Maserati Bora, Revell, 1/24

[aurfalien]

Hi,

Wow, paint looking brilliant!

[Brizio]

Looking good! I always wanted to see how was this kit.

[Matt Bacon]

Thanks guys. Made some progress on the body today. The reason that the build on the Revel box looks so toylike (apart from those awful decals) is that they've forgotten all the areas of different materials on the real thing.

And I've been doing little bits here and there all day, so this is where we are tonight:

The roof is AK Metals Stainless Steel, applied over primer that had been "brushed" with fine wire wool. And I'm using Molotow Chrome marker for the trim.

And to end, in unforgiving close up, the engine is finally wired up, after the arrival of some heat shrink tube today.

best,

M.

[da_ashman]

Man thats looking good! Great stuff!

[GerN]

The Bora (and Merak, I think) carbs were:  four Weber 42 DCNF downdraught carbs.

[GerN]

Pix:

[Ace-Garageguy]

The Bora (and Merak, I think) carbs were:  four Weber 42 DCNF downdraught carbs.

Correct...except the Merak, being a V6, only had 3. 

[Lizz62]

Wow. Very nice 

[GerN]

I have one of these kits, and I was intending to copy the engine for other uses.  But it is clear from the photos that this kit engine is way too narrow, much like the seats.  So I glued mine together and filled it with Bondo so I can split and widen it allowing my Lamborghini Webers to fit.  May be a Chevy SB intake manifold would work . . . ?  Thanks for the footnote, Mr. Engwer!  And I should have said before, beautiful job on the body and paint, Mr. Bacon!

[Ace-Garageguy]

I have one of these kits, and I was intending to copy the engine for other uses.  But it is clear from the photos that this kit engine is way too narrow, much like the seats.  So I glued mine together and filled it with Bondo so I can split and widen it allowing my Lamborghini Webers to fit.  May be a Chevy SB intake manifold would work . . . ?  

For anyone wishing to upgrade the engine, here's a couple of shots of the intake manifold for the Bora (probably the same as the old Quattroporte too, as the engines are basically the same). The intake port-runners are evenly spaced like some Ford and Chrysler and the Chevy LS engines, as opposed to having paired runners like the old smallblock Chebby.

                                          

And Mr. Bacon, the crackle-finish you came up with for the cam covers is very believable. Nice trick.

Edited July 16, 2017 by Ace-Garageguy

[GerN]

And the kit engine appears to be a 60 degree V, not the 90 it should be. 

[Scale-Master]

Wow, that brings back some memories.  I haven't seen that kit for a long time.  And I built the blue one for Revell that's in the box art photos.

[sfhess]

I believe Citroen did at the time. There was a "little brother" to the Bora called the Merak which had more Citroen influence. It had a Citroen V-6 and a flat rear hood with flying buttresses instead of the Bora configuration. I think the Citroen pieces were out of one of the large SM cars. Testors released curbside 1/24 Merak and Merak SS kits.

The V6 was a Maserati engine, used in the Citroen SM

[Matt Bacon]

So, back from a very refreshing holiday in Northumberland, where, as promised, we spent a lot of time with Coasts and Castles (plus a visit to Kielder Observatory, the largest dark sky area in Europe, for some Aurora-chasing...)

The cockpit, with a bit of extra detailing, and the strange elliptical vent on the centre console filled and replaced with something a bit more prototypical.

Engine done. There's a lot more that you could do at the front, but it's pretty well hidden!

This stage is the hardest work of the whole build so far . The combination of brittle plastic, warped mouldings, and socket holes that pierce completely though the delicate framework is deadly. The poor moulding of the exhaust resonators doesn't help either. The good news is that there are enough points bonding the whole structure together (eg the wheel carriers) that if you persevere, it will all come together in the end. The bizarre plastic axle is replaced with wire from a clothes hanger for extra strength, as the front pins will be as well.

How hard can it be? Well, as it turns out simply inserting two hinge pins, turning them 90 degrees and fixing to the clamshell is trickier than you think. My advice would be to attach one hinge to the clam and let it set, and then put the other in place inside the body shell, apply glue to the bonding area, insert and rotate the whole rear clam with one already-fixed pin into position, and then bond the second one. And let it dry for a while.

best,

M.

Edited July 23, 2017 by Matt Bacon

[Matt Bacon]

Fixing to the chassis also helps stabilise the frame some more.

Trial run to see how it all fits together

It's just a swine getting all these bits to fit together, but at least all the triangulation (eg springs) stiffens up this rear subframe assembly nicely.

Finally for tonight, I'm hopeful that it will all fit together nicely!

best,

M.

[Lizz62]

Have you ever noticed how crappy some kits look on the box , just to be amazed by how awesome they can really be built ! Very awesome. 

[J.G.]

That paint color nicely matches the 1970s, great choice, and great detail work being added, for an otherwise basic kit

I sure like how clear your work bench photos are

[Matt Bacon]

Thanks, guys. Pretty much all together now, but there's still some cleaning up and final detail painting still to do

The engine bay is a bit more "see through" than I'd like, but it's hard to see how you'd fix that and still be able to get it all together!

Next time you see this, it'll be Under Glass... but first, off to London for my son's graduation.

best,

M.

 

[David G.]

Looks good, great color choice!

David G.

[Randy D]

Great job on this old kit Matt !!!

Randy

[GerN]

Very nice build of a very poor kit!