Automotive Forums .com - the leading automotive community online! Automotive Forums .com - the leading automotive community online!
Automotive Forums .com - the leading automotive community online! 
-
Latest | 0 Rplys
Go Back   Automotive Forums .com Car Chat > Automotive Art > Car Modeling > WIP - Motorsports
WIP - Motorsports Post topics for any "Work In Process" motorsports vehicles in this sub-forum.
Reply Show Printable Version Show Printable Version | Email this Page Email this Page | Subscription Subscribe to this Thread
 
Thread Tools
Old 03-03-2023, 09:48 AM   #136
Robi J
AF Enthusiast
 
Robi J's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Monza
Posts: 1,150
Thanks: 21
Thanked 56 Times in 38 Posts
Re: 1/8 Porsche 956

Impressive job...!!! I love your ability and the use of multiple raw material. Wow...
Robi J is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-21-2023, 04:54 PM   #137
ScratchBuilt
AF Enthusiast
Thread starter
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Norwich
Posts: 648
Thanks: 21
Thanked 111 Times in 87 Posts
Re: 1/8 Porsche 956

Hello again,

...and I've now realised there's a few things I was working on in early February that I've not included in this update. No problem - I'll add it into the next one.

I've spent the last month or so getting some painting underway! I know it will sound funny, but I had to get my head into 'painting mode' rather than 'building mode' - I haven't done any airbrushing since I finished the Moby Dick at the end of 2018, for example, so there's been a re-stocking of Tamiya acrylics, paint jars, thinners, etc, plus I've had to expand my range of Games Workshop 'Citadel Colour' paints for drybrushing. The GW range has been expanded and re-named in the last few years, with different formulations for base colours, layers, specfic drybrushing colours, etc, so - as you'll see shortly - I've been putting together a racecar-friendly selection.

To get back into the groove, I started with some small parts - pedals, brackets, master cylinders, etc:



Engine front mounting:



Engine fan main cover and fire bottles:



Driveshaft boots, steering wheel:



With all these parts (except for the red) I've started with an aerosol grey primer, then airbrushed with Tamiya flat black, semi-gloss black, rubber black, or medium sea grey to suit. The different blacks don't show too well in the photos, but it's there - the steering wheel, for example, is semi-gloss black for the centre spokes, then rubber black for the rim with a very light dusting of semi-gloss to bring it back to a 'black' rather than 'dark grey'. The fan shroud and fire bottles received a white primer, then TS-31 Bright Orange, then X-7 Red.

After the initial primer and medium grey airbrushing, the pedals, etc, were drybrushed with assorted GW greys and metallics , with some 'Astrogranite' textured paint for the pedal pads. My main colour pallette for this stage is shown below:



I've ended up with eight different metallic grey / silvers, seven different pale greys through to off-whites, three light browns, and three metallic golds, so depending on what I'm painting I can work through the range and build up a suitable finish. I think some of the main engine parts, for example, have probably had seven or eight applications of different colours...

Before starting on the main engine block and associated parts, I wanted to see how my photoetch radiator mesh would behave after painting. I applied a white spray-primer to the mesh separately, then assembled the gearbox oil cooler:



Then airbrushed with flat black and semi-gloss black:



...and I'm very pleased with the result. The primer hasn't clogged-up the photoetch detailing, so I can now look to continuing the main rads and coolers (which will be silver in colour, rather than black).

The engine block, cam drive-train, head components, etc, have all received probably more paint than anything else to this point. Again, grey primer, flat black, then medium sea grey, then drybrushing with GW colours:







It's strange - in real life you don't really notice the texture building-up on some of these parts, but it's quite obvious in the photos...and I really like it. These are mainly cast surfaces, so they're not supposed to be super-smooth metallics. Choosing the 'correct' colours is a different story, however - you can look at multiple reference photos of 956/962 engines, and there's quite a variety of shades and colourings for the block, cam covers, etc. My engine will probably end up as a combination of several sources, but I definitely wanted to keep the red fibreglass from the early factory cars!

Now I've got some parts painted, I've been able to start assembly:



I've fitted the upper and lower sections of the heads, and the cam-chain boxes on the front of the engine. The air ducts have been painted and fitted between the cylinder barrels, too.

The fibreglass and cam covers have not yet been glued in place, but I had to put it all together for the photos:





A little bit of rectification required around the oil pumps on the front! I'm using GW 'Grey Knights Steel' to pick out a lot of the nut and bolt detailing, as it's a really bright 'chrome' metallic (in my opinion, anyway). Those Wave Option hex nuts have come a long way from Japan, so I want to make sure people see them!

Clearly, I'm making progress - it's been a productive few weeks. I've got the inlet manifold parts underway in paint too, so I can continue assembling and detailing. Then it's the water pumps, throttle mechanism, fuel system, etc, and the parts to be painted will get smaller and smaller! I'm trying to keep my focus on the engine for now, but I'm hoping it won't be too long before I can start on the gearbox and bellhousing module. With a long Easter weekend coming up in a couple of weeks I can get all sorts of things done, but it'll need a little planning.

More next time!

SB
ScratchBuilt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-22-2023, 02:45 PM   #138
ianc911
AF Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Redwood City, California
Posts: 651
Thanks: 0
Thanked 39 Times in 39 Posts
Re: 1/8 Porsche 956

Yay! Paint! lookin' fab of course!
ianc911 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-15-2023, 07:18 AM   #139
Mofetudo
AF Newbie
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: El Prat
Posts: 1
Thanks: 1
Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Re: 1/8 Porsche 956

There are no words to define all this.
Mofetudo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-23-2023, 01:19 PM   #140
Midnight Creep
AF Newbie
 
Midnight Creep's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 57
Thanks: 7
Thanked 8 Times in 7 Posts
Re: 1/8 Porsche 956

Hi SB,


Nice work on the paint job so far.


It is always exciting after so much work / time to start painting.


Can't wait till i get so far.


Succes with the rest of the paint job.
__________________
Thx for watching, Greetz Peter
Midnight Creep is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-09-2023, 03:41 PM   #141
ScratchBuilt
AF Enthusiast
Thread starter
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Norwich
Posts: 648
Thanks: 21
Thanked 111 Times in 87 Posts
Re: 1/8 Porsche 956

Hello, again!

It has been a very productive few weeks - my lack of regular updates has mainly been due to wanting to continue getting things done on the build, rather than a lack of anything to show. The various Bank Holiday long weekends we've had recently have also helped to move things along.

So, at Easter I prepared and started painting various parts, including the gearbox and module:



As with the engine, these had a grey primer basecoat, then Tamiya flat black, then medium grey. After this, I spent time working through the various GW silvers and metallics:



These are not finished though - the exact colouring of these parts varies greatly from car to car (various combinations of greys /metallics, off-browns, bright gold, and others) so I'm undecided at the moment as to what spec to go with. Ideally I'll match the colouring to whatever livery I eventually go with, but you don't always have the photo references to make this possible.

I also painted some of the small parts at this time - mounting brackets for the fire bottles, starter motor, rear air jack parts, etc:



These are all still in the early stages and will need more work. The starter motor started as white styrene, received a grey primer coat, then was sprayed white. The towing loop on the bottom of the airjack will need to be re-masked and will be painted bright red.

With this new batch of painting underway, I returned to assembling the engine. Much thought was given to getting the sequence correct, as there was plenty of potential for fitting the wrong part too early, and therefore making life very complicated! So, I made and painted the fan housing strap, fitted the fan housing, made sure that the fan itself was set at the correct depth to make the pulleys align, assembled the fuel filters onto the mounting plate, fitted the mounting plate to the red fan shroud, then fixed the shroud in place by fitting the two water rails that run across the top of the heads. Phew!



Now I could fit the intake manifolds...but not before painting and fitting the throttle linkage parts that connect the manifolds together. After that it was time to start finalising the throttle rod that runs across the top of the engine:



The next few photos are a bit fast-forward by a couple of weeks, but show what I've been doing. With the manifolds secured, the next job was to start adding the fuel injection components and fuel supply. Most of these parts had been made a while ago, but could only be finished off at this stage. The little tabs on the fuel rails were particularly fiddly to apply, but are needed to attach the wiring for the injectors:



This weekend I've started painting and adding some of the pipe fittings. I've airbrushed these with flat ali, then picked out the blue and red sections with Tamiya clears, then lightly applied GW paints to make everything look a little more 'solid' but still with a hint of the anodised finish of the real parts. I think it works, but I'm not looking forward to painting all the other fittings I've made!



This final shot of the engine gives a better view of the throttle mechanism and the fuel rails. I've fitted the black manifold pressure collector, and added the pipework to the base of each intake manifold (complete with hoseclip detailing). I'm now working on two folded ali brackets which will support the fuel pressure regulators. Simple enough in theory, but tricky in practice - the regulators sit at an angle, compared to where the brackets attach to the manifold. I should have these finished in the next few days, and add the missing pipework on the left-hand side. After that I want to get the injector wiring fitted before adding the plenums to the top of each inlet stack...



The final thing to show in this update is more painting...but it's quite significant. I've started painting the tub and panelling:







I've used the same procedure on all these parts - primer, flat black, flat ali, 3600 micromesh, flat ali, 6000 micromesh, chrome silver, 8000 micromesh, then a final coat of chrome silver. I'm now experimenting with running some GW 'Soulblight Grey' into the joints and around the rivet strips, to create a little more contrast between the flat panels and the detailing. I don't necessarily want everything to look pristine and box-fresh, but at the same time I don't want it to be heavily weathered and looking like it's just done 24 hours at Le Mans!

Compared to my previous projects this is all a bit of a step into the unknown, so apologies in advance if I'm doing things in what may seem to be an odd way. "Why not use Alclad paints", I hear you cry! The honest answer is: I don't know enough about them. I don't know how easy they are to use, how they react with other paints, whether they need special treatment after spraying, etc. For now I'm happy enough with the results I can get from the Tamiya acrylics - maybe Alclad is something to investigate for a future project...

Of course, by getting the tub painted like this (and the dashboard section, and the upper nosebox panels, etc), this now opens up the way to start adding the pedals, etc, into the footwell, fitting the damper cross-beam, adding the master cylinders to the front, and generally moving the build on. It's a big step (for me) but it had to be done - even with the engine and drivetrain assembly to work with, not being able to start assembling the tub would soon be a problem.

That's all for tonight. Thanks for reading!

SB
ScratchBuilt is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to ScratchBuilt For This Useful Post:
mrgixxer (05-10-2023)
Old 05-25-2023, 03:26 PM   #142
Midnight Creep
AF Newbie
 
Midnight Creep's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 57
Thanks: 7
Thanked 8 Times in 7 Posts
Re: 1/8 Porsche 956

Hi SB,



That engine is looking great with the colors on it.


I have a question: I want to create the tyres for my model teh same away as u do.
When using the circle cutter are u rotating it at high speed or slow speed.


Right now i have the circle cutters like the one u used on the Moby Dick car and tried it for the first time.


I dont have a fixed drill so it wasnt a straight cut but that can be solved.
The bigger problem was the "grabbing" from the drill into the foam and not getting a "clean" cut.
I guess using the adjustable circle cutter u might have the same problem but solved it somehow.
__________________
Thx for watching, Greetz Peter
Midnight Creep is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2023, 04:30 AM   #143
ScratchBuilt
AF Enthusiast
Thread starter
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Norwich
Posts: 648
Thanks: 21
Thanked 111 Times in 87 Posts
Re: 1/8 Porsche 956

Hello Peter,

On my earlier models I used hole-saw cutters to make the foam tyres, but I found the adjustable 'compass-cutter' type as I was starting the Moby Dick:



The fixed hole-saws are okay if they're the correct sizes for the tyres you want to make, but this isn't always possible. They cut oversize too, so you have to allow for this. The adjustable compass-cutter is much better - it's easier to get the exact size you want and the finish of the cut is better.

I bought a really cheap bench drill in 2003-ish, and all I've ever used it for is to make tyres, and to mill foam! It's set at the slowest speed - 600rpm. It only has 50mm of travel, so at 1:8 scale I can't always go all the way through on a single pass from one side. However, this isn't a big problem as the outside surface will be cleaned up during the shaping process, and the inside needs to stay connected so I can put the tyre on a bolt to spin it.

I do as much of the cutting as I can with the tyres still part of the main foam block, to keep my hands safe!



Once I've done all the detail shaping on the exterior of the tyre, I can knock out the unwanted centre section and it's ready to fit onto the wheel.

I haven't tried using the compass-cutter in a hand-drill - I'm sure it's possible, but it could be a bit 'exciting'! If you can't make it work, send me some measurements and I'll make some tyres for you.

All the best,

SB
ScratchBuilt is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to ScratchBuilt For This Useful Post:
Midnight Creep (05-27-2023)
Old 06-26-2023, 02:28 PM   #144
ScratchBuilt
AF Enthusiast
Thread starter
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Norwich
Posts: 648
Thanks: 21
Thanked 111 Times in 87 Posts
Re: 1/8 Porsche 956

Hello again,

Since the last update I've mainly been working on the front end of the tub, but before getting to that I just wanted to show one photo of the engine after adding some of the fuel injector wiring:



I've added the folded ali mounting plates for the two fuel pressure regulators, too. I stopped working on the engine before the end of May - mainly because I wanted a change, but also because I wanted to do more research on the wiring and pipework. Fortunately for me, last week I was able to acquire multiple packets of 'Top Studio' braided line in various small sizes, so I can now plan on incorporating some of this into the engine plumbing. Hopefully I can still use all of the hose end-fittings I made earlier in the year...!

Spraying the various tub panels (and the tub itself) gave me fresh enthusiasm for starting the assembly process...so I did:

First job - fit the extension to the front bulkhead, add the pedals and footrest, then the damper mounting beam and bracketry:



...also add some of the outer panels, steering rack, then make and fit the lower section of the damper mounting beam:



I re-masked the tub to spray the damper mounts to match the rest. A quick test-fit of the dash-hoop and top panel to make sure everything was still aligned properly:



Before fitting the dashboard hoop I wanted to add the turbo boost-control knob and some electrical boxes to the underside:



Much easier to do this 'off the car' rather than once fitted. There's a couple of small electrical boxes with wiring that are now fitted to the two small patches where I've removed the paint, and I still need to add some more generic cabling, etc, to run from the under-dashboard area into the holes in the tub. I've also fitted the mounting block for the steering column.

With the dashboard hoop fitted, I could assemble the front anti-roll bar and fix it in place:



The bar itself is able to pivot and twist on the mountings, but the left-hand end is also magnetised in place, and can be removed if necessary.

All I need to do now before fitting the upper panelling is to fix the pedals in place and add some more cabling and pipework, but I'll probably leave them off for a while anyway - it won't stop me from making progress with other things.

I spent most of this last weekend adding more panels to the tub, and the two sideframes which will support the lower bodywork (and give me somewhere I can lift and hold the car once finished!):



The support frames aren't painted as they'll be completely hidden from view in time. Some of the outer panels have been 'adjusted' slightly during the fitting process, so there's a little tidying-up to be done on a few of the edges.

From the front:



This now opens up possibilities for adding more detailing to the back of the tub ahead of the engine, the roll-cage on top, the support frames for the rads and coolers, etc. I always have the worrying feeling of whether I'm rushing things, but it's all got to go together eventually - so why not start now? I guess I need to do as much as I can before the drivetrain goes in, as that'll make it difficult to flip and rotate the model to work on.

Of course, earlier this month I was back at Le Mans again, and I wasn't disappointed by the special display they'd put together in the museum:

1971 Martini 917:



Multiple 956 / 962's:



1981-spec 936:



1977-spec 936:



...and probably my absolute highlight - 935-78 'Moby Dick':



Needless to say, with all this lot present (and much more) I spent a good while taking plenty of photos, and some good detail shots that will be useful for the 956...and future projects! Finding Moby Dick there was fantastic, and unexpected - I don't think it did any running during the weekend, but it was great to see it 'in the flesh'. It was a great few days, the race itself was very good - pleased to see the Ferrari take the overall win - and perhaps the only downside was that the 963's seemed to attract all the misfortune! Maybe next year...

More next time,

SB
ScratchBuilt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2023, 07:19 AM   #145
JesusM
AF Enthusiast
 
JesusM's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Madrid
Posts: 649
Thanks: 109
Thanked 68 Times in 67 Posts
Re: 1/8 Porsche 956

Fantastic work as always!! It is a pleasure when you creates the pieces, but having all of them in white colour and for a large time, is a bit bored. And now, when you are giving colour to them, it is another pleasure!!
__________________
Regards
Jesus
http://blog.maquetea.com/
JesusM is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2023, 01:39 PM   #146
ScratchBuilt
AF Enthusiast
Thread starter
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Norwich
Posts: 648
Thanks: 21
Thanked 111 Times in 87 Posts
Re: 1/8 Porsche 956

Hello Jesus,

Yes - my father always says that he likes it when I finally start painting the parts (even just some grey primer), as it makes everything look 'together' rather than individual pieces. I don't like painting too early, though; I know that some of the parts will receive a lot of handling during the build process, and it's frustrating to have to keep re-painting and touching-up. I also try to avoid gluing to a painted surface - possibly less of an issue at smaller scales where there isn't too much weight involved, but at 1/8 things start to get (relatively) heavy!

My big worry is how flexible the main bodywork can be, and whether this will result in filler cracking and flaws in the paintwork - I had a couple of areas on the 935-78 that needed to be re-done. Hopefully I can get as much of the model assembled as possible before having to add the painted bodywork, so it doesn't have to be repeatedly fitted, removed, fitted, removed again..!

SB
ScratchBuilt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-27-2023, 04:17 PM   #147
JesusM
AF Enthusiast
 
JesusM's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Madrid
Posts: 649
Thanks: 109
Thanked 68 Times in 67 Posts
Re: 1/8 Porsche 956

I fully agree with you. I avoid the idea to touch painted parts and in this way, i always paint at the end.
And yes....how many times a part has been broken even if is was not painted and decaled? I normaly add pieces to have a Harder estructure because i know the test and fits will be a lot and the pieces will bróke.

Anyway, i will follow what you are doing because it makes me to increase my idea of modelling, enhance my process and improve my targets!! Thanks for all!!
__________________
Regards
Jesus
http://blog.maquetea.com/
JesusM is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-08-2023, 01:34 AM   #148
mwhh
AF Regular
 
mwhh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Hamburg
Posts: 175
Thanks: 2
Thanked 26 Times in 23 Posts
Re: 1/8 Porsche 956

You built is so fantastic. Keep on going.
__________________
mwhh is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-21-2023, 03:06 PM   #149
ScratchBuilt
AF Enthusiast
Thread starter
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Norwich
Posts: 648
Thanks: 21
Thanked 111 Times in 87 Posts
Re: 1/8 Porsche 956

Hello!

Where to start? I'll apologise in advance as there's bound to be something I forget to mention while I condense two months work into one update!

Early July I was looking at making sure the radiator sideframes fitted properly, adding a couple of small pieces of styrene to allow them to 'lock' into place with the sidepod extensions, then getting them painted. At the same time I was priming, painting and assembling the various rads and coolers:





Colouring is basically airbrushed Tamiya Flat Aluminium, with light coats of Chrome Silver and Titanium Silver, then a little light drybrushing with some of the GW Citadel paints.

I added the pipework connections for the intercoolers to the intake plenums after the initial painting:



A little later in July I was working on the various pieces of ducting that need to be fitted in front of the rads and coolers. Some of these are still 'work in progress' as flat sheet panels, but the main inlets for the turbo are more interesting. I made some cardboard patterns to get a feel for the shape, then cut a couple from blue foam:



I had to destroy the foam to remove them, but I'm pleased with the result:



They've had a quick trim around the front end and some light fettling to smooth off the rough edges, but they're coming along nicely. Later on I'll have to cut into the inside faces to fit the duct partly around the main water rads - sounds a bit odd, but the way the rads are angled to the tub it's essential.

Moving on, I wanted to get the fuel filler bodywork under control. The dry-coupling connectors are recessed into the main bodywork; I wanted to get a smooth transition from the outer body surface into the filler recess, so the best way to do this was to mould two small sections in reverse. I laid up two small areas of the outer surface to give me the correct curvature, then put a couple of pieces of tube through to give me the recess diameter, with some filler around the bottom to give the transition. This gave me two fibreglass 'trumpets' that could then be trimmed to the required depth, and let into the main outer shell:





The two trumpets were initially glued in place, then reinforced from behind with small strips of fibreglass and resin so they're now an integral part of the shell. At some point I'll run some more resin around the outside too, before smoothing everything back.

I've made the basic components for the filler connections - these just need to be assembled and detailed. Space is tight around the filler necks on the inside of the shell - the roll-cage and engine support A-frames are all competing for the same territory - so there's been a bit of juggling getting everything to fit around each other.

A more recent job has been making the front brake cooling ducts. My first thought was to make patterns for these then fibreglass them, but I soon decided that this was unnecessary - keeping them as a styrene / Greenstuff mix would allow me to continue refining and modifying the shape. First stage was to build up the basic core from assorted sections of tube:



...a first application of Greenstuff, then some shaping:



...more Greenstuff, and more fettling:



They'll probably need more work once I have some of the front suspension assembled, as the clearance around the dampers is critical. I'm not expecting them to fit perfectly first time!

I had some holiday last week, so it was a good opportunity to do some time-consuming jobs. High on my list of priorities was to sort out the two sets of six cooling louvres on the lower engine side panels. My plan for these was to cut the six slots in the fibreglass outer shell, then to put six matching slots into the styrene panel behind, but to offset the fitment to create the appearance of a proper louvre rather than a simple slot. First job - mark up the panels, drill small holes at the end of each slot, then use a small rotary cutting disc to rough-out the slot:



The styrene sheet is 0.75mm, so there's enough thickness to get some 'shape' into the leading edges of the slots. It's not obvious from the photo, but it's there:





I'd already made the inner panels for this section of the bodywork, so it was now simply a case of turning them into a two-part panel once the louvred pieces had been glued in place. The small teardrop-shaped return around the hole for the exhaust tailpipes was a quick and simple fibreglass job - the thickness may need a little adjustment once the turbos start being assembled.

Amongst all these other jobs I've been painting various parts:



The gearbox has had a very light airbrushing with Titanium Gold - the exact colouring varies from car to car, but as I'm not basing this model on one particular chassis I felt it was a good opportunity to add some more colour and brightness to the engine bay. The bellhousing module is still going to be the metallic-grey as before.

The uprights, brake calipers, etc, have all had an initial primer coat followed by Medium Sea Grey, but will be drybrushed heavily to get the final colouring. I also gave the calipers and uprights a coat of GW 'Astrogranite' textured paint.

Finally for tonight, I made the upper bulkhead panel to fit between the cockpit and the engine bay. It took three cardboard patterns before I had a shape I was happy with, then cut the fourth from flat fibreglass:



There was still a lot of fettling and fine adjustment, but it was eventually good enough to paint and glue to the roll-cage. This also allowed me to fix the positions of the two main seatbelt mounts:



..and from the front:



I'm now working on the fuel pumps and mounting flange - I want to continue getting the cockpit detailing in place so that (at some point) I'm not having to do all this once the main bodywork is fitted and access is difficult.

So, lots of progress in many areas of the build. The painting will continue in the background, so I'm sure you'll be seeing more of these parts in detail in the future.

Thanks for reading!

SB
ScratchBuilt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-02-2023, 02:46 PM   #150
ScratchBuilt
AF Enthusiast
Thread starter
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Norwich
Posts: 648
Thanks: 21
Thanked 111 Times in 87 Posts
Re: 1/8 Porsche 956

Hello again,

My focus has stayed in the cockpit area since the last update. The first big job was to sort out the fuel filters and pumps that tuck into the hole in the passenger-side of the rear bulkhead - most of these parts had been made some while ago, but now it was time to connect everything together and try to fit it into the limited space.

During the year I've been able to stock-up on various sizes of braided line - Top Studio and Yamamoto in 0.8mm, 1mm and 1.5mm sizes, black and silver, and I've had a few packets of the larger Tamiya sizes (which I'll be using for some of the oil lines later). I'd made the elbows and fittings thinking I'd be using wire sheathing for the lines, but I've been able to make them work with the braided hose too:



As with many details 956 (and 962)-related, the exact layout of the fuel system varies widely from car to car. I've gone with the layout suggested by the 956 Engines 'Model Detailing Profile' by Speed Details Publications, so a row of four fuel pumps drawing fuel from the tank via four filters, then two feeds to the two extra filters mounted on top of the engine.

I fitted a layer of 0.4mm black styrene into the recess in the bulkhead, then added the oval plate which carries the connections for the pipework. My initial plan was to mount the filters onto some sort of bracketry, but it was soon clear this was going to be virtually impossible given the limited space. Plan B was to rely on the pipework to keep everything in position, knowing that once the fuel pumps were added in front you wouldn't see much of the filters anyway:





It's all in there, honest! A few more additions are visible in this photo. On the drivers-side of the rear bulkhead I've added a couple of bits of chassis detailing which reinforce the seat mounting. On the passenger-side I've fitted the brackets which support the Motronic ignition pack and some of the wiring connections. The white Motronic pack is actually a mk2 version - having fitted the brackets I felt the mk1 was oversize, so made the new version a little smaller. The plug-and-clip detailing on the top is also a mk2 effort; the original was one-piece, but I was struggling to paint it successfully - so I re-made it in two parts, each painted separately then glued together. I still need to make a small control knob that will be fitted to the top of the firewall (mixture controller, I believe) but the rear bulkhead detailing is approaching completion.

Next job - seatbelts! Again, the process here was basically the same as for the 935/78, but hopefully with a little more detailing. As before, I started by making the plates for the adjusters, connections, etc, from 0.75mm sheet and some small strip:



The belt straps are a mix of 3mm, 7mm and 10mm double satin ribbon, all stitched around the fittings. This was my task of choice during the Goodwood Revival Meeting weekend last month, whilst watching the livestream. I've gone with a modern-style set of belts with narrow top shoulder-straps to suit a HANS-type device - the variation in strap size is 'more interesting'...and easier to fit into the mounting brackets!





Another thing I've done, but not photographed (yet) is the mounting frame bonded to the back to the seat. I've been careful to make sure that the seatbelt straps to the mountings on the chassis are long enough so that I can do the final fit of the seat and belts at the same time. Once the seat is in I won't be able to get at the belts, and vice-versa.

The last two jobs are still in the cockpit, and still on-going. I've made a start on getting the dashboard moulding drilled to take the gauges and switches, and then getting it painted:



I've used some 'Aqua Magic' liquid water to fill the gauge faces and create the impression of glass lenses. The switches and buttons are pinned in place, and since taking this photo I've drilled out holes to take the various warning lights. A coat of grey primer highlighted a few areas for attention, so my plan to get it painted properly this last weekend didn't quite work out. I've also made the interior pull-handle for the fire system - this needs to be painted. I'm hoping that I can get this completed this week.

Next job - fire bottles. Again, the bottles and mounting frames were made a while ago, and painted during the summer, but I've been putting off printing more decals for the bottles. I found the image files from the 935/78, and re-printed a few new sets of 'Heinzmann' labels. I varnished the bottles, applied the decals, then re-varnished with 'Mr Hobby' semi-gloss:



The only thing connecting the two sides of the mounting frame will be the bottles themselves, so I wanted to make a 'positive location' rather than just relying on a glued joint. I drilled and fitted a couple of spigots to the underside of each bottle - these fit snugly into the channels created in the mounting frame and allow a hidden glued joint. Here's how it looks in the cockpit:



The straps are now fitted, but I'm working on the firing heads and cabling. It's easier to fit all these details with the bottles out of the car, so nothing is glued in place just yet. I'm happy with it - the red and gold is another splash of colour in the cockpit, and I'll be using some more of the braided line for the feed-pipes to the nozzles. Not much space for a passenger, though!

As usual, there's other things I've been doing that aren't shown here. For example, I spent a couple of evenings last week opening out the holes in some of the panels around the front roll-bar and steering rack, in preparation for getting these fitted. I've also sprayed a few more parts - engine A-frames, etc - while the weather is still decent (although it's now dark enough when I return home in the evenings that I can now only spray at the weekend...).

I'll continue working in the cockpit for the forseeable future, as I want to get this area of the build as complete as a I can. I still want to fit the radiator sideframes before I fit the main roll-hoop and bulkhead panel, but that's probably still a few weeks away. I'm trying to make plans for what I would like to do before the end of the year, but there's no hard deadlines for anything!

All the best,

SB
ScratchBuilt is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to ScratchBuilt For This Useful Post:
NickChan28298 (10-08-2023), PhilMacCracin (10-02-2023)
 
Reply

POST REPLY TO THIS THREAD

Go Back   Automotive Forums .com Car Chat > Automotive Art > Car Modeling > WIP - Motorsports

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 03:16 AM.

Community Participation Guidelines | How to use your User Control Panel

Powered by: vBulletin | Copyright Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
 
 
no new posts