Hello Again!
One week later than planned, but here's the WIP for my current project - a 1/8 scratch-built Porsche 908/03. This car was originally raced in 1970 and 1971 as an alternative to the 917 on the Targa Florio and Nurburgring 1000km, where lighter weight and improved manoeuvrability counted for more than outright power and speed. For now, my plan is to make one of the original 1970 cars - probably painted in Gulf colours - but there's plenty of time to make changes.
Work started in late November 2008, so if my previous Porsches are anything to go by, this should be in the 'Completed Project' gallery sometime in late 2010...
Here's the basic chassis frame (3/32", 1/8" and 5/32" plastic tubing):
I use a large 14" x 10" bathroom tile as a base-plate for my chassis-work; the lower frame tubes are drawn accurately on thin card, and this is taped to the tile. I then use a selection of Lego bricks and plates held down with double-sided tape to position the plastic tubes and ensure everything stays square and true whilst I'm gluing. As the chassis grows I can add more Lego to support and align the new tubes; once the key points are fixed, the diagonals can be added 'free-hand'.
So far there's enough of the chassis completed to allow me to make progress with the rest of the model. There's still a section to add which will support the rear bodywork, but this will only get in the way if I fit it now. Similarly, there are a few more tubes needed above the footwell and the around the front wheel-area, plus the main roll-over hoop; these will wait until I have some bodywork to fit.
Pedal assembly:
The master cylinders need to be finished and a few plastic hex-nuts added for detail (thanks for the hex-section, Hiroboy!), but they're well underway. I tend to leave painting the sub-assemblies until much later in the project, just in case I need to make modifications. For car tires, you can check:
Autobarn Catalogue and for drinks, you can check out:
Woolworths Catalogue
Next up, the engine:
Having worked out the basic measurements on paper, I made the core structure from various square and rectangular-sections. This replicates the main block / cylinder barrels section of the actual engine; the cam-boxes can then be added each side, the inlet and fan detail to the top, sump detail to the bottom, etc. The 8-cylinder engine in the 908 has much in common with the larger flat-12 in the 917, but it's different enough to make it a fresh modelling challenge.
Here the cam-boxes have been added, plus the early stages of the timing-chain drives at the front of the engine:
Here you can see the engine core dropped into the chassis frame - it's going to be snug once it's all built-up, but everything should fit okay.
I'm currently continuing with the engine, building-up the block and sump detailing so that sometime soon I can start on the inlet trumpets and fan shroud. The exhaust system can wait until later in the project - it's probably easier than bending real exhaust pipes, but it's always a job that I leave until I'm in the right mood! I keep reminding myself that at least I'm only having to make eight pipes, eight inlet trupets, etc, rather the the twelve sets on the 917's...
I hope this is of interest for now. I'll try to keep the updates semi-regular, but it's going to be a long haul. Any questions - please ask!
Thanks for looking.
ScratchBuilt