MFH 1/12 Porsche 956 Short Tail Ver. 'B'

[John18d]

Completely unbelievable Eric

By far the is the best 956 I have seen being constructed on several model websites.

Eric, your work and explanations have made me realize that I just have to put a little money aside each month and in 4 months I could have one of these MFH 956 kits.

Please don't spare any work or details from this thread - show us all of it as I'm sure you are so far.

Cheers
John

[ScratchBuilt]

I think it's obvious by now that I've got a thing for Porsche racing cars, and although my 935-78 will keep me occupied for probably the next couple of years (gulp!), it's a build like this that really makes me want to tackle the 956/962 as 'the next project'.

This is utterly gorgeous, and I can only echo all the other compliments. Yes, they're expensive kits, but you've also got to have the skills and talent to do them justice. From what we've seen so far, I don't think this will be a problem for you, Eric! Me? I'd buy the kit and leave it in the box, worried that I'd make a complete mess of it...

Kudos to anyone who takes on one of these MFH kits!

SB

[Eric Cole]

Thank you guys. I really appreciate the compliments.

Here's a little more progress completed.

Pretty much finished up the wiring and plumbing in the engine/transaxle area. There is a little more plumbing to add to the turbos but it's getting close to done. Once I receive some more A/N Fittings from RBMotion I can finish this up and finish up the front brake cylinders, etc.



Also started test fitting the body. First attempt was a little disappointing but at the same time closer than what I expected and I had only set and snapped pieces into place without any adjustments or the screws that hold the parts.



I made some adjustments to some of the body parts by sanding and drilling larger holes for locating pins, etc. I got a much better result after an hour or so of working with it. Last, I bent and reshaped the doors for a better fit. Then assembled it all using the appropriate screws and tape for a temporary hold. Here I also only spent about 5 minutes on each door so I feel confident with more time and a Dremel I can make the doors fit.



Here's the biggest problem with fitting the body parts on my short tail version. The rear engine cover is narrower than the main body piece. Also, the top surface of the rear engine cover sits lower than the main body piece. However, at the top roof line where the engine cover and main body come together they are at the correct height and match up well.



I will need to widen the engine cover and add height to the engine cover where needed so it all lines up correctly when done. Time for razor saws, plastic sheet and some putty.

[Eric Cole]

Work on the engine cover has started. I considered the various ways of fixing the problem but after talking with my model "co-builders" Brian and Bob we came up with what I think is an easy fix.

Here's the engine cover before modification. You can see that the engine cover is narrower overall but also on the domed section you can see it matches well enough at the top but becomes too narrow towards the bottom.



So, I made patterns of the sides of the engine cover with tape, cut out and added (laminated) thin plastic sheets onto both sides of the engine cover. This is what it looked like after. You can see it's a lot better.




Then began to add some putty to level things out. For now, just trying to get the height correct and will then work on smoothing and blending it into to the surrounding surfaces.




Still a ways to go but it's getting closer and I'm getting more confident I can make this thing sit closed up or opened up (most of the time opened up, of course).

[nugundam93]

nice fix! what kind of putty did you use?

[Eric Cole]

Originally Posted by nugundam93

nice fix! what kind of putty did you use?

Thanks!

It's just a basic "bondo" 2 part type polyester filler and hardener. I'll continue to rough it in with this till I have a good base and correct height then I'll smooth everything out with liquid putty and primers till it's ready for final primer and paint.

[lemansnut]

I can't think of a superlative that will do it justice! Truly outstanding work so far, Eric. One of the most incredible builds I've seen, EVER. Can't wait for more!

Mike

[Eric Cole]

Finally got most of the body work done and have a good coat of grey primer on the parts to check my work. I's a lot better than original but I still have a little fine tuning to do to get the engine cover where I want it to match up with the main body section.

Here's parts in primer. I think it's a big improvement on how well they fit together. Next I will need to fasten it all in place and modify the doors to fit.


Also managed to get a little more plumbing/wiring done up front for the brake/clutch reservoirs and the windshield washer bottle. They may not be accurate but they look better than just frosted clear bottles. Used RBMotion parts for the connectors. Mixed up some clear orange, clear yellow, clear smoke and flat clear then thinned it into a wash and applied a few coats to the reservoirs. I did the same using clear blue, flat clear and thinned it to a wash and applied it to the windshield washer bottle.


And just because I will want to display the model opened and with the wheels off sometimes, I made some sawhorse style stands for it. Made from aluminum rod, aluminum tube, sheet plastic and some plastic nuts and bolts from Tichy Train Group. Primed and painted Tamiya Red. Sorry for the blurry picture...

[John18d]

Fantastic sawhorse stands Eric
did you have dimensions for the sawhorse parts?

Excellent work on the reservoirs, but I wouldn't have painted them with the reduced clear color all the way to the top. I don't know if you will understand me or not.

This is still by far the best MFH 1/12 956 being built on any model forum.

Cheers Eric
John

[peter i]

wow, that's looks like a real thing !!!!

[Martini Man]

simply amazing work, thanks for sharing.
? = does the kit come with all the hose and fittings and your just replacing them with better aftermarket?

Paul

[Eric Cole]

Originally Posted by Martini Man

simply amazing work, thanks for sharing.
? = does the kit come with all the hose and fittings and your just replacing them with better aftermarket?

Paul

Thanks guys.

Most of the hose connectors seen on this build came with the kit. Molded in white metal and the end had to be drilled out. I added a few things like the fittings on the brake calipers and the brake fluid reservoirs. Those were not included in the kit at all.

[Eric Cole]

I got a little bit more work done.

Worked on and tweaked the body a little more and spent a lot of time on fitting the doors. The body is close to fitting and with a little more tweaking and some shims here and there I think I can get it a little closer. I'm not sure I'll ever get the passenger side door to fit though.






However, all of the wiring and plumbing I wanted to do is finally complete on the chassis.





...and a couple pictures of the finished chassis without all the background mess.

[88Porsche944]

Incredible work!

[MTWONE]

Photos are not visible