Hello again,
I decided that rather than wait until Sunday for my next update, I'd do it tonight - I know I'm not going to get any meaningful modelling done this evening, whereas on Sunday I might be on a roll...
So, time to bite the bullet and trim some more out of the topshell - with the rear quarterlights removed, I could get better access to the wing panels. First a (very) rough-cut:
I've left a small section in place to give the side a little support, and you can see where I've started to mark out the positioning for the pillar. With a bit more trimming and fettling, I had this:
...oh yes, and the rear window was removed, too! I CA'd some 3mm x 0.75mm styrene strip to the inside of the shell beforehand to give it some strength - you can see how thin the fibreglass is behind the rear quaterlight cut-out.
The rear edge has been extended with styrene to create the lip where the engine cover will sit - I'd considered doing this as another small fibreglass moulding, but decided it wasn't worth the effort (or the delay). Once it's all filled and primered, I don't see it being a problem - especially as it will all be hidden below the extra rear bodywork added later.
My current job is to continue adding to the lip around the rear window:
I'll build it up with layers of styrene strip, then give the fibreglass edge a final trim to get it in shape. Across the upper edge you can see an inset piece which will give me the series of small vents which were a feature on these older 911's. I simply cut eleven 2mm lengths of channel section and glued them end-to-end. So, we'll see how far I get with it this weekend...
Most of last weekend was spent down at Thruxton circuit, for the final two rounds of our FF2000 championship. I know I've mentioned this before, but I always feel guilty that I don't post many photos of my racing activities - until today!
First, here's the Van Diemen RF82 FF2000 I've been looking after for the last couple of years:
Mmmmm...new tyres! This was first-thing in the morning before we went out for qualifying, so the car is looking clean and tidy. Here's the grid in the collecting area before going out on track:
We had 23 cars out for this meeting, which was good going for us - our normal grids this year have been somewhat less! For those of you not familiar with UK circuits, Thruxton is a quick place - lots of fast sweeping corners, with only a chicane and a small 'complex' to break things up. As they don't have much testing available, it's one of those places where experience counts for a lot!
Here's the collecting area afterwards:
Fortunately our three cars survived the day in one piece, and two of our drivers took three trophies between them - so it was a good way to finish the season. Next year, I really must take more photos...
Before I go, a couple of follow-ups from recent posts: Greg23 - yes, there's a few Mars reference books on the shelves, but it's nothing unusual, honest! I've had a casual interest since reading Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars books a few years ago (which also resulted in a few books on Antarctica on the shelves, too...) and it's remarkable that we're now driving those rovers around out there!
To Howarddrive - ready in 2014? Maybe the Porsche factory LMP1 will be...but I suspect it'll probably be early 2015 for the Moby Dick, to be honest! I know from the 908 that even though I had 95% of the components
made at the start of 2011, it took all year to get everything painted and assembled. From where I am now, I
know I won't have this amount of parts ready by the end of next year, so completion in 2014 is unlikely...
That's it for tonight - have a good week, everyone.
SB