Airfix 1/12 Bentley Blower

[François]

Finished the cam cover today, complete with lockwire. 

And fabricated the carburator guard out of aluminium and wire mesh. 

And the real thing 

 

[Bugatti Fan]

Looking better every time I check your thread Francois !

[NOBLNG]

Wow! Amazing François! You could have switched pictures and fooled me.??

[PhilipLeblanc]

Awesome work! You definitely have a talent for vintage cars.

[François]

Thank you everyone for your positive comments. 

So the mecanical aspect of the car is pretty much finished, a few odds and ends here an there but basically done. The next step should be the body but I think I'll procrastinate a bit more and work on the presentation side of the project for a while. I want to show case the car in a 1930's industriel environment, steel structured shop, old style lighting and maybe a few water pipes. I also would like to mount the completed body on a trolley, the same trolley that was used on the continuation series built in 2019. By doing so, all the extra details I added would remain visible.  So I think I'll give these things some thought. 

 

[presnell]

You are doing some fantastic work anxious to see the finished product!!!

[Rattlecan Dan]

You've gone way out over the top on your beautiful workmanship. Museum quality all the way.

[Anglia105E]

As other members have commented François, the photographs of the real full size Bentley Blower and those photos of your 1:12 scale Airfix Bentley Blower are both equally convincing, in terms of realism . . .  Also, I think your statement that 25% of this build is Airfix and 75% of the build is the work that you have produced is totally justified. . .

David

[François]

Last item on the mecanical side of this build, I finished and installed the gas tank cap. 

So here are a few pictures of the car as of today.

As a side note, I printed a few 'Super Duty' logos in 1/25 scale for a Ford truck. Each logo is 9mm long, can you say tiny?

Also printed 2 wicker chair in 1/12 scale for a runabout boat. I was given the 3d model so I didn't have to make it but the printing was quite challenging.

[oldrevellfan]

great !

you are shure you have to bought a kit to do this?

[François]

Started work on the body trolley.  I 3d modeled it by doing a rule of 3 from a picture of the real trolley.

[Anglia105E]

François . . . I think your idea to display this Bentley Blower on a trolley is a great idea, and so you can display the rolling chassis without the bodywork covering all the work detail . . . This is why I do not glue the body to the chassis for my Rolls-Royce builds, because I like to have access to the chassis and interior later .

David

[François]

Thank you David. 

All the trolley parts are done,  either printed or hand made. Everything is painted except for those that are light blue, will get that tomorrow. Here are a few pictures. 

[oldrevellfan]

very well done !

[Big John]

I don't know if the wicker chairs are right for this project, may not fit in the bodywork as is. Interesting concept though, maybe in the Raj period.

[François]

Big John,  not sure if you're joking or not but just to be clear, the wicker chairs are not for the bentley.  They are for a 1/8 scale boat.

I've pretty much completed the trolley, just a few pieces to add and that will be it.

 

[François]

The trolley is completed. Here are some pictures with the tub on it.

And the real one

[Bugatti Fan]

Nearly there Francois !  This has been a fascinating project to follow.

Any ideas about your next one when the Bentley is finally finished ?

[Big John]

Yes, just kidding about the wicker chairs in the Bentley.? The trolley, like the rest of your build is superb in detail and accuracy.

[François]

One thing I forgot to do is the temp probe wire  going from the radiator to the temp gage. Now it's done.

[LaughingIndian]

I always like to see weathering to make a scale model appear like an actual miniature of the real thing, but this is the first I’ve seen where I think it’d be best to leave as is … even the shiny tires . The model is too sharp an image to have fake dirt on it … although I see you couldn’t help yourself on the trolley wheels ?

Excellent work!

[François]

Thank you LaughingIndian,  you noticed the dirt on the trolley wheels !! If it's there on the real one, it's there on the model. 

[absmiami]

Super

[François]

I started modeling the display case. My idea would be to inbed a miror in a simulated concrete base on which there would be a steel structure (really plastic not steel). The structure would have H columns at each corner and 4 angle iron framed plexiglas panels with a bunch of rivets holding the panels in place. I would like to incorporate trusses and working shop lights.  I'm thinking of overlaying the rear plexiglas panel with a translucide image of the real car, not sure how that could be done. There would be a control panel mounted on the outside of the display case that would control the shop lights, head lights and motor. Back in the 50's, my father, who was a draftman back then, would make scale models of water piping layout for a company called Canadair (it later became Bombardier aeronautic). I still have a box full of miniature Britannia water valves that he gave me when I was just a kid and that  I never used. I would like to incorporate them in the display case some how,  maybe a few water lines ? Here are a few screen shots of the display case so far. Not nearly there yet but it give the general idea.

[François]

A bit more done on the display case, slow evolution.