Harry P.

I love how they had the "Ford" logo right above the "Ford" logo in the front! I guess old Henry was pretty proud of his cars!

Here's a real one...

Your post title says 1913.

Beautiful! But the top looks a bit too shiny...

I'm not sure if I should be flattered or worried that you complimented my seat...

For what?

That is too cool! I love the dirt-surfing pig! Very clever and unique. You have yourself a real show-stopper there! "Dirt Surfin' "... "Surfin' the Turf"...

Dang! Maybe I'll go with Plan B and open up a blacksmith's shop instead...

Nice work on those door panels.

Pocher kits were engineered to be built without glue. Assembly is with either mechanical fasteners (screws, nuts and bolts) or friction fit. In some cases that philosophy made for some pretty obviously inaccurate situations, like here on the front timing cover. There is a big cutout and boss (pointer) that accepts one of the kit's screws. Not only is this inaccurate (the timing cover was bolted to the engine via the bolts around its perimeter, as molded into the kit part), but the Godzilla-sized screw head would be way out of scale compared to the in-scale bolts molded into the kit piece: The fix: carefully grind away the screw boss, fill the cutout with Bondo, sand to shape... and then glue this part on instead of using screws: This situation (out-of-scale and/or out-of-place screwheads) is common throughout the model. In some cases it's visible, like on the timing case cover, and has to be fixed. In other cases it's not as visible (or not visible at all on the finished model) and can be left as is... inaccurate but not noticeable on the finished model. Just one of those Pocher peculiarities...

The trick to adding all the missing engine detail is doing it in the correct order. You have to work from the inside out... meaning that you have to add the details that are closest in to the block first, then add the details that are further out. For example, the missing oil lines that hug the block on both sides have to be installed before you install the intake manifold and carb, because if you install the carb first and add all the missing carb linkages, you'll have no way to access the block walls to add the oil lines. You really have to plan ahead and get the sequence down in your mind before you start adding things.

As detailed as Pocher kits are, the ironic thing is that they are actually missing a lot of detail. Pocher either simplified a lot of details, got them wrong, or omitted them altogether. Nowhere is that more obvious than on the engine. Built out of the box, the Pocher RR engine looks pretty spectacular to the average set of eyes, but there are a lot of things either wrong or flat out missing. I have a set of detailed instructions on superdetailing a Pocher RR engine, written by John Haddock. He goes into incredible detail, telling you via photos, mechanical drawings, and dimensions, how to build and add just about every missing detail to the engine. Here is just one page as an example of what I'm talking about. Just the engine detailing alone covers 40+ pages! I doubt that I'll add everything he covers in his instructions, but I will add some of the most obvious omissions, like for example, the many missing oil lines that Pocher just ignored. First step is to lay out the locations for all the mounting holes I'll need, based on the drawings and dimensions in the superdetailing guide: Here the pointers show the various holes I needed to drill in order to install the oil lines on one side of the block. Also, there are several modifications or additions needed to various components (circled, like the missing oil valve on the block and the mounting boss for the control levers on the front timing case, just to mention two). It's easier to do all of this work now, before paint and assembly, rather than later when the engine is already built up:

I'll give you that. The personal interaction isn't there when you shop online. And if personal interaction is a big part of what you want, then yeah, you can't beat the old LHS. But for me, personal interaction isn't what I'm looking for when I shop for kits or supplies. I want my hobby supplies and kits for the lowest price possible, and I want the largest selection possible. That means Internet. And there's nothing I need so desperately that I can't wait a few days for it to be delivered. I remember as a kid, going to the hobby shop on a Saturday morning and just nosing around for an hour or two. Yeah, it was fun. But times change, and we have a new way of doing business now. There's no sense in mourning the loss of every hobby shop that closes. Instead of constantly looking to the past and wishing things were still done today as they were years ago, think about the fact that we now have access to the world's largest hobby shop right at our fingertips... something we could never even have imagined 20-30-40 years ago. And soon 3-D printing will be as cheap and common as "regular" 2-D printing is today, and the hobby will undergo yet another big change. Like they say, the only thing constant in life is change.

The chassis doesn't support the weight of the wheels and tires. I have a bunch of old 1/8 scale kits (Jaguar E-Type, Big Deuce, etc.) all built many years ago, and no sign of any warp or sag whatsoever. A properly constructed styrene tube chassis is plenty strong enough to hold up a scale engine and body. The designs of chassis like that take stress, warp, etc. into account... that's why all of those braces and diagonals are there... to prevent warp and sag. Same dynamics work in scale. I'm not taking away anyone's brass. Build with brass if you like. All I'm saying is that brass is not necessary for the structural integrity of a model car, based on my own personal experience. But for anyone who feels that it's "safer" or better to build in brass... have at it! Knock yourself out! Be happy and solder to your heart's content. I'm not trying to stop you...

"And I pray. Oh my God do I pray. I pray every single day For a revolution"...

Not really a fan. I just remember those lyrics for some reason. The only songs of theirs I like at all is "Two Princes" and "Little Miss Can't Be Wrong."

I may be wrong, but I think RR supplied the chassis including the radiator, firewall, and hood (bonnet). The rest was custom coach work.

Spin Doctors, Jimmy Olsen's Blues.

Cato... once I have the chassis built and radiator installed, I'll go from there and see what needs to be done. As far as flattening the hood line... I'm not so sure that's correct...

My Internet access is via Uverse. Who still has dial-up land line phone internet access in 2015? Home security system... ok, I can see that in some cases. But home security systems these days are accessed via smartphone app, not land line. Call home? Everyone in my family has a cell phone. "Home" is their cell phone, wherever they are, either at home or otherwise.

The engine has full internal detail, including rotating crank and articulated pistons. Here is the lower block, crankshaft, crank bearings and flywheel... And the crankshaft installed... just two more bearings to go...

I feel like starting this project by building the transmission first. No reason... just because, Anyway...the Pocher kit pieces for the shift and pedal linkages are metal parts, either nickel or chrome plated (can't tell which). Plated shifter and pedal linkages don't seem very likely to me, so I painted all the parts semi-gloss black. The trans itself is plastic and builds up like any model kit (except for the fact that there are a lot more pieces). Here is the finished trans assembly, sprayed silver, then Testors Transparent Window Tint, then blackwashed with my usual mix of Future and black acrylic craft paint. It's a shame that once the model is finished and on display, you'll never see any of this...

Here is what I'm shooting for. Not necessarily this exact car, but something along these lines. Mine will have black fenders and a sage green hood and cowl.

I was going to "shut 'er down" for the summer as far as building does, but after I finished my 1/16 scale Rolls woody I was so happy with the results that I decided not to wait, and jump right into my 1/8 scale version. Here is the kit I'll be using as the donor... the Pocher Rolls Royce "Star of India," a model of a one-of-a-kind RR that some bigshot Indian prince commissioned to be built for himself in the 1930s. Under the fancy saffron paint and polished aluminum, it's a 1934 Rolls Royce Phantom II Cabriolet: Like the 1/16 scale woody I recently posted, I'll be scratchbuilding the entire body of real wood. But the fact that this is a Pocher kit means that there will be a whole lot more building to do before I even get to the point where I start on the body. Engine and chassis first... I need a base on which to build the woody body and interior. And because it's a Pocher, I will be making use of the kit's operating features, like roll-down windows and operating door latches, among others, to make this woody about as detailed a model as I've ever built.