In Progress: Revell BMW 850i

This color is fantastic, good job on this one! Nowadays I see one dark blue 850i hangin around my house, it's a unique! Keep the good work!

Hey my friend, everething it's being perfect. I love the way this paintjob is performing. I'm pretty shure you won't have any problem polishing it, no orange peel, or runs. I can't wait to see more. Even that I already built one, I feel like if I didn't.

Keep the good work!

:thumbsup:

Very nice build! Paint work is excellant!:) I've always liked the lines and front end of the BMW'S. I'll have to put the 850 on my list of kits to find.
Dan

I'll have to put the 850 on my list of kits to find.
:rofl: - (humming theme tune to "eBay here I come!")
That list just keeps getting longer and longer, Dan ;)

:rofl: - (humming theme tune to "eBay here I come!")

Perhaps Weird Al Yankovic's "Ebay"? (Parody of "I Want it That Way")

Perhaps Weird Al Yankovic's "Ebay"? (Parody of "I Want it That Way")

He sings that song?! Oh my...

"III bought ooooon eeeee-baaay..."
Can I enter in "American Idol"? LOL

Looks fantastic!!

Since you gave some light coats only on the front part (headlights,hood,and so on),or you painted the whole body?
Painting just the front part wouldn't make the front part paint differe from the rest of the body?

I hope you understand half of what I wrote! :icon16:

Since you gave some light coats only on the front part (headlights,hood,and so on),or you painted the whole body?

He says that he gave the whole body a few mist coats. Yes it would make the color different.

:rofl: - (humming theme tune to "eBay here I come!")
That list just keeps getting longer and longer, Dan ;)

Actually the list is getting smaller! :grinyes: Its the builds that are getting longer or is it I'm older and slower, I can't remember! Some of us have to use ebay, others just drive to the "Model Bridge" in Italy!!!:naughty:

Dan

Sorry MPWR, you know how "Some" people are!!:lol:

Eight years!!?? :uhoh:

I had no idea that it hat been eight years since I updated this build! I mean four or five I probably would have believed, but eight...? OK- hands up everyone who is still here that remembers this build!!

A lot has happened in eight years. Recently and relevantly, I have finished renovating the basement- and now for the first time in I can't even say how long, I have a proper place to build. So, time for an update/pulse check.

Some of you who check in with me occasionally have heard that this one hasn't really been abandoned, and that I'm going to get back to it, just as soon as.... Well, I've been unpacking it, and happily have found all of the major components (and many of the minor ones). The body parts are fully painted, but I didn't make it much further than that. So on to the chassis!

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb112/andrejmiller/850-058.jpg

(Yeah, my photo skills may not have improved all that much over the years- not much recent practice.)

Painted in the same colour as the body, but not polished. The heat shield is some textured foil from a cigarette package. The brake and fuel lines are drybrushed with metalizers. So I'm starting with the rear suspension. The 850i has a rear trailing arm setup. Revell has made it nearly as complicated as the real thing, but perhaps not quite as precise.

Compared to other BMWs of the same era, the 850's rear springs are fairly visible- there is a lot of space between the bottom of the car and the lower control arms. Revell represented the springs with a sort of helical cylindrical thing- which is kinda spring shaped, and yet not particularly springish in appearance. Ordinarily I really wouldn't bother, but the spring thingie is pretty uninspiring. So with a bit of work on the lathe, I made a spring winding mandrel.

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb112/andrejmiller/850-054.jpg

It is the same size and twist rate as the kit part. So a wire wrapped around it will have the proper size and shape as a suitable coil.

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb112/andrejmiller/850-055.jpg

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb112/andrejmiller/850-056.jpg

But it turns out that those springie cylinder things are actually a structural part of the suspension- the rear control arms sit on them and use them for support. So I had to make something structural to replace them. Back to the lathe! :rolleyes:

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb112/andrejmiller/850-057.jpg

A couple short lengths of sprue were cut and machined to replace the kit parts. On the real car, there is nothing in the center of these springs, apart from some fat hockey puck like bump stops. (The shocks are outboard of the springs- another update soon, hopefully.) But if the springs are painted in a suitably garish color, the center supports should pretty well disappear, right? :p

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb112/andrejmiller/850-059.jpg

Here the supports are glued in place.

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb112/andrejmiller/850-060.jpg

And here are the control arms test fitted. So far so good.

(Bernard, you're getting a set of springs and supports.)

Thanks for watching, hopefully more soon.

Lol man, I got the shock of my life this morning when I got a notification in my email that you had updated the thread. :bigthumb:

:rofl:

i was thinking someone did thread necropsy on a completed wip thread, lol.

the spring winding mandrel is a great idea. maybe we can get the kit makers to include a plastic one?

How about the rest of the kit that goes with that engine in your sig?

I found all the parts for it, too! It also will be seeing some attention.

So damn happy to see this project getting some love after 8 years... and please, don't make us wait another 8 years for some update to the BNR32.

BTW, Lovely work on the suspension too! ;)

How time flies huh. Glad to see this project going again!

Geez Andy. 8 years? I guess I can still start the kit and beat you to the finish.
Shocks look great. You can also use a suitable screw to wind the springs, btw, but your setup looks sexier for sure. :))

Wow, I thought I would never see this thread resurrected! Looking forward to new updates now. :)

subscribed!great work