DocRob
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Everything posted by DocRob
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Due to my own fault, I lost some parts, like the bezel glasses and the very prominent spring fork adjuster, which flew away during polishing and was never seen again. I emailed MFH and a bit more than a week later, I had spare parts along a hand written note, encouraging me to finish the Crocker, nice touch. Today, I added the saddle and the cockpit, after polishing said adjuster and can call my first MFH build finished. It was a pure pleasure build of a well constructed kit, with the chain, being the only troublesome area. It was a fantastic variety to work mainly in metal and be able to not paint everything, instead sand and polish or leave a natural metal finish. Cheers Rob -
Don´t be too frightened, Craig, many of the obstacles during this build have to do with the numerous AM sets used. Some places are a bit confusing, when you have four different manuals in fron of you, not all of them very clear. I´m sure, a lot of the troubles are on me, as I tend to loose interest in a project, when I can´t reach my planned goals. For the gap, I have no explanation, everything looks straight and in right position. The body itself is a bit bent inwards, but that´s not the cause for the problems. It is possible to glue the body to the floor pan without problems, but I wanted the body detachable. Cheers Rob
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After some bits of progress, the MP4/6 project stalls again. It seems to fight me on all cylinders, but maybe it´s just me. Over the last days, I prepared body parts, front and rear wings for painting and in the process, I test fitted the body over the engine and monocoque. There was a huge gap to the lower floor pan. In the progress, some parts from the engine and monocoque cracked loose and the described gap can only be closed with sheer force. It would be possible to glue the body in place, but that was not what I had in mind, with all the detailing and decaling of the innards of the car. I hate to admit it, but the McLaren is getting on my nerves, which is rare with my projects. Normally, I pull through obstacles, but the constant struggle with this kit let my patience vanish. My whole bench is cluttered with the detail sets and all the partly badly and small printed manual sheets, which should be merged during the project. The kit´s manual isn´t to good either. But the neck breaker was the GAP, which you can see on the pics. I absolutely wanted a removable body and that´s not possible at all, so back on the shelf. Cheers Rob
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Spitfire Mk.Ia by davec - FINISHED - Kotare - 1/32 - PLASTIC
DocRob replied to davec's topic in Non-ship/categorised builds
The AK matte effect thinner is exactly what I use, I didn´t specify, because I thought this must be common stuff and available from other brands too. I use it with my Abteilung oils and can therefore not comment about how it works with W&N oils. The Abteilung oil colors behave exactly like other oil colors, I had used though, so I believe, the AK matte effect thinner should be usable. Cheers Rob -
Spitfire Mk.Ia by davec - FINISHED - Kotare - 1/32 - PLASTIC
DocRob replied to davec's topic in Non-ship/categorised builds
The interior looks fantastic, Dave. I hear you about detailing and problem free construction, as I have a Kotare Spit in my stash as well and planned to build it soon. Since a while, I use Tamiya panel line washes rarely, because of the hard to clean residues. I prefer oil colors, thinned with matte thinner, which flows equally good and cleans up much easier. Cheers Rob -
I added the front suspension and the carbon side air intakes with some electronic device detail, but decided against wiring them. The engine and car bottom are not finally attached to the monocoque. For the next steps, I prepared the air intakes for the brakes, which needed to be decaled with carbon pattern decals. When you apply the decals to the sides of the intakes, they are slightly oversized, but with some doses of Mr. Mark softer and hot air from the hairdryer, the start to contour around the edges and the mid section can be applied the same way. Time consuming, but it works and the carbon decals behave good and are not to brittle. The carbon thread pattern looks absolutely beautiful in black and anthracite. I also finished the brake calipers with Titanium gold, some black panel line wash and finally the tiny Brembo markings. Cheers Rob
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After a long pause and the Crocker motorcycle near finished, I thought, I could finish a started build and continue with the McLaren. This project fought me from the beginning and in deep contrast with the Crocker, it continues to do so, but I want to have the kit off the bench or bin it. I finished the cockpit, using many parts from a Studio 27 detail set. The switchbox and it´s steering mechanism came out good enough, but was extremely fiddly. The steering wheel was even more complex and I used the kit part, which was not too shabby. The seat belts are completely wrong and should be black, but the Studio 27 belts tested my patience too much and I used a Tamiya set. These look a bit toyish and were so shiny, that I flat coated the seat assembly. Well if you don´t look to close, it might work . Cheers Rob
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The engine looks fantastic, Gary. Exhaust seem always to be a bit vague with their attachment points with these old Tamiya F1 kits. I had similar issues, with my Renault Turbo kit and brass pinned some of the parts. It had only six cylinders luckily, but the turbo tubing lacks the good fitting as well. Cheers Rob
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1968 Pontiac Firebird by CDW - Revell - 1:25 Scale - PLASTIC
DocRob replied to CDW's topic in Completed non-ship models
Came out very nice, Craig, a very elegant form of heavy metal. Cheers Rob -
Thank you Ken, I´m blushing, but lots of your praise should be directed to MFH for engineering this fantastic kit. If you have the basic skillset and patience, everybody can produce a very beautiful result from that base. The kit was expensive, but I had two months of pure fun and now I know, I can handle MFH kits, something I was unsure before I began. Cheers Rob
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Very nice progress Gary, the engine looks extremely good. Is this net over the air intakes a solid part? I have to build the same engine for my Brabham BT44 and have added a set of metal trumpets and real mesh from MFH. One thing about decals, if they are taking the usual solutions not so well, applied heat with a hairdryer may help, but best to be tested on a spare decal. Cheers Rob
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Yup, Craig these gauges are made up beautifully. You can choose between two decals with different mileage, who wood have thought . Placement of the layers is a bit delicate though, as the PE and decals have to match perfectly, not so easy, when using CA. Next time I may use thinned white glue for this task. Today, I paid my replacement parts, so in a week, I may have them. until then, I have to decide, If I install the PE hands, before adding the acetate glazing. The price of MFH kits is shocking at first sight, but if you want to build a similar detailed 1/12 F1 kit basing on a Tamiya kit with all the Studio 27 galore, the difference is not that big anymore. The only aftermarket item, I used was a bit of tin foil from a wine cap. You are right about the availability of the kits. I scan their web site frequently and that´s how I found that the Ferrari 512 TRI was re-released and bought it. I guess, the total numbers of production aren´t that high, the way the kits are produced. A while ago, I found two videos about how they produce their kits and found them very interesting. Here is a link to part one: The price, well, you pay a lot for something really special and you have to decide if it´s worth it. To me, buying directly from MFH proved to be the best and cheapest way, in the end 20% to 30% less than from other online shops. Cheers Rob
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Today, I attached the foot rest, and finished the instrument panel, which is a little kit in itself. The main instrument consist from different PE layers, which receive decals then, to add some depth to it, nice touch, MFH. As the fuel tank is polished, I decided to only brush finish the IP for a bit of contrast. There are also tiny PE hands for the main instrument, but I´m not sure, if I use them. Then, I airbrushed the saddle with semi matte black, after some relatively less thinned black Mr. Surfacer 1000, to achieve a tiny bit of grainy finish to simulate the leather. Afterwards, I inserted tiny rivets around the saddle, which was extremely tedious. With the last rivet, I smeared a tiny dot of CA glue onto the saddle and will have to finish it again. Maybe, I will use the hairspray method for this, airbrushing flat black on top and then rub partly away, for a slight worn finish. The seat is not finally attached in the pics. I hope, MFH reacts soon and I can purchase the missing parts. Other than that, the Crocker is near ready, but I hope the bad mojo of the last days doesn´t carry over to the next built, as it already spoilt this builds end. Cheers Rob
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Thank you Alan, I like to follow good build logs a lot, as they helped me multiple times with my own builds. I always try to remember, what would have been my questions or points of interest, when I write down my progress and let some emotions flow in, as it´s a hobby and meant to be fun, which is not always the case unlikely. None the least, I write logs for myself as well, as I have very diverted interests in modeling and try a lot of different techniques through my builds. When I try to replicate a technique earlier used, I have the older logs and gather information and can even improve those techniques. Cheers Rob
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Despite some progress, today was kickback time. In the morning it dawned to me, that I haven´t seen the round clear acetate instrument glazings for a while and after a very long search it was confirmed, they were gone . After that, I installed various bits and pieces around the handlebar. Among them the very prominent finely engraved and polished large head nut, which seems to pre-tension the fork suspension. When I wanted to glue it in place, I saw a tiny dot of CA, which was left by my fingerprint. Back to polishing, but guess what, the part flew away, never to be seen again . I heard it hit somewhere in my shelf and searched for more than two hours without finding it, browsing through all the tools and boxes there. I´m pretty frustrated now and will reach out to MFH, to ask for spares to purchase and drown my bad mood with some Manhattan´s Anyhow, that´s how the Crocker looks now. Cheers Rob
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Thank you both, it is indeed a stunning bike. Me not being a great admirer of American two wheeled heavy metal, have to say, the Crocker is a pure beauty, something like the essence of American bike design of it´s time. @Egilman, I will try to find my white background later or do some outdoor pics in later stages of the build. Cheers Rob
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Some major steps got done, as I married the ready assembled fork with the rest of the bike. Alignment of the various parts connecting the fork struts was a bit fiddly, as you had to join a dozen tiny pegs into their holes, while adding CA glue all at the same time. The electric wires for the horn and headlight should be wrapped around tiny bolts, which I couldn´t do. I drilled three millimeter holes into said bolts and glued the wires in, after threading them through. The headlight got polished, as is the reflector for a nice and bright appearance. Cheers Rob
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I added more of the crockeristics, beginning with the stands. There is one for the rear end and a side stand, which are both movable. I will see, If the side stand will hold the bike, when ready, as it feels pretty heavy now. It is also becoming difficult to handle, with all those parts added. For the stands, 1,4 diameter mm screws were used. I drilled 1,2 mm holes into the white metal and used a 1,5 mm drill bit to drill a cone into the opening. With a good fitting screw driver, it´s now possible to screw direct into the relatively soft metal. The tank, with it´s various fittings was added. The fuel tank caps were made from chrome plated white metal, which didn´t look too good, having marks in the surface, so I polished them. The shifting lever got it´s counterpart below the tank connected with a shifting rod. The mid section with the instruments is only added loosely as a guide for now. Next is some plumbing, connecting all the fuel lines and other wiring, before I will turn to the front fork. Cheers Rob
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Thank you Ken, the white metal is absolutely not brittle. It´s soft and good to work with. The chain is a combination of white metal rods and PE chain links, which are "bolted" in a jig. The nature of the miniature size of the involved parts make it so fragile and you can only hope that nothing breaks after assembling. Luckily, there is a lug casted onto the rear wheel hub, hindering the wheel to spin. That could easily destroy the chain during handling. I´m happy now this is behind me and the build continues to be what it should a fun experience. Cheers Rob
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The chain haunted me again, when I fitted the polished sprocket housing. This part connects three principal areas of the bike and only the slightest bending or misalignment leads to not fitting exactly, where it belongs. To correct this, I pried the chain loose from the sprocket and cut away some more links to enhance the wiggle room for the cover and glued it in place finally, hiding the missing chain links. Next were the exhausts parts, which were also polished before. For this, I used the green side of a sponge first, followed by very fine steel wool and finally a cotton rotating tool on my Proxxon with Autosol polishing paste. The fitting was very good and a relief after the chain. Finally, I added some more wires leading from the chain guard to the fuel tank, the braking wire with it´s delicate to install return spring and last, the starter with it´s real rubber pads. Here is another shot, with the fuel tank loosely added: Cheers Rob
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That´s why I added the Falcon resin chain set to my RC166 kit, Craig. If I can avoid single link bike chains, I will do so. Cheers Rob
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Thank you Craig, but this phase of the build was really nerve wrecking. When the chain breaks somewhere, there is no easy fix to that, as it´s already bolted. The chain itself is relatively fragile and I was overly lucky, when I had it mounted without further breakage. Cheers Rob
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There is hope finally. I liked the setting a lot, Chris and would have liked to add it into my Sphinx´s cabin. BTW: you mentioned a fat lady, I wouldn´t be in the least offended if there was a Duchess of Kingston, who mustn´t be fat at all in 1/64 . Cheers Rob
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I finished the chain, which almost finished me beforehand . It was a challenge and test of patience and I would wish a resin chain for future MFH bike kits. Building the four strings of chain into the jig proved to be not a big problem, but connecting these strings proved very difficult. In the process of trying, I broke the chain on another place, true nightmare, because it was already flat bolted by that time. After a lot of trying and careful sanding, I glued the link together with CA. After that, I somehow assembled the full length of the chain miraculously, I didn´t had it in me to join the chain without a jig and glued it to the sprocket, as it´s not supposed to turn in any case. The good news, the chain link count in the manual is exactly correct, a thing rarely seen with tank tracks in kits. The side of the fenders look terribly on the pics, but that must be the lighting. Cheers Rob
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Today, I assembled more than half of the chain. Again the design by MFH helps a lot, but the work is eye straining and tedious. The last links felt more difficult, a clear sign of fatigue. Thirty chain white metal chain axles, connected by a cast sprue will be set into a pre drilled jig. Then you add the intersecting PE links, which are luckily only adhesive fixed to the foil and dosen´t need to be cut from the PE fret. When one side is finished, the heads of the bolts are pressed flat with a pair of pliers. One side done: The chain will be flipped over in the jig and the second side gets mounted like the first. Here are both sides done. Then you cut the white metal sprue away with a sharp nipper and you have 30links made. The last pic shows two sets of 30 joined together in the jig. Cheers Rob
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