1/8 Porsche 935/78 'Moby Dick'

Superb work, mate. I enjoy following along! Amazing work without any special equipment.

Cheers, Mike - I always try to do as much as I can with the usual basic modelling tools; hopefully anyone reading my posts thinking 'maybe I could try that too...' doesn't immediately feel '...but I can't, because I don't have access to such-and-such equipment'. Yes, I have my small mini-lathe available, but I wouldn't say that I would be lost without it...especially not when I can still make my tyres on a cheap £ 35 bench drill, and can make wheels using a knife, saw and compass-cutter!

So, what have I been doing this week? Firstly, I tried using the brush-on greenstuff to add the welding on the trailing arms:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby369_zps0f6b5865.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby369_zps0f6b5865.jpg.html)

As you can see, the one on the right has had the liquid greenstuff applied, the one on the left has conventional two-part greenstuff. Hmmm...for this job I felt the liquid wasn't quite what I wanted - it's too thin to build up into a welded seam. Yes, it fills holes and cracks and could be useful in creating a rough textured surface (engine / gearbox parts perhaps?), and it dries quickly, so I'm sure it will come in useful.

Next I set about checking the suspension geometry. The trailing arms at the back are effectively fixed, but the front end was 'variable'! I spent some time adjusting the length of the main wishbone sections in order to get the camber about right, then checked the connecting links . The problem here was that the original links allowed the wishbone to flex, rather than moving in an arc. The solution was to pin the connecting link straight into the wishbone:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby371_zps10409f3b.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby371_zps10409f3b.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby372_zpsfb7cb2b5.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby372_zpsfb7cb2b5.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby373_zpsa3d9a12c.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby373_zpsa3d9a12c.jpg.html)

Throughout all of this the time-consuming part was constantly checking and re-checking the measurements, rather than actually making the parts! With the wishbone lengths fixed I can start making plans for the outer bodywork knowing that the wheels aren't going to start moving around...

So, that's about it for tonight. I've a little more greenstuff to add to the trailing arms, and I'm finishing the 'bolts' which will connect the bottom end of the rear dampers. I'm not planning on getting much more done - it's Le Mans next weekend, so there's other things to get ready rather than modelling!

All the best,

SB

Simon,

Nice work so far, you're doing your usual outstanding work. :smile::smile::smile:

I do have a question though and maybe I have missed you explaining your approach to the wheels but do you have photo evidence of the wheels you are making or are you making them up as you go?? I'm of the belief that the wheels should be exactly the same as those of the 1/12th Tamiya 935 so I'm wondering if you have picture you are working from or are you taking some liberties in this area??

Thanks :cool::cool:

I'm of the belief that the wheels should be exactly the same as those of the 1/12th Tamiya 935 so I'm wondering if you have picture you are working from or are you taking some liberties in this area??


The interesting thing is the Tamiya 935 isn't completely correct in the wheels in the kit, as the teams seldom used the cast magnesium wheels. The rear wheels in the Tamiya kit are the cast magnesium rims which the teams used in the rain with rain tires. Teams quickly adopted the 2-piece BBS wheels for racing due to the fact that they are repairable if damaged whereas the magnesium wheels were not.

The interesting thing is the Tamiya 935 isn't completely correct in the wheels in the kit, as the teams seldom used the cast magnesium wheels. The rear wheels in the Tamiya kit are the cast magnesium rims which the teams used in the rain with rain tires. Teams quickly adopted the 2-piece BBS wheels for racing due to the fact that they are repairable if damaged whereas the magnesium wheels were not.

Ray, you say "teams", do you mean privateers??

Yes the wheels in the Tamiya kit are only half correct you are right and the Scale Motorsports detail set provides the missing wheels if you can afford to go that route. I don't think these wheels are modular because I have never seen a black modular wheel back in this period. All the period correct pictures I have of the factory Moby Dick show it with black or dark colored wheels that would be consistent with the Magnesium wheels used by the factory on the '76 car that Tamiya depicted. So I'm very interested to find out if Simon has pictures that he is working from or some other info to support the modular wheel fitment on his Moby.

:smile::smile::smile:

Ray, you say "teams", do you mean privateers??

Yes the wheels in the Tamiya kit are only half correct you are right and the Scale Motorsports detail set provides the missing wheels if you can afford to go that route. I don't think these wheels are modular because I have never seen a black modular wheel back in this period. All the period correct pictures I have of the factory Moby Dick show it with black or dark colored wheels that would be consistent with the Magnesium wheels used by the factory on the '76 car that Tamiya depicted. So I'm very interested to find out if Simon has pictures that he is working from or some other info to support the modular wheel fitment on his Moby.

:smile::smile::smile:

Both the factory and private teams ended up running the BBS wheels, being the 2 piece design that was more forgiving on the budgets if the rim was damaged. The black/dark wheels of that era were mostly magnesium cast single piece wheels which were initially favored for their lack of weight, were soon case aside due to cost of replacement.

Both the factory and private teams ended up running the BBS wheels, being the 2 piece design that was more forgiving on the budgets if the rim was damaged. The black/dark wheels of that era were mostly magnesium cast single piece wheels which were initially favored for their lack of weight, were soon case aside due to cost of replacement.

Yea, I got it, I'm not arguing with you on the points you have brought up but the MOBY did NOT run modular wheels unless they were black. In which case I have never seen a black modular wheel in 1978. So show me a picture please and prove me wrong. Also he is making a 5 spoke wheel for the front which is absolutely wrong because the car ran BBS wheels on the front just like the ones in the Tamiya 935 kit. Thanks for your replies but they do nothing to answer my questions that are directed at the builder, Simon. Now please moderate and don't be argumentative.

Steady, guys...!

I had a crisis with the wheels some time ago: should they be one-piece 5-spokes (similar style to the 917, etc), or some sort of split-rim (eg BBS)? As I don't have any official drawings to work from, I'm reliant on photos. When the 935-78 first ran at Silverstone in practice, it was certainly using BBS at the front, and another type of wheel at the back - with the conical covers fitted; I have a photo showing this combination (see page 11, post#161). Later in the meeting and during the race it used the covered wheels at both ends - and this is how it ran at Le Mans, too.

The dull colouring of the rear rims with the covers fitted suggests to me that they are not the same as the (brightly polished) BBS rims - however, I don't have a photo showing what the wheels look like underneath when the covers are removed. My assumption is that they were the 917-style one-piece wheels. The second '78 chassis rebuilt by Freisinger Motorsport uses split-rims all round, similar (but I don't think identical to) the period BBS.

For my wheels, I wanted to add some visual interest to the inside of the rims, but also to make sure they had sufficient strength - that's why I've added the rings of bolt-heads and the five-spokes. These are not meant to be the 917-style five-spokes, rather just generic detailing - better than leaving them blank, I felt. Once the model is finished, you're unlikely to see any of this...nor the bolt detailing around the inside of the brake discs, or any other number of small details! For the outside of the rims, I'm going to make the wheel covers - so the car will look as it raced.

I didn't think it was a good idea to make 1/8-scale BBS centres from hundred's of pieces of strip-styrene, only to have them covered up and hidden from view...and if they were visible, they would have to be structural - and I couldn't see how I could do this (other than umpteen layers of photo-etch glued together, and I'm not a fan of photo-etch!).

So, what I've got is partly my own design, but based on the photos and the information I have available. Remember - the whole car is partly my own design: I don't have genuine chassis plans to work from to get all the measurements (unlike the 917, 908, etc). The only definite measurements I have are basics like wheelbase, length, height, etc. There's going to be lots of little differences - but as long as it all goes together and looks like it should when it's finished, I'll be happy.

Not sure if this answers the historical questions, but it hopefully explains why I'm doing what I'm doing!

SB

ps. on another note - looking back through the thread to find the Silverstone photo, I was surprised to see so many other photos which were missing. I've not actively deleted any of these myself...has anyone else experienced this? I use Photobucket, and had thought it was okay...

Steady, guys...!

I had a crisis with the wheels some time ago: should they be one-piece 5-spokes (similar style to the 917, etc), or some sort of split-rim (eg BBS)? As I don't have any official drawings to work from, I'm reliant on photos. When the 935-78 first ran at Silverstone in practice, it was certainly using BBS at the front, and another type of wheel at the back - with the conical covers fitted; I have a photo showing this combination (see page 11, post#161). Later in the meeting and during the race it used the covered wheels at both ends - and this is how it ran at Le Mans, too.

The dull colouring of the rear rims with the covers fitted suggests to me that they are not the same as the (brightly polished) BBS rims - however, I don't have a photo showing what the wheels look like underneath when the covers are removed. My assumption is that they were the 917-style one-piece wheels. The second '78 chassis rebuilt by Freisinger Motorsport uses split-rims all round, similar (but I don't think identical to) the period BBS.

For my wheels, I wanted to add some visual interest to the inside of the rims, but also to make sure they had sufficient strength - that's why I've added the rings of bolt-heads and the five-spokes. These are not meant to be the 917-style five-spokes, rather just generic detailing - better than leaving them blank, I felt. Once the model is finished, you're unlikely to see any of this...nor the bolt detailing around the inside of the brake discs, or any other number of small details! For the outside of the rims, I'm going to make the wheel covers - so the car will look as it raced.

I didn't think it was a good idea to make 1/8-scale BBS centres from hundred's of pieces of strip-styrene, only to have them covered up and hidden from view...and if they were visible, they would have to be structural - and I couldn't see how I could do this (other than umpteen layers of photo-etch glued together, and I'm not a fan of photo-etch!).

So, what I've got is partly my own design, but based on the photos and the information I have available. Remember - the whole car is partly my own design: I don't have genuine chassis plans to work from to get all the measurements (unlike the 917, 908, etc). The only definite measurements I have are basics like wheelbase, length, height, etc. There's going to be lots of little differences - but as long as it all goes together and looks like it should when it's finished, I'll be happy.

Not sure if this answers the historical questions, but it hopefully explains why I'm doing what I'm doing!

SB

ps. on another note - looking back through the thread to find the Silverstone photo, I was surprised to see so many other photos which were missing. I've not actively deleted any of these myself...has anyone else experienced this? I use Photobucket, and had thought it was okay...

Thanks Simon, That is exactly the answer I was looking for and expecting from you. Yes, this is your baby and it is not my place to tell you how you should be building it. I was only interested to know if in fact you had some pictures that I have not seen. Thanks again.

On your missing pictures, I know Photobucket had a massive change over a few months back with how their website runs and the options that are now available. They say that this "Should" not have effected any picture links but I can't help but think that with all of that going on and as many peoples pictures that they are hosting that some links would no doubt have been disrupted. Maybe try deleting the links in the effected posts and relinking them.

Keep up your fantastic work!!!

:):):)

Hi Derek,

I'm pretty sure that photo in post#161 of the '78 at Silverstone with the mis-matched wheels is the only one I've got like that - every other time you see it in the race or at Le Mans it's got the dished covers. I'm assuming it also used these rims at Norisring and Vallelunga - but you don't see many photos from those two.

Of course, given that the wheels are easily removable, there's nothing to say I can't make another set later on in the build! This is the first time I've made the wheels completely from scratch - I'm happy the basic process works, and the solid foam tyres can be more of a structural element than if they were flexible rubber: it's only the centre disc of the wheel that needs to take the load - the inner and outer rims only have to be solid enough to stay in shape.

Regarding Photobucket, I'll probably have to have a few re-linking sessions at some point - I haven't checked the 908 thread yet...

Got to go - the alarm goes off at 3am tomorrow for Le Mans!

SB

LOVE what your doing!! & Im Uber Jealous your off to LeMans!!!
If you did want to do the BBS style wheel you could always get it 3D printed & cast in Resin or Metal etc if your after strength. Does look pretty cool without the centre caps on & wheels exposed!!
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s258/da_ashman/PorscheMobyDick6.png

Fantastic work, wonderful! :)

Back from France...and only 51 weeks until the next time! For me, it felt like a slightly 'strange' Le Mans this year - in several ways. The weather throughout made you think it was September or October, rather than June - I've never had to wear four layers of clothing...although the cooler weather did make it easier to sleep in the tent at night. The changing conditions certainly played a part during the race too. Our campsite (Houx Annexe) didn't seem quite as busy as in previous years - again, not necessarily a bad thing.

The race itself was close-fought throughout, whether it was Toyota chasing Audi, or Porsche against Aston Martin and Ferrari. All four class battles were running to the end - no-one could really afford to back-off and cruise to the finish.

Unfortunately, Danish racer Allan Simonsen would succumb to injury after crashing heavily at Tertre Rouge, early in the race. It was a painful reminder that the sport I love can have the most serious consequences when things go wrong.

Meanwhile...

The pitlane walkabout on Friday was given a twist this year - to celebrate the 90th running of the 24h a display of 'Cars of the Decades' was assembled on the track running up to the Dunlop chicane. So, we had to go and have a look...

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Le%20Mans%202013/IMG_0979_zps356eadf6.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Le%20Mans%202013/IMG_0979_zps356eadf6.jpg.html)

D-type Jaguar

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Le%20Mans%202013/IMG_0980_zps13f30b73.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Le%20Mans%202013/IMG_0980_zps13f30b73.jpg.html)

Ford GT40

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Le%20Mans%202013/IMG_0983_zpsa3268cb4.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Le%20Mans%202013/IMG_0983_zpsa3268cb4.jpg.html)

Porsche 917

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Le%20Mans%202013/IMG_0992_zps2e53c75e.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Le%20Mans%202013/IMG_0992_zps2e53c75e.jpg.html)

Porsche 962

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Le%20Mans%202013/IMG_0993_zpsd8a7424d.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Le%20Mans%202013/IMG_0993_zpsd8a7424d.jpg.html)

Mazda 787B

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Le%20Mans%202013/IMG_0998_zpsbf42a0d3.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Le%20Mans%202013/IMG_0998_zpsbf42a0d3.jpg.html)

Audi R10 TDI

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Le%20Mans%202013/IMG_1003_zpsb0d321f4.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Le%20Mans%202013/IMG_1003_zpsb0d321f4.jpg.html)

Audi R18 E-Tron Quattro

Looking back down the hill from the Dunlop chicane:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Le%20Mans%202013/IMG_1009_zps053e4531.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Le%20Mans%202013/IMG_1009_zps053e4531.jpg.html)

Despite feeling that our campsite, at least, wasn't as busy as in previous years, the crowds at the circuit on Friday and through the weekend were as large as ever. I'll be interested to see the official figures - the pitlane was very busy when we were there before noon, and there seemed to be almost as many people again enjoying the cars parked out on the track. Good to see you again, Cinqster!

During the pitwalk the number 41 'Caterham' was pushed out of the garage for some pit-stop practice. Okay - it's technically a Zytek-Nissan, but as I'm a Seven driver, I'm biased...

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Le%20Mans%202013/IMG_0969_zpsa2c0f0e0.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Le%20Mans%202013/IMG_0969_zpsa2c0f0e0.jpg.html)

We managed to get hold of a couple of paddock passes from a friend on Saturday evening (Thanks again, Jean-Luc!), so were able to wander through the back of the pitlane during the race:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Le%20Mans%202013/IMG_1032_zps5dce01eb.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Le%20Mans%202013/IMG_1032_zps5dce01eb.jpg.html)

I had to get proof that I was there:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Le%20Mans%202013/IMG_1033_zps8742d1ea.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Le%20Mans%202013/IMG_1033_zps8742d1ea.jpg.html)

Finally, remember that 1/8 'Jaegermeister' Kremer 935 I posted last year? I found more:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Le%20Mans%202013/IMG_1027_zps86321360.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Le%20Mans%202013/IMG_1027_zps86321360.jpg.html)

Notice the yellow version in the background, too. Or you could buy an equally impressive 1/8 version of the Audi R18, or the early 70's Matra...lovely stuff! The price on the 935's was 2880 Euros, if you're interested! As usual, plenty of stalls and stands selling books, models, clothing, etc...so a few more small racing Porsches were added to my collection.

So, I'm now catching up with what's been happening in the outside world for the last few days, and looking forward to getting back into action with the 935-78.

Thanks for posting that shot, Ashman - I only found those myself in the last few weeks! Hmm, that 956 was using the same style of BBS rims too...

All the best,

SB

Great shots SB, thanks for posting! You remain our 'man on the inside'... ;)

ianc

Fantastic pics SB - you are the man
John

Ah, another traveler. For us it was a quick 8hr drive to, arriving at dawn and sort of beaching my car in the swamp that was the back of the Beausejour campsite and then back after the race losing 2 hours to Paris. Anyway, while being at the track and finding that you could no longer buy tickets near the entrace to the rear of the pits, we had to make our way around to the main entrance - by which time the race was in full swing, duh...I was also annoyed that you couldn't even get to the Porsche curves without a ticket anymore -unlike 2011. Also the fences are quite bad for taking pics. My cam decided to focus on the fences all the time. In 2011 we got to the press area before the Dunlop bridge and could take pictures from behind the wall where the cars come right at you - awesome.

Aaanyway, we went back to the trackside museum later and I took a boatload of reference images (and videos documenting the car) of the Martini 917 LH - and a few of various assorted other cars. They had a D-Type there as well and ... a 935 ('80 though).
Attached is a resized shot of the rear rim of that car. Probably not 100% head on but maybe it is of some use to you.

Great build, as with all your projects, and after all you got me into fibreglassing :) which is something I'm currently doing trying to get a feel for it and getting my feet wet - figuratively compared with Le Mans of course.

great pictures...of great cars...!
But...There's a "fake" among those cars...
The 962 never raced in Rothmans livery with the "1988" configuration (the shape of the tail is clearly like the 1988 Shell 962)
It's curious...

That 962 was exposed like a factory car?

Alessandro

Good spot, Alessandro - I think you're right! It's supposed to be the '87 winner, but the tail (at least) is clearly 88-spec. There was a small information sign with each car - I should have paid more attention to what it said! The official programme had it listed as a 956, but the spacing between the door and the wheelarch is definitely 962. Hmm...it was still good to see it there, anyway!

Good to meet you again SB and sorry it was so brief! Managed to get to the drivers parade in town for the first time in 20 years - worth a visit if you've not done it before!

Great shame about Simonsen and it left us all feeling subdued over the weekend. That and as you say, the emptiness of Houx (and the poor weather) made the whole event strange.

Still, be back next year, eh!:)

Thanks for posting that shot, Ashman - I only found those myself in the last few weeks! Hmm, that 956 was using the same style of BBS rims too...

All the best,

SB

For what it is worth, those are not period correct wheels. Those BBS wheel centers did not exist until the late 90's. The correct wheel center for that 962 would also be the same pattern as the Tamiya 935 BBS wheel center.

Sounds like a nice trip SB, so envious!!! Thanks for the pictures!!

:wink::wink::wink:

Hi Icon,

Who knows: maybe there's a world-wide shortage of the older style BBS centres?! Not as strange as it sounds - even on the FF2000's we run at work we're struggling to source the old-style 4-spoke 'Revolution' rims in the correct sizes. I'm now annoyed that I didn't check the info on the car - it may have given a few more clues. Perhaps it's a 'bitsa' car put together and wheeled out for displays, etc? Mind you, for the 917 on show they had the power shown as something like 'from 580 to 1100 bhp'...which is kinda right, but also slightly misleading when the car is a regular 917K!

Every year at Le Mans I think: 'must take more photos', but it just doesn't happen. There's a few more that I didn't post - I might add them to the thread later; the Mazda does look rather good, for starters. Having the cars out on the track like this was a really good idea, and something that I hope will be repeated in future - the museum is okay, but being able to see them in their 'natural habitat' is even better. And you don't get to walk on-track every day, either...

Now looking forward to listening to the coverage I missed on the RLM website - I can't stay awake for the whole race!

Frankly it is not a surprise that you do not see those wheels around any longer. Though I would think they can be found for a restoration project like the Freisinger 935. Those wheels, in fact all wheels at that level of racing have a "life" and once they reach their expiration date they are only good for show or testing if someone wants to dare take the chance. In the CART Indycar days you had to track with a log book the mileage of a wheel and show that it had been Ziglo checked for cracks at regular intervals predetermined by CART. Once it had reached it's life span you could not race on that wheel any longer. I imagine that is were all the old BBS wheels have gone. They probably retired the wheel centers to holding up post with ribbons attached for crowd control in the pits or paddock:wink::wink::wink:

Yes one never seems to take enough pictures. Incidentally that Mazda is very much original. Mazda is very committed to keeping that car just as it finished LeMans.:wink::wink::wink:

And where is your traditional picture, where you are modeling something on the curb in Le Mans? :)

SB,
the "fake" racing cars is a constant,in the historic meetings,around the world..
Often we can see beautiful cars,stunning liveries,etc...but,few minutes after,watching closely the car,we recognize who the things are not like they seems to be....
I saw many times pictures of a Joest New Man 962....but it didn't never raced in Le Mans with that sponsor...
Taka Q,not New Man..... :wink:
And it's only an example...
If you have other pictures of that car,of the side,you can immediatly recognize if it is a 956 or a 962...from the space between the turn light and the front wheel arch.
the 962 has a longer wheelbase than the 956....

however they are fantastic racing cars,and my envy for your journey at le mans is big...... :-)

Hello again,

The last couple of weeks have been busy at work - as well as taking the FF2000's to Pembrey in Wales last weekend we've got a Chevron B34 Formula Atlantic we're getting ready for the big historic meeting at Brands Hatch next weekend. Needless to say, it's been difficult to get the modelling juices flowing! However, I've booked some holiday for early August, so I've now got a deadline to work to, as you'll see...

I wanted to get some more moulds ready so that I can spend some of my holiday fibreglassing, so I made a start with the nose. As usual I had to spend some time working out the best way to create the shape - the change from the lower airdam area to the upper section over the wheels would make it difficult to cut in one pass. So, I decided to start by cutting two layers of 50mm foam - the profile for these would give me the footprint at the transition from the airdam to the upper wings:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby374_zpse64540f1.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby374_zpse64540f1.jpg.html)

The offcut around the edge would come in useful later on. Next, I used two layers of 10mm foam to bring up the level for the front splitter - for now I'm planning to mould this as one with the main nose:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby375_zpse81c8603.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby375_zpse81c8603.jpg.html)

To create the lower airdam I cut a section from one of the offcut pieces mentioned earlier:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby376_zps6f02de5e.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby376_zps6f02de5e.jpg.html)
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby377_zps77d3150a.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby377_zps77d3150a.jpg.html)

It's a little rough at the edges but the whole lot will need to be filled and smoothed later on anyway. For now this piece has a straight slope from top to bottom - it needs to be shaped by hand to create a concave surface; that's a job for next week!

Next, I turned my attention to the upper wings. The shape itself isn't too complicated - the tricky part is getting it all to fit together with the chassis and the cockpit section I've already made. The first job was to cut a section from the second layer of foam - I don't need to include the bonnet in this mould as it's already been done. I used a saw for this - the hotwire can only cut up to about 80mm wide.

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby378_zps762b00a2.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby378_zps762b00a2.jpg.html)

More templates were used to give me the shape for the top surface of the wings:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby379_zpsd1a9584d.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby379_zpsd1a9584d.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby380_zpsb49939d3.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby380_zpsb49939d3.jpg.html)

Again, more subtle shaping by hand is required but it's starting to look like a 935. The ridges were caused by the hot-wire being right at the limit of it's cutting width, but it's nothing that can't be filled.

The next step required a bit of head-scratching - cutting the inner edge to match the angle of the chassis frame. Easy enough, you'd think, but there was a lot of measuring, checking, re-measuring, etc, going on before I positioned the templates:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby382_zpsddf4b083.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby382_zpsddf4b083.jpg.html)

...and this is what I've ended up with:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby383_zpsbc7decde.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby383_zpsbc7decde.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby384_zps026fe880.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby384_zps026fe880.jpg.html)

I've dropped the bonnet in to tidy things up - I won't be able to check the exact fit until I've made the nose and can try it on the chassis. It could be that I have to re-make the bonnet anyway, but this won't be a disaster.

I now have to make the small pieces which connect the wings at the front of the car, and create a lip around the inner edge for the bonnet to sit on. The top surface of the wings needs to be curved over, and I need to think about positioning the wheelarches - unlike the 908, I'll have to mould a return onto the opening.

The lower airdam will probably be moulded as a solid surface - the brake ducts can be added as separate pieces later on, and the 'boxes' for the headlights can be made from styrene or fibreglass sheet. That just leaves the louvres to worry about - I can't mould them into the wings, so they'll have to be cut out...

So, I'm happy with how it's going - and there's plenty of time to get it finished before the end of the month. Ideally I'd be able to get the tail mould prepared too, but we'll see how the nose works out first. Maybe I should start with the rear window and roof extension rather than the whole tail? Hmm...

As always - have a good week.

SB

Evening, all.

The lack of a recent update hasn't been due to a lack of progress - it's more a case of wanting to push on and having something to show for the effort. It hasn't helped that I've only had one 'normal' weekend in the last five - the other four have seen me off to Le Mans, Pembrey, Brands Hatch and Thruxton...

Having said at the end of the last post that I would concentrate on the nose mould first...I've switched to the tail! Again, two layers of 50mm blue foam to give the overall shape, then the top layer split to give the two rear wings:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby385_zpsd9f87971.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby385_zpsd9f87971.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby386_zpsee788b77.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby386_zpsee788b77.jpg.html)

When you add the nose mould and the roof section, the 'Moby Dick' starts to take shape:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby387_zps9fecd70e.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby387_zps9fecd70e.jpg.html)

You can also see on this photo where I've taken the corner off the top edge of the rear wings - it'll need more shaping by hand, but the hot-wire can do most of the hard work for me.

The rear bodywork on the '78 is not a single panel - the rear wings are separate from the centre roof extension and engine cover, so I'll try to mould them like this too. However, as the roof extension will overlap the rear wings as you've seen them in the last few photos, this is going to require some interesting cutting to get everything to fit together! I started by adding more sections of foam to the centre of the mould, cut to give me the profile of the roof extension:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby388_zps5cef7484.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby388_zps5cef7484.jpg.html)

The cardboard strip was used to give me the shape for cutting the sides, taking measurements from my drawings:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby389_zpsc1cf65f9.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby389_zpsc1cf65f9.jpg.html)

The tricky part was where the taper of the roof runs into the flat deck - I had to cut the corners out, shape the top surface to match the deck, cut the side chamfer, then re-attach the corner piece:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby390_zps3421e968.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby390_zps3421e968.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby391_zps553c3f6f.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby391_zps553c3f6f.jpg.html)

I've made a start on sanding the surfaces - the roof extension shouldn't need as much filler as the rear wings. To make sure everything stays in place, I've added a few screws through the moulds; the double-sided tape I'd originally used to fix the sections together allowed a little movement.

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby392_zps8540fb9a.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby392_zps8540fb9a.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby393_zps956b57e5.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby393_zps956b57e5.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby394_zps7894ea24.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby394_zps7894ea24.jpg.html)

Unfortunately, I'm not going to know how successful this is until I get it fibreglassed and offered-up to the main roof panel - if the shape is off, I'm going to have fun getting everything back in place! As there's a certain amount of the unknown to all this, I'm leaving the wheelarches, vents, etc until later - they can be moulded separately and added to the core structure. I've already made the patterns for the lower surface of the rear wings, as it was going to be awkward including them in the main tail mould.

So, two weeks from now I'll be starting to lay-up the fibreglass, which means I've got plenty of sanding, filling and generally making a mess before then. There's a bit more to do on the tail, and a lot more on the nose, but I think it's all possible in time. Hopefully you'll see more progress this weekend...

SB

I still cant fix the problem when I try lay over the foam my fiberglass. Surely I dont have the correct product to do it, but it always happens it melts or deform the under foam block.
I made some test with nautical fiberglass,also very fine, but with its resin it becomes too warm for the foam I use.

Great work SB! I have a question about your foam masters. Are you laying the fiberglass directly over the foam masters? If so, how are you sealing the foam and what mold release are you using?

Cheers.

Good questions! Yes, I usually lay-up straight onto the foam, using a thin smearing of Vaseline (petroleum jelly) as the release agent. This technique seems to work well enough - the resin doesn't attack the mould, and getting the completed part off is normally straight-forward. There'll be some areas which have had filler applied, obviously, but once it's all sanded and smooth it doesn't cause any problems.

When I first started fibreglassing on the 917-10 and 908-3 I would give the finished mould a coat of paint to seal the surface, but I've not done this on any of the 935 moulds and it hasn't been a problem. The only downside of using vaseline as the release agent is that it's a bit messy to apply, and you have to clean it off the finished parts (and the mould) afterwards! I've been using 'Aeropoxy' resin, mixed 3 parts resin to 2 parts hardener - you can feel it warming up, but I don't think it's ever gotten too hot at this ratio; maybe if I used more hardener this could be an issue...

Hope this helps - I'll post photos of the lay-up in a couple of weeks!

SB

Can't wait for the next update.

what an amazing update. definitely looking forward to the next ones :)

Hello again,

This week's update is mainly about the nose section. I've done a little more filling and shaping on the tail and roof extension, but nothing outstanding. The nose, however, still required a lot of work...

First job was to start getting some curvature to the outer edges of the front wings. I could have done this all free-hand, but as there was a fair amount of material to remove I wanted to hot-wire the corners first, then start sanding. I used more draughting film to get the curves I wanted, then transferred these to cardboard to make the cutting templates:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby395_zps4d3b3efb.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby395_zps4d3b3efb.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby396_zpsf4fce380.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby396_zpsf4fce380.jpg.html)

I added the first layer of filler, then started sanding the top surface. The cardboard across the front is the early stages of the bonnet front edge - in time this will be filled and shaped.

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby397_zpse3411715.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby397_zpse3411715.jpg.html)

The main job with the nose was shaping the lower airdam section - I was hoping to find something suitable to use as a curved sanding block, but ended up doing it free-hand. The concave surface doesn't show too well in this photo, but it's there!

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby398_zps2c70bbd5.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby398_zps2c70bbd5.jpg.html)

By this point I'd also fitted the extension piece around the front which would support the splitter and airdam section. You can also see the filler I've added to the cardboard centre section.

The final 'structural' job was to add an inner edge to the bonnet opening. Instead of the original vertical sides, I hot-wired a couple of wedges from the leftover foam:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby399_zps56cf894e.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby399_zps56cf894e.jpg.html)

I'll only need to lay-up along the top edge, but these pieces just give a slight taper to the bonnet opening. I can add the lip for the bonnet panel to sit on later, once everything is in position over the chassis frame.

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby400_zps65fcce35.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby400_zps65fcce35.jpg.html)

This last photo gives a better view of the tapered sides. Before I do the final sanding and smoothing I'm building up the two corners at either end of the central cardboard section - trying to cut these as part of the foam outer wings would have been very difficult. My first thought was to use Greenstuff, but it didn't want to 'key' to the foam - so I used my trusty Fine Surface Polyfilla instead.

So, am I on course to start fibreglassing next week? I think so. All the significant structural work on the moulds is done - it's mainly just a case of smoothing out the worst of the lumps and bumps, and tidying everything up. I'm okay for fibreglass cloth, resin, etc, so no problems there - no last-minute panics to order in the missing key ingredient!

That's it for tonight - have a good week,

SB

Getting on to the body - exciting!

ianc

Hello again,

I've had a productive few days this week - after spending ages working on the moulds, I've been able to make real progress with the fibreglassing...as you'll see! I was planning to take more action shots during the lay-up process, but - by definition - it's a bit sticky at times, so not really a good idea to be trying to take photos.

My method for laying-up fibreglass is as follows:

Use a thin coating of petroleum jelly (Vaseline) to protect the mould and act as a release agent.

Mix resin and hardener together in the ratio 3:2. I've been using 'Aeropoxy' from Deluxe Materials. I've found that 7.5ml of resin to 5ml of hardener gives you about 30-minutes to work, and is enough to add a single layer to one of the larger pieces with maybe a little left over. It's too easy to mix too much, then find that it's starting to harden in the pot before you can do anything with it! To avoid left-over resin kick-starting the reaction in the new batch I've been using a new mixing pot and brush for each one.

Brush the resin onto the mould, lay on the fibreglass cloth, then apply more resin - making sure the cloth is soaked-through. Tight angles and changes of direction can cause problems, making the cloth lift and pucker, or creating air bubbles. I've found the best way to avoid some of these problems is to use lighter cloths - 0.6 or 1oz - so that it follows the shape of the mould better. Heavier 2 or 2.3oz cloth has its uses, but is better suited to flatter surfaces (at this scale, anyway).

Having added the new layer of cloth - leave it alone! It's tempting to try to add multiple layers too quickly (I know, I've done it myself) but I'm not convinced this is such a good idea. All this week I've been starting to lay-up around 9.00am and finishing around two hours later...then repeating the process the following morning. It's meant I've not been able to spend all day modelling, but it has allowed the resin to harden properly between layers. By the evening it's gone off enough that you can start cutting the next layer of cloth in preparation for the next day...

Repeat the above as appropriate! In total I used five layers of cloth on these panels - three at 1oz, one at 2.3oz, and a final layer of 1oz to finish off. Changing the direction of the weave between layers improves the strength, but makes it awkward to cut the pieces of cloth.

So, enough text - now for some photos. Here are the roof extension and nose section during lay-up:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby402_zpsdd618ed2.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby402_zpsdd618ed2.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby401_zpsa94adc6a.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby401_zpsa94adc6a.jpg.html)

This next one's not the greatest photo, but it shows all the moulds together. Each time I mixed a new batch of resin and hardener I'd start on one of the larger pieces, then use what was left in the pot on the two smaller 'undertail' pieces:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby406_zpsc9874b35.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby406_zpsc9874b35.jpg.html)

The undertail sections were the first bits to be prised off the moulds - if these were okay, I'd continue with the others (if not, they would be easy enough to put back on the mould and add another layer). Fortunately, they were okay - these five layers ended up about 0.65mm thick, not absolutely rock-solid, but with a little flexibility which will help when fitting.

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby405_zpsd63cc91c.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby405_zpsd63cc91c.jpg.html)

Here's the roof extension and the nose:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby404_zps5bcbaa6a.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby404_zps5bcbaa6a.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby403_zps1d200f57.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby403_zps1d200f57.jpg.html)

In all it took about three hours to remove all six pieces from the moulds, give them a quick trim to get the bulk of the excess cloth off, then give each panel a scrub in soapy water. The Vaseline does a good job - once you can get a length of thin cardboard between the mould and the panel it's quite easy to separate the two. The tricky part is when you've got several changes of direction, or fine detail (such as on the nose section). I guess those of you into resin casting know all about this...

So, I could now start trimming the panels and offering them to the chassis. The nose seemed a good place to start:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby407_zpse83ad6d8.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby407_zpse83ad6d8.jpg.html)

...and with the nose in position, I could trim the bonnet to suit:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby410_zps55759a5b.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby410_zps55759a5b.jpg.html)

Nothing's final yet - I've trimmed the panels to the minimum and haven't tried to go straight to a finished cut. The wheelarches and final details won't happen until I've got the panels fixed in position - this is the next big job. It's a catch-22 situation, though: the easiest way to fix the panels will be to add brackets to the underside which can be pinned to the chassis...but then I won't be able to put the panels back on the moulds for further work, or to check measurements. Hmmm...

The roof extension and tail will need a lot of work to make sure everything fits together properly - there's a lot going on around the side windows, for example. The upper half of the roof extension may not make the grade - the curvature is not quite the same as the original roof, so it might not be possible to get it to blend in seamlessly (even with plenty of filler, etc). We'll see. For now, it's a case of seeing how the panels fit together and working out what's possible...

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby409_zpscd490404.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby409_zpscd490404.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby408_zps4c1d33ad.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby408_zps4c1d33ad.jpg.html)

So far, so good, I think.

Apologies for the wordiness this week - it was either this, or cover the camera in resin and fibreglass cloth! Let me know if there's something I've missed out.

All the best,

SB

All that is possible to write in admiration of your work has been written in this thread many times over. I really have nothing new to say! You are true artist and a great craftsman. What an incredible work.

This masterpiece finally take shape.
I agree with Alex and I add this... What great passion to build one model for 2-3 years. I boring mine after 2-3 months!!!
Good luck until the end.

You must be very pleased, looking good.

Somewhere, there's a 911 buried in there!

Looking fantastic as usual; hope you can use the roof!

ianc

Incredible work!

All that is possible to write in admiration of your work has been written in this thread many times over. I really have nothing new to say! You are true artist and a great craftsman. What an incredible work.

well said!

well said!

Great work

Hello again,

As ianc said, there's a 911 buried in here somewhere...and I'm slowly trying to dig it out! Before I went any further with trimming the bodywork I wanted to make the sill extensions - in time these will be covered by fibreglass 'running-boards', but the structure below has to take the loads. I used various sizes of styrene box section, as you can see, with the round piece at the front pinned into place:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby411_zps3131c23e.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby411_zps3131c23e.jpg.html)

Two short lengths of brass tube will be used to pin each sill to the main chassis structure. You can also see where I've pinned through the various sections for a little extra reinforcement:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby412_zpsda23e297.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby412_zpsda23e297.jpg.html)

With the sills positioned I could start trying to finalise the fit of the panels. I drilled a couple of small pins through the fibreglass to fix them to the sill - these will be covered later, so no problem. I could then re-fit the wheels and tyres and sort out where the wheel-arches should be - using templates to make sure I got the same shape each side...

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby413_zpsef3bf8ac.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby413_zpsef3bf8ac.jpg.html)

I trimmed the front arches out but left the rears in for now - although the fibreglass has stiffened slightly since it was made, the rear wings will be a little flexible if I cut them now.

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby414_zps31688e31.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby414_zps31688e31.jpg.html)

The success of the roof extension would depend on whether I could get a good fit where it meets the existing roof - I was fully prepared to adjust the mould and re-make this panel, if necessary. Fortunately, with a bit of gentle flexing I'm confident it will take the right shape:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby415_zps6b2276e4.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby415_zps6b2276e4.jpg.html)

So, for now it has a stay of execution. The next job was to start trimming it out - first, the rear window:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby416_zps05b93931.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby416_zps05b93931.jpg.html)

...and the sides:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby417_zpsa7cf1c0b.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby417_zpsa7cf1c0b.jpg.html)

I'm going to leave the rear deck attached to the roof for now - it enables me to keep everything in line on the jig. The rear window will need some styrene strip-work first which should be enough to keep everything in shape after the two sections are separated. The side windows will need styrene filler panels which will include the inlets for the two turbos.

So, making progress again. In between trimming and fettling the panels I've already made, I want to start on the moulds for the running-boards and the wheel-arch inner edges. Hopefully I can have these ready to get a few layers of fibreglass laid-up at the weekend. This just leaves the doors - I made the outer skins last summer, but at some point I'm going to have to trim them to fit...

Finally, thanks for all the positive comments following the last few updates - I'm pleased that I can now start showing some real developments, even though the finish is still a looooong way off! With each bit of trimming it looks a little more like the 935...

Have a good week,

SB

ScratchBuilt, Today, 05:30 AM
With each bit of trimming it looks a little more like the 935...
Wow! :eek7: As has been pointed out SB, pretty much every great comment has already been posted here mate. I can only add my :worshippy once again.

But man, from where I sit, every square millimeter LOOKS very much like a 935 my friend. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
That's every thumb that I have, you get both of 'em. :smile:

Wow! :eek7: As has been pointed out SB, pretty much every great comment has already been posted here mate. I can only add my :worshippy once again.

But man, from where I sit, every square millimeter LOOKS very much like a 935 my friend. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
That's every thumb that I have, you get both of 'em. :smile:

Totally agree stump.

Looking amazing already SB:cool:

Evening, all,

The last couple of weeks have all been about getting more fibreglassing done - by last weekend I'd got the moulds ready, and the parts have come off today. I decided to do my update tonight, as tomorrow night is the WEC race from Brazil - so I'll be busy watching that!

First up, the outer 'running board' panels. Having already made the styrene supporting structure, the easiest way to make the moulds was to repeat these and add the extra detail as required - the resulting panels would be a very snug fit:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby418_zpseccfb755.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby418_zpseccfb755.jpg.html)

The lower edges were padded-out with styrene strip, then a layer of greenstuff to smooth things over:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby419_zpsc400b808.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby419_zpsc400b808.jpg.html)

A couple of layers of regular filler gave me the final shape for the sides. Here you can see the comparison with the original support structure. Two areas were likely trouble-spots: the small extension at the front was going to be awkward to lay-up neatly, and the slight step towards the rear was in danger of being smoothed over as the layers increased:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby420_zps6d532647.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby420_zps6d532647.jpg.html)

The step at the back did suffer slightly, but I'm hoping to be able to recover some of the crispness of the detailing by some careful filing. Laying up the whole piece was a bit of a pain - lots of small snippets of cloth required, rather than being able to drape on a single piece. Having managed to get both parts off the moulds (not easy...) I'm tempted to add at least another layer as they're a little flexible right now - they should harden over time, but I want them to be sturdy.

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby421_zps1904c79a.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby421_zps1904c79a.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby422_zps3f88c029.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby422_zps3f88c029.jpg.html)

I've done some initial trimming on both sides and I think the overall shape is going to work. To support the fibreglass I'm now adding foam wedges to the top of the styrene structure (similar to the moulds) - I'll show you some of this next week.

The other bit of major fibreglass work has been creating the inner lips for the wheel-arches. For these I used some 10mm foam and cut yet more cardboard templates...

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby423_zpscc1554d6.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby423_zpscc1554d6.jpg.html)

On both the front and rear wheel-arches the rearward edge is curved, and the front edge is square, so I couldn't just cut one mould for each and repeat the lay-up - I had to make all four individually:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby424_zps6bedcb83.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby424_zps6bedcb83.jpg.html)

With parts like this you always find yourself laying-up much more than is necessary - but it's easier to trim precisely rather than to lay-up accurately! The white foam used for these moulds isn't as robust as the blue stuff - by the time I'd prised the panels off, the moulds were destroyed.

Here you can see that I've started to trim down the front arches - the finished part will probably be even smaller before it gets glued in place:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby425_zpsadf4c342.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby425_zpsadf4c342.jpg.html)

The final thing I've been working on this week has been the structure around the rear window. I've CA'd some small angle strip to the outer shell and around the inside edge of the roof extension, and this gave me something solid to work with. Then it was a question of playing around with cardboard to get a feel for the shapes:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby426_zps0486032c.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby426_zps0486032c.jpg.html)

Here you can see the cardboard has been replaced with styrene, and that I've added a fibreglass panel across the lower edge of the window. The whole lot needs some extra internal reinforcement, so that's on the menu for next week's post.

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby427_zps1d61c3be.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby427_zps1d61c3be.jpg.html)

When all this is solid I'll be able to separate the tail from the window / roof section. I'm trying to be careful with some of the internal work as I don't quite know how much will be visible later on, or whether I'm going to have to route something through there at some point. It's got to be tidy, just in case...!

So, that's it for tonight. Hopefully by next weekend some of these jobs will be finished and I can start thinking about the next stage...whatever that will be.

SB

This work is stunning !!!

Hello again,

Quite a lot to show this week - not sure exactly why, but it's just been a productive few days. It's probably mainly due to seeing the proper 'Moby Dick' shape start to come together every time I cut and refine the various panels. So, to start with, I cut more foam wedges to fix to the tops of the outer sills - these fill the gap below the fibreglass covers, giving them support. I also added an extra layer of fibreglass cloth to the covers - this has stiffened them up quite well:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby428_zpseb6e76ff.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby428_zpseb6e76ff.jpg.html)

Next, more work on the rear window surround. I reinforced everything with styrene strip and angle, built-up the edge with a few layers of 0.7mm sheet, and added 0.4mm sheet to the inside of the shell to define the rearmost edge of the panel:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby429_zpse86d8f71.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby429_zpse86d8f71.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby430_zps92b31b28.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby430_zps92b31b28.jpg.html)

From the outside you can see where I'll eventually be separating the roof extension from the tail:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby431_zps735b790e.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby431_zps735b790e.jpg.html)

Moving on again, I continued trimming the front wheel-arch edges and fixed them into place. Compared to what was moulded, there's very little fibreglass left:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby432_zps2ffc901b.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby432_zps2ffc901b.jpg.html)

The rear of the wheel-arch had to be cut back and fettled to suit the curve of the inner edge - in time the whole lot will be filled and smoothed over. Despite dripping in large amounts of CA glue to fix it all together, I'm considering adding a single layer of fibreglass cloth on the back face too.

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby433_zps36d00b34.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby433_zps36d00b34.jpg.html)

In this last photo you can also see where I've lined up the wheel-arch with the sill panel - still needs final trimming, but it shows how it would have been very difficult to mould the whole lot as one piece from the beginning.

Having tackled the front, it made sense to continue with the rear. The fibreglass has 'crisped-up' since it was made (mmm...nice!) so it shouldn't go out of shape:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby435_zps00b1819b.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby435_zps00b1819b.jpg.html)

I've also trimmed the underside of the whale-tail to get a better idea of the final shape. Once I'd done this I immediately thought about changing my plan for adding the lower part of each side - instead of cutting the panel across the horizontal line marked and having a visible seam to conceal, why not glue the lower part to the inside and have the seam at the bottom? Hmm...seemed like a good idea, but the problem was that I'd also have to add the wheel-arch edges too, and I have a feeling this will become more complicated. So, for now I'm sticking with plan A - cut the panel across the middle, then add the lower half.

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby436_zps7e250e24.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby436_zps7e250e24.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby437_zps10aab21b.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby437_zps10aab21b.jpg.html)

Finally, I've trimmed the door panels to shape - easier to do now that I've got the lower sills fitted. I can't say that I'm looking forward to working on the door hinges (or making sure the whole lot opens correctly once the door covers are added) but that's a job for later. One thing I mustn't forget is to create the recesses behind the door handles before I start adding the inner structure!

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby434_zps819c15d3.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby434_zps819c15d3.jpg.html)

I think that's it for tonight; more next week.

SB

SB - It is unbelieveable what you can do
John

Wow, this thing is really starting to come together and look like a car now. Excellent!

ianc

Hello!

I spent most of last week working on the rear bodywork - I wanted to replace the original Lego tail support structure with something in styrene. This would give me more options for holding all the panels together, and allow better access. This wouldn't be the final framework that would be fitted to the car - just something to help with the build. Here's what I created:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby438_zps9d8ae7de.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby438_zps9d8ae7de.jpg.html)

It slides into the two main chassis tubes either side of the engine bay and puts the rear edge of the bodywork at the same height and distance as the original. I've CA'd some small pieces of angle and channel to the underside of the panels so that everything locks into position:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby439_zpscb7854b9.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby439_zpscb7854b9.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby440_zps27043e14.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby440_zps27043e14.jpg.html)

These extra brackets can be removed later once the final mountings are in place. Now the panels are 'fixed' I can start thinking about the final trimming and fettling, plus I can separate the tail from the roof extension.

Next job was to cut the rear wings horizontally and trim the lower parts of the undertail to suit:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby441_zps0de9af9c.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby441_zps0de9af9c.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby442_zps754270cf.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby442_zps754270cf.jpg.html)

In the first photo you can clearly see the two mounting brackets. The lower panel is only partially trimmed - there's more to be removed from behind the wheel-arch. There'll eventually be a section of the original 911 rear bumper to fit below the tail too, and this has to match up.

It was then possible to start fitting the wheel-arch inner edges, similar to the nose section. More trimming and fettling required! To reinforce the joint between the upper and lower rear wing I used pieces of fibreglass cut from the upper panels. Eventually this will all be glued, filled, and smoothed (possibly with a final layer of fibreglass too), but for now a strip of masking tape holds it all together:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby443_zps47264caf.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby443_zps47264caf.jpg.html)

Last job of the week was to mount the nose section in place. Again, I added two small channel-section brackets under the front and these locate on the cross-tube. The final mountings will be two pegs coming from the corners of the lower X-frame, plus outriggers ahead of the front wheels, but these temporary fixings won't get in the way of any of this. With this done, I could trim some of the fibreglass from around the lower edge of the nose - I don't need the reference marks anymore! The final splitter will only be about 6mm deep all round, but as there's plenty to trim out of the lower bumper (headlight pods, cooling inlets, brake ducts) I wanted to leave some material there for strength:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby444_zps6726605d.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby444_zps6726605d.jpg.html)

Small steps, but it's coming together! I think I need to create a solid fixing for the trailing edges of the nose section (even a temporary one) so that I can then separate the door covers; this will give me better access to work on fitting the doors themselves. I still need to create moulds for the front ends of the rear wings (to give me the inlets to the side rads), plus the 911 bumper...and the wheel covers, front ducts, door inners, etc, so that's something to think about.

Not sure if I'll have an update next week - I'm away racing this weekend and then we've got family visiting, so the modelling might have to take a back-seat for a few days...!

All the best,

SB

Hey SB

Not sure if youve seen it, but Speedhunters did a spread on Moby
http://www.speedhunters.com/2013/09/911-to-the-extreme-the-93578-moby-dick/

Looking good so far!

Ouch - three weeks without an update! Sorry that it's taken a while to get back in action - our last race meeting at Croft didn't really work out too well for us, so modelling hasn't been my main concern for a while...

However, work continues. After adding some extra location brackets to the rear dummy frame I made the decision to separate the rearmost tail section from the roof extension:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby445_zps8d3a4ab6.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby445_zps8d3a4ab6.jpg.html)

I've done some messing around with ideas for the side window panels, but I suspect that whatever I do, I need to fix the roof extension in place first - otherwise everything is moving around too much. Hmm...not sure I want to do that just yet!

Moving on, I wanted to get a few more moulds made for a final fibreglassing session - I should have some more holiday coming up in November, so that's the target. The rear wings need end-pieces to close the gap between the door and the outer panel - basically, I need to replace the cardboard piece shown here:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby446_zps3c572a50.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby446_zps3c572a50.jpg.html)

In theory it's a simple couple of moulds, but in practice they took some work - I'll only know how successful I've been when they're laid-up with fibreglass. I've put a slight chamfer on the outer section, rounded-off the top corners, and hopefully they'll fit into place without leaving massive gaps. Of course, I'll eventually have to cut a large inlet into each panel anyway, so there won't be much left when I'm done...

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby447_zps0f6a1b2b.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby447_zps0f6a1b2b.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby448_zps352f8a4a.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby448_zps352f8a4a.jpg.html)

Continuing the mould-making theme, I've made a start on the inner door panels:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby449_zps35e9749d.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby449_zps35e9749d.jpg.html)

I could have made the mould simpler by working with a conventional rectangular block of foam, then simply cutting the back edge of the fibreglass panel to suit the profile of the inside of the door. However, I wanted to be sure everything slotted into place, and I decided the best way to do this was to fit the foam into the door. So, I hot-wired six 50mm-wide sections which matched the door profile, then taped them together in threes (making sure I didn't put tape where I would later be cutting out...). I then attached cardboard templates either side and removed the interior:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby450_zpsbd676a35.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby450_zpsbd676a35.jpg.html)

...and before anyone says 'couldn't you have just milled-out the interior?', it's worth pointing out that the inside edges of the slot are not square to the surface - there's a lot of tapering going on! I'm even thinking of leaving the foam in place once the fibreglass is laid-up - it'll strengthen the door (without too much weight) - and save me some work trying to remove the foam without damaging the new panel!

Here's how it looks in place:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby451_zps5877d552.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby451_zps5877d552.jpg.html)

Still needs more work, of course, but I think it'll be okay. The bit that's troubling me is how I'm going to handle the window frames, etc - there's a lot of stuff there that's got to fit together neatly...

So, going into the new week I've still got to make the other mould for the right-hand door, plus tidy-up the first one. This won't really be enough to justify another fibreglassing session, so I need to make a few more moulds - maybe it's time to re-visit the seat I started a while back...perhaps make a start on the dashboard too?

That's all for tonight. Have a good week, everyone.

SB

Another good update, like the door panel.

Lovely progress SB!

This and a few other fantastic WIP threads are the only thing keeping me sane at the moment. Not done any model building for ages as the house is being renovated...I don't even know were my favourite modelling tools are right now!:confused:

Great Progress SB! I never really understood the importance of this car until I read an article about the 935s development, it truely is an amazing bit of machine. So much so I went & brought one... well Tamiyas reasonable 1/24 Moby Dick. not a bad kit esp considering how cheap it was. But yours must be something else, its hard to grasp just how big it is until theres a pic of you holding a part! damn!!

Evening all,

After the events of recent weeks I've given myself a break from mould-making and fibreglass for a while - I wanted to get back to turning large bits of styrene into smaller bits of styrene!

So, I've made a start on the radiators and coolers. In theory there's four: two in the rear wings and two in the nose...but as the two in the nose are particularly large it's much the same as making six! In previous models I've used different types of fine wire mesh to recreate the finned effect of a radiator core, but - to be honest - this isn't good enough. However, how to get the right effect? The rows of fins are typically 8mm wide, so that's 1mm on the model - there's no way I can do that level of detailing! So, I used strips of 1mm x 0.25mm styrene with a consistent gap to give me the fins:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby452_zps1c7e940c.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby452_zps1c7e940c.jpg.html)

I made a core from appropriate lengths of box-section, then added the two sheets of fin detailing either side. The end tanks were made from a combination of flat sheet and round tube cut in two (with more detailing to follow), and the edge capping overlaps the sides and finishes everything off:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby453_zpsb9f03719.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby453_zpsb9f03719.jpg.html)

This is the first of the two water radiators which will be housed in the rear wings; I've started making the components for the second, and am now waiting for fresh supplies of 0.25mm strip.

I've used a similar technique for the oil cooler at the front - the overall thickness is slightly different, and I've used 1mm x 0.5mm strip for the fins to give some variety. My hope is that once they're painted there'll be a greater contrast between the strips and the gaps, giving the right overall effect. The oil cooler is hung from the chassis tube across the front of the nose, so I've made some small brackets to glue to the top capping, and similar mounts which are glued and pinned into the chassis:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby454_zpseab64ee7.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby454_zpseab64ee7.jpg.html)

The two sections of the rad were made separately then glued together with the spacer in the middle; the top and bottom capping will tie it all together. There's various areas where I'll be adding some greenstuff later to fill gaps and generally tidy everything up.

The intercooler rad is a thicker V-shaped construction which sits in front of the oil cooler - I'm starting on this now. All four rads have slightly different end tanks, capping details, etc, so that's helping to keep things interesting - gluing the fins in place is a bit mind-numbing though!

Hopefully by the end of the weekend I'll have all four rads looking fairly complete - the outlet pipes can wait until I've a better idea of how I'm actually going to do the plumbing.

See you then,

SB

Nice rads.

...and here's the intercooler rad mounted on the front too. I made the two sections separately, then used a wedge-shaped spacer to get the shallow-V. There's a pin through the middle to reinforce the joint, as the top capping doesn't cover both sections in one piece.

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby455_zpsad4f0723.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby455_zpsad4f0723.jpg.html)

The next job was to work on mounting the intercooler - I wanted to create a solid joint without relying on the styrene detailing, so it was a case of drilling and pinning into the end tanks. The styrene T-section bits are the start of the 'actual' mounting brackets, but these will not be structural.

I've green-stuffed the top mounting brackets for the oil cooler before drilling and pinning them to the capping. A couple of lengths of thin strip on the bottom locate into a channel on the front of the chassis, so that fixes the position of the whole assembly.

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby456_zpsb9e7ae27.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby456_zpsb9e7ae27.jpg.html)

So, it's nearly there. I've still got to finish off the second radiator for the rear wing, but that'll be done this week, plus I can add some bleed-bushes, etc.

Have a good week,

SB

Something different for this update...

I spent most of my evenings last week continuing with the radiators - I felt that the first side rad I'd made was actually a bit too short, so to stop it niggling me for the rest of build I had to re-make it. So, plenty more plastic strips glued down as before; I was able to recover the end tanks from the mk1 version, and I'd made the second set already, so it wasn't too bad. I'll update this next time.

However, I wanted to spend the weekend doing something else, and set to work on creating the fuel tanks for the nose. The plan for these was to shape a foam core which could be given a thin coating of fibreglass cloth, then add the connector details, etc, as appropriate. The actual 935-78 tanks were covered in a fibreglass shell too, although the oil tank was plain ali.

So, the first step was to draw up a basic pattern on cardboard and see how it would fit into the available space:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby457_zps38d261e0.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby457_zps38d261e0.jpg.html)

A piece of blue foam was then hot-wired to suit, with a layer of 10mm white foam underneath to get the correct height:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby458_zps781d7511.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby458_zps781d7511.jpg.html)

Throughout all this I was continually checking various photos to make sure it was a match - the bolt-in X-frame over the top was also used as a reference to try to get the correct proportions. Remember, I don't have any drawings for this, so some of the shaping is going to be educated guesswork! The recess in the front of the tank is to make room for the battery which is mounted in the nose of the car behind the rads, plus there's a fuel pump to be tucked down there somewhere. After creating the main fuel tank, I added the collector tank to the other corner, and started work on the oil tank in the rear corner:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby459_zps31bb0697.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby459_zps31bb0697.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby460_zps744a2d41.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby460_zps744a2d41.jpg.html)

The oil tank is somewhat smaller than on the 908 or 917 which initially made me wonder whether I'd got something wrong...but I realised that there was a good reason for this. The engines in the 908 and 917 were air-cooled, so the oil had to do double-duty as both lubricant and engine coolant. The engine in the 935-78 had water-cooled heads, so the oil system was not under the same workload - and so the tank capacity would naturally be smaller. Panic over...!

I'll continue with all this during the week, and can hopefully do the fibreglassing in a couple of weeks when I'm on holiday. The top of the oil tank will need to be built-up using styrene as there's a channel running across it for the X-frame, but there's no reason why the lower section can't be fibreglass - it'll all be hidden once assembled.

Have a good week,

SB

Looking good SB!

ianc