1927 Delage 1.5ltr, Auto-Kits, 1/24

[Matt Bacon]

One of the most attractive and successful pre-war race cars, winning all five Grand Prix in 1927 in the hands of Robert Benoist and making him World Champion. First, the inspiration:

There is a reason for this that will become clear in due course, but there's a clue in the image above.

The main parts are typical of 1960s-vintage Auto-Kits -- nicely detailed, well-fitting but with a fair number of casting issues to be cleaned up. As with all Auto-Kits, it's "curb-side" (or maybe "pit-wall") but will buid up to look very like the image in the painting above.

A handy jig is provided for spoking the wire wheels using Auto-Kits "Patented" mechanism. Above, the grooved rim and hub are mounted awaiting wiring.

And here are the first two wheel, after a couple of hours of eye-crossing work. Goodness knows how 1960-vintage modellers did these without the benefit of superglue. They look OK, I think -- bearing in mind the alternative at the time was a clear plastic disc and a printed silver spoke decal. If you really wanted to, I think you could use thinner wire, and double layer both sides with an offset on the second set and get close to a prototypical spoke density. But I'm doing this OOB as a Classic British Kit...

I think this one may take longer than the Esprit...

best,

M

 

[absmiami]

mr B - i assume you have pix - yell if you don’t …

[Matt Bacon]

Thank you! @absmiami Not that many, to be honest. I’ve got the old “Profile” publication on the cars, and I’ve found the Revs Institute pictures, but the black Seaman car seems much better documented online than Benoist’s steed. Since I’m building it “in action” I’m not planning to scratch an engine or anything bonkers like that, but any decent cockpit interior views, chassis details or suspension anatomy would always be appreciated! 
All the best,

Matt

[iBorg]

Watching.

 

[Ace-Garageguy]

Most excellent.   

[Rattlecan Dan]

Found these on the internet. Hope they help at all.

[absmiami]

Driver compartment

chassis

susp

check - give me a day or two …

[Dave B]

This looks great assembled, my mate has it although his is Wills Finecast, same kit, different name.

Looking forward to seeing yours finished as my mate is a rather hasty builder!!

Dave B

[Pierre Rivard]

Oh oh... not again! Another one of these where my reaction to the introduction of the project is... I got to find one of these!

Beautiful historically important car and I will be following your work with immense interest. Rooting for you Matt!

[absmiami]

low light shots taken w film camera [remember those?] 7 years ago at Rev's  - I'll add some driver compartment pix too ....

[absmiami]

[absmiami]

[absmiami]

one shot of the magnificent engine 

there's more if you decide to ...  jump the shark ...

[absmiami]

one more

[Matt Bacon]

Thanks very much indeed, Andrew!

All four wheels are now spoked. A bit tedious, maybe, but full marks to the Auto-kit team for coming up with something that at least tries to be authentic. 1960s-vintage 3D printing is hard work, though...

 There's a LOT of cleaning up of details to do, especially around the little tabs, and some molding gates to remove, but if you do clean up everything thoroughly, you're rewarded by something that fits together very well. The mock-up above is just clipped and taped.... I haven't used any glue on it. The last picture shows the only substantial area of filler and sanding -- a hefty seam around the top and rear of the body tail parts, but that's it, and it buffs out easily ?

best,

M.

[Bainford]

Another very cool build, Matt. The Delage is definitely period beautiful. Those wheels should be a huge improvement over, say, the clear plastic discs in the SMER kits. I really need to try my hand at one of these metal kits.

[Matt Bacon]

Back to the bench after a long work week. Next step, the rear axle...

I should have taken a "before" photo, but the rear spring frame was in two pieces and rather bent. I can't complain, given the price I picked up all five of these kits for, but it needed some remedial work. Of course, it had broken at two of the most stressed points, where thin rods join the springs, and they are points that could carry weight. Fortunately as you can see there is a central tab that's _actually_ going to hold the axle, but I wanted to pin it together solidly. Learning a lesson from the Silver Ghost, I have bought some piano wire in 30cm lengths, 0.6, 0.8 and 1mm in diameter. It's a pain to cut, but it is tough. Much more load-bearing than the brass rod I use for repairs to plastic kit parts.

I thought I'd check out how the cockpit went together. This is all just dropped into place.

Those nice folks at The Revs Institute have some very clear photos of the important gauges, so I just resized them and printed them at high resolution on photo paper to stick behind the moulded holes. The kit has black and white dials printed on the instructions, which would have worked fine, if you had a new kit with freshly printed paperwork... Given the dash is white metal, I thought I'd try my hand at some "engine turning" with the polishing tip in my drill. The real thing isn't, but it adds a bit of interest...

Time for another mockup:

That's enough to convince me it will all fit together, though there'll be some adjustments needed before committing to glue.

One of the things that's clear from the Revs Institute's pictures is that the real thing is very smooth and fitted together almost seamlessly, so other than the shut lines around the bonnet, all the joints between the parts will need to be filled and eliminated.

On with the job...

best,

M.

 

 

 

[Pierre Rivard]

Lots to do obviously but this no doubt will be a fun project. Are you planning any extras in terms of detailing or mostly out of box?

[Matt Bacon]

Thanks, @Pierre Rivard… the main aim of this project is to recreate or evoke the magazine cover at the top. It’s part of a tribute to Airfix box art illustration legend Roy Cross who also did those covers. Roy passed a couple of months ago aged 100. So I will be putting M. Benoist in the driver’s seat. I might do a bit of piping and detailing in the cockpit, but he’ll block the view, mostly!

best,

M.

[ChrisR]

These models build up very nice with a bit of afford. Here is my ERA. Replaced the white metal kit spokes with Herb Deeks photo-etch spokes.

Edited June 16, 2024 by ChrisR

[presnell]

Great looking car! Love those old racers!

[Matt Bacon]

Time to commit to glue...

Obviously, some filling and fine-tuning will be needed, but it's not too bad, considering... that's what all those Swiss files are for...

On with the classic Isopon P38 body filler. You could buy this stuff when these kits first came out! It's way too hot for a plastic kit, but just the job for filling and smoothing metal (which is what it's designed for, after all...)

Once the filler is all smoothed, this is the stage where you paint the body, which will require some masking in the cockpit. I can feel an inner wall for the far side coming on.... fortunately the Revs Institute pictures show it clearly.

best,

M.

 

[Pierre Rivard]

Looks promising Matt. Any thoughts on what type of primer will work good over white metal?

[absmiami]

Matt - find a way to get to Florida next year in March for the concourses and a side trip to Rev’s and Brumos …. Tour guides available - for, of course, a small charge .. Rev’s is displaying their Delage this month with bonnet off - but i won’t post the eng shots unless you jump the shark … there is plenty to keep you busy in the driver’s compartment …

[absmiami]