gjdale

That’s possibly true Kevin, but keep in mind when these kits were made in the first place - about 50 years ago...

Thanks Denis,

The chassis stands are an after market part from Model Motorcars. Quite expensive for what they are and I’m sure they could be made quite easily by most builders. I wasn’t sure how useful they would be but they are proving to be worthwhile. For my next one, I’ll probably make my own (if these don’t fit the other chassis).

Looks pretty darn good from this distance!😉

Thanks Kevin,

Yes they do take a lot of work - but that’s half the fun! 😊

Thanks guys,

Bob - yes, the Model Motorcars stuff is very expensive and one could easily spend waaay to much on “upgrades”. I think there are a few that are really worthwhile (like the steering wheel) and then there are a lot that one might question whether they are really necessary. And there will be differences between the various kits as to which fall into which category. Paul Koo advises making these decisions at the start of the build. Good advice - but if you have no previous experience, it can be difficult to know where to draw the line. It’s compounded for me because of the additional cost of postage each time I decide I want that extra $5 part, or you do as I did - buy the steering wheel and only realise later that you really need the hub to go with it! I might do a summary of “lessons learned” at the end of this build, including a summary of the “upgrades” I’ve done.

I look forward to seeing the start of your build Bob. If your other work so far is anything to go by, it will be an outstanding build to follow.

A Minor Update

I have decided not to install the body work until the steering wheel is in place, and I can’t do that until the centre hub arrives. This was ordered on Sep 08 and made it as far as Miami FL by Sep 09. There has been no tracking movement since, so I’m kinda stuck until the postal system works itself out.

In the meantime, I’ve finished off all the remaining small bits of work that I could.

First up, I decided to temporarily connect the Headlight wiring to test that to see if it works. As you can see in the picture below, it does! 

The headlights are turned on by inserting the key in the dash as seen in the next photo.

The front horn assembly was next. This actually required the temporary installation of the main body panels and fender panels so that the cross brace could be fitted, and the ends angled to match the fenders. In the photo below, you can see the mixture of plastic and metal parts. It is nigh on impossible to discern a colour difference between the two materials.

The rear licence plate was then assembled, using an aftermarket decal from Model Motorcars for the rego number. It is held onto the fender with only two screws – the other two are dummies.

The front of the fenders are also fitted with small lights. While these parts look simple, there is once again a fit issue that requires some delicate work to rectify. Here they are installed:

The front nose was then assembled. Three additional decals from Model Motorcars were used here – one for the Alfa Romeo emblem and two for the radiator cap.

This close up shows that there has been some damage to the Alfa Romeo emblem. Fortunately, two were provided on the decal sheet from Model Motorcars, so I should be able to replace this one. The front side of the radiator cap has a St Christopher medal – a bit hard to see in the photo, but it’s there:

The back of the radiator cap has a temperature gauge, again in the form of a decal from Model Motorcars:

And that is as far as I can go until the Steering Wheel hub arrives…

Great job Tom - she really does look superb.

Ric - no primer/base is required at all. This was sprayed on bare plastic. Tests I’ve watched on YouTube show basically no difference if a black base is used first. I know that with the Vallejo Metal Colours, they call for a gloss black base primer, but this stuff just doesn’t seem to need it.

Tom,

Those paint sets always look attractive but may prove to be a false economy. I’d be more inclined to buy the individual paints that you need at the time, or for a given project. You’ll soon end up with a large selection anyway, but they will all be colours that you will actually use. You may also find that you use different brands for different purposes too.

Bob,

This is the stuff:

https://www.tamiya.com/english/products/87203/index.htm

Very nice progress Sea Hoss.

Alan,

You could also try some chrome plating yourself using a relatively inexpenisve kit. Here’s a snippet from my experience doing this on my Chris Craft runabout:

Chrome Plating - First Adventures

To complete both the Wheel assembly and the Cutwater, some chrome plating was called for. Following the lead of others over on the RC Groups forum, I acquired a Caswell Chrome Plating Kit. It was relatively inexpensive and, as it turned out, quite easy to use. The kit consists of a small transformer with two leads extending from it. The black lead has an alligator clip attached and this gets attached to the part being plated. The red lead plugs into a small wand that has its end wrapped in a bandage, and this is soaked in the plating solution and then rubbed onto the part. And then the magic happens. It’s as easy as that. Not much to show, as I didn’t take photos of the process. Here is the end result though (the camera is not kind – it looks a whole lot better at “normal” viewing distance).  Mmmmmmm……shiny…….

I somehow missed the start of this log Sjors. It’s good to see you back and building again. Your Flirt is coming along very nicely indeed.

Thanks Bob. The Molotov comes in 3 sizes of paint pen (1mm,  2mm and 4mm) and then there is the Refill, which is what I have used here (in the photo). The refill has a screw cap over a fine hole/spout. After shaking well, simply unscrew the cap and pour directly into the airbrush cup. Some people dismantle the paint pens to access the paint but why bother going to the extra expense and trouble when the refill is available and so easy to use? It is more expensive to buy but holds a lot more paint (30ml), so more economical in the long run.

The Tamiya masking sheet comes in a roll with masking tape pre-attached to one edge. I can’t remember the exact product name as it’s a while since I bought it.

Painting the Chrome Trim

The Molotow Liquid Chrome paint arrived the other day, along with another essential supply – masking tape designed to go around curves:

The most difficult part of this job was probably the masking up. I needed to make sure that the Chrome was going to go only where I wanted it and nowhere else. The curved masking tape is brilliant stuff – it feels like a plastic tape (a little like electricians’ tape) and really does allow you to conform to curves. I used this as an initial mask close up against the curves, then overlaid regular painters’ tape and some Tamiya masking sheet to wrap the car body. This may have been overkill, but I was taking no chances! Once the masking was in place, I then carefully applied Isopropyl Alcohol to remove the existing paint down to bare plastic. Here is the main body masked, after I had sprayed Liquid Chrome. This stuff sprays beautifully, straight up – no need for thinning, and no need for priming of any sort.

The only downside to the Molotow product is that it takes quite a while to cure. It needs to be left several days at least prior to handling. I didn’t want to leave the masking tapes in contact with the other painted surfaces any longer than necessary, so I gave it 24 hours before very carefully removing the masking. Here is the result. The eagle eyed will notice that there is a tiny spot at the bottom left of the door where the chrome snuck through, but the masking was otherwise successful. You might notice also that the painted trim is the same colour as the door handle, which did not get painted. I think I’m calling this a success!

The hood and front nose were a little easier to mask. Here are their results:

There were a few other parts that needed a chrome finish, including the front and rear licence plate holders. In the picture below, you can see just how much of a mirror finish this stuff gives as you can see the reflection of the other parts in the large rear licence plate holder.

From all the accounts I’ve read to date, there is no clear coat that will not dull this finish. However, if left to cure properly, the final result is quite durable. So, I’m going to leave all of these parts for about a week to ensure they are fully cured before I start handling them again.

In the meantime, I realised that when I ordered my replacement steering wheel from Model Motorcars, I forgot to order the centre hub to go with it (a $6 part). So I bit the bullet the other day and ordered the hub. To spread the hurt for the $16 postage charge, I also ordered a pair of buckles to replace the kit parts on the luggage straps. By the time they get here, the chrome paint should be ready to go.

Beautiful work Ben!

Harder and Steenbeck Airbrushes are very nice (probably at the upper end of the price range). I have the H&S Infinity CR+ and it is an absolute joy to use, as well as being a work of art in itself. Mine came with two needle/nozzle sets - a 0.4mm and a 0.15mm. I’ve only used the 0.4mm to date. It also came with two different sized colour cups - 2mm and 5mm - and I do use both of these.

12 hours ago, Hank said:

Well, that may be a bit hard....after the initial onslaught (I like that word - it connotates terror, mayhem, outright brutality!!!),  in a few days I might be able to rotate my good shoulder around to take a selfie of my upper back....or not - we'll have to see if The Cat makes a 2nd or (hopefully not!) 3rd appearance before the a/c unit is scheduled to arrive next weekend.

You know what they say Hank - if there’s no photo, it didn’t happen...........just sayin’...............

I’ll pull up a chair for this one too Tom - I’ve fond memories of several trips to Venice over the years.

3 hours ago, Hank said:

So, end of next week we'll see what happens!

I want to see the scars from the cat Hank!

I have to agree with Bob - that looks fabulous. Well done!

ROFLMAO! 🤣🤣🤣

The floggings will continue until morale improves!!!

Noting Roger’s comment above Hank, you could justify the A/C as “necessary preventative maintenance” rather than creature comfort. I’m sure the Admiral will understand.........😉

The shop is looking superb BTW.

Nice work MadDog. I don’t think anyone is going to notice your “oops” unless you point it out to them.

Nice job on the frames Sea Hoss. Looks like you’re tackling the challenges in your stride.