Cato

Best I could do... Went ahead to the bitter end and now I'll live with it. Made some changes, adjustments and more details. Only thing missing is rear mirror stanchion and I'll get that gem from MMC. Hopefully that will improve this sows ear. Pics purposely slightly overexposed. It looks mostly 'orange' but honest, it has the red and dark swirls of the burl. Shot with the leather and carpet, I think they all work OK color-wise. Remember you're seeing it from a lower angle than it will display in the car. Looks better from upper vantage point. I can live with it but learned a lesson about cutting corners. I just feel that I didn't approach the visual impact of the more life-like engine / chassis combo. Well done wood would have done that but I don't know if I could have done it so well. It was important to me to obtain an overall level of presentation of the project without 'uneven' areas of assembly or detail. I hope I don't have other let-downs in the subsequent work:

To be honest... Your comments are much appreciated but I'm disappointed. As stated earlier this was a trial for a method I've never done before and I'd decided I could 'get away with it' as I went. In the words of a dear modeling friend 'Nothing looks like wood more than real wood'. Well. nearing completion with this area and viewing the whole, I feel I've cut a corner for expediency over excellence. I hate that. I just felt I didn't have the skills to do a veneer job as well as the masters at MMC. I committed to attachment thinking it was acceptable and now.... If I can get the door trim pieces acceptable, at least it will be harmonious. Man this interior has kicked my butt... More details to come; the wiper motors will be finished and wired, the screen frame will be added. The shutter control knob is improved from the molded on plastic to a real tube in the upper central dash. The central instrument face was cut from acetate as the kit plastic cracked:

Dude, you need help....

Serious question; do you plan another epic, tour-de-force like this effort? Either next in line, or a few less-complex builds to unwind? I know you have the skill level to do either but the mental effort may warrant a 'breather'. I should seriously discontinue my Roller WIP as this is just the TEXTBOOK for all of us. Many of us can present a new idea / technique / tip in our builds but you've encompassed EVERYTHING about model car building in this one project. You've accomplished a 'take-no-prisioners' build. All other builds, nice as they may be, are off your planet. I'm a guy that likes to sweat the details but you bring new meaning to the term.

Somebody has to confiscate your tools and handcuff you Mark....

Fumbling along... A sincere thanks for the warm welcome and good wishes from all of you. My experiment in faux wood is outlined below to hopefully answer your questions. Scott, the skin is lighter in natural light; so difficult to get all the colors to play on the screen. But yes, those dainty tushies of starlets have been resting back there and making dimples... Here's the how and why. The idea was always to use real veneer for a luxury cabin on a continental tourer so I had studied the web and found beautiful sites and samples. I was all set to order a $38 (!) sheet about 10" by 25", .025 thick. I fell for the Amboyna family of burls with their fiery red orange mix. When I went to the site to order, I got a 404 ERROR page. This persisted for several days so I assumed the company went down. The idea then formed that the images of the veneers were very detailed so the idea to 'cheat' and use an image was born. With my usual 'if it's junk, I'll do a better thing', I formed a method in my loosely-termed mind. Even I find it ironic that I used real wood (1/64" ply) on the bottom of the floor (only seen in a highway roll-over) but fake paper wood for the world to see. Shows you the state of my mind these days...... Here's the style I wanted seen on a 1:1 P II; beautiful, massive wood instrument panel with (to come) door accents. It's not an exact copy of the Pocher car as they were all custom and varied widely: The key elements to construction are Kodak gloss photo printer paper and .010" styrene. The styrene serves as a backer for the thin paper: Here is the cheesy Pocher IP, sanded flat. Masking tape was used to create a template for the styrene. There are many thin edges and areas so work slowly and carefully. Plus the tape always wants to curl when you remove it. Get it intact and apply to the plastic. Cut around the shape and the openings (my scalpel works best) and a hole punch was just right for the smaller switches: Trial fitting with the Pocher frames and dials cleaned-up and fitted for install.The paper is unbacked here so the holes could be made cleanly.: Cutting the paper reveals the white core so a mix of craft acrylics should be applied to all edges. My look needed orange, red and expresso brown. Just a light wash carefully applied does it. Do the mating edges of the Pocher IP so the corners show no gaps: Getting closer. This is all trail fit; no glue yet except the paper to the styrene. Use the Loctite gel CA for a no bleed attachment. The lower band of 'wood' shown goes above the IP and below the windscreen frame on an angled section of the cowl. A gloss coat(s) of clear acrylic now on the 'wood'. A shot of gunmetal to add interest to the instrument surrounds. The 'glass' for the central dials was scarred and cracked courtesy Pocher. So a session of polishing cloths, 2400 to 12,000 was rubbed on then 3 dips in Future. Let dry 2 days and handle with gloves when installing. That will be the last step before gluing everything. The framing around the screen will have corners cut to simulate inlays: Where we're going; the snaps don't capture the vibrant colors. The clear blends the touched-up edges well. I'm thinking I may get away with this. The enlarged image is somewhat too big for scale but with so much cut out of the pattern, it's hardly noticeable. To my eye, it goes well with the gray skin and wine carpet. Opinions?:

Big improvement Joe. A further tip is to stick to black wires, even on a hot rod. These red wires sort of 'melt' into the block color. You'll gain detail and visual interest if they're like real wires with black. Also 1:1 wires are only 7 to 8mm in diameter. Just keep studying 1:1 engine pictures for correct finishes and details.

Thanks rebel. I'm intimately familiar with FE's; did not realize they are radically different designs. Thanks to Ace for great photos.

Well, here's a piddling amount of work spread over weeks. With the slow but continued improvement of my bride, good thoughts for both of us are creeping back. But we have a big fight ahead with the health demons and we take what we can get. For me, resuming planning of the Rolls has been an occasional respite from the stress. I left work at the juncture of creating the front seats to compliment the rear but found I was far short on talent and ideas to proceed. So I decided to switch to an 'easier' subassembly which required less time and mess. Here's two teaser snaps to give the idea. The how and what of construction will follow as I find time. Like the rear seat, I got an 'off-the-path' idea and tried it with the thought I'd scrap it if unacceptable. As the build gets more advanced, my job became to not degrade the previous work with substandard (for me) corner-cutting or hack jobs. This is the same; if ultimately it disappoints, I'll start over with a different idea. What you see here is just trial fit parts and no permanent connection to the kit parts has yet been made. Confession: I'm a burl wood fanatic as you'll see ahead: Here's how the 'look' will play together with the other cabin elements. Lighting is difficult to capture the actual natural light colors. The leather is really lighter a bit and the 'wood' is a tiny bit more red. Advise with yea or nay if it appeals and works, as you did with the rear seat. I will gladly scrap it if I'm off-base:

Rebel, my 1:1 FE has the dist vertical; why would the Y-Block be angled? Are the block castings different?

What scale is this Eric?

Eric, A wonderful project, well researched and skillfully done. I'm a Duesey fanatic too but sadly, not hands-on. The chassis / drivetrain looks fab but please take better pics; your workmanship demands it. And respectfully, I'd stay with the Bondo and avoid any other fillers, Squadron or otherwise. Bondo won't shrink; the others will and ghost your paint work. All my Rolls is Bondo and you can get it as fine as you like. I'm glad to have a project of yours to view and post in after all the support you've given me in my Sedanca build. Keep it coming....

Outstanding seats and very fitting for a luxury classic.

Thanks again. A great leather resource.

I don't think our OP considers this a hi-jack; it's valuable info for any of us working with leather. All his big scale builds will profit from Scott's contribution. And Scott, which oil is used for softening?

Great advice Scott; thanks for the leather lesson. I wonder, doesn't leather shrink when immersed in liquid? Would it pucker? And will most .5mm leather stretch when heated?

Thanks Eric. To decompress between the home and medical care, I lurk here and actually plan some coming Rolls construction steps and methods. It's a nice mental oasis from thoughts none of us want to have in life. Thankfully there is slow but measurable improvement in my bride's condition. Pain has become manageable, appetite returning and that's very cheering for both of us. So I will hopefully return to the bench (for much shorter stretches than before) as time and conditions permit. I'm surprised that some (like you) still have interest in the build and dig up the thread. That's a nice feeling too. I will surely post when I've something worthwhile to photo. Thanks, C

OPEN DECLARATION TO THE FORUM: Skip Jordan, as evidenced above, is the single most valued reference asset for the classics on the entire forum. His information and study of the classic cars is unparallelled, as is his complete unselfishness in sharing with anyone who is building such a car. Loved or hated, he is to be respected as the authority here on the subject except for a 1:1 owner. As a beneficiary of his knowledge, generosity and kindness, I thank Skip on behalf of the forum. C

Understood Michael. My Rolls has entered it's second build-year and it's NOT a subscription.

Please post your progress in a WIP thread here in Big Boyz.

Sorry, just saw this Scott. Sadly, in the recent mayhem here, I accidentally deleted the album of those shots. The model is packed and stored in the basement and still looks the same. The interior was done and the chassis mostly done. Don't think any of them helpful to you for a build. 'Mercedes Jordan' (Skip) will help you with reference I'm sure. Here is the only shot left of it on my PB album: ">http://s679.photobucket.com/user/Aframe/media/Album%201/PA310010Small_zps5b3659d7.jpg.html'>

Same as mine; from here: http://model-motorcars.myshopify.com/collections/rolls-royce/products/ignition-wire-z038

Beautiful work Alex. Is that burl wood what we call 'contact paper' - on the instrument panel? It's an adhesive backed printed paper.

A note to my Rolls friends... I have not abandoned this project or this WIP. It's just that life got real serious all of a sudden and my mate requires my full care right now as she recovers from a major operation. It's a gradual process and we're coping best we can. Helping and seeing her improve is my mission and reward. But I assure you time will permit me to unwind here on my workbench bit by bit. And I'll surely continue to post here. Thanks for your enthusiasm for my project and concern for my Mrs. C.

Tell your little one she has talent - she makes you look good.