Magnifier (Trumpeter) 1/12 Ford GT40

[himynameisgreg1]

Hey guys!

Been slowly working on this project for the last couples months. This is my 7th model and by far the toughest one yet.

Let's get to it!

Sanded

Primed:

Painted, decal'd, Cleared:

Partial Engine:

Interior:

Interior and Engine attached to chassis:

Roof/Dash:

Frunk:

Roof/Dash/Doors attached to chassis:

This is where I'm at right now. As you can see, there is some empty space in the rear. I'm in the process of building fuel/other lines and then have the rest of the engine components to put on before moving back to the body/glass.

I'm trying to wait as long as I can before putting in the windows and other glass. I somehow always get a nice super glue-y finger print somewhere. Trying to avoid that!

 

Thanks for looking!

Greg

[vamach1]

Looking fantastic so far.  The lack of a distributor is noticeable and is one complaint builders have with this kit.

[Mattilacken]

Beautifull work there! Great progress! Keep it up!

[cobraman]

Glad you are posting this. I am trying to get up the nerve to start mine. After more info on the Meng kit I think I will just keep the Magnifier kit and save the 400 or so bucks the Meng kit will cost.

[himynameisgreg1]

15 hours ago, vamach1 said:

Looking fantastic so far.  The lack of a distributor is noticeable and is one complaint builders have with this kit.

Thanks! Yeah, that was one thing I found out before I started when I was trying to find tips from others who have done it. I'm not quite to the scratch building level so I decided to to let that part be. There is quite a bit more buildup in that area, so hopefully it won't be quite as noticeable to most people when finished.

48 minutes ago, Mattilacken said:

Beautifull work there! Great progress! Keep it up!

Thank you!

34 minutes ago, cobraman said:

Glad you are posting this. I am trying to get up the nerve to start mine. After more info on the Meng kit I think I will just keep the Magnifier kit and save the 400 or so bucks the Meng kit will cost.

Thanks! I had this for a few months and opened the box and looked at it multiple times before actually starting it. I'm really liking it so far though. This is the first 1/12 kit I've done and the first that's had extras like screws, springs, hoses, and some PE parts so I'm learning as I go.

A couple things I've found out:

There are a lot of chromed parts that I found in my research should not be chromed. I stripped all of them except the two valve covers(?) on top of the engine, and then while wiping off a finger print I somehow wiped off some chrome, so now everything is X-11 Chrome Silver haha. If i did it again, I'd save the valve covers, wheel center caps, the fuel filler cap (on the hood, drivers side), and the steering wheel and de-chrome the rest and repaint an appropriate silver color.

The woven fabric that comes with it to simulate braided lines seems hard to work with (easily unravels and seems too thick for the AN parts) so I got some Detail Master braided lines but there are trade offs. All the AN parts have nubs to insert into the woven fabric but the detail master lines are solid so I've had to cut off all the nubs and drill holes into the AN fitting parts. It's taken a lot of extra time. Probably should have bought new AN fittings as well. I've had OK luck with the .045" line. It's a tiny bit too thick in some cases so the next size down might be easier to work with for the thinner hoses but maybe not fully "to scale".

 

[ozmodeler]

This build is looking good. You have inspired me to buy one of these kits, it's not in my preferred scale but the extra detail opportunity is tempting !

[GirchyGirchy]

On 11/10/2020 at 11:14 PM, vamach1 said:

Looking fantastic so far.  The lack of a distributor is noticeable and is one complaint builders have with this kit.

I spotted this today, I wonder how these pieces look. 

https://www.shapeways.com/product/GHHVQ7WWM/13p5-scale-gt-40-parts-small?optionId=61212618&li=marketplace

 

[Len Woodruff]

55 minutes ago, GirchyGirchy said:

I spotted this today, I wonder how these pieces look. 

https://www.shapeways.com/product/GHHVQ7WWM/13p5-scale-gt-40-parts-small?optionId=61212618&li=marketplace

 

Those look like some of the missing engine parts for the Trumpeter/Magnifier 1/12 GT40

[vamach1]

39 minutes ago, Len Woodruff said:

Those look like some of the missing engine parts for the Trumpeter/Magnifier 1/12 GT40

Thanks for the info.  The price looks right and the MENG kit does not look impressive to spend $400.  The KA detail sets were costing almost twice as much as the Trumpeter kit so I suppose if someone does not have the Trumpeter kit it may make sense to buy the MENG kit but either way it’s not cheap to build a nice detailed authentic MKII in that scale.

[935k3]

How are the seat rivets done?

 

[himynameisgreg1]

15 hours ago, 935k3 said:

How are the seat rivets done?

 

They are embossed. The part comes in white, I first painted them black and then started brushing over with silver paint on the raised parts but could not get them as sharp as I wanted, so I took a sanding stick and carefully sanded the black down to the white plastic. Luckily, it looks a bit silver.

[himynameisgreg1]

21 hours ago, GirchyGirchy said:

I spotted this today, I wonder how these pieces look. 

https://www.shapeways.com/product/GHHVQ7WWM/13p5-scale-gt-40-parts-small?optionId=61212618&li=marketplace

 

 

20 hours ago, Len Woodruff said:

Those look like some of the missing engine parts for the Trumpeter/Magnifier 1/12 GT40

Got a little further on the engine. I feel the top parts of the motor supplied are sufficient with the Trumpeter kit, but the distributor piece would be nice. Although, the distributor itself I don't think is super noticeable as it slightly obscured between the firewall and the pan thing, the missing wires are. Also, not exactly sure what those pieces on the left and back of the link would go, they look to be just a bit more detailed pulley parts rather than the one piece that comes with the trumpeter. Once the motor is screwed in, that part is invisible as it's right up against the firewall below where the distributor would be.
Luckily it's not too expensive if you want extra detail.

[himynameisgreg1]

On 11/12/2020 at 1:08 AM, ozmodeler said:

This build is looking good. You have inspired me to buy one of these kits, it's not in my preferred scale but the extra detail opportunity is tempting !

Thank you! This scale has def provided me with new challenges, but it's not turned me off to doing more at this scale in the future!

[kpnuts]

I've got one on order (coming from Hong kong) seeing this i can't wait for mine, you're doing great.

[935k3]

On 11/13/2020 at 1:17 PM, himynameisgreg1 said:

They are embossed. The part comes in white, I first painted them black and then started brushing over with silver paint on the raised parts but could not get them as sharp as I wanted, so I took a sanding stick and carefully sanded the black down to the white plastic. Luckily, it looks a bit silver.

Another way I would try is paint the seat with a silver lacquer like TamiyaTS-30 Silver Leaf then airbrush Tamiya XF1 Flat Black acrylic over it. When dry use the Tamiya small Q-tips soaked in ammonia too carefully remove the black Ammonia will not touch the lacquer but will easily remove the acrylic. You probably could scrape off the black with toothpicks. this is also a good trick for doing BBS style wheels.

 

Edited November 15, 2020 by 935k3

[TransAmMike]

And yet another " master build" to get great info from.  You guys are amazing.

[GirchyGirchy]

On 11/12/2020 at 5:27 PM, vamach1 said:

Thanks for the info.  The price looks right and the MENG kit does not look impressive to spend $400.  The KA detail sets were costing almost twice as much as the Trumpeter kit so I suppose if someone does not have the Trumpeter kit it may make sense to buy the MENG kit but either way it’s not cheap to build a nice detailed authentic MKII in that scale.

I don't know if I'd go that far...the Meng doesn't look that much more detailed than the Trumpeter/Magnifier.  The interior looks nice, but there's a lot of chunky plastic bits in the engine and suspension; for instance, check the carb linkage, what a mess! 

I'm leaning towards the Magnifier kit with the Icon tires/spare wheel and KA detail kit.  It's about the same amount of money but you seem to get a lot more out of it.

[vamach1]

37 minutes ago, GirchyGirchy said:

I don't know if I'd go that far...the Meng doesn't look that much more detailed than the Trumpeter/Magnifier.  The interior looks nice, but there's a lot of chunky plastic bits in the engine and suspension; for instance, check the carb linkage, what a mess! 

I'm leaning towards the Magnifier kit with the Icon tires/spare wheel and KA detail kit.  It's about the same amount of money but you seem to get a lot more out of it.

You’re probably right about having a more accurate and detailed kit with all the extra detail parts and photoetch with the KA kit and new tires, etc.  I’ve seen these 1/8 “models” which do not have any more detail but to the person that may only want to build the kit “out of the box” I am guessing the MENG kit will appeal to those customers, especially of they do a preprinted version.  On the other hand the diecast 1/12 MKII’s are about $500 but what’s the fun in that?

[himynameisgreg1]

Finished this thing over the weekend. It's not perfect, but I'm very happy with it!

[himynameisgreg1]

[himynameisgreg1]

[himynameisgreg1]

Thanks for looking!

Greg

 

[cobraman]

Looks fantastic !  I hope mine turns out half as good.

[kpnuts]

Looks amazing

[tmathew1us]

That came out great!! I also have this kit in the stash, and its my first 1/12th as well. This seems like the kind of kit that one could get bogged down in for a considerable amount of time, depending on how detailed one wants to get. Congrats on finishing it, came out great!!