1/8 Porsche 956

[ScratchBuilt]

Back again! Two updates in the space of seven days: given the current situation with Covid-19 it is my intention to post more regularly - we all need a bit of 'normal' in our lives right now. Although the UK isn't in lockdown (yet), it might not be too long before I find myself with more time on my hands...

So, following on from last time, I've been adding styrene panels to the inside of the sockets for the rear leg of the front lower wishbones:



This brings two benefits - it gives me a little more clearance between the wishbone leg and the corner of the chassis, and it also means that when I finally fit the wishbone I can use liquid-poly glue rather than CA. This will give me a little more time to get things in the right place!

After lining the top and sides of the sockets, I added a lower panel to close things off. Greenstuff was applied and smoothed over to match the existing chassis underside:



The big job at the weekend was fitting the floor. I spent some time adding a few more bits of reinforcement here and there, but finally managed to talk myself into gluing it all together:



I used a combination of UHU all-purpose glue and CA, as I would have struggled with the CA going off too quickly if I used it all over. I've run CA into the external joints all around afterwards, too.

With the floor on, I spent most of yesterday adding lengths of angle section to the front end to reinforce and create the flange that runs around the lower edge of the chassis:



You'll notice that I haven't put rivets through all of the holes - I'll drill these ones through the fibreglass too to create another (small) interlock between the two pieces.

These angles have required more trimming of the fibreglass side panels:



Everything still fits flush, so the outermost styrene panels will still fit over the top, leaving just the horizontal part showing. I'll continue adding these angles around the rest of the tub this week - they're doing a good job of adding extra support to the floor. I may also add some small screws underneath too, if I can find something suitable - these 1/8 models get quite heavy, so I don't want the floor peeling off...

That's it for tonight. Stay safe, everyone.

SB

[nugundam93]

Looking good! This is one of the few hings that definitely bring normalcy in these times

i thought uk went on lockdown already? Anyway if not yet, it's best to do it proactively. Stay safe!

[ScratchBuilt]

Well...the UK's lockdown announcement was being made last Monday while I was putting the last post together, so by Tuesday evening all my plans for the coming weeks were very much out of the window! I'm doing what I can, work-wise, from home, but right now there won't be any motorsport in the UK until at least the end of June, so things have gone very quiet...

However, I am determined to not let this opportunity go to waste! I've been busy making lists of what I want to get done in the next few weeks, and there's a few jobs coming up that will get done now which probably wouldn't have happened until much later. One main consideration is to choose jobs which I can do while also keeping an eye on the work emails, etc, rather than things that will require solid effort for hour after hour. Of course, it's the not knowing how long this current situation will continue for that makes it difficult to plan ahead...

So, first up, I continued adding the angle-sections around the base of the tub:



The long middle pieces are larger than they should be (1/4" rather than 3/16") but I've done this deliberately to help give the bodywork sidepods extra support later on. I'm in no rush to trim the fibreglass floor panel, either, until I start working on the pods.

With the angles completed, I re-trimmed the fibreglass side skins to suit:



...and then did the same with the outer styrene panels:



I decided by Friday that the project for this week was to make some fibreglass parts - dashboard, seat, and the fuel tank access flange. With all three parts moulded I would be creating opportunities for more small jobs - I could make the instruments and switches, finish the seat mounting, cover the seat with cloth, make seatbelts, fit the rear bulkhead panels, etc. So, the first mould was for the curved dashboard panel:



I took the basic measurements from the various reference drawings, but have had to combine this with a bit of guesswork and adaptation to what I've already made. I've not gone overboard with preparing the surface of this particular mould - my plan is to lay-up two or three layers of cloth and make a quick demo panel first, and I can then modify the shape if necessary.

The second mould was for the seat. Plan A was to make a completely new mould, but after comparing the 935 seat with the 956 cockpit I felt it would be possible to use the 935 as a starting point:



It looks rough, but I think it will work! I've added curved edges along the side (the right-hand side curves over the top of the cockpit sill to provide support for the driver's arm), extended the top to provide material for a headrest section, and altered the curve of the underside to clear the chassis crossmember. None of the reference drawings show the exact shape of the seat, unfortunately, but there are plenty of photos.

The third mould (not shown) is a simple styrene-fabricated block mounted to a piece of cardboard, to create the flange around the edge of the fuel tank access hole. I plan to start getting some cloth laid-up onto these three tomorrow, so by Wednesday or Thursday I hope to have some parts available.

We'll see!

All the best,

SB

[ScratchBuilt]

Hello again,

Following straight on from last time, here's the seat:



Looks rough now, but after a lot of trimming and smoothing (and still more to come):



As usual, pretty much every reference photo you find for the 956/962 shows a different seat installed, and the drawings don't show one at all! The size and shape of the extended headrest section needs a little adjustment, and the two shoulder flanges are not finalised - the one on the right-hand side was often cut away to improve driver access.

Next up, here's the mould I made for the fuel pump mounting flange:



I couldn't get the fibreglass panel off, so had to cut the centre section out of the mould to allow it to flex a bit. Result:



There is still plenty of material here to be trimmed away, but I wanted to leave it oversize (and sturdy) while I opened out the holes in the bulkhead panels to suit. I'll return to this part later.

With the fuel cell access hole adjusted, I decided to start fitting the rest of the internal cockpit panels. I blacked the interior of the fuel cell hole first, though, to make life easier - the flange for the fuel pipe connections will cover most of this, but I didn't want any white styrene visible on the inside. I started with the back bulkheads and top panel:



In these next two photos, everything you see is now glued in place:





Good progress, yes? The driver's rear bulkhead had some extra rivets put into it before fitting, and in the back corner you can (just) see where I've
added a diagonal line of rivets and a small hole for one of the main lap-straps to attach to. The other strap will attach to the centre spine, and there will be a couple of doubler plates for the crotch-straps. In the footwell, you can see that I've added some of the rivet strips around the rearward suspension crossbeam and along the edge of the floor. There's plenty more of these to add, so that's another job for this week.

The last photo for today is the mk1 dashboard panel:



It's a bit tricky trying to trim it too closely at this stage as the lower sections of the roll-over hoop are not fixed, but I'm happy that the overall shape will work. I've adjusted the mould slightly to bring the right-hand side section 'out' by about 3mm - this should help it to align with the rollhoop stay better, and give more clearance around the steering wheel. The exact shape of the lower edge will slowly evolve - again, it's not shown on the drawing, and every photo tends to show the dashboard from an off-centre 3/4 view. I've laid-up a mk2 version of the panel and have just started offering it to the chassis, so you'll see more of that next time...

Have a good week, wherever you are.

SB

[Stiwi]

SB, this looks awesome as usual! That Monocoque looks pretty huge, could you please post a pic compared to a 1/24 model?

[ScratchBuilt]

No problem, Stiwi:



Overall length of the 1/8 tub is currently 257mm, by 160mm wide. The 1/24 shell alongside is the Tamiya 'Canon' 956, and measures 215mm overall (or about 200mm without the sprue in the middle), by 82mm wide. This will not be a small model when it's finished!

SB

[pgarat]

Hi,

Incredible, unreal!!
AWESOME!!!

Can't wait to see more.

Pascal

[Stiwi]

Thanks for the pic, SB. That's even more impressive!

[ScratchBuilt]

Hello again!

I spent a bit of last week finishing off more of the cockpit rivet-strip detailing, and also made some of the reinforcement plates for the seat belt lap-straps and crotch-straps:



The triangular plate on the middle of the floor is the partner to the one on the centre spine, and will be fitted the other side.

With the Easter weekend approaching, I wanted to spend those few days doing something 'significant' but time-consuming. So, I made a start on the two sideframes which will support the various radiators and coolers. In reality these appear to be mainly constructed from angle-section, but I knew this would give me major problems - so I swapped to 1/8" box. It'll be more robust, and it allows me to fit pins inside to locate all the parts together.

I started with the left-hand side, drilling into the tub for the four main attachment points, and developing the shape on the car:





As you can imagine, there was lots of fitting, checking, measuring, adjustment, re-fitting, etc! Very slow progress. Ideally I would have made a quick jig-plate using Lego bricks and double-sided tape to make the two main vertical sections of the frames, but felt it was safer to actually work directly from the tub. After spending a large part of last Friday afternoon and Saturday working on this side, by Sunday night I'd got it to the point where I felt happy to start on the other side. By last night I'd got this far:





As usual, there's still more to do - there's a couple of diagonal stays to put in the bottom, the mounting brackets need to be finessed, etc, but the basics are all there. It also needs a couple of extensions which will eventually support the two turbos, but these can wait until I'm working in the engine bay - I can make them to the drawings now, but (a) they'll be vulnerable to damage, and (b) I might have to adjust them to suit where the turbos end up.

So, what's next? More time getting these frames 'finished', then a bit more work on some of the external skin panels. I'd like to get the fuel pump mounting flange sorted out, and then maybe do something new - part of me thinks I should make a proper start on the front suspension...

All the best,

SB

[afxracing]

Another impressive build. I really enjoyed your Moby Dick build and I will be following this project as well.

[ScanmanDan]

Thank you for sharing so much of your excellent craftsmanship.

I have followed your work for years and been enlightened and entertained in equal measures. Even though I rarely build automobiles I check in from time to time both to learn and recharge my enthusiasm for model building. What I find infinitely wonderful is that you show that with careful thought, persistence and some skill anything is possible. I don't mean to belittle your craftsmanship of skills. It's just that you show that the application of sound, basic model building skills anything can be accomplished. The real take away is that you really want to build this model, and nothing will stop you in your progress. Patience, thought and persistence in co-operation with the application of skill and hard work get the job done. No fancy aftermarket, resin or exotic materials needed. I always leave thinking to myself, "just get off your bottom and do it man, no excuses. Build that model you want." And that is why I say Thank you SB!

Stay safe and well and long may you enjoy your model building.

Dan

[michel1973]

Another impressive project which I will follow with great interest

[ScratchBuilt]

Thanks, guys - I'll try to keep it interesting!

Dan - I think you used the right word: enthusiasm. Throughout the build threads for the 908, 935 and now this one I have tried to show my enthusiasm for both the modelling process, and for the cars themselves. I couldn't spent five, six, or seven years making a model of a car that I that didn't like! For me it's classic Porsche racers, for someone else it's hot-rods, or F1 cars, or trucks (or armour, or aircraft...) but you've got to have that love for the subject. Especially when no-one's paying you to do this, and it's a hobby to be enjoyed!

A change of scene for this update; after weeks of working on the tub I wanted to spend some time on something different, so I made a start on the front uprights:



In this photo they're still at the 'I'm not sure if this is going to work' phase, but you know it'll be okay! I made some scale drawings to get a feel for the basic dimensions, then started playing around with various bits of box and tube. The capscrew is 1/4 UNF, and the head fits neatly into 7/32" styrene tube...which fits neatly into 1/2" tube...so that's the starting point. The small piece of styrene you can see inside the head of the capscrew will spigot onto the short part of the main ali T-section, locking it all together.

The core of the upright is a length of 3/8 x 1/4" box; the ali tube T fits inside, centred by two lengths of shallow channel and some shim strips. The large ring is laid-up from multiple 0.4mm and 0.5mm strips, then cut to fit around the main core. The four ali pins sticking out the sides will give me the anchor points for the two brake calipers. There's a lot going on, but at this stage it all looks a bit basic.

Here you can see how the ali tube is centred inside the main box:



The two ali pins sticking up will anchor the short piece of box I'm holding - eventually the main steering arm and top wishbone pick-up will attach to this piece of box, so I wanted a reinforced joint.

By the time of the next photo I've glued everything together and started refining the overall shape:



Styrene plates at the bottom give me a smooth outer face and give structure to the greenstuff added afterwards. The ali caliper pins have had styrene sleeves added to get them to the correct diameter and length, and I used a simple jig to get the spacing and alignment correct on all four sides. At the top, I've used more strip to build up the transition to the centre section, and started adding some small web details to the upper caliper bosses.

The uprights are still some way from being finished, but they've progressed to the 'yep, this is going to work' phase! The brake discs will cover the whole of the front face, and cooling ducts will fit over the back, so most of the detailing effort is currently going into the top and sides. I'll use the discs to secure the capscrew / axle in place - it won't turn, but it won't have to.

At this point I returned to the front lower wishbones. I made a template and prototype part some weeks ago, so now it was time to make the final version:



The balljoint socket is an RC part I've used on other projects, and the male part of this will fit neatly into the ali tube running through the upright, so it should be a very strong connection. The socket is pinned into a length of 1/4" x 1/8" box, and the wishbone legs are then pinned onto the sides.

The inner pick-ups are lined with small-diameter rubber hose (as used on old Lego kits, I think) and there'll be a couple of ali sleeves inside later to give me some articulation. The outermost legs are not pinned at the ends, but have brass tube inside for stiffness, and are pinned along their length to the centre core. The end result is (so far) quite solid - once the model is complete they won't actually be taking much load, but they need to survive the build-process!

In this final photo I've got both wishbones glued together. I've added greenstuff to start smoothing them out and filling any cracks, and I've added a length of 0.75mm strip around the inside as the next step in refining the shape:



My plan is to add a 0.4mm styrene skin to both sides of the wishbones, greenstuff the edges, then fettle the shape to how I want it. The damper pick-up bracket will then be added to the top. I've been doing some test-fitting to make sure the wishbones will fit in the right place, and that the outer balljoint ends up in position - so far, so good.

The tricky bit to come is making the top wishbones. These are not as robust as the lowers and I won't be able to use the RC balljoints. A job for later this week, I think...

See you next time.

SB

[thompsonmax]

Hello everyone. It is amazing to follow your job. It is so cool, keep going.

[GaryDavis]

SB...your work is superb. I read from page 1 to 5. I sure enjoy watching for sure.....



Gary