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CrazyCrank

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Posts posted by CrazyCrank

  1. Evening gentlemen :)

    Improvement of the water expansion tank

    The kit part:

    52619400745_fa195c607a_z.jpg

     

    Mine, after having added a few bits of thin styrene sheet and after priming :

    - 1 superior strip (0.5 mm wide)  to increase the diameter of the lid
    - 2 strips(0.6 mm) on the middle of the tank, which simulate the routing collars
    - 1 plate to close the tank at the bottom

     

    52619452238_a2a2111a68_z.jpg   52618967696_ce41c5cd5b_z.jpg

     

    Obviously, an expansion tank has 2 hoses,for entry and exit, one at the top, and the other at the bottom.


    I've taken inspiration of these pictures, the left one from Elvis restored car, and the right one from another one:

     

    52619452458_1bffb950b2_c.jpg   52619400725_2b6492d551_c.jpg

     

    And have machined the superior and inferior hoses and connectors, using:


    - 0.5/0.3 mm diameter brass tube .
    - 0.3 mm steel wire
    - Two micro-bolts: 1.0 mm head, and 0.6 mm thread, that I've re-drilled to 0.6 mm
    - some 0.8/0.6 mm aluminium tube
    - 0.5 mm electrical cable of which I only kept the plastic sheath

     

    I proceeded as follows:
    - bended a short section of brass tube, 
    - threaded and glued two bolts on it, 
    - inserted a short section of 0.3 mm steel wire at one end,
    - threaded the plastic sheath on the steel wire
    - inserted the free end of this set into the hole of the aluminium tube

     

    52618456102_44c01884e0_c.jpg   52618967706_95d5ae5250_c.jpg

     

    52619452338_da9fc10295_c.jpg   52618967731_95aa9308c5_c.jpg

     

    52619400675_588612d712_c.jpg   52619400570_193d6c088f_c.jpg

     

    And hereunder is a close view of water lines

     

    52618456012_8aae022bb5_c.jpg

     

    After painting: 

    52766919585_453db46506_c.jpg   52766759509_bc492c14a3_c.jpg

     

    While the paint of the the expansion tank was drying, I've fabricated the file supply line which comes from the rear of the car and is visible in the engine bay

    Ì used:

    - 0.4 mm Ni-Cr wire

    -3 brass bolts 0.6 mm as previously

    - a short section of 0.6 mm brass tube

    - A thin strip of Hasegawa Mirror Finish for simulate the collar

    - And after market silver braided line 0.8 mm (0.6 mm would have been more adequate butI didn't have it, so...)
     

    I took inspiration of this picture:

    52619793116_53db6d27c7_b.jpg

     

    My interpretation:

     

    52619790086_8db9a681a0_c.jpg   52620222890_1db5f916ef_c.jpg

     

    Fuel supply  and expansion tank installed in the engine bay

     

    52770276018_fd5a3c1fe2_c.jpg   52769785901_f5a21b7347_c.jpg

     

    52769256722_a9612154e5_c.jpg

     

    It is now time to move on to more serious matters, so, stay connected  😉

     

    • Like 1
  2. Morning gentlemen :)

    A lot of work on this since my last post.

    The chassis has been clear-coated, semi-gloss on the whole  underbody but the trunk, and gloss on the inner and outer sides of the wheel arches and the underside of the trunk.

    52594213131_075066988e_c.jpg   52593729032_e352350bf7_c.jpg

     

    52594731708_ebb59bbd97_c.jpg   52594472904_813e96bb71_c.jpg

     

    Don't take in account the molding marks in front of the radiator and on the top of wheel arche"s...they will be hidden once the assembly is done !

    I began to paint and assemble the exhaust lines, and the rear axle.

    A little bit of weathering remains to do on these.

    52594473059_79acde86c4_c.jpg   52594731888_e7d0dd62cd_c.jpg

    The transmission shaft has been painted (gloss black) and is temporarily put in place, waiting to be glued on the rear of the gear box, at its front end, and to the differential housing at its rear end.

    About the rear axle, it remains to to add the shock absorbers, but those supplied in the kit are ....how could I say it ?.... awful !

    52593729047_481f699d52_c.jpg

     

    So I decided to scratch them:

    - A 3D designed and printed part for the upper part

    - And  a true metal stuff for the lower: I haven't decided yet whether it will be a nickel-plated brass rod, or a polished and varnished aluminium one. I"ve to sleep on it !

    52594678120_89419ec5aa_z.jpg

     

    The horns supplied in the kit, that have to be glued on the front of the radiator, are very bad pieces of ugly plastic, twisted and unrealistic, so;, I designed them as well !

    The kit part:

    52593728852_ccb2e4458a_z.jpg   52593728847_b1bc549426_z.jpg

    52593728842_95fccd7510_z.jpg

     

    My 3D one:

    52594250971_741e58b569_z.jpg

     

    At least, the radiator has been modified, by the addition of a very thin piece of mesh on both sides

    52594731763_1452a41506_c.jpg

     

    A little bit of progress  with the completion of the rear axle.

    Finally, for the shock absorber's pistons, that must look like polished steel, I decided to scratch them with a rod of brass, that I nickel-plated, and they look great, even if their is a bit low (1.0 mm instead of 1.3 on the kit part)

    The upper resin part has been painted red and gloss clear coated.

    52601180163_e9a19a1ee1_c.jpg   52600661811_59baa6bdb8_c.jpg

    52600699541_71d7e96ee5_c.jpg   52600962889_07fa8f0648_c.jpg

     

    The horns have been primed and painted semi-gloss black, and are now glued in place in front of the radiator .

    52601095005_4a5e05ff03_c.jpg

     

    The front shock absorbers are those of the kit, but have been enhanced with some painting:

    52602859017_26a786d66e_c.jpg

     

    I used a very nice chrome (Gravity Color Mac Laren chrome set), sealed with Alclad Aqua gloss

    Front axle assembly achieved, not without a lot of difficulties, since the instructions are very poor, and the drawings not explicit.

    But it's done, and it works

     

    52603778755_5bea3cbbdd_c.jpg   52603351571_96ce5075e4_c.jpg

     

    52603778630_c9194aa781_c.jpg   52603860983_68f2ff32f1_c.jpg

     

    52603607824_803e26c84c_c.jpg  52603778710_d9f892845b_c.jpg

     

    It remains to give the front axle a little bit of weathering, because the restored car has already be driven on several roads, and I'll use some road dust pigment and polished metal pigment to highlight the reliefs of the axle components.

    Of course, it will be done at the very end of the  build.

    The chrome exhaust tips still need to be made.
    The parts supplied in the kit are of poor quality, incorrect size and are solid, whereas tube is required.
    They will therefore be turned on the the lathe in brass rod, then nickel plated.

     

    The engine has been placed and glued in the chassis, and of course connected to the transmission shaft.

     

    52604507687_556c6c4fd0_c.jpg   52605008736_7918ba0d9a_c.jpg

    52605282144_ec286feeb4_c.jpg   52605030761_236a3ed8e8_c.jpg

    Don't pay attention to the dust and stains on the bodywork at wheel arches level, I know I've to tidy up the engine bay !

    I've tried to make a test fit with the radiator and it appeared that it's not possible to position it vertically for two reasons:
    - one: the fan is too protruding and hit the rear side of the radiator
    - two: the lower edges of the radiator hit the wheel arches, what prevent it as well to set vertical

    So, I've had to make a delicate surgery:
    - cut off the fan, and decrease the thickness of its hub, on the rear, from about 1 mm
    - trim out the lower edges of the radiator

    And now, all's OK, or so (on the photo below, the radiator bend slightly forward because it's not glued and the weight of the horns is unbalancing it)

    52605022386_ef8876c099_c.jpg


    However, the radiator won't be glued immediately, because my hands need room to place easily my tiny spark plugs and their wiring !

    I've spent no less than 5 hours to place correctly the ignition wiring !

    Not less than 8 spark plugs connected on the distributor, plus the ignition coil plug !

    A lilliputian work under magnifying glass, with several pauses in order to calm my tremor !

    But it was worth the efforts !

    During the process:

    52607794433_bd43ebd6a1_c.jpg   52606797277_3f25ffb2c1_c.jpg

    52607794493_bffe53dd5b_c.jpg   52607296921_bcc7c23ff8_c.jpg

    52607723765_2c8cf01f65_c.jpg   52607723795_7400ba0cb7_c.jpg

    52607794503_20a8a13859_c.jpg   52607723830_ed3218d5aa_c.jpg

    52607723870_8543ce5181_c.jpg

    Once achieved:

    52607557834_94b48abcb9_c.jpg

    Once painted:

    52607723910_d7c643dabb_c.jpg   52606797347_c6a3a7a03c_c.jpg

    52607297046_7ae60e3337_c.jpg   52606797452_3f7bacfbb1_c.jpg

    52607557704_b6a829096b_c.jpg

     

    A total of 42 parts were assembled for the ignition system !

    She's coming to life !

     

    I've spent a few hours today to prepare, paint, and improve a single part: the water cooling upper duct.


    It consist in 2 rubber hoses separated by a roughly spherical piece, connected, on the front to the radiator, and on the rear to the engine block
    The whole part was too large to fit correctly between the engine and the radiator, and I've had to make some surgery.
    The rubber sections have been painted rubber black, and the middle part semi-gloss black.
    As on the true car, I've added fastening collars, 2 on each rubber section, made from very thin strips of Hasegawa Mirror Finish (about 0.5 mm wide).
    Not an easy job on a painted tiny part.
    I'm not absolutely happy with the result, but you know that I'm too much perfectionist. 
    🙄

    I've as well decided to modify the carburetors fuel supply lines, because the angles of the lines were too sharp, and I wanted them rounded.

    A delicate and tedious job, but it was worth the pain.

    52613314179_19a3e57f11_b.jpg

     

    At last, I've glued in place the air filters

    52613475905_898fd628af_b.jpg   52612546677_8837908544_b.jpg

    52613053236_d8ed53d795_b.jpg   52613314124_be20cef489_b.jpg

     

    Don't think the job is over!

    There are still a lot of things to install in the engine bay and under the bonnet:
    - first of all, the expansion tank and its hoses
    - but also the fuel inlet pipe and its connection to the filter
    - the steering,g mechanism 
    - and several pipes, once the firewall, currently attached to the body, will be in place ... and this is not for tomorrow!
    - and all the rest, which I will spare you the enumeration

    I leave France on Thursday and don't know what I'll be able to make on this model during the 2 next days, but stay tuned, if you like :)

    • Like 1
  3. Morning guys :)

     

    As promised, here is the result of my  painting job for Elvis BMW 507's bodywork  :)

    I do think the final color is very close to the original white pearl it arbors since its restoration , the same color as it had when Elvis bought  it.

    I've been very surprised when I placed side by side my damaged and unpainted plastic body and the painted one, because in day light, the colors are very similar :)

    52557087431_36c1d3c669_h.jpg

     

    52557555110_f70459bd2b_h.jpg

     

    It remains now to give it some layers of gloss clear coat.

    This will be done in a few days.

    And then, the assembly will be able to go ahead :)

  4. On 11/27/2022 at 4:02 PM, Pierre Rivard said:

    Travail magnifique Thierry,

    Always inspirational and a bit intimidating looking at your craftsmanship.

    I just spent hours reviewing your Moss SLR w.i.p. on BritM because I want to learn before I tackle mine (thinking to do a Fangio conversion). If I can achieve 10% of your detailing magic I will be very happy!

    Thank you for sharing your work.

    Merci Pierre :)

    Thanks a lot 😎

  5. Morning   gentlemen :)

    I've completed the fabrication  of the air filters.

    You remember  that they have a disk shape, 8.5 mm diameter for my replicas , and are on the real thing made of two plates, on top and bottom, which trap in between, the air filter itself.

    And the peripheral of the "disk" is made of a perforated grid.

    52481229837_58b7edd42d_c.jpg

     

    When I designed my air filters for 3D printing them, I've anticipated the fact I need to have a groove between the 2 plates, in order to place the perforated grid more easily (the groove acting as a rail to guide the grid strip)

    I trained this evening with a spare air filter, not painted.

    Theoretic Process:

    - Cut off a strip of fine mesh, just the right height, the groove one in fact, 1.0 mm, and the right length, so for a 8.5 mm diameter disk, a length of  Pi x 8.5, so 26.7 mm

    - Glue it with very small amounts of superfluide CA ( I used Loctite 420) around the "air filter", in the groove.

    Making off :

    - I had so, first, to cut of a rough rectangle of mesh from my big roll, and, without any willing and by pure chance, I was extremely lucky because my rectangle was exactly 27.0 mm wide !

    - Then, to  get a regular strip of 1 mm width, I stuck long the edge of my mesh rectangle a strip of Tamiya masking tape 1.0 mm, as if I want to mask before painting.

    - Then, I stuck  a large strip of masking tape along the first strip, the edges in "full contact".

    - At last, I removed the fine strip and I cut off a 1.00 mm strip of mesh, with sharp scissors, following the edge of the remaining strip.

    The final step was to glue the mesh strip in the groove, little by little, avoiding overflowing the glue outside the groove.

     

    And I succeeded  :)

    52481181632_d1bea50263_c.jpg

     

    After that, it remained to repeat the process with two painted air filters, only a matter of time and patience !

    52481945049_5f2f6e6ffc_c.jpg   52481944934_9aedb49aaf_c.jpg

     

    52481175677_56804c565d_c.jpg   52481677156_530727404d_c.jpg

     

    52482135790_ed1d0ed1c9_c.jpg   52481944874_3f468e48c5_c.jpg

     

    52481944884_410cd980b0_c.jpg   52482220273_844aa159ef_c.jpg

     

    52482135775_d6ed305e05_c.jpg

     

    And....that's it :)

    I think they look really very similar and I'm pretty happy with the result .

     

    Next , I stuck the fuel pump (filter ?) in place, and the distributor as well.

     

    52484990983_a18b167b5b_c.jpg   52484990973_740e3a2bff_c.jpg

     

    52484441826_35aa7cb469_c.jpg


    And I began to work on the fuel lines of the carburetors, a challenging work at this scale.


    I took inspiration of this photo (and many similar others)

     

    52484714859_b5c431e078_c.jpg


    I used:
    - 0.25 mm Nickel-Chrome wire to represent the fuel lines
    - some outer 0.5 / inner 0.3 mm diameters brass tube
    - 1 drill bit 0.3 mm
    - Soldering paste
    - And Superfluide CA glue (Loctite 420)
    - Short sections (2.5 mm) of thin Electrical black wire (0.5 mm diameter)

     

    Process:
    - cut off a short section of brass tube, about 0,75 mm (part 1)
    - Thread it over an about 20 mm section of  0.25 NiCr wire ( part 2)
    - Drill a 0,3 mm hole perpendicularly on a 2 mm section of brass tube (part 3)
    - Thread in this hole the NiCr wire (part 2) and let the short section of brass tube which is threaded on it (part 1), slip until it touch the drilled brass tube (part 3)
    - Solder
    - Cut the excess NiCr wire which overcome of the drilled brass tube (part 3), sand and polish .
    - You have now a brass "T", in which is threaded  1 long section of NiCr wire
    - Unclog the holes of the drilled brass tube (part 3)
    - Glue with superfluid CA 2 long sections of NiCr wire in the holes(Parts 4 and 5)
    - You have now  a brass T with 3 branches of NiCr wire
    - Cut 2 short sections of 0.5 mm black electrical wire, remove the cable core
    - Thread them over the 2 horizontal branches of the T (parts 4 and 5)

     

    52484714759_cbd5e20982_c.jpg   52484441776_147d1f09f9_c.jpg

     

    52483947522_083db9855a_c.jpg

    And that's it !

    It remains, obviously, to shape the NiCr wires correctly and to fix the piece you'll get between the fuel pump and the 2 carburetors.

     

     

    And 10 days ago, I  finished to fix on the engine block the carburetors and their fuel supply !

    It was no picnic !

    I also simulated the throttle linkage of the carbs with small pieces of 0.2 mm NiCr wire,  shaped little by little.

    52502990119_f0e7374f89_c.jpg   52503189420_b57e68dbbc_c.jpg

     

    52502225157_8f3759c1c1_c.jpg   52502719946_8795cb32f3_c.jpg

     

    52502225137_b5f97edd62_c.jpg   52502990279_617c375836_c.jpg

     

    52502225122_bd7fe4594a_c.jpg   52502990294_842e8691b2_c.jpg

     

    On the pictures below, the air filters are not glued on the carbs, just put on, to get an idea of the final result.

    They will be glued in place only when the engine is fixed on the chassis.

     

    52502225072_fe6c5dd38c_c.jpg   52502720001_2259affa41_c.jpg

     

    52502719981_d4b9fd1583_h.jpg

     

    It seems to be coming to life, doesn't it ? :)

    Stay connected for next steps 😉

     

    • Like 1
  6. Good evening guys :)

    Still working on the engine, I go on now with the fuel lines, pump, filter and carburetors (with their air filters)

    Since my previous post,  I've managed to enhance an engine part, which is badly represented in the kit:  the fuel pump (or filter ?)

    The true one:

    52465977568_ba1c1912ac_c.jpg   52464928452_24b9cf2033_c.jpg

     

    The kit part: dimensions 5 x4,4 mm

    52465892240_2e57762f59_c.jpg   52465892345_976b8ec854_c.jpg

     

    My interpretation:

    52465426036_bb5e796257_c.jpg   52465892610_a1c37501b7_c.jpg

    52465977853_39230048b0_c.jpg

     

    The firsts 3D fuel pump came out nicely, but they are draft ones and the accuracy, for so tiny parts, can be improved by 3 printing them at 10 microns layers.

    52467789688_9f45ca1052_c.jpg

     

    So, a second print was started....4 hours to wait !

    In the meantime, I continued to study all the ref. photos, and I noticed that there is, on the top of the engine block, 2 motor lifting rings.

    I've intended to reproduced them and to place them on the right locations, one on the front right, and the second on the rear left, taking inspiration of the photo below (Elvis 's BMW 507 restoration):

     

    52466749097_7838bd2c24_c.jpg

     

    For this purpose, I used:

    - 0.2 mm steel wire

    - A sewing pin of 0.6 mm

    2 times, I made a buckle, rolling up the wire around the needle, and I cut it delicately.

    And I got 2 stuffs I introduced into 2 holes drilled at the right locations on the engine block

    Then I painted them black, and...that's it !

    52467789713_b7815be4d9_c.jpg   52467789678_4b68ca6c79_c.jpg

     

    52466739622_4a9a682a77_c.jpg   52467239356_c46bfd5558_c.jpg

     

    The second print at 10 microns layers of the fuel pump came out very nicely..It was worth the 4 hours waiting !

    52468702960_0b9fda82e0_c.jpg

    The photo above does not justice to this part, which is in reality, even at the naked eye, very neat and accurate !

    I've also designed a new carburetor, taking inspiration of a new and great picture I found by coincidence !

    52468242916_b4e810817d_c.jpg

     

    Of course, my design isn't true. It's an interpretation, given the fact that I haven't any blueprint, and only 2 or 3 photos taken at almost the same angle.

    But it's still far better than the stuff supplied in the kit: a disk over a cube !

    52468265781_b78aaa36e6_c.jpg 52468810563_c0a9348c02_c.jpg

     

    52467746402_d6e029e25f_c.jpg 52468263631_80eac0047b_c.jpg

     

    52468726190_f6bb0ac9e5_c.jpg 52468812658_fbcec5456b_c.jpg

     

    52467765892_dfa0634fbe_c.jpg 52467766282_bbdf2ee72c_c.jpg

     

    I've separated the carb and the disk-shaped air-filter, in order to be able, later on, to fabricate and install  more easily the fuel lines and the throttle linkage i

    52468814098_2e440dc921_c.jpg 52468266486_2718d22e2b_c.jpg

     

    I'm currently printing a draft of these two parts at 25 microns layers, what will take 2 hours.

    If the test fit is OK, I'll print them at 10 microns.

    See you later, guys :)

     

     

  7. Afternoon guys :)

    Busy last week to fabricating the second  end of the 8 spark - plug cables and the cable which goes from coil to distributor
    6 spark-plug cables come out of the distributor to join the looms
    2 other spark-plg cables, the front ones, are already connected to the engine block by the spark-plug and have the other end free, theses ends will connect directly on the distributor top va connectors
    The coil cable is free at one end, which be inserted in the coil, and the other end connects on the distributor via a connector.

    So, I fabricated 7 connectors with their cable and 2 connectors without anyone.

    What did  I use for that ?:

    - A short section of 0.8 mm aluminium tube (0.6 mm,inner diameter) , about 1 mm, drilled on the center, perpendicularly, 0.6 mm

    - A short section, about 1.5 mm of 0.5 mm brass tube, 0.3 mm inner diameter

    - A section of 0.25 mm black electrical wire

    - A section of 0.4 mm steel wire

    - UV transparent resin.

    - Fluid CA glue-

    - Insert the 0.4 mm steel wire in the 0.6 hole of the 0.8 alu tube....glue

    - Put a droplet of UV resin at the opposite side of the alu tube, near the brass tube... UV cure

     

    In total, the wiring of distributor, coil and spark plugs required:

    - 2 alu looms (flutes)

    - 1 3D printed coil

    - 1 new 3D printed  distributor

    - 15 sections of black 0.25 electrical wire

    - 8 0.5 mm sections of 0.8 mm alu tube

    - 8 sections of 2 mm of 0.5 mm brass tube

    - 9 sections of 1.5 mm of 0.5 mm brass tube

    - 9 sections of 1mm of 0.8 alu tube

    - 9 sections of 0.4 mm steel wire

    - 3 drill bits 0.3 mm and 1 0.5 broken

    So 62 tiny parts to assemble together !!! and probably a dozen of hours !!...not to mention that it remains to paint the connectors (rubber black)

    Pictures:

    52455369466_78325bceb4_c.jpg   52455892443_0cea29ff97_c.jpg

     

    52455815885_c8ecf33aa4_c.jpg   52455892378_2ba3402dcb_c.jpg

     

    52455633709_5b06496122_c.jpg   52455372216_179ec80105_c.jpg

     

    52455633829_c21e5ee092_c.jpg   52454844542_91931a50fb_c.jpg

     

    I made some progress on the engine, glueing the starter motor on the block, painting and assembling the pulleys and alternator, and the exhaust manifolds.

     

    52460450781_ae4825a47b_c.jpg   52459938177_bc6e110117_c.jpg

     

    52460723059_9e939c98cd_c.jpg


    I also painted the distributor, brick red for the top and semi-gloss black for the bottom.
    I've re-drilled the 9 holes on its top with 0.6 mm drill bit, to allow an easy fitting of the connectors's pins.


    AND THEN, I made a test, trying to insert on it the 9 connectors I fabricated previously, and also to order up the cables to make them come out to the rear and about the same direction.....

    NOT GOOD.... NOT GOOD AT ALL !

     

    Why ?
    - There's no room enough to place correctly the connectors, whose horizontal portion is a bit too long
    - Despite I worked carefully and thoroughly , the connectors have not EXACTLY the same size, and the final aspect is not aesthetic.
    - At last, some connectors are a bit too tall and I fear that the bonnet couldn't close entirely.

    So, I tried a new approach !
    - I created a new design for the distributor, placing correctly on its top 9 connectors (same shape, same size, same height), whose horizontal portions were pre-drilled at 0.4 mm.
    - I printed it and looked  how this turned out:
    The draft looked good, and the most back connectors had a good drill, but the centre one and the most frontal ones hadn't. It was the case for the 6 distributors I printed simultaneously.
    SO, NOT GOOD...But encouraging !

    And my last and absolutely presumptuous and crazy attempt is the following:
    - I designed a third distributor, with better shaped, more accurate and resembling to the true one.
    - I placed on its top 9 pins 0.4 mm diameter,  0.5 mm tall.
    - I designed also the connectors, vertical portion 0.9 mm tall, 0.9 mm diameter, pre-drilled at 0.6 mm, and horizontal portion 0.6 mm long, 0.5 mm outer diameter and 0.4 inner one....(I bought a microscope to see them after 3D printing)
    - I printed 6 distributors, to get spare parts, and 36 connectors (4 times more than what I need, because several ones could be badly printed, and of course, taking in account their small size, it was sure that I would loose some ones)

     

    And then ? and then ???... Zorro arrived ?....NO! but a kind of miracle occurred !
    - The distributors look good.
    - The lilliputian  connectors look good, 16 failed to be printed correctly, the holes of the vertical portion are neat and match the design, the 0,4 mm pre-drilled holes of the horizontal portions need to be unclogged.
    - I did that for 13 connectors (7 lost) and manage to insert and glue  in 9 of them the 0.25 mm electrical wire, but it took me 2 hours under magnifying glass !


    52459890222_5b7ed465fa_c.jpg   52460945103_a445326c55_c.jpg

     

    52460859575_05dd0bcfb7_c.jpg

     

    52461020903_43fbcb98c7_c.jpg   52460489056_7239d2d329_c.jpg

     

    52460937810_c4ba86320b_c.jpg   52461022888_9d90899dd2_c.jpg

     

    52460469696_ee4e3aa40d_c.jpg

     

    Little comparison between the first metallic connectors, on the top of the following photo, and the new ones, on the bottom:

     

    52460690374_f0cef795a5_c.jpg

     

    I've also modified the design of the ignition coil, because I noticed, lately, that it it fixed upon a vertical stand, and not directly on the engine block

    52460411856_5b1be1bc89_c.jpg   52460859530_bbd7cfb1ea_c.jpg

     

    52460004862_790e0fe26c_c.jpg   52461060088_72bc08827f_c.jpg

     

    A last, I've also sprayed the final coat of fine Gravity Colors light primer on the body and the chassis.

    I'll show you photos taken in day light later, because the day is now fading

     

    Stay tuned and thanks for watching 😉

    • Like 1
  8. On 11/9/2022 at 12:07 AM, oldcarfan said:

    This is great work! Did the 417 decals come with it or did you order them? I need something similar for a project.

    Thanks a lot @oldcarfan

    This build is based on the Tamiya Mercedes Benz 300 SL kit which comes only with standard decals.

    I've modified or added tons of parts
    And the decals are homemade ones. They are absolutely not available on aftermarket !

    I studied the few available photos of this racing car and tested dozens of character fonts in order to find the closest ones.

    Finally I made a mix between 2 fonts, wrote my decals with WORD, letters white and surrounding black,  and printed them  on a white decal sheet.

    At last, I cut them off carefully with a sharp blade !

     

  9. Morning chaps :)

     

    A lot of progress since my last post!...but I will only post a small part of it today, so as not to bore you!

    I've fabricated 8 spark-plugs and their cables.

    I used:

    - black electrical micro wire 0.27 mm diameter, 6 medium sections and 2 large

    - 8 sections of 0.5 mm brass tube, 4 mm long each

    - 8 sections of 0.8 mm aluminium tube, 0.5 mm long each

    - The alu parts have been threaded on the brass ones, placed  a little before the centre

    - the black wires have been threaded at one end of the brass tubes

    - the brass tube above the alu section and this last one have been painted red (a mi 50/50 of gloss and flat reds)

    - the brass tube under the alu section has been painted white, to simulate the ceramic part of a spark plug

    A last this 8 elements have been placed into the 8 holes of the engine block

     

    52449467575_3edc33ff8d_c.jpg   52449467630_cb65fa77c9_c.jpg

     

    52449295934_047e80c8f7_c.jpg   52449295954_53cea1641c_c.jpg


    The looms have been fabricated with 1 mm aluminium tube, 2 sections of 12 mms, in which of each one I've drilled 3 holes.

    Why only 3 holes and not 4, since there's 4 cylinder on each sides ?

    Because the front spark plugs cables doesn't go through the looms, they come directly from the distributor !

    The looms have been glued in place with 3 droplets of fluid CA.

     

    52449295914_b478c7f138_c.jpg

     

    At last, the 3 rear spark plug  cables of both sides of the engine have been cut to the right length and the cables inserted in the holes of the looms

     

     

    52449024881_734942fa6b_c.jpg   52449467595_848534ef9a_c.jpg

     

    52449540873_2d916c7d46_c.jpg   52449024836_944042da7b_c.jpg

     

    52449540918_f36e558e63_c.jpg

     

    The  alternator supplied in the Revell kit (BMW 507 series 1 ) seems to be a series 2 one ! , but, when Elvis's BMW has been restored, they have used a different distributor, on which the cables are plugged on the top of it.

     

    52449099066_20bd7cb502_c.jpg

     

    So, I can't use the kit part, and I've designed a good one with Fusion 360

     

    52449047761_9f6913ab4d_c.jpg

     

    52449047791_19386b4555_c.jpg

     

    I took the opportunity to design as well a coil, because this visible part when the bonnet's opened, has not been supplied by Revell !!!

     

    52449564013_dcdd02e123_c.jpg   52448524602_2155a7914e_c.jpg

     

    But that's not all. I also began to work on the other kit parts of the engine.

    It took 2 hours to clean them and make them acceptable, particularly the pulleys and bel systems.

    But I've had to modify others because they were not accurate or incomplete .

    That was the case for the exhaust manifolds and for the alternator.

     

    The exhaust manifolds supplied by Revell have the right shapes BUT on the real ones, there is 3 fins on each one, which, imho, are there to reduce the heating, offering additional surfaces for air cooling when the car runs

    52449341799_58567b7f7a_c.jpg

     

    I intended to reproduce them adding tiny strips of 0.18 mm styrene 

    52449490575_78d9cecd8f_c.jpg   52448524272_b423008c0c_c.jpg

     

    52449490365_c1c8e00544_c.jpg   52448524337_506ef64419_c.jpg

     

    The distributor is molded with another part of the engine, and is very basic. Its pulley is inaccurate, there's not the cooling propeller, so I added it, from scratch with 0.18 mm styrene sheet, magnifying glasses and a lot of patience

    52449563948_07c38f7070_c.jpg   52449563803_fb3af4e484_c.jpg

     

    52449563818_e40287017e_c.jpg

     

    That's it !

    What !!! that's all ?....well yes , at the moment 😉

    • Like 1
  10. Evening gentlemen :)

    I began last week to work on the engine.


    It's a nightmare !  the fitting of engine's block parts is problematic, there' s a lot of burrs on them, abysmal gaps between parts etc...
    So a lot of filing, sanding, filling etc was needed.
    But it was worth the efforts !

    On the top part of the engine block, between the cylinder heads, Revell has molded two looms ("flute " ?, I want to mean "cable distributor/channeler") that are used on the real car, to channeling the spark plugs cables.
    Obviously, on this kit, no spark plug cables are supplied ! you have to scratch them for yourself if you want to represent them...of course, it's my case !
    So, I've removed the molded looms  , that will be replaced by 1.0 mm aluminium tubes, slightly flattened and drilled where needed. 
    Those new looms will allow to represent correctly the ignition system.
    Therefore, I had to drill on the cylinder heads 8 holes for the 8 sparks plugs of this V8 engine.


    What I made easily, taking inspiration of these photographs for placing the holes :

    52435653440_db31278d00_c.jpg

    52435487649_c75cd3ee00_b.jpg

    The second photo has been taken by the mechanics who restored Elvis' BMW 507

    The actual state of my engine after this job and painting:

    52435675605_db7b436a2a_c.jpg   52435677755_3c33ec6198_c.jpg

     

    52435225321_50ddef89cc_c.jpg

     

    Then I've added to the engine block:

    - the rock-arms covers (painted steel and polished)

    - the gearbox, which has needed a lot of sanding and gap fillings

    - I've painted the oil pan the same color of rock-arms covers: steel.

    - I've fabricated the oil gauge housing and its dipstick, that were not provided in the kit

     

    I took inspiration of this photo:

    52443999053_4fa4337946_c.jpg

     

    Making of:

    - drill a hole in the oil pan with  0.8 mm bit, at an angle of about 30° relatively to the vertical, from top towards bottom

    - drill two 0.8mm holes in a plastic rectangular parallelepiped of 2.5x2x1.5

    - Insert in the holes 2 sections of 0.8 mm aluminium tube.The front one will simulate the oil drainer and is vertical, the rear one is slightly bended at its bottom end, which will be inserted in the oil pan hole

    - Make the dipstick with 0.18 mm nickel-chrome wire, bended to get the correct shape. And a short section of 0.5 mm brass tube has been cut out and the dipstick threaded into it...

    - The hole set as been assembled, glued together, primed, painted semi-gloss black, except for the dipstick that has been painted red,  and the while set has been clear coated semi-gloss as well.

     

    Some photos of the process:

    52442950087_d3dcd56011_c.jpg   52443904140_f09f8aa0fc_c.jpg

     

    52443904160_2fe2eb0176_c.jpg   52442950157_c4cb0d575e_c.jpg

    52443904225_c877c6f062_c.jpg   52443904255_1d105b4bf3_c.jpg

    52443978688_c423c13382_c.jpg

     

    It remains to paint rubber black the oil drainer, and I could next go on with the looms and the cabled spark plugs.

    Stay tuned for next steps :)

     

  11. On 10/17/2022 at 3:05 PM, Bainford said:

    Great looking Merc. Nice work on getting the race car details right. I love the colour. It has that gritty, period race car look. I like the idea of displaying a second chassis with the completed kit. I purchased two Tamiya 300SL kits to do just that. Nice work here, great looking period racer.

    Thank you so much for this huge praise :)

     

  12. 16 hours ago, happy grumpy said:

    Having built that kit , I can attest to the level of difficulty one has to put this together. Of all the Revell kit I built, this one is in the top 3 most difficult to build. Yours turned out way better than mine. The chassis and body were wrapped so bad I couldn't fix it entirely so it is still apparent, I may post it someday. Your hard work paid of, this a beautiful classic car and you did justice. Recent Heller kit are way better though, the Renault 4 gl comes to mind.

    Thanks you so much for those kind words :)

     

  13. On 10/11/2022 at 9:56 AM, Bugatti Fan said:

    If you want a challenging classic car kit, look no further than Heller! However they do make a number of more unusual classic car kits that other manufacturers would not consider.

    Thierry has done a superb job on this kit.

    Wow ! hat a huge praise ! Much appreciated !

    Thank you so much :)

     

  14. On 10/8/2022 at 5:30 PM, Tonioseven said:

    Absolutley STUNNING in MY book! I purchased this kit recently and I will use your photos for reference if I may? Thank you for sharing these terrific pictures!

    Thanks a lot :)

    Of course you can use my photos as ref. ones

    You do me too much honor !

     

    • Like 1
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