1/8 Porsche 935/78 'Moby Dick'

[ScanmanDan]

As always a massive kick to see your progress. Those big old tyres look pretty neat. Too bad you haven't got access to one of the home vinyl cutters like the Silhouette Portrait. You cold easily make some killer low tack masks for your tyres and or bodywork.

Looking forward to the next exciting adventure next week :0 Best long running cliffhanger on the internet. Thanks for sharing and good luck with your stripes.

[prog4ever]

Hi.

For the tyres, I would try someone who could print some nice white ALPS decals and, then, to fix them with Equipe TRON's decal softener for tyres. Works like a charm!

Art

[Niro750]

Work is still looking fantastic. I'm sure a car museum would love to display this. If your other work is similar it would make a fantastic display

[Cormaroman]

Autograph produces a template for 1/8th scale tire markings, but sadly doesn't include Dunlop amongst them! Maybe a quick letter to them might interest them? Just a thought.

Possibly checking with Best Balsa Kits or Grand Prix Models might help? Maybe they can find something laying around in the remainders sections.

Wonderful build!

[ScratchBuilt]

Hello again,

Various things to show you tonight - making progress in various directions! First up, would decals work on the foam tyres? The answer is 'yes':



I painted a section of one of the original tyres, applied a spare fire-bottle decal using some Micro Sol, and was very pleased with the result. A spray of Citadel 'Purity Seal' varnish confirmed that it would eat into the foam, but that it would also give the protection the decals needed.

Next job was to spend an afternoon making a bunch of decals - the original plan was to concentrate on the ones required for the roof section and the tyres, but once underway I pretty much made the whole lot:



At the moment these are all Inkjet printed on white decal paper, but I have the option to print onto clear if necessary. I re-scanned the Tamiya sheet at the highest resolution possible, then copied-and-pasted the appropriate logo into 'Paint' on the PC. I cleaned around the edges, corrected any faults in the colours, then put the logo into 'Word' for printing.

I couldn't work out how to make the straight 'Dunlop' script into a suitable curved version, so I cut each letter from the main decal and applied it separately, again using Micro Sol. A quick coat of Liquid Decal Film, and I then tidied around the edges with Citadel 'Abaddon Black' and a small brush. A final spray of Purity Seal finished them off:



Not too many decals on the roof, but it took a bit of time working out where to position the two 'Teletron' logos on the top. I sprayed the top section with Purity Seal before (and after) applying the decals, but didn't use Micro Sol for these. I still need to make a few bits of detailing for the front - master switch, washer jet, air-jack switch - but these will be added shortly.



Amongst all the work with the decals, I've been making progress with the window frames and glasswork. My original plan was to glue the rear side windows to the outside of the frame, but I wasn't impressed with the result - too much splurge, untidy, etc! So, I re-made the appropriate pieces and will be sandwiching the window behind an outer 'seal' section. Although these were cut from black styrene sheet, I ended up priming and painting with semi-gloss black:





Also shown here is the rectangular section which will cover the vents at the base of the windscreen - more of this next time. The rear window posed a new problem - I wanted to glue it flush into the body, but after the experience with the side window I knew I had to hide the joint. I didn't have the depth to glue another layer of styrene over the top, so went for the option of masking and spraying a black border, about 3mm wide:



It's not glued in yet, but you get the idea. Here's one of the side windows:



I've also been working on the main windscreen; I felt the original version was too think, so re-cut it from 0.5mm clear. I've made some decals for the 'Martini Porsche' sun-strip across the top, and will be trying these out during the week. An interior mirror is in progress too, so my hope is that I will be able to fit the roof at the weekend...

All the best,

SB

[ianc911]

Fantastic! This is my favorite part!

ianc

[mrceej]

Looking sooooooooooooo good!

[jaykay640]

Great progress!

[michel1973]

This amazing build is slowly coming to a end.

[malscar]

Very nice work on the tyres, cutting the letters into individual pieces actually makes it look better.

[Shunter2402]

WOW!!! My tiny little brain cannot take this..stunning work and a true craftsman at work.

[360spider]

This is excellent! What a build - more and more inspiring with every update - keep 'em coming!

[lovegt40]

Always amazing to admire this incredible model

[ScratchBuilt]

Small update tonight, but important developments.

The final job before fitting the roof onto the chassis was to sort out the small details across the base of the windscreen:



From the left we've got the airline nozzle and release handle for the airjack system, the single washer jet, the two spindles for the (one) wiper blade, electrical cut-off switch, and fire-pull. The windscreen has been fettled and fitted, but is waiting for the 'MartiniPorsche' sunband at this point...

Jumping ahead a bit, the air inlets for the turbos were completed by using 'Greenstuff' to create the flexible hose section, complete with clip details:



...but before they can be attached, the roof had to be fitted. So it was!



The turbo pipes were a little scruffy, so I gave them a final airbrush of semi-gloss black, and brush-painted the flexible section. The mesh-covered inlets also received a final spray before fitting.

Attaching the roof was very much a 'point of no return' moment. I remembered to fit the wiper motor and mechanism beforehand, as this would be impossible with the roof in place. No dramas to report, and just a little greenstuff here and there to fill the gaps:



The 'MartiniPorsche' sunband is printed on photo-paper and fitted on the inside of the screen, with a matching strip of black styrene tucked in behind - provides a suitable mounting point for the interior mirror, too. The details at the base of the screen have been painted, as has the wiper blade - but this will be fitted at the very end to avoid possible damage.

All four wheels and tyres have been assembled, so that's another job ticked off the list. The sill extensions have been sprayed with 'Purity Seal' varnish and will be fitted shortly.

So, the main core of the car is very nearly complete. Fit the sills, sort out the doors, add the door latches, fit the front coolers, pipework and exit ducts...that's pretty much it. After that it's bodywork, bodywork and more bodywork! I'm going to have to put more work into the rear sections, some of it planned, some unplanned (unfortunately).

There's a lot of cracking in the filler on the rear wheelarches, for example, which has appeared in the last few weeks - annoying, given that it was applied back in the Spring. I suspect the warm weather we've had in the UK for the last month may be part of the problem, but it needs sorting out before I tackle the stripes. The engine cover was always going to be re-made after going out of shape, so that's something I need to get on with. Now the roof is on I can finalise the fit of all these exterior panels before continuing with the painting.

More next time!

SB

[360spider]

Sorry to hear about the problems. Hope you'll sort it out without too much trouble.
Stunning build.