Hi all,

Sorry if this is a repost! I do have to hand it to the builders though, it does look like above average craftmanship! HAHA, they even replicated the tub, but in fiberglass........ Before you look, the url is in a .pl, which I am guessing is polish, so be prepared to not be able to read the pages..... :disappoin


http://forum.tuning.info.pl/viewtopic.php?t=68183&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Not the worst I've seen.........

link
(http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=19796)

Bit of a mixed bag some bits very good and others just dire, at least he has gone for the original seating layout, wonder where he got the windscreen from?

LOL, It's near my city. I'm from Poland. I can translate into english if it's necessary. Please write to me request :).


There are some interesting facts:
- it's only hobby, 5 person involved
- engine is BMW V12 but increased engine cubic capacity above 6L and 618KM (in one car),
- in engine they have to plan to replace 3 computers as 1 one with setting via laptop.
- body car is kevlar, doors and bumper - glass mat because body car is hard to replacement
- they have plan to build in triplicate (one for one owner)
- in some photos you see that small model car is destroyed - fell small piece of roof (sheet metal with ice - in winter)
- for model used: 500kg rods, pipes, square's profile
- lot of information for car-builders.. good ideas..
Plan:
- weight the same as original or less!
- create 3 prototypes with engine:
1) A8 + automat,
2) A8 lub S8+tiptronic,
3) v8 4,2 + manual, next replacement to BMW V12

carbuilder2002:
Some person asked about the windscreen - he said: it was fitted from very rare car - not produced car. He don't want say from which..
In first stage, he did project model with fitted all windows and the windscreen.


BR
PaulEU

Now that it's so well-publicized, I wonder if McLaren's lawyers are booking a trip to Poland.

As the F1 is now over 15 years old it will be much harder for the lawyers to do a great deal about it, saying that he may well be liable to pay some very hefty fees in order to use certain aspects of the design etc.

If he had made a replica with his own efforts, yes, it would be very hard to do anything about it, unless he infringed on some patent. Using their body molds (which he has clearly done), though, exposes him to some serious liability.

I was not suggesting he would get away with it scott free, as there are so many ways they can exact as you say liability for copyright infringement etc. but even that has a limited life span, not sure if its 10, 15 or 25 years here in the UK, no idea about Poland

McLaren's lawyers won't do anything.

McLaren's lawyers won't do anything.

HI all,

Why do u think that?

As long as he doesn't try to sell it and it has only been built for personal use, there's not much they can do. Even if he did want to sell it, as long as he wasn't infringing on their actual trademarks with a McLaren name or badging I still think he'd probably be okay. At the end of the day an effort on this level is just not worth their time to pursue either way.

>8^)
ER

I agree with peloton for a one off and an individual it would not be worth the expense, if it were a company with decent assets then may be different. Even 3 friends building for themselves still not a decent return on any action. After all it's unlikely it could be passed off as an original.

Reading the Polish forum translated by Google. Makes an interesting read.:screwy:

The Polish guy built a 1 to 1 body form by copying his 1/18th Burago model (shown in a pic). Shame the detailing is a bit off on this model, as can be seen in his full size replica. I allways wondered what would happen if you scaled up a model toy, now I know!!

Also the windscreen is totally incorrect, this being from another car:nono: which spoils the effect somewhat. Looks like a Ferrari 512bb screen to me.

Give them full marks for trying, at least they can have some fun.

Not sure if there are any F1,s in Poland, or any ever being there, so these guys may not have ever seen a real F1 in the carbon so to speak.

I,m sure McLaren,s lawyers will not be after them, As long as they do not produce them as kits. They have got plenty on their minds as it is with the FIA hearing tomorrow.

all good points, but i have a very hard time believing he did not have access to some original molds. scaling up a kit would require some serious computing machinery/jigs etc., to get the proportions as close as he has gotten in 3 dimensions, at least in the front and sides. i think he is just saying that, and looking at pics of his sheds, i don't see any evidence of advanced projection machinery or jigs or 3d scanners. besides, if he got them scanned in and scaled up in a computer, he would need a pretty nice set of machine tools to "render" the molds or final forms. it looks like it has been laid up by hand and rubbed down--sorry, i don't buy his story.

i don't care if mclaren lawyers go after him or not, but i don't buy his story for a second. i can believe he did that for the rear, maybe, but definitely not for the front.

and if i am wrong, wow, he's even more skilled than i thought.

Obviously goes to show that if you really put your mind to it combined with skills and a bit of artistry, anything is possible.

It's not the most accurate, but it is the most reasonable copy to date.

Those men have skills, coachbuilding the old fashion way - by hand. "A" for craftsmanship. Now we'll just have wait and see how well it's executed as a finished product.

Having worked for many years as a Prototype Builder/Modeler I can assure you it is quite possible to scare up a model so long as the model is acurate to begin with, granted the referemce points will need to be as close together as is practical but 54mm grid (equating to 3mm on an 1:18 scale model) would enable what has been producet to be readily achievable wich some care and effort. In fact when I was considering doing likewise I was contemplating 1mm slices of a UT model giving an 18mm grid.

Good point. I guess it is possible without the original molds. But wouldn't you need some fairly advanced 3d scanning equipment, or would some jig that magnifies the movements of a pen over an irregular surface in a grid pattern work well enough?

Methods I have used to enlarge a prototype scale model are to cut it into slices, depending on the equipment available you can dogitise the profiles or as you say use a pantograph stylus and very fine point pen, the aim is to reduce any distortion. You then get sheets of polustyrene or better still a specialist blocking foam in the thickness equivalent to your slices, these are then cutt o the same profiles as the model slices and stuck together.
Granted there is always some distortion as the profiles do not have a tapered face but if you work on the biggest side of the slice when you smooth the form off you should get something within probably 5mm total deviation of the actual theoretical size.
Have I prompted a landslide of F1 replicas here?