MFH 1/20 March 711/02 - Ronnie Peterson - 1971 Monaco GP

[edi956]

Another car of "my years": the March 711 (chassis 02) which Ronnie Peterson drove to the second place (Stewart was the winner) at the 1971 Monaco GP.

This version differed from the Press and the car of South Africa because front brakes were moved out-board; engine and radiators were left without their covers; moreover, a new rear suspension appeared at Monaco on this chassis only.

MFH made a good job with this kit and all these features are present...some little mistakes will be found in this wip but this kit is quite better than the one of Brazilian Alfa-Model.

As usually I begin a MFH kit with fitting test:





The red star in the third pic shows a hole: it is the hole were the cockpit surrounder will be fitted...but it doesn't happen...so the hole will be closed with putty.


Then I made holes were the rivets will be placed:


I wonder why there are three holes so near where I put the red star.

So I studied documentation finding this pic which appeared on AutoSport (February 1971): this is the 711 at the presentation, when front brakes were yet in-board and the car was not totally painted.
Therefore it is easy to see the series of orizontal rivets which MFH did not make:


So I made a mask:


and I made the right holes for rivets:



Now the front chassis and the attachment for the front suspension.

First step: make the holes on the p/e parts (on the right of the pic) and then glueing it on the side part of the front chassis:


Second step: put the rivets:


Third step: glue the white metal part over the p/e:


The whole side part will be painted with the body color.



Rivets on the inside of the cockpit.

I put rivets on the parts where they can be seen and where they will not interefere with other parts placement only:





Meanwhile body parts were painted and decalled, with a pair of final clear coat.
Then body parts were attached to the main chassis, which was polished:

[Greg23]

Looks great. Looking forward to more.

[Porsnatic]

Wow..this one looks like to be an awesome build already!

[edi956]

Many thanks for the compliment...but it's time to introduce the oil tank.


This is the one of the kit:


I didn't like the tubes on the top.
It was difficult to polish the top of the oil tank with them.
Moreover they were not rounded, as usually with MFH.
Too many time to make them rounded so I cut them:


After polishing and putting new tubes, this is the final result:

[edi956]

For the Monaco GP Peterson had the Ford Cosworth number 065.

I don't want to bore with the mounting of the "usual" Ford Cosworth engine.
Here that engine already mounted (but not already washed) with the Lucas injection where I added all the wires not in the kit:



The meshes of the trumpets of the kit are gold, while those of the real car were metalic:


So, instead of painting them, I preferred to make new.
I made a mask in a piece of wood where I pushed a metalic mesh:


On the left the mesh of the kit, on the right the new one:



This is the Cosworth (not washed yet) with the new meshes, the trumpets, the filter, the oil tank and the whole wiring and piping:

[edi956]

The group gearbox/rear suspension.

All OOB, a part of changing the dampers with other black:



This pic was taken from an English magazine of the time (may be Autosport):


Only to demonstrate that the thing on the right of the pic which I don't know the English name (where the suspensio arms were attached and where the hub passes through) is not black as the kit instructions say.

There are not the brake wires which will be placed next.

[edi956]

Now the most difficult part of the kit (and of the real car): the front suspension.

These are the pieces of the lower part of the front suspension:


Two p/e and the triangle from the kit while the arms on the left of the pic are new since the original were as the following picture shows:


Down the original, up the new one which I made with a 0.1 mm stainless tube with another smaller tube inside.

All pieces are polished untill sinulating chrome.

[edi956]

All the pieces seen in the previous post have to be mounted...but there is not any reference point.

So I put in place (without glueing) the p/e triangle, then glueing only the part which has to be put into the lower triangle of the front suspension:


This is the result:


Then I repeat with the little p/e triangle:


This is the final result:

[edi956]

Before proceeding with the front suspension, another step has to be done: the battery, since it was put on the left side, between upper and lower arms of suspension.

Kit contains white metal parts for the battery, but I believe that we could paint them with satin or matt white without becoming plastic as the real battery.

So I used white plasticard sheet to re-make the battery, maintaining the top with the caps of the kit.
The interior of the battery have been divided into some cells:



Then I put a little amount of semigloss black into those cells:


Finally I closed the side of the battery with an ultra-thin white plasticard sheet:


I'm sure that the pic doesn't make justice to this work, but "live" the interior acid could be seen through the sheet.


This is a pic of the real car.
It is not of the Work 711 but the one of Politoys.
The difference between them was that at Montecarlo Peterson's car had the battery placed orizontal and not vertical:


The importance of that pic is to demonstrate that the battery had a belt to stop it, due to the vibrations of a F1 on that circuit.
Moreover, it could be seen where went the battery cables: one (the mass) to the front of the car attached to the front bulkhead; the other to the interior of the car, just down the roll-bar.
All there was not in the kit and have to be done:

[edi956]

After the battery, front suspension could be ended.

As I said in a previous post, mounting instructions don't give any reference points.
So I preferred to place all the pieces in place, verifying the right position and then glueing with the glue by Barchetta:





...and before someone will ask which kind of glue it is, here a pic:


This part is OOB: all pieces were polished until chrome simulation; only the spring were changed with other black.

[edi956]

The reservoirs for brakes and clutch fluid.

This is one of the three of the kit:


It is white metal and no kind of painting could obtain the real appearing.
So, as for the battery, I mantain the lower part and re-make the reservoirs with a semi-transparent plastic tube, where I put a little amount of TAM clear yellow:


Then I make three copies of the cap from the original one:


The copy was put on the reservoir with a 0.5 mm nut + a 0.4 mm tube where will be fit a clear tube:


This is the final result:


This is the 711 of Peterson at 1971 Nederland GP:

[edi956]

After putting the air-intake for the brakes, the brakes wiring and the anti roll-bar, the front part of the car is finished:

[edi956]

The cockpit.

Two pics of the time (by Autosport):



This is mine:


Were added: 0.7 mm Scale Hardware rivets (up) and 0.5 mm (sides); on the right the black washer around the hole for the wire; on the left two switches (MFH) while the red light has been done with Micro Kristal Clear then painted with TAM clear red.

These are the plaques for the steering wheel, where I added 0.04 mm Scale Hardware rivets:


This is the final result:



This is the original cockpit again, to show the gear lever:


It was wood with "March" on the top into a white circle...there wasn't in the kit any decal of it, so I painted white the top only:

[raulrubio]

Edi, really impressive, exactly as your other MFH Ferrari kit. Both are in my home waiting to be mounted and your posts will be very useful for me. Thanks for show us your "state of art" models.

[edi956]

For Raul: if you need any pics for your kits, please feel free to contact me.


The seat-belts.

I don't like to seem a "teacher" but I've seen a lot of wips all over the world with some mistakes as to the seat-belts of 1970s F1 car.

So I'd use this wip to show a scheme of them and how usually realise them:


As you can see, there are two long belts which arrive from the shoulders, two from the front which end with a "O" and two from the sides which have another little one over: all of them are attached to the chassis.

Inside the kit there is all we need to make the seat-belts: a paper with three measures of tissue, p/e for the buckles, a white metal part for the central device and decals.

Here the tissue:


With the smaller we can make the two little belts on the central one:


and the two belts with the "O" at the ends:


these belts could be put in place:



With the larger tissue we can make the central larger belts.
With a new cutter I cut a "V" at one end to facilitate the passage through the buckle:


Up-right there is the buckle for the left belt; down-right the buckle for the right belt with the device which has to be painted metalic blue.

Here the two larger belts:


Over them we can put the two smaller made before:


These belts have to be put in the middle of the seat and they are attached to the chassis.
In this case that attachment is covered by the seat itself, so it's sufficient to cut the belt at 45°: