Scale-Master

Thanks everyone, it was fun to make, I'm glad it generated some laughs too. I left it outside after I shot it yesterday, and a bird nailed it! Talk about being christened barnyard style! Scale? Yeah, it tips them about as much as a Holstein... Suede is leather, it's the inside (of usually cow), and has the tough exterior "leather" skin layer removed. I guess it's inside out? And that's a pretty high compliment Ismael, thanks!

Something a little less "responsible" than the Alfa... Suede finish, hey, cows aren't shiny, and they are made of suede... 350 cubic inch Cowvette engine. Distressed wood from years of beach use. Cow hide interior upholstery.

Now I see why so many of these models reach this approximate point of construction and stall. While during the early stages of construction, despite some interesting situations, for the most part assembly moved along rather quickly, at least progress was noticeable on a daily basis if not an hourly one. Now days of work yields very little noticeable advancement of the overall build. True, part of that is due to painting and allowing to dry. Fortunately I was able to let most of the body parts dry when I went on a trip. But now it is a case of having to take two or three steps back to be able to insert something to make a step forward. Plus the instructions direct you to do things that cannot be done, so time discovering workarounds eats into build time. Did I mention the body parts don't fit either? Don't get me wrong, I am relishing the challenge and enjoying the build, but also gaining a lot of respect for others who have completed these before with good results. The front suspension is still floppy as I have not attached the wheels which should straighten that up. Color is Testors Chrysler Engine Red, so far I've gone through more than four Model Master bottles of it. There is also some wiring to do before the main part of the body goes on. More as it happens...

Got the brakes on, minus drums, but the fronts are still a bit floppy until the wheels are mounted to the suspension. The suspension is pretty much all done too. But for all I know it'll have to be redone for the fenders or some other part to fit... Also made new gauge faces for the dash. Most of the rest of the stickers look like they may be salvageable, which I will try to do to keep in the spirit of the kit. Right now it is just painting work and drying time for the majority of the body...

Doesn't work on my end...

Wow! That's Way Better than the parts I got! I like the full fendered version(s) better too. You should be proud to have worked on such a beautiful machine, especially the way it came out.

Here is the steering box, treated to the same "upgrades" as the other parts that are represented as cast metal. Sadly, the gears were so poorly manufactured it will never function well, even after I spent quite a bit of time trying to clean them up, but as I learned later it really doesn't matter. Here is the differential and rear spring assembly. Again with the Faux Fabrix texturing... The engine installed in the frame. I am finding more "interesting" engineering ideas for how they used screws in this kit as I get deeper into it. Many screws are to be used in places they simply cannot be gotten to, many require you to unbuild several hours of work to gain access. Many also just don't line up. Reamers to open up holes and CA to keep them from stripping out helps. The rear end installed... The front suspension... Mounting the firewall and floor have been the worst fit so far, but when checking how the body will mate to the firewall I found some real problems. More on that later... The pitman arm rubs on the frame and there is no way short of notching the frame to give it clearance, but as I mentioned above, the gears were already bad so it is almost a moot point. This shot shows the all the rear shocks installed and the shading on the flooring.

Head w/Cams and Ignition It has two cams that will not be seen once it is assembled, one still exposed here. The head was textured in the same way same as the other engine parts. The cam covers are a mix of grays and pearls and metallics lightly textured with the dry application of the paint. I still have to make some decals for them to replace the damaged stickers that came in this kit. Believe it or not, there are only seven plastic parts, (coil -2, distributor-2, cam covers-2 and the head) and six metal parts (thumbscrews and coolant pipe), (not counting the brass eyelets and wires), visible in this assembly now. Lots of hand painting to bring out the molded in detail, but worth it... And the plug wires, (as funky of a red as they look in person), fortunately only look this color in the photos...

I spent a good eight hours lacing four of these wheels, that's after dry fitting, painting and familiarizing myself with them. Not a particularly hard job, but tedious and somewhat monotonous. At least once the pattern is established, it does have a rhythm, a good project to do with T.V. or music on... I found doing them altogether at the same time a benefit for uniformity. Here is the first layer of spokes done. The middle layer. And the outer layer and final outer rim. The tire treads were sanded and the sidewalls scrubbed with cleanser prior to mounting them. Fitting the tire over the rim is a fight. It's a very tight fit and care must be exercised to not damage the wire wheels, they are much more fragile than I expected. First round went to me, but the tire did draw some of my blood, literally. Second, third and fourth rounds belong to me, but I had to work for them...

Not an easy shot. You try to keep it still. Both hands on the engine, holding the camera with my knees, don't ask how I pressed the shutter...

The transmission presented similar issues as the engine, internals had to be sandwiched between the halves. I dry fitted them first and did the majority of the clean up, then took them apart and installed the inside metal parts. The screws in this kit are awful, (not sure if it's the way all the kits are, or if mine just has a bad run of hardware), the heads twist off or the shanks shear when they are only about 1/4 or 1/3 of the way in. Even drilling out the bosses to make less of a load on them does not seem to help, good thing there is super glue... So the seams were filled with CA and hold the halves together since the screws weren't doing their job. A little bit of the seam was left intentionally as there is a bit of a casting line on the real ones. Here it is masked off and ready to be shot: Textured with SMS Faux Fabrix and painted Tamiya AS-12 Bare Metal Silver. And here it is completed and mounted to the engine.

Here is the left half of the block with the crank, rods and pistons installed, as well as the rear four cylinder sleeves. Here it is all assembled. The seams front and rear were filled with CA and treated like regular seams, then they were textured and painted to match the rest of the engine. Click Image if you dare...:

It is a departure from normal building practices to fully finish each exterior side of the engine prior to putting the block together. I'm sure it could be built in a more traditional way with a little creative re-engineering, but since I'm building it in the spirit intended by the original designers, I'll continue to follow their lead. Now onto installing the crank, rods, pistons and cylinder sleeves...

Here is the raw oil pan. I did sand off the Pocher legalese lettering but the ghost of it is still visible. Textured like the block and painted and detailed... The engine block halves are painted and read to start accepting some of the accessories. This kit builds a bit different than today's "normal" kits.

These models do not build into exact copies of real cars from the kit. Mainly the bolts and screws give it away. As I stated in my opening monologue :"I want to build it to represent not only a prototypical Alfa one might see in a museum, but also as a representation of what a Pocher kit builds into, the way the engineers intended. No machining parts, no scratchbuilding, just painting, detailing and assembling." It's not so much that I am setting rules for myself, but once I start "upgrading" the model, (I know myself) it could take years to finish, and it's not what I want to do to this kit. (And I need to build something easy after the Blue 7.) I think it would be nice to make it as it was intended to be back when it was originally engineered. I will keep this one together in this thread. Remember, this forum was started well after the Seven was under construction, that's why it was posted haphazardly. Thanks, and stay tuned...

What can I say, I just have to build... This is one I have been planning to do for some time. (Yes, I realize it is not a Super 7.) Original issue 1/8 scale Pocher kit. I am building it Out-Of-The-Box along the IPMS rules which allow for some latitude in finishing materials, decals and ways to make the model look it's best. I want to build it to represent not only a prototypical Alfa one might see in a museum, but also as a representation of what a Pocher kit builds into, the way the engineers intended. No machining parts, no scratchbuilding, just painting, detailing and assembling. I will have to do some decal work as the kit's decal sheet is the only casualty (that I'm aware of) of age and deterioration. Here is the raw engine block, I may have to get out the ruler to give an idea of the size of this one... Here is the cleaned up block textured and painted. Here is the assembled crank with connecting rods.

Oooh, I like that one better than mine. Let's race for pinks!

even a Scale-Master has slip ups from time to time Oh yeah, it's not that one doesn't make boo-boos, it's fixing them that is the trick. I deal with the same issues as everyone else... Sometimes they are totally my fault and I know it when I do it, sometimes they seemingly come out of the blue, and then I remember I probably shouldn't have done that...

This was originally just a fun quick build using left over parts from a build I did of a friend's '88 Turbo. Had it almost finished about a week and a half ago and it took a detour. After having a bad reaction with the clear over the TS-38 Gunmetal paint, I stripped it, what a pain. Wet urethane over dry Tamiya lacquer (the grey was about 5-6 months dry). Used denatured alcohol, messy, very messy... Then scrubbed it with Comet cleanser. Primed it, yes, green primer... Then reshot the Gunmetal and lightly (this time) cleared it again with the same urethane clear, as a sealer sort of. There is a Smoke fade around the lower areas of the body, almost visible in the photo. Modified a passenger seat from the Modena I took the wheels from... Seat belt decals from the parts box... A little wash (to make it dirty ironically) and shading on the engine and chassis... Door panels on and ready to go into the body... I tried TS-71 Smoke for the window tint, looks promising, although not perfect on this one, but hey, it was just a test... And here it is done. The blue is TS-44 Brilliant Blue. The C/F is SMS HiDef 1/20 scale. One more out of the "parking lot" area of my shop. Guess I can start something new now...

That would be one heck of a box Be sure to pack your instructions if you intend to be "out of the box"... I know, Boo..., Hiss..., where's a rim shot when you need one...

Keeler Paeth & Jones Builder Owner & Driver I have the real answer, but I'll wait ... I'll just say, Thank God Jim was the builder... Drove like a bat outta hell, and held together, otherwise I wouldn't be here today...

I found this one today that I parked at least 7 if not 8 years ago. Again, painted mirrors waiting to be attached with the windshield wiper and a couple antennas. Very sad indeed, only about 10 minutes work today. At least now it is in the display case finished as it should've been years ago. It was done with Testors paints and the kit decals. Who says Testors enamels never dry...

This one has been "parked" for almost three years. Missed a deadline I'd set to finish it, and I guess lost interest, certainly lost sight of it. Just needed a good wash & wax and a few details painted and put on and it's ready to run...

Another "victim" of my passion for the Blue 7 project. Many models got parked in various stages of nearly finishedness when I started building it. As I uncover them, almost in archeological fashion, I recall why I abandoned them. Funny, once they get a wash and wax, they look better than I remember them looking when I left them. Some were meticulously packed away safely, sadly several were just buried under boxes trays and polishing cloths. Even sadder than the sheer number of vehicles I've found is how close to being completed most are. Wipers and mirrors were all a few needed. But I digress... Presenting the unearthed Porsche 910. Machined a bunch of stuff for this phantom street toy. Wheel nuts, intake and exhaust pipes are about all that is visible now. I was inspired by a 908 I saw at a local show. It is a curbside because the body was too warped to fit any other way, and the profile and stance was really what I was after. I wish I knew that before doing up the engine with working throttle linkage... The front suspension was lowered and the Carrera graphics are decals I made for it. I tested some TS-36 on the hood, but it was a bit much... So I reshot it to match the wheels, pearl gray.