.  I feel that they are somewhat of a focal point and I wanted to add a little detail to them.  I decided to add exhaust clamps and springs to them.

 

Once again, here is a photo of the real thing.

 

Here is a photo-etch exhaust clamp.

 

The photo-etch clamp bent to shape.

 

Due to the relatively large step between the collector and the exhaust pipe, I had to do a lot of sanding and shaping for the clamps to fit / sit properly.  Even then they are not perfect but to the naked eye they look good.

 

And now for the springs.  I made the exhaust springs from 32 gauge wire wrapped around a .8mm drill bit.  I am not sure if they are small enough.

 

I shot the exhausts in Gravity Colors, (Spain), Dark Gray Primer to check my work.  I held one of the springs on the exhaust and really feel that they are too big.  I posted this on FB and had some good, honest feedback and they said that they thought the springs were too big.  Back to the drawing board.  I have finer wire and I have smaller drill bits.  I will make they over and they will be better.

 

Thanks to all of you who have popped in and checked out my Matra.  I genuinely appreciate all of the comments she has received.  You guys rock!  Not sure when I'll get back to it, I doubt it will be long.  I'm going to try some quick builds to get my mojo back.  I have a 1:72 P-47D on the bench and have worked on it a bit.

[Belugawrx]

I think those spring sizes look pretty good John.

Nice work bending up that photo etch 👍

Cheers

[absmiami]

I dunno - those exhaust springs look pretty good .. 

[Pierre Rivard]

It's hard sometimes not to be a touch oversize in scale when working on such small components. You could try wrapping 35 gauge around a 0.6 mm drill bit but it's asking a lot. I think the springs you have made are very good as they are.

[Nacho Z]

On 3/21/2023 at 4:57 PM, Belugawrx said:

I think those spring sizes look pretty good John.

Nice work bending up that photo etch 👍

Cheers

 

Thanks, Bruce.

 

On 3/22/2023 at 7:59 AM, absmiami said:

I dunno - those exhaust springs look pretty good .. 

Thanks, Andy, I think I'll try making some slightly smaller ones.

 

On 3/22/2023 at 9:01 AM, Pierre Rivard said:

It's hard sometimes not to be a touch oversize in scale when working on such small components. You could try wrapping 35 gauge around a 0.6 mm drill bit but it's asking a lot. I think the springs you have made are very good as they are.

Much appreciated, Pierre!  Yup, that sounds about right, size wise.  They aren't hard to make, maybe a little tedious but not hard.  I'll post my progress when I get back to this model.

[Nacho Z]

Welcome back to the Matra MS11 build!  For some of you who may be seeing this as one continuous thread, you should know that I have taken a full 10 months off from working on this build, (9 months since the last post, but I am always a little behind on posting my WIPs).  I was very surprised to see that this build thread continued to get views, even while not active, and is currently sitting at over 11,000 views!  My last post in this thread had mentioned that I was in a pretty bad funk, and I was.  I think I am over it and I feel refreshed and excited to tackle and finish this model.  I took a couple of nights to reacquaint myself with the model, my plans, my references, etc.  Although tonight's update will seem small, it is a huge step for me!  With that, let's get back to the build!

In my last post in March of this year I stated that I made the exhaust springs only to realize that I didn't like them.  I felt that they were too big.  They were made from 32 gauge wire wrapped around a .8mm drill bit.  I made 8 new ones, this time using 34 gauge wire wrapped around a .7mm drill bit.

 

Original one on the left and new, smaller one on the right.

 

Thanks for checking in!  Comments are welcome.

 

 

 

[absmiami]

Good pix - using an I phone? 

[MarkJ]

Thanks for the tip on making springs. Now if I can just get my fingers to cooperate.

[Nacho Z]

19 hours ago, absmiami said:

Good pix - using an I phone? 

Thanks, Andrew!  I am just using my android.  It is a Galaxy S21.  I almost always shoot on a plain white background.  Every now and then I will use a colored background like blue.