kensar

I got the front torsion bar done today. Spent yesterday making the heim joints. I hand filed the flats on them as opposed to milling them as I have in the past. I don't think I lost much accuracy and saved a lot of time. Kit part at the top. I'll likely hit this area with more flat black to simulate brake dust.

Great to see this build here. Do post any issues your guys come across as it will be helpful. I see the build will be of the 1046 chassis. BTW is the tan underside just a primer? It will be interesting to see how this group project turns out.

You've done a lot of work here. Interesting choice of material with the Renshape. I'm interested to see how you finish it.

Thanks for commenting everyone. I'm pleased others are getting build tips from my posts as that is the point in it. Loosely following the kit instructions, I started working on the front end. I reduced the diameter of the suspension mounting points and shortened the camber adjustment in order to place a nut and shaft there. The as-molded kit parts are on the left and my mods on the right. I lathed off the grooved lines of the brake disc and made some disc faces on the lathe from aluminum, which I glued on the plastic backing. I found the brake discs were not concentric with the hub - how do you screw that up? The right-most part is how the disc was molded. I have completed most of the left front suspension by assembling the kit parts with some modifications for adding details. I added brake lines and crossover tubes. I didn't cut out the back of the calipers because it appears that will not be visible. I painted in a significant amount of flat black around the calipers and nearby parts, but absolutely none of it shows in the photos. I have read in other builds of this kit that the front ride height is about 2mm too high. I am using Icon Automotive tires (I waited about 2 years to get them) which are about 2mm larger diameter than the kit tires. The front ride height is determined by the length of the front shocks, so I shortened them about 1.3mm to be on the safe side (I would rather err on the low side of the ride height). After finishing the right side suspension, I will move on to the torsion bar setup. Thanks for looking in.

A short update here - the coolant and oil plumbing bits and , first paint on the chassis pan. These coolant lines will run to the tunnel going through the cockpit. PE hose clamps and heat shrink tubing. There are take-offs for the lines running to the water reservoir tank. These are fittings and lines for the oil circuits - to and from filter and oil cooler and the large ones to and from the oil tank in the front. The chassis pan was primed in gray first, then painted in dark aluminum and then blue. The side pods remain in primer for now.

I'm happy to answer any questions about my modeling stuff. When I first got back into the hobby in the 1990s, I got a bunch of kits, more than I would ever build. When I realized this, I had a change in focus. I started investing in tooling and my own skills. That way I could build anything I wanted and not depend on model companies. These days, you should consider getting into the 3D printing stuff. I think that is where the hobby will be going in the future. I didn't know anything about machine tools, so I started with a website named mini-lathe.com. They have articles about how to set up the Chinese table top lathe. These lathes are made to a single design by many Chinese companies and sold under many different retailer's names. I bought mine from Harbor Freight. The minilathe website tells you how to set it up and tune it up to get 0.001" accuracy, which is plenty good for modeling stuff. They also reference LittleMachineShop store for parts and metal. You will also spend about the same amount of money buying tooling as you do for the lathe itself. Based on the information from the website, I set up my lathe and just started working with it. Simple stuff at first. If you have a lathe, you will want a mill, too. Mini-lathe.com has some references to a mini-mill website too. LittleMachineShop has a lot of resources for both. I got a micromill from Harbor Freight, although I wish I had gotten a minimill, which is larger than the micromill. This is the lathe I have. I can show more about my workshop if there is interest. As for the Meng bolts, removing them from the backing doesn't give me any heartburn. I have re-shaped a hobby knife blade to use for the small bolts (I make a lot of my own tools for special purposes). Just cover the bolt with your finger when cutting it off or it will go pinging off into space. I remove the larger bolts using a razor saw. The blade broke, so I modified it so the blade extends far out from the holder. This is a very handy modification. Over the years I acquired a few machine tools for this hobby stuff, which opened up a whole new aspect of model building for me.

I don't mind the discussion. I usually learn something I didn't know and at least others are watching. The wheels will not rotate (at least there will be a flat spot on them) and I didn't know what position the drive shafts would be in, so I made them functional. I really didn't like the looks of the kit version of them anyway. Some 1/16" aluminum tubing and 0.032" wire did the trick. The fit of the axle through the hub carrier was very sloppy. It looks like there is a piece that fits around the axle that is missing, but it is not in the kit or mentioned in the instructions, so more re-engineering with a sleeve to take up the slack. Till next time...

Added a few more details and charmed the snakes. I detailed the exhaust by adding some stretched sprue to depict weld lines. They came out a little overdone to my liking but they are not too noticeable since they are mostly black anyway. Did touch them off with a little gold accent. I corrected the transaxle plumbing based on what references I could find. I think it is correct now.

Nice job on this not too often seen variant.

Slick black paint!

It may be simple, but its got displacement! Update on the progress. I found the kit's braided lines, made of a textile, not metal, actually work very well with their fittings. The downside is that it comes in white. I colored it with a metallic silver Sharpie marker, but it turned out gray. The distributor and plug wires worked out okay. I re-worked the entire front end of the engine, making a water pump, pulleys, and alternator. I think it came out well, much better and more accurate than the kit offering. Next is the exhaust system. I'll need another can of this! Thanks for looking in on this project.

Wow, that's a lot of modifications you've done. Nice work.

Great looking weathering, Pierre. I have the 1/12 Tamiya Porsche 934 to build one day.

I think it looks good. My opinion is that light weathering is better than overdone.

Thanks to Force for posting the pictures and diagrams. This has enabled me to make some corrections to the model which is so wrong. When screws are involved that need to be threaded into plastic, I cut a slot into the threads to make it easier to cut the threads without over stressing the plastic. I use a Dremel tool with a cutting disc. While waiting for paint to dry, I have started prepping the chassis. I added some bolt heads and cut down some mounting posts that were needlessly tall. Next, I spent time working on a water pump that was omitted from the kit. The reference pics posted by Force and Vamach1 were invaluable. I didn't have any styrene sheet that was thick enough, so I laminated up some sheets. Then sketched out the water pump, eyeballing the size and shape. Then cut out and shaped the pump and turned out a couple of the pulleys. Didn't detail them because they will never be seen. Test fit. So this is where I'm at with the engine. Still working on the water pump and planning other fittings for the plumbing. Next will be a bracket and alternator. Again, the reference pics have been invaluable. I put on some washes and filters to give a more realistic appearance, so my recent military model building (aircraft) experience didn't go to waste. Thanks for all the comments and following along. I hope soon I will be posting real time for timely replies.