CrazyCrank

Well guys Let's get on with it ! Work on the chassis: The bottom of the trunk is absolutely wrong in the Revell kit, whether it's series 1 or series 2 ! I cut out the bottom of the wrong trunk, and scratch-built a new one with styrene sheet. I also began to modify slightly with putty the shape I got, in order to round the angles and join correctly (flush) the walls of the old tank And I began to work on the interior design of the new trunk, above the fuel tank, in order to manage the spare wheel housing. In order to be closer of the real: And I started to work on the trunk lid hinges: But, August 1st, I faced several issues: Not only, while handling, the kit body broke several times at doors level, but I made a major mistake while working on the underside of the the trunk lid, and it distorted to such a point that I couldn't repaired it and remained unusable ! So, I was lucky to find a new kit on "LeBonCoin" ("The Right Place") and I ordered it. And of course, all the job had to be redone ! To be continued

Thank you very much for this huge compliment. My interpretation, despite of all its imperfections, is, imho and with all due respect for Minichamps, closer of the true car

Thank you so much Chris What a praise ? thank you so much ? I imagine you're a connoisseur of iconic cars ! So have a look at my WIP of Elvis Presley's BMW 507 Convertible

Hi everybody So, I began the kit with the body and my first job was to cut out the trunk and the doors: But I had a first issue, when the body broke juste in front of the trunk ! I repaired it with some styrene glued by the underside and putty: Next, I strengthened the body on the area of doors and boot aperture, taping some thick styrene structs on the body to enhance its rigidity while working on it. And I glued the nose : And I modified the fuel flap location, which is different between series 1 and 2, and filled with putty the right side mirror location on the kit body (cause it doesn't exist on Elvis's BMW ) Of course, I had to open the body for the new fuel flap: I drawn on Fusion 360 and 3D printed a fuel chute: And I scratch-built the flap hinge: - A short section of 0.6 mm brass tube - Drill à 0,3 mm hole at an end - Thread a 0.3 mm copper rod in the hole, protruding on both sides - Solder the stuffs in-between , right angle, clean etc. I fabricated the second part of the hinge with 2 short sections of square styrene rod 2.0 mm, drilled 0.6 mm on their centre And I installed the system on the inside of the right rear wing, then installed and glued the tank filler neck, and finally adjusted and glued the hatch on its hinge. More on this in a later post Stay connected if you like ?

Morning guys It's an old Revell kit 1:24 of another iconic car, the BMW 507 cabriolet. I bought it 1 or 2 years ago for cheap on EBay This car was supposed to be the direct competitor and rival of the Mercedes 300SL Gullwing, but never really broke through. Only 252 examples were built and BMW lost a lot of money with this production. Elvis Presley bought a pearl-white one during his military service in Germany and brought it back to the United States, where he quickly had it repainted in red, tired of regularly seeing the lipstick marks left by his fanatic admirers on its beautiful bodywork.... funny isn't t ? His car had next a very complicated story and was abandoned during 30 years by his last owner. Fortunately, it was found in 2014 by an automotive journalist in Jack Castor’s pumpkin warehouse near San Francisco, but in a ad state. After many discussions, the car came back in Munich, Germany, where BMW Group Classic finally received in 2016 permission to restore it to its original condition. I've started this one early July and I'm progressing slowly since it will be widely modified to get the trunk, the doors , the fuel flap openable but also because The kit depicts a BMW 507 series 1, while Elvis's one was a Series 2. So a lot of surgery is needed ! What's in the box ?: A lot of clusters (not sure of word is appropriate, "sprues" would be better ? ), with very well done and nicely detailed parts, except for the chrome parts one. Clear parts are just good, a lot of burrs, but no distortion through them. Obviously, this kit is at its time's standards (1991) and the quality can't rivalise with Tamiya's one, but is far better than the MB 300 SLR Mille Miglia one I've decided to paint it Pearl White, as it was when Elvis bought it. As this car has been recently restored, a lot of videos and photos or press articles is available, what will allow to improve the model by correcting any errors and adding as much details as possible in this scale So, let's go for a new adventure

Thanks so much Really ? Thank you very much Don't worry! We French don't often see kits of beautiful American cars on our model making sites either ! You're welcome ! Those kits are appallingly difficult to build, if you expect a good result ! As you can see, mine is far to be perfect ! the hood don't close correctly, which explain that all photographs have been taken hood open ! Thanks you very much, most appreciated I did my best, thank you Wow !!! thank you so much for this huge praise, I'm moved !

Thank you so much, gentlemen, for those huge praises ☺️

Thanks you guys for your kind comments and praises, much appreciated

Thanks you guys for your kind comments and praises, much appreciated ?

I don't get credit for that. Not owning a colour inkjet printer, there was no point in trying to recreate the pattern of this fabric on the computer. So I turned to decal makers and found my match at Blue Stuff. (This website) The design is excellent. Unfortunately the decals are of very poor quality and tear into a thousand pieces very easily despite the constant supply of fabric softener. It took me 2 boards to get the result you can see. Thanks for your kind comment

This one has been finished in April 2020 7.5 months, probably more than 150 worked hours, 3 same kits, a lot of patience, several homeric angers, 3 cans of Tamiya TS10, and many more will have been necessary for the finalisation of this complex build of a (very) poor quality Heller kit I bought 25 years ago ! But it was worth it ! I'm rather proud of the result I got, and this legendary car deserved it ! Throughout this build, I've had to learn and master several techniques I hadn't in my hands and/or mind before, and all this work will be very useful for further projects, particularly my Bugatti T50 Coupé de Ville POCHER 1/8 build. I've enhanced this kit, which had OOB 124 parts, not counting the decals, scratching and adding more than 120 parts, so this car count now more than 250 parts. Two bodys have been built, the chassis has been repaired several times, because of the weakness of the Heller plastic parts, even on the 2 recently re-released kits. One chassis is OOB, trunk lid not opening, and the one I'll show you below has an opening trunk lid and opening bonnets with a real handmade piano hinges. Hereunder a non exhaustive list of the improvements I did: In the engine bay: - Wiring of the ignition coil and spark plug wires, with the flute to canalize the wires - Gasoline inlet piping to carburetors - Wiring of the battery - Fuse box -Retaining system for opened bonnets - metallic cross-pieces In the cabin: - Aerators - Stowage compartment for front passenger - Car radio - Modification of the inner part of the doors and rear panels, to match to the original car - Rear view mirror for the driver - New scratch built handbrake lever - Control levers for lights and horn , and gear lever - Floor mats On the body: - opening and reclosable trunk lid with moveable handle, retaining system for opened lid - Fabrication of the interior of the trunk, carpeting with flocking powder - Fabrication of the stand for the spare wheel, and of the leather straps to retain it. - Fabrication with chrome BMF of trims for rear fenders - Replacement of OOB chromed plastic strips for the body sides by nickel plated brass strips - Fabrication with brass sheet, brass tube, and piano string of workable piano hinges or the bonnets. It has been the more difficult part of this build ! And I certainly forget what else! Except for the bumpers and grill, all chromed parts have been de-chromed and painted chrome to get a better and realistic shine The French blue paint hasn't be clear coated, only sanded with Alclad Mesh form 3600 to 12000 grit, and then polished with Tamiya compounds, plus Carnauba wax Hope you'll appreciate it If you're interested in, you can follow my WIP build, following this link: Talbot Lago Record 1950-  Heller 1:24 WIP

This model has been finished this year, end April. It took me 2 years, give or take 4 days, with many interruptions along the way, to assemble this very difficult Heller kit. Everyone here and elsewhere who assembled it has experienced mishaps, disappointments, and probably some anger too, and has solved or tried to solve, each in his own way, the major problems of body parts adjustment, especially the bonnet. 2 kits were needed to make one, because of broken or damaged parts during assembly, as usual. This kit includes 160 parts, I replaced some of them, and added probably as many, both scratchbuilt from various metals, plastics, fabrics, UV resin, and modelled with Fusion 360 and 3D printed with an Elegoo Mars Pro. The windows were shown open, the bonnet was articulated in 4 parts with 3 functional hinges, the bonnet retainers when open, as well as the bonnet latches to close it were added, and the engine compartment was highly detailed. The spoked wheels themselves are 3D printed. I tried to take the utmost care in making the smallest exterior details, the ones that make the model look bad when they are roughly made or not added, but that bring the model to life when they are right (I'm thinking in particular of the front and rear lights, the side indicators, the bonnet clips, the exhaust line that has been redone in aluminium tube). I was greatly helped by the abundance of documentation that can be found on the Internet, sometimes by searching a bit for precise details... And now, a flurry of photos, some outside in day light and others in my spray booth with additional lights: You can see more following my thread in Britmodeller.com WIP section: Delahaye 135 1938, coachwork Henri Chapron 1:24 Heller - WIP Hope you enjoyed the journey

Incredibly amazing model ! A true work of art ?

Superb car, superb build, excellent staging ?

Very nice upholstery !

After having built 3 Mercedes Benz 300l Gullwing, the last of which representing the one that won its class under number 417 in the famous 1955 Mille Mille race, as I had in stock this old Revell kit from 1991 started and never finished more than 25 years ago, and another one intact, I naturally decided to build it, to have the series of the two victorious Mercedes in this prestigious race, and also to complete in a way a series of emblematic cars and give them a new life, in all modesty. This model has been achieved 3 months ago and was built in a little less than 7 months, or even 5 if you exclude two months of holidays in Canada, a record for me. The true car was the overall winner of Mille Miglia 1955, driven by Sir Stirling Moss. It includes nearly 600 parts in all materials, more than 480 having been added to the 115 initial ones, of which about 50 were modelled and 3D printed, and the rest scratch-built. I didn't count the time spent, not being a professional modeler and not intending to sell it once it was finished, but I probably spent more than 300 hours on it, counting the time spent studying the documentation, the 3D design of the parts and the realization. Not only the hood is openable, but also the driver's door, the fuel flap on left headrest, the trunk, which open simultaneously with the 2 headrests. The interior of the trunk is fully detailed, as is the engine bay, and the underside. I'm quite proud of the result, despite all its imperfections, and the few big mistakes I made that I only realized too late to correct. They will be obvious to the connoisseurs. My Mercedes Benz 300 SL and SLR cycle doesn't end with this one, as one of these days I'm going to build the 300 SLR Uhlenhaut coupe, of which one of the two authentic examples ever built was recently sold at auction for the modest sum of 135 million euros. Hope you enjoyed the journey Those who are interested can follow the assembly of this difficult model in the WIP section here: Mercedes Benz 300 SLR n° 722 - Mille Miglia 1955

Here is my interpretation of the graphite grey Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing that John Fitch drove to victory in the famous "Mille Miglia" race in 1955 (5th overall and 1st in his own class GT +1.3 !). At that time, it was numbered 417 (which indicates, for the curious, the authorized starting time of this car for the race, 4 :17 AM). This model that I entirely built on a Tamiya base at 1/24 scale – with addition of more than 200 scratched, 3D printed parts, or self-made decals- is to my knowledge the second scale model in the world of this mythical car to have been entirely built by a modeler. It's been achieved last December . I was able to find this during my documentary research that the first one was built over 2 months between September and October 2015, on a FROG kit n°705 base, by a modeler named Ian, whose work is exposed on the “themotormuseumminminature.co.uk” website (link : http://www.themotormuseuminminiature.co.uk/1955-mercedes-300sl-mm-fitch.php). Ian voluntarily omitted the chassis and the engine, glued the bonnet and the rear trunk lid, and made though not only a very nice model, but a remarkable work, in spite of some mistakes and omissions, if you compare it with the pictures of this car taken during the race, some of which can be found quite easily on the Internet. I have to say that he was less lucky than me, who benefited from a wealth of advice and documents, such as those kindly and generously provided by a member of the Britmodeller.com forum, E.J Boyd, a Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing enthusiast from New York. It must be said that it was Edward Boyd who suggested, not to say asked, that I make this car, after seeing my first silver Gullwing, and I gladly accepted the challenge. I didn't know yet what I was getting myself into, and had no idea of the difficulties I was going to encounter in creating or recreating certain indispensable and characteristic parts of this car. In the end, it will have cost me 2 Tamiya kits, more than 400 hours of documentary study, drawing in Fusion 360, 3D printing, assembly, a lot of hardware and supplies I didn't have, a few nervous breakdowns and a lot of beers I also discovered and sometimes mastered new techniques, which improved my modelling skills. Of course, there are still many imperfections (At least, my clear coat, which is covered with a lot of micro-scratches, because I sanded it too early after application) or mistakes on this model, but I assure you I don't intend to build it a third time. During the building, I noticed that the first chassis had a little and un-fixable defect, which would lead to the impossibility to close the bonnet. So, I built a second one, avoiding to repeat the same mistakes, and this is the one I’ve incorporated in the body of the finished model. The first bare chassis has been even more improved, and is exhibited naked below with the car. And now some pictures (Sorry for the dust particles, they wasn't visible with the naked eye nor on my iPhone's screen ) I hope you enjoyed this journey Here is my interpretation of the graphite grey Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing that John Fitch drove to victory in the famous "Mille Miglia" race in 1955 (5th overall and 1st in his own class GT +1.3 !). At that time, it was numbered 417 (which indicates, for the curious, the authorized starting time of this car for the race, 4 :17 AM). This model that I entirely built on a Tamiya base at 1/24 scale – with addition of more than 200 scratched or 3D printed parts - is to my knowledge the second scale model in the world of this mythical car to have been entirely built by a modeler. I was able to find this during my documentary research that the first one was built over 2 months between September and October 2015, on a FROG kit n°705 base, by a modeler named Ian, whose work is exposed on the “themotormuseumminminature.co.uk” website (link : http://www.themotormuseuminminiature.co.uk/1955-mercedes-300sl-mm-fitch.php). Ian voluntarily omitted the chassis and the engine, glued the bonnet and the rear trunk lid, and made though not only a very nice model, but a remarkable work, in spite of some mistakes and omissions, if you compare it with the pictures of this car taken during the race, some of which can be found quite easily on the Internet. I have to say that he was less lucky than me, who benefited from a wealth of advice and documents, such as those kindly and generously provided by a member of this Britmodeller.com forum, @ejboyd5, a Mercedes Benz 300 SL Gullwing enthusiast from New York. It must be said that it was Edward Boyd who suggested, not to say asked, that I make this car, after seeing my first silver Gullwing, and I gladly accepted the challenge. I didn't know yet what I was getting myself into, and had no idea of the difficulties I was going to encounter in creating or recreating certain indispensable and characteristic parts of this car. In the end, it will have cost me 2 Tamiya kits, more than 400 hours of documentary study, drawing in Fusion 360, 3D printing, assembly, a lot of hardware and supplies I didn't have, a few nervous breakdowns and a lot of beers. I also discovered and sometimes mastered new techniques, which improved my modelling skills. Nothing would have been possible and I would not have succeeded in completing this model if I had not benefited from the support and sometimes the suggestions of all my contributors, whom I will not mention all, for fear of forgetting one, but they will recognize themselves without difficulty. I could never thank them enough for their enthusiasm and for giving me the courage to go through with it. Of course, there are still many imperfections (At least, my clear coat, which is covered with a lot of micro-scratches, because I sanded it too early after application) or mistakes on this model, but I assure you I don't intend to build it a third time. During the building, I noticed that the first chassis had a little and un-fixable defect, which would lead to the impossibility to close the bonnet. So, I built a second one, avoiding to repeat the same mistakes, and this is the one I’ve incorporated in the body of the finished model. The first bare chassis has been even more improved, and is exhibited below with the car. And now some pictures (Sorry for the dust particles, they wasn't visible with the naked eye nor on my iPhone's screen ) I hope you enjoyed this journey And I invite you to follow my thread on the assembly of this car by following this link: MB 300 SL Gullwing n° 417, class winner of Mille Miglia 1955

Your Alfa is utterly amazing ?

Utterly stunning result and job ! Details of building, please ...

Good evening chaps On my first brake axis, the inner end which will receive a rod (where to attach the spring) isn't large enough ... so I can't attach on it the rod, because it would hit against the lower brake shoe. Furthermore, the dimension of the different sections are not perfect So, I've had to machine a new one, and then a second one. For those who may be interested in knowing how I've made them, here is the process: - Starting from a 8 mm diameter brass rod (21-22 mm long) , because the oval section (the cam) is 7.5 mm wide. - Put it in a 8 mm collet on the lathe - Reduce the diameter to 4 mm over 10mm long (1st section, will be outer the drum and will receive the brake lever) - Then reduce the diameter to 5 mm over 1.5 mm long (2nd section) - Then jump a 8 mm section over 3 mm (3rd section) - Get the part out of the 8 mm collet. - Reverse it - Put the 4 mm end in a 4 mm collet on the lathe - Reduce the diameter to 4 mm over 6 mm (4th section) - Mark the center with a centering drill bit (1 mm) - Drill this end with a 1 mm drill bit over 2-3 mm depth - Reduce the length of this end section from 6 to 5 mm. - Get out the part out of the mill I've got this: Then put this part on the dividing head that you have previously attached horizontally on the milling table, in order to fix the part vertically, the inner end (4 mm diameter over 5 mm long) on the top The 1 mm hole previously drilled at this end will be used to set X0 and Y0 points for the CNC mill Then, using Estlcam and a little G-Code file, I've milled the 8 mm diameter section, in order to get an oval shape: After several tries (because mistakes with settings of coordinates), I've got a part that I've put another time in a 4 mm collet on the mill, in order to reduce the 10 mm long 4 mm section to a 2.4 mm diameter, and finally I got that part: Of course, the brake lever fits well on this axis: So, I've actually machined 2 brake axis, but they are not finished. It remains some difficult and very accurate things to do: - I've to make measurements of lengths and angles, to attach the rod for the tensioning spring at the right place, in order to ensure the system operates correctly , and to calculate the good length of a homemade spring. - And I'll have too to mill a 0.8 mm groove at the end of the 2.4 mm section, placed at the right angle. This groove will host the M1 bolt that attach the brake lever on the axis. While waiting for this, hereunder are some pics that shows the system: Not counting the drum, the brake shoes and the 2 springs, each assembly comprises 6 parts. I wouldn't even dare to count the hours I've already spent for that insignificant job Stay tuned if you like and thanks for watching

Good evening chaps I've begun to work on the Fusion 360's project of a new brake axis which incorporate an elliptic section. This elliptic section will act, as on the Pocher part, as a cam whose function is to spread the brake jaws when the brake lever of a drum is pulled backward (or forward fir the rear brake) by the brake cables. Hereunder several pictures of my fusion project. At resting state, the gray (steel) rod will be pulled backward by a spring, and this mechanism (thanks to PROPELLER) will pull forward the brake lever on the drum, providing a good tensioning of the brake cables. If the "driver/modeller" press down the brake pedal, the brake lever will be pulled backward, the gray rod will move forward, enlarging the spring, and when the modeler will release the brake pedal, the spring will compress, pulling backward the rod and forward the brake lever. The two jaws of the bake drum will be joined, as on the Pocher system, by a spring which ensure the jaws will get closer when the brake pedal is released. This mechanism hasn't be tested yet, only in my mind, but I think I've found the way to create it. Unfortunately, my CNC Mill isn't five axis, and it's actually impossible for me to machine this part in a simple and single way So, starting with a 8mm brass rod, using the lathe and the CNC milling machine, I've at the moment got the following part, which has to be considered as a rough draft, and on which a lot of work remains to do (groove at the outer end, hole and rod at the inner end), before it gets its final shape: Stay tuned if you like, and thanks for watching

Thanks Codi

As it's impossible to recover my old thread, and even more impossible to rebuild it from the starting zero point, I've decided to publish here the next progresses and improvements of the model. The following pictures describe rather well the actual state of the model:

Thanks a lot Peteski and Iamsuperdan for your encouragements. I'll be back soon at my bench, my weakness is vanishing

Hi guys Still alive You can follow my build here: https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235007598-pocher-bugatti-t50-coupé-de-ville-a-resurrection/