1/8 Porsche 935/78 'Moby Dick'

More gearbox work tonight - and for the next few weeks, I suspect!

After the last update I reached the point where I had to start gluing the core of the gearbox together - there was no way to make further progress. Once this was done, I could start adding some of the extra detailing - the reinforcing webs on the underside, for example:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby584_zps3ec7462a.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby584_zps3ec7462a.jpg.html)

Here I'm adding a couple of layers of 0.5mm square strip to thicken-up the main mounting flange. I've also added the start of part of the gearbox oil feed system:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby585_zps753bf7d5.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby585_zps753bf7d5.jpg.html)

In this shot you can see the thicker mounting flange, and the small rectangular 'hole' in the top which would allow a view of the ring-gear on the real car. The first two mounting bolt bosses have been added, with two more to follow on the lower half of the casing:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby586_zpsd18ef12b.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby586_zpsd18ef12b.jpg.html)

The transition from the round flywheel section to the diff housing was always going to be handled by adding greenstuff. I wanted to add the web detailing before the greenstuff as it would give me a guideline for the shaping and smoothing afterwards. I added a couple of small pieces of styrene to give a nice crisp edge, and to give the filler something to key to:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby587_zps92ce7538.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby587_zps92ce7538.jpg.html)

The filler continued across the top of the gearbox - more detailing will be added on both sides, so for now it's just a case of plugging the gaps. On the right-hand side of the diff-housing I've added the first few semi-circular bosses for the side-plate:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby588_zps166398e8.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby588_zps166398e8.jpg.html)

Here's the greenstuff after some shaping; I've also softened the corners of the flywheel housing:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby589_zps9efaf1dc.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby589_zps9efaf1dc.jpg.html)

Finally, here's the other side of the gearbox. The main webs across the top are three layers of 1 x 0.5mm strip - there's a whole lot more to be added on the lower half of the case. The vertical tube on the right-hand side of the photo is where the clutch lever will attach.

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby590_zpsaf77c5ce.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby590_zpsaf77c5ce.jpg.html)

The next challenge will be to add the housing for the starter motor, continue the web detailing, and to work out how the next section of the gearbox will be built. Sounds simple, but the gear-cluster section has some 'interesting' shaping going on.

Oh well, at least no-one's keeping count of the hours...!

SB

Great work as always.

Plain and simple: unbelievable!

Such craftsmanship and patience are really paying off. Very well done!

Hello again,

Busy few days at Silverstone last weekend - we took six cars there for a meeting on the GP circuit (not an opportunity we get too often at our level). Needless to say, work had to take priority over modelling for a while!

Anyway, I decided to tackle the gear-cluster section of the gearbox next. The first job was to create a thick plate to sandwich between the diff-housing section and the gear cluster - this would give me the web-flange detail where everything bolts together. My first thought was to make this from two pieces of 0.75mm styrene sheet, cut to shape. However, trying to incorporate the semi-circular bulges for the bolt-bosses was a real pain. So, plan B was to use a selection of pieces of 1.5mm styrene strip, glued side-by-side; the bolt-bosses could be added by using small slices of half-round styrene. Easy!

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby592_zpsd6b64911.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby592_zpsd6b64911.jpg.html)

I drilled the two holes into the lower tab so that I could pin the plate in place:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby593_zps476752e3.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby593_zps476752e3.jpg.html)


Rather than creating the gear-cluster section as a single solid lump, I wanted to build it from several vertical slices - this would allow me to add a piece of 0.5mm styrene between each slice to create the webbing detail. Creating the first layer was the time-consuming part - getting everything to match up with the detail I'd already added to the casing. I could use plenty of 4.8mm box-section, strip, etc, to keep the slice width consistent. Here's the first two pieces pinned in place:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby594_zps5f1966f4.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby594_zps5f1966f4.jpg.html)

Of course, having made the first two slices it was easy to use these as patterns to make the other six. For now I've just got a single pin running through each side, but this may change when I do the final assembly.

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby595_zps044b91dd.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby595_zps044b91dd.jpg.html)

Building the section in this way also allows me to put another layer of 0.75mm styrene in the middle, as the central web. The four webs down each side are made from 0.5mm styrene - for now, just plain rectangles without any shaping:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby596_zps772b6d28.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby596_zps772b6d28.jpg.html)

...and from the other side:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby597_zps51b2e8a4.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby597_zps51b2e8a4.jpg.html)

Now I can start refining the shape of the webs - and the slices between them. There's also plenty of small longitudinal webs to be added all over this section of the gearbox, but I think I'll worry about these when the core shape is together:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby598_zps1eec7fe1.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby598_zps1eec7fe1.jpg.html)

So, I can now continue with this section before finishing it off with the end-cover. This will be a single piece which ties the two sides of the gear-cluster together, and provides the front mounting for the whole engine and gearbox assembly.

So far, so good!

SB

Hello again,

Busy few days at Silverstone last weekend - we took six cars there for a meeting on the GP circuit (not an opportunity we get too often at our level). Needless to say, work had to take priority over modelling for a while!


Work? Racing? What were you racing? sounds very cool!!
Oh & of course amazing build!

Geez, I wish I could go racing a little less so I'd have more time to work on my models... ;)

ianc

P.S. Gearbox is looking great, like everything else!

Sorry Ian - maybe that didn't quite come across as I intended it to! As much as I enjoy what I do at 'work', there are some race weekends which (for various reasons) just don't seem to go as planned - Silverstone was one of them. We had five of our VD82 FF2000 cars running, plus a Chevron B34 Formula Atlantic - a lot of hard work...

Moving on, the gearbox continues. Before gluing all the sections together I had to do some work with the greenstuff and styrene strip to bring them all to the same level:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby600_zpscfb5ce59.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby600_zpscfb5ce59.jpg.html)

The centre 'web' plate could be re-shaped once everything was in one piece:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby603_zps62ed14a3.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby603_zps62ed14a3.jpg.html)

Starting point for the end-cover was to make another flange plate - this had to match the cut-outs and indentations of the gear-train section. What you see here is actually the second attempt at this part. It's all 1.5mm thick strip, in various sizes - not particularly structural, but the other plates will tie everything together:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby601_zpse574df6f.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby601_zpse574df6f.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby602_zps9539537a.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby602_zps9539537a.jpg.html)

The tricky part of the end-cover was incorporating the front mounting - this has to provide a solid connection to both the gearbox itself, and to the plate which will attach it to the chassis. The mounting block is based on a piece of 1/4" styrene angle, with extra strip detailing. The round tube in the middle will have a short length of ali inserted which goes all the way into the core of the gearbox, and doubles as the connection for the gearshift rod.

The two plates are both 0.75mm thick, with the cut-out giving some extra support to the mounting block. Two extra pins will go through into the front of the gearbox:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby604_zps10816200.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby604_zps10816200.jpg.html)

So, at this point it's all about adding the extra surface detailing. The end cover of the Moby's gearbox is subtly different to the regular 911 version, with the mounting beefed-up, and provision for an extra oil feed connection. You can also see here the ali tube and the various drillings into the structure:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby605_zps95b9ee82.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby605_zps95b9ee82.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby606_zpsb4fe9bc8.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby606_zpsb4fe9bc8.jpg.html)

That's everything up-to-date for another week. At some point soon I'm going to have to make the two engine and gearbox mounting plates so I can fit this all into the chassis - then I can start thinking about the rest of the engine detailing.

Next stop - Le Mans!

SB

Next stop - Le Mans!

SB


Me too. Excellent work as always.

Best regards,
Lesley

Next stop - Le Mans!



Have a great one SB! Can't make it this year...still knee deep in building rubble!:shakehead

Cheers, Cinqster - maybe 2015? I understand they're doing another display on track during Friday's pitwalk - a whole bunch of racing Porsches starting with a 550 and going through to the '98 GT1. Needless to say, that's where I'll be for most of the morning! Classic Group C cars are there again this year, so if I can get into their paddock area, even better. Expect plenty of photos early next week...

To anyone else who's going down to LM - safe trip, have fun, and let's hope we have a great race to enjoy!

SB

Hello everyone,

Well, dad and I returned home from Le Mans just after midnight this morning - the traffic leaving the circuit infield area was terrible, and where it normally takes us about 30 minutes to leave the campsite and get to the motorway, this year it was more like 2 hours! So, we missed our tunnel crossing as a result and didn't get home until late...

The weekend itself was great - good weather all the time we were there, and even when it showered during the early part of the race on Saturday we were under cover in the grandstand. You could see the dark clouds moving in over the far side of the circuit, then the reports over the radio of rain at one part of the circuit, then another, then finally it dumped a load on the pit-straight! If you've not seen the number 8 Toyota trying to take out three or four cars in one hit, it's worth finding the footage online - nasty conditions to be racing in.

The Porsche display on the track during Friday's pitwalk was very good - although you can never be totally sure that the car you're looking at is what it's supposed to be! My only complaint (other than being told that 'no, you can't take photos of the underside of the car'...more of that later) was that they didn't have any information text with the cars - unless you knew what each one was, it was just another display of cars...and they were some rather nice cars!

So, in order, here's what they had:

550

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Le%20Mans%202014/IMG_2031_zpsa41ae002.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Le%20Mans%202014/IMG_2031_zpsa41ae002.jpg.html)

904 (-4, 6, or 8?)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Le%20Mans%202014/IMG_1955_zps791d06a1.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Le%20Mans%202014/IMG_1955_zps791d06a1.jpg.html)

1970 908/02 (ex-camera car from the 'Le Mans' film)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Le%20Mans%202014/IMG_1961_zps169a582f.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Le%20Mans%202014/IMG_1961_zps169a582f.jpg.html)

1971 917LH

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Le%20Mans%202014/IMG_1967_zps3f3dc1cc.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Le%20Mans%202014/IMG_1967_zps3f3dc1cc.jpg.html)

1974 Carrera Turbo RSR

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Le%20Mans%202014/IMG_2026_zps5502769e.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Le%20Mans%202014/IMG_2026_zps5502769e.jpg.html)

This one was originally sitting up on stands with the wheels off, which meant I could get some detail shots of the front and rear suspension - useful for the Moby. I managed to get a couple of shots under the back end before incurring the wrath of the car's minder! 'Health and Safety' no doubt, rather than trying to protect hidden secrets...

1977 936

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Le%20Mans%202014/IMG_1989_zpse7a5f499.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Le%20Mans%202014/IMG_1989_zpse7a5f499.jpg.html)

Hmmm...from the books I've always been under the impression that this car shouldn't really exist. Despite the 936 racing at Le Mans through a six-year period, they didn't actually make many cars - 3 official 'works' chassis, plus the back-door Joest chassis from 1980. If this really is the 1977 winning car (chassis 001), it ended it's career in 1981 with a different engine and different bodywork as the number 12 'Jules' car...so I'd be interested to know if this is 001 restored to it's prime. I wonder if they've put 002 as it was in 1976, put 001 back to 1977, and kept 003 as 1981 - so all three are in race-winning spec?

1979 935

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Le%20Mans%202014/IMG_1990_zpsf5ee5134.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Le%20Mans%202014/IMG_1990_zpsf5ee5134.jpg.html)

1987 962 (okay, this is the same one we saw last year and it's certainly an 88-spec tail section...)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Le%20Mans%202014/IMG_2017_zpsb50feb07.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Le%20Mans%202014/IMG_2017_zpsb50feb07.jpg.html)

1994 Dauer 962 LM

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Le%20Mans%202014/IMG_2001_zpsef74bd90.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Le%20Mans%202014/IMG_2001_zpsef74bd90.jpg.html)

1998 911 GT1-98

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Le%20Mans%202014/IMG_2009_zps925e9c6c.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Le%20Mans%202014/IMG_2009_zps925e9c6c.jpg.html)

...yeah, it was worth sitting in the traffic afterwards!

Normal service should be resumed at the weekend - I've still got a gearbox to work on.

SB

Great shots SB! Thanks for posting. A nice display, but a disappointing performance for the 919's I'm afraid. I woke up on the couch and started watching again about 10 min before Webber limped the #20 car back to the pits. After that I figured there was no point, so just went back to sleep again... :mad:

ianc

Great pics SB...now I really am upset I missed Le Mans!

I've wondered about that 936 too after seeing photos of it in America - would love to know more (having just bought a 1/12th Tamiya 936 body!) :smokin:

John

The first pic is a 550A big difference to a 550 if you are familiar with the cars.

As someone who works in the restoration field and primarily on Porsche race cars I find it extremely annoying when the factory restores a car and can't be faithful to the original specifications of the car. The 936 is only a token of what it should be in my eye. The wheels are completely wrong. The cowl in front of the driver looks to be more of the 1978 spec (taller and a steeper curve) and the bulge with clear hatch in the front oil cooler exit ducting was not on the 77 or 78 car. That feature was not introduced until the Essex cars of 1979. It is anyone's guess what the chassis number is though I suspect it is something along the lines of what Simon has suggested though I'm pretty sure I recall seeing a #12 Jules car here in the states a couple years ago
.

BTW John, you interested in a cad model of the RS60 chassis??? :grinyes::grinyes::grinyes:

BTW John, you interested in a cad model of the RS60 chassis??? :grinyes::grinyes::grinyes:

LOL...yes please Derek! :smokin:

It might help me pull my finger out on my project!

John

So, before continuing the end-cover detailing and the webbing on the gear-cluster section, I wanted to get the maincase finished. First step was to sort out the bulge in the flywheel housing where the starter motor would attach:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby607_zps6e0cba3b.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby607_zps6e0cba3b.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby608_zps4f0bec74.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby608_zps4f0bec74.jpg.html)

The starter itself is in the early stages here - this is enough to work out whether it fits or not. The bulge was reinforced with a few small bits of styrene before adding the greenstuff:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby609_zpsfce16ce7.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby609_zpsfce16ce7.jpg.html)

Then it was a case of adding the webbing - a mixture of 0.75mm and 1mm strip:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby610_zps57426ed3.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby610_zps57426ed3.jpg.html)

In this final photo you can see where I've added some more greenstuff (which needs to be smoothed-out once solid), plus a set of bosses which will eventually have hex-nut detailing too. The starter motor mounting plate was drilled and pinned in place - not really necessary for structural reasons, but it makes it easier to work on if it stays in place!

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby613_zpsfaf43ecd.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby613_zpsfaf43ecd.jpg.html)

There's still a bit more to do on this section, but I'm really pleased with my progress this weekend - I had a nearly 12-hour day on this yesterday (with the Nurburgring 24Hr race playing in the background for company). I'd like to think I can get the gearbox finished within the next couple of weeks or so (don't hold me to that!)...there's just one or two details that I want to investigate further which might cause a delay. I should have a week's holiday coming up in early August, so that would be a good opportunity to do some more fibreglassing, or to make a start on the next stage of the project...

Have a good week,

SB

Great progress on that gearbox SB. The amount of detail you're putting in... incredible.
It looks like the real thing and with coulour on it, you could 've fooled me, that it was.
Keep up the great work you're doing.

Mark

Evening all,

Not a lot to talk about tonight, but it's been a productive week all the same. All my attention has been on adding the outer detailing to the gear-cluster section of the 'box - which has meant gluing the final sections together, and sorting out the joint with the end cover.

So, here's a close-up of the right-hand side:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby614_zps6fba68bf.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby614_zps6fba68bf.jpg.html)

...and the left:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby615_zpscb772331.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby615_zpscb772331.jpg.html)

The fins are all 0.5mm thick, mostly 1mm wide, with some at 1.5 or 2mm depending on the position. The bosses will have various plugs and oil fittings attached later on. The greenstuff was only added late this afternoon, so will need to be filed and fettled tomorrow night.

On top I've added the small box which has this cover-plate fitted to it:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby616_zps147837e3.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby616_zps147837e3.jpg.html)

The larger bosses at the corners are all 2mm diameter punched from 1mm sheet; the three smaller domed bosses in the middle are 1.5mm rod with a bit of filing. The webbing detail is all 0.5 x 1mm strip, as before.

So...it's approaching the final stages now. Hex-nut detailing needs to be added all over, a little tidying and greenstuff here and there, finish the end cover, and that's almost it:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby617_zps37e58a4e.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby617_zps37e58a4e.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby618_zps3393b0d7.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby618_zps3393b0d7.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby619_zpse7ad0ade.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby619_zpse7ad0ade.jpg.html)

I thought I'd maxed-out on gearbox detailing when I made the 908's, but now I'm not so sure! It'll be a while before it gets painted, but that's when it will really come to life.

SB

Amazing as always SB. What putty are you using? Thanks.

Best regards,
Lesley

unbelievable detail on the gusseting of the casing SB
how do you keep all the ribbing strips so straight and square?
John

Lesley, as far as I know, SB uses green stuff as putty.
He's got some amazing results with it, no ?

Mark

Looks great as usual! I don't know how you can resist the temptation to paint each piece as you complete them just to see how they look!

ianc

Thats what i call a gearbox!
Wow.
Perfect work as always SB.

Hello again,

Final stages of the gearbox - for now. There's a few small details to add (clutch lever, pipe fittings, etc) but these can wait until later. It's the sort of stuff that is guaranteed to get knocked off or broken before everything gets assembled into the car!

However, I wanted to get the starter motor sorted out, so that's what I've been working on. Firstly, here's a breakdown of the parts:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby620_zpscafc8608.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby620_zpscafc8608.jpg.html)

...and when it's all in one piece:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby621_zps0ed467d4.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby621_zps0ed467d4.jpg.html)

I'll add the wiring later in the build, but here's what it looks like on the gearbox:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby622_zps1043ded6.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby622_zps1043ded6.jpg.html)

Providing it doesn't foul the driveshaft when they're added, it should be okay.

Returning to the gearbox itself, I added some extra detailing to the end cover and hex-nuts all over the place. You can also see here where I've pinned the front mounting through into the main structure - eventually this will be filled with Greenstuff:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby623_zpsdc1d9358.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby623_zpsdc1d9358.jpg.html)

So, with that all done I wanted to start positioning the gearbox in the chassis. The small angle brackets you can see below are styrene with brass reinforcement, which will be pinned through into the chassis beam. The plate across the top of the gearbox is not the final part - I'm considering whether to make this as a styrene / brass sandwich, or whether to add some fibreglass to the mix. Or just to make it from a thin piece of ali...we'll see.

I'm tempted to drill into the top of the gearbox and pin through into the underside of the chassis beam, just to give it an extra connection. It would be much easier if the mounting was below the gearbox, but I'm fighting gravity all the time with this one!

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby624_zps980058cb.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby624_zps980058cb.jpg.html)

More on this next week...

Finally...thanks for the positive feedback, guys. Always appreciated, and I'm glad that you're still following along - it doesn't seem like five minutes since I started on the engine during the Christmas holidays, and now it's July and I've got a gearbox sitting here too! The chassis is going to need a good dusting-off before I return to working on it...

Yes, the putty I use is 'Greenstuff' from Citadel / Games Workshop. No significant reason, other than it's what I've always used from my figure-painting days (same with the paints, too). I'm always reluctant to start painting at an early stage, preferring to wait until most of the model is ready to assemble. The Citadel paints I use are not exactly hard-wearing (without a coat of varnish, anyway), so anything I painted now would have lots of white patches showing through before too long - particularly on something like the engine or gearbox which are going to get lots of handling. The big disadvantage of working like this is that I'll probably find most of my paints are solid lumps by now, as I haven't used them since I did the 908 in 2011...

Getting the ribbing straight is largely down to doing it by eye, although I did use a few offcuts of thicker styrene strip to act as spacers on occasion. The pieces are all pretty short on the gearbox, so it's easy to glue them in without going off-line - if they were much longer I would have to be more careful, as the styrene can flex slightly. As usual, most of this will be hidden from view when the model is assembled, but we all know the detail is there, right?!

All the best,

SB

SB - I'm floored with each installment you make

I cannot imagine anyone who has found your threads of your stunning 1/8 builds to NOT continue to follow it to the end of each build.

Thanks for explaining your successful ribbing of the gearbox.

John

It allways looks like you are dipping the parts into glue, that`s a bad point in your skill, why don`t you change that? Sometime less is a little more in quality ;)

Fair point, gp-models. It probably looks worse than it is due to my not-so-great photos, but I know what you're saying. On the smaller parts it's always a pain getting a tiny piece of styrene into the tweezers, then getting it glued properly - I usually add another 'wash' of glue afterwards to make sure it runs into the gaps and cracks. On other areas where I definitely don't want glue overspill I take more care - I don't want it eating into what should be a nice flat, smooth surface! If there's anywhere that the excess glue is likely to cause a problem during the painting stage, I'll give it a tidying with fine wet-and-dry. The other thing I'm considering is using textured paint on areas of some of the parts - engine, gearbox, etc - to try to get some variation in the surface finish.

...but I'll try to improve on this!

SB

SB - do you use glue or solvent weld?
I use solvent weld when I build my "box" models and when modify some bits with styrene
John

Hi John,

For styrene-on-styrene I mainly use Humbrol Liquid Poly glue (which by now is a milky white in colour due to all the dissolved plastic in it, rather than the original clear!). If it's something more structural, or fibreglass, I'll use CA - currently a fresh bottle of Vitalbond Thin.

I'm not familiar with Solvent Weld, but I'll keep an eye out for it.

SB

Hello again,

First up tonight, I've added some reinforcing plates to the angle brackets of the front gearbox mounting:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby625_zpsed422cfa.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby625_zpsed422cfa.jpg.html)

You can't see it here, but I have drilled and pinned the top of the gearbox into the underside of the crossbeam. This is making life so much easier as it gives me at least one fixed point whilst I work on the rear mountings, plus it will hopefully take some of the strain out of the 'official' front mounting.

Next, I started work on the two main engine mountings at the back. The problem again is that all the weight is hanging down, so a simple piece of chassis bracketry becomes an exercise in getting as many solid joints as possible into a small part! You can see below how it starts as two short pieces of 1/8" tube:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby626_zps2986823d.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby626_zps2986823d.jpg.html)

The round tube in the centre will allow me to create the look of a pair of swaged holes, plus it also puts strength into the core of the bracket. I'll pin the engine mounting plate straight into the vertical tube section, and disguise the joint. A second side plate and another tube stay complete each bracket, ready to be pinned into place beneath the engine bay:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby627_zps067cf999.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby627_zps067cf999.jpg.html)

In this final photo you can see the two brackets fitted to the frame, plus I've started adding greenstuff to fill the joints. The mounting plate across the back of the engine is currently 0.75mm styrene sheet - this is not necessarily the final shape, but it will allow me to continue the build. A little bit of flex might actually be a good thing - the engine assembly shouldn't be able to move around too much as the pinned joint at the front won't allow it.

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby628_zps869d1797.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby628_zps869d1797.jpg.html)

The two tubes at the far ends are a styrene outer, with an ali core. The styrene is cut along the length to create a slit so it clamps onto the engine plate - this joint is likely to be the weak link in the whole assembly, so I need to get as much strength into it as I can. The four pins in the middle go straight through into the back of the engine, so that's all solid.

The fun (ie. time-consuming) part in all this has been getting the engine to sit level while playing around with the mounting; at the time of this photo it was still slightly askew - the outer chassis brackets are level with the baseplate, but the length of styrene box-section laid across the top of the engine is oh-so-slightly off. I've now got it just about where I want it...

So, the project continues. Now I've got the rear brackets in place I can make the frames which extend out the back to mount the tail section of the bodywork, plus the outriggers which support the wheelarches. I think the driveshafts will be underway soon, too. Starting to detail the top of the engine will probably be a job for my holiday week, so that I can really get into it...

All the best,

SB

Very nice.

Doing donuts this week!

Yes, I've made a start on the driveshafts and a main part of these are the two rubber donut joints (as also seen on the 917, 908, etc). A simple enough shape, but there's quite a lot of work involved. First step was to cut the basic hex plates from 0.75mm sheet, using a template, then to add the six pieces of 3/16" box-section. Once glued together, the centre of the donut can start to be removed:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby629_zps9d5b6d7f.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby629_zps9d5b6d7f.jpg.html)

Each corner was then filed away to create a groove for lengths of 2.5mm rod. The inside of the donut was filed away to give a smaller hex-shaped hole, and short lengths of 2mm half-round added in the corners. When the glue was dry, everything was filed back to flat with the top surface. The short connecting pieces started as 2.5mm x 0.5mm strips, rounded off at the end and tapered slightly along the sides:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby630_zpse17a1c1b.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby630_zpse17a1c1b.jpg.html)

To connect the donuts to the shafts I need four 'spider' plates. I re-used the template I'd made during the 908-03 project and cut four from 1mm sheet. A bit of filing later and here they are:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby631_zps89fd14c6.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby631_zps89fd14c6.jpg.html)

I might still slim them down a little more - I'll continue with the shafts and see how they look later. There will be hex-nut detailing to add to all this when it is assembled, of course.

Now I have to start on the fun part - making the universal joints at each end of the shaft. It's going to be a fiddly job, but having already made something similar on the 908 I'll be looking for ways to improve them. This will keep me occupied through the rest of the week...

See you next time,

SB

As usual a fantastic work you've done SB.
Always looking out for the next update.

Mark

...and here is the next update.

Starting point for each of the universal joints was two 1/4" lengths of 3/8" box-section; pilot holes were drilled through two sides, then the third side was removed to create the C-section. The inside faces were reinforced with two lengths of 0.5mm strip. The pilot holes were taken out to 1/8", then each half of the joint was pushed onto a length of rod (to make it easier to hold) whilst the ends were rounded-off with file and emery cloth.

From here, each of the joint sections was modified to suit it's position on the shaft. The innermost ends (onto the gearbox) were given a slightly thicker base and some half-round detailing to create the gearbox output flanges, plus a central spigot to help locate them in place. The other half was given a two-stage spigot which would pass through the first of the two spider flanges. The outermost joint was designed to locate into the hub in the trailing arm, whilst the other end was attached to the driveshaft itself.

To allow for a little movement as the suspension was articulated, the outer end of the driveshaft is able to telescope into the inside of the donut joint - an internal tube provides support.

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby632_zpsab044061.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby632_zpsab044061.jpg.html)

Here you can see the two complete shafts when assembled for a trial run. The spider flanges have been drilled through into the two donuts with short lengths of styrene rod used to hold everything together. The cross-shaped 'spiders' inside each joint are made from three short lengths of 1/8" tube, with pins pushed through from each end to allow them to pivot:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby633_zps01b8a683-1.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby633_zps01b8a683-1.jpg.html)

In this next photo you can see that I've added hex-detailing on both sides of the donuts, to create the nuts and bolts which would pass through the spiders. The outermost ends of the shafts have been given a curved underside (using a section of large-diameter tube cut to shape) with some greenstuff to fill the gaps.

The small pins pushed into the universal joints are not permament. Each shaft can still be broken down into parts to allow for easier painting (whenever that will be!). It's tempting to glue the donuts and spider flanges together now, but it would be very awkward trying to get a brush into the inside.

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby634_zps9b61a251.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby634_zps9b61a251.jpg.html)

The next job was to re-fit the engine and gearbox and see how everything looks. Here you can see the two driveshafts with the suspension on full droop - note how the left-hand side clears the starter motor:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby635_zpsc016c47d.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby635_zpsc016c47d.jpg.html)

With the wheels fitted the driveshafts lift to a more conventional angle - just slightly below horizontal. The outermost universal joints are buried inside the trailing arms and nearly hidden from view - I could have saved some time and effort here by leaving out this joint completely, but that's not the way, right?!

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby636_zpsa82d15d6.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby636_zpsa82d15d6.jpg.html)

Another photo at ride-height, looking towards the back of the car:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby637_zpsbc3ef5d5.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby637_zpsbc3ef5d5.jpg.html)

So, at this point the two shafts are about as complete as they need to be (for now). Time to move on to the next job!

More at the weekend.

SB

Fantastic job! May I have a question? What type of putty do you use? I meen the green one.

Thanks, Kohula. It's 'Greenstuff' from Citadel / Games Workshop. As well as the normal yellow/blue two-part solid version, they also make a pre-mixed liquid version that you can apply with a brush.

Hope this helps!

I guess the best thing with not loggin in on AF for about two years is that your favourite builds has come a long way...
I just spent the last half hour browsing through like 17 pages of amazing updates of scratchbuilding at its' best !

Evening, all,

Thanks Martin - glad you liked it. I have a feeling that you could come back again in another two years and there's a good chance the build will still be in progress! We'll see...

So, when I finished working on the driveshafts last week it was a question of what to do next. Having been on the gearbox since early April I returned to the engine - time to start on the top half of the heads.

The first stage was to make a pair of inserts which would drop into the top of the engine and create the core structure - all the extra detailing would be added later. Each insert was a mix of three pieces of box-section, some solid-section, and a very thin strip - I've cut a slice on the left of this photo. The flat plate on the end would allow me to mask the joint between the top and bottom sections:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby638_zpsff945ced.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby638_zpsff945ced.jpg.html)

I added a similar smaller plate to the front end of each insert, and you can see here how they drop into place:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby639_zps78f22697.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby639_zps78f22697.jpg.html)

At the flywheel end you can see how I've started adding some detailing to the flat plates - a lot of this will be hidden later by water pumps, etc, and there will also be a couple of closing panels over the finned cylinder-barrel area. Once the engine is installed in the car, you will see even less...

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby640_zpsb69ef1c7.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby640_zpsb69ef1c7.jpg.html)

Next stage was to create the bases for the six inlet trumpets - starting point was a length of 1/4" x 1/8" box, some 1mm strip either side, then two extra pieces of 1.5mm strip:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby641_zpsc2143221.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby641_zpsc2143221.jpg.html)

...and here they are all assembled and glued in place on the two insert blocks:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby642_zps2cdf66b5.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby642_zps2cdf66b5.jpg.html)

I've marked and drilled into the top of each one so that I can pin the inlet trumpets in place - these are the next (fiddly) job. I have a feeling I'll spend several nights playing around with small bits of tube and box-section making a prototype, before I can push on the real thing...

Have a good week,

SB

Hello again,

I've left it a couple of weeks before updating - I wanted to have something worthwhile to show! I've been busy working on the inlet stacks and the intercooler structure, and it's all slowly coming together. The starting point was making the cores for the inlets - 18mm lengths of 9/32" tube, with a band of 1mm x 0.5mm strip wrapped around each end. Slices of 3mm half-round were added to create the flange detailing, using a simple fixture to keep them aligned properly:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby643_zpsb2ed03a8.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby643_zpsb2ed03a8.jpg.html)

Make one, then make five more! The half-round pieces were filed smooth on each end to bring the length back to 18mm overall. Each stack sits on a short stub which is part of the head casting - I've pinned all these together with smaller sections of tube inside to keep everything in place:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby644_zps90c9777f.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby644_zps90c9777f.jpg.html)

In time the square flanges at the bottom will be fettled into shape. Next job was to create the two intercooler bodies that sit on top of the inlet stacks - I had to play around with the box-section for a while to get a suitable combination. It's worth remembering that most of these measurements have come from comparing several photos of the engine and scaling from each one - as long as it all fits in place, that's fine!

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby645_zps6a72e1e7.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby645_zps6a72e1e7.jpg.html)

The centre section of each intercooler was given a wrapped layer of 0.4mm sheet - I added some reinforcement under the sloped sides to hold it's shape. The real things appear to have a very fine almost 'crackle' type finish - I think some experiments with textured paint may be in order eventually? You can see here how everything fits under the bodywork:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby646_zps27665f59.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby646_zps27665f59.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby647_zpsbb59600d.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby647_zpsbb59600d.jpg.html)

Here you can see how everything comes apart and spigots together:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby648_zpse4859d69.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby648_zpse4859d69.jpg.html)

The ends of the intercoolers were blanked off easily enough, but I also had to add two shallow curved end-tanks. I re-cycled some offcuts of old curved fibreglass to provide a backing layer, added an outer styrene skin, then a pair of sides to finish it off:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby649_zps85ed84f2.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby649_zps85ed84f2.jpg.html)

The forward ends of the intercoolers will have simpler square end tanks where the pipework will connect, but these will wait for another time.

The final job for this update was to add some detailing to the inlet stacks. Similar castings were used on the 1978 935 and 936 engines, and also on the 956 and 962 engines, so there are plenty of photos to work with - the trick is working out which bits are appropriate for the Moby Dick. It's clear from the photos that they certainly tried at least two variations for the intercooler layout, but there also appears to be small differences in things like the positioning of the fuel injector pipes. The engine in the Freisinger car is subtly different again in other ways...

Here I've added some waisted plates to the front and back of each inlet, plus some 1/8" tubes for the fuel lines to connect to, and the connecting sections between the three cylinders (part of the throttle mechanism):

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby650_zpscff93a0c.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby650_zpscff93a0c.jpg.html)

I've also done some work on shaping the lower flange that each inlet sits on - the top flanges attached to the intercooler are supposed to be square. In this final photo you can see where I've added four small wedges to each inlet - these measure 5.5mm long, 0.5mm thick, tapering off from 1mm. There are also four more on the other side...not the easiest of things to cut! They'll need a little tidying up now they're in place, but the final effect will look good - not that you'll see too much of them when it's all assembled.

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby651_zps111e455a.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby651_zps111e455a.jpg.html)

The rod through the top of the stacks will be the eventual position of the throttle mechanism - this will be added later. I've now got to finish working on the parts for the second set of inlets to bring them all to the same level before starting the next job. I'm tempted to get the fan and shroud sorted out - once this is done the engine would surprisingly complete, plus it would make it easier to create the fuel injection pump, throttle mechanism, etc.

So, that's it for tonight. I'll continue with the inlets and see what happens...

Cheers!

SB

mamma santissima... :o

mamma santissima... :o

^^^ what he said. :)

LoveGT40 - I'll take that as a compliment - thanks!

Quick update tonight - my connection keeps dropping out on me, so I want to get this on before it goes again!

Firstly, in this photo you can see the intercoolers with the small curved end tanks added. I've also glued the three pipes to the underside of each one, although the square flanges are still free. You can also just see where I've added some greenstuff to the 'hourglass' plates on each of the right-hand inlet stacks - I'll show this better in the next update, as I have to repeat the process on the other side.

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby653_zps2cfe75e9.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby653_zps2cfe75e9.jpg.html)

Next, the fan housing. The main hoop was made from four layers of 0.4mm sheet wrapped around a 3/4" socket from a toolset (hey, it was just the right size!), with a 0.5mm flange added to the front end to tidy it up. Extra bands were added around the outside from 0.75mm strip, and a couple of bushes added - these will eventually provide the mounting for the alternator. Later this week I'll make the securing strap which wraps around the housing.

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby654_zps233d501b.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby654_zps233d501b.jpg.html)

Finally, the fan itself. Again, more layers of 0.4mm sheet, this time wrapped around a till-roll core. The blades are cut from 0.75mm styrene, about 10mm long by 3.5mm wide, curved to match the side of the central hub:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby655_zpsd3e02782.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby655_zpsd3e02782.jpg.html)

I've reinforced each blade by drilling through and adding a single pin at the base of each one - you can't see them once it is fitted into the housing:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby656_zps9d63bba6.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby656_zps9d63bba6.jpg.html)

The till-roll core is not glued in place - yet. This piece needs to be detailed and the central drive-pulley added.

Now I can start to work on the shroud which ducts the air over the top of the cylinder barrels - this will probably start as a piece of blue foam. There's more work to be done on the inlet stacks and intercoolers, so I'll be keeping busy...

Have a good week,

SB

stunning SB simply stunning what you can do with some raw styrene
It's all I can do to build an out of the box kit.
you truly are a designer/manufacturer/builder.
Unbelievable
John

Magnificent work as usual! Can you enlighten us yanks as to what a till-roll might be? Never can tell when you might use one... ;-)

ianc

Hi Ian - 'till-roll' - or to give it it's full technical name: 'credit-card-chip-and-pin-terminal-printer-paper-roll'!! About 2" long, 5/8" diameter, thick-wall plastic tube - and they come in very useful...

John - much appreciated; cheers!

SB

Hello again,

Apologies for the gap between updates - I've been working on lots of little things, but saving it all up for tonight!

First up, here's a shot of the reinforcing pins I added to the underside of the fan blades. It's not the most elegant solution, but as they will be hidden from view when assembled I was more concerned with their solidity!

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby657_zpsd5f75bb5.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby657_zpsd5f75bb5.jpg.html)

Next, I made the strap which wraps around the main fan housing. I've cheated by making it in two parts, both of which are pinned in place (hidden) below the fan. Later I'll make a detailed bolt fixing to hold the two ends together, rather than the temporary pin shown here:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby658_zps0759350d.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby658_zps0759350d.jpg.html)

For a change of pace I then moved to working on the fan ducting which fits over the top of the engine. Rather than building it up as a heavy mix of styrene and greenstuff I wanted to use blue foam and fibreglass. So, cut out a block of foam and make a start with the cardboard templates and hot-wire:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby659_zpsabe29a74.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby659_zpsabe29a74.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby660_zps4637bc52.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby660_zps4637bc52.jpg.html)

With the basic form hot-wired I did the final smoothing with emery cloth by hand. Extra pieces were added to the rear edge to create the required shape:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby661_zps7c99dea1.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby661_zps7c99dea1.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby662_zpsa1659d35.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby662_zpsa1659d35.jpg.html)

I'll be doing some more fibreglass-work in November, so this will be one the new components. I won't know how well it fits until I make it...

For the last week or so I've been working on making the centre for the fan and the alternator. Behind the pulley on the front of the alternator there is a pressed fan blade - here's the start of mine (sorry about the poor photo):

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby663_zps909ad411.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby663_zps909ad411.jpg.html)

After trimming it out I added small lengths of styrene strip to the underside to give it some depth. The pulley itself was made from a sandwich of punched discs, with some subtle turning on the lathe to give it a concave outer surface. The triangular centre section was a sandwich of sheet and 2mm strip, with short lengths of tube inserted to reinforce the three corner holes:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby664_zpse50d196a.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby664_zpse50d196a.jpg.html)

...which was all fine until I realised I'd made it slightly larger than it needed to be! I could re-use the fan and pulley, but the main body would have to be re-made:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby665_zps9e13d0a9.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby665_zps9e13d0a9.jpg.html)

The main body was wrapped with two layers of 0.4 and 0.5mm styrene to bulk it up. The back plate was drilled and filed to create the eight cooling slots, with some extra detailing added in the centre:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby666_zps2b90e33b.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby666_zps2b90e33b.jpg.html)

Extra detailing was added on the inside of the back plate - this will have to be painted soon before I can glue it all together. I have no idea why I decided to do this - just seemed a good idea at the time!

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby667_zps17808935.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby667_zps17808935.jpg.html)

The alternator hangs from a bracket attached to the side of the fan housing - this was made from 1/8" box section and a length of 0.5mm strip:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby668_zpsa7c36da1.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby668_zpsa7c36da1.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby669_zps58c4d0ce.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby669_zps58c4d0ce.jpg.html)

An adjustable stay will be added at the bottom of the alternator and eventually I will fix the main fan in place and add the pulley belts. There's a little more detailing to add to the alternator body, plus the wiring connections on the back, so that's all work for this week.

Hope you like it!

SB

i definitely like the update. always amazing detail work :)

Still in Awe - I like it too SB
You always give such great explanations and photos to follow your work
Watching you design - manufacture - Build your models is captivating!
I look forward every weekend to the next installment.
John

Great work
That is so awesome!

Great work.

Looking impeccable as usual! What are your thoughts on the v belts?

ianc

Hello again,

Jumping around tonight, as you'll see. Continuing the engine work from last time, here's the alternator fitted in roughly the right place, with temporary belts added from plain strip. The main pulley driving the fan needs a little extra work - a centre washer and large hex-nut.

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby670_zps88f1510c.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby670_zps88f1510c.jpg.html)

Ian - I think the belts will work using plain strip as shown, although I'm tempted to add a very small chamfer to the edges of the larger one just for the hell of it! I'm not sure that the effect will translate in the photos though.

On the left and right sides of the engine you can see where I've started making the components for the distributor. Again, this is an area where the original '78 engine spec changed during development - some photos of the build show a conventional one-piece distributor mounted in the normal 911 location to the side of the cooling fan. However, photos of the actual car as-raced appear to show it using a two-part distributor, with the 'cap' section driven from the left-hand cam, and the main body mounted on the right. So, that's the layout I'm going for.

Next, I've made a start on the throttle lever mechanism:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby671_zps79a48daf.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby671_zps79a48daf.jpg.html)

The mounting blocks are pinned into the front of the intercooler units. Most of the little lever pieces are cut from 1/8" shallow channel section, with a couple made from 0.75 x 2.5mm strip. The whole lot is slipped over a length of 1.2mm brass rod, with lengths of 3/32" styrene tube spacing everything apart. For now everything is temporary - I'll adjust the positioning later when the intercoolers are fixed in position. There's all sorts of extra detailing required for this mechanism - tiny return springs, droplinks and connectors, etc. The main throttle cable will attach to the two levers you can see in the middle of the bar.

The last couple of photos tonight are preparation work for the next few weeks - I want to get some more fibreglassing underway before my holiday in November, so needed to get some moulds ready. First, the seat had to be cut-and-shut by about 8mm to reduce the width, then I added a small curved section to the front. I'm not going to get the full curved edge I originally wanted (but I can get around this later), but this should allow me to get the seat in the correct position:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby672_zps1ee7b24c-1.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby672_zps1ee7b24c-1.jpg.html)

Finally, I've made the patterns for the four conical aero wheel-covers:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby673_zpsf38e4b0f.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby673_zpsf38e4b0f.jpg.html)

The shallow one on the left is for the front, the deeper one for the rear. I've actually made two of each so I can mould all four covers in a single batch. As with the tyres, these were cut out using the pillar drill, then mounted on a bolt, spun up, and shaped by hand with a sanding block

I've filled the holes and will re-drill these on the fibreglass parts to suit the wheels. Each cover has a bunch of fins mounted on the reverse side - these will probably be cut from styrene and glued in place later.

What's next? I might try to get a mould made for the dashboard top, just to give me something to work with when I start on the interior. The whole front firewall moulding needs to be re-done eventually, but I don't think it's going to happen this year. The fibreglass parts I'm going to be making will open up many more jobs - the seat will need it's mounting frame and extra chassis tubes adding into the floor, the fan shroud will allow the engine assembly to be continued, etc. Then I can work on the gearshift, boost control knob, and other little sub-assemblies.

Have a good week,

SB

Speechless - still in awe SB -
John

no words really for this awesome masterpiece SB

Wow. I can describe the fillings, when I saw your build.
We follow you Master...

I spent last week laying-up fibreglass, one layer per evening. Fortunately the weather is still quite mild, so the resin mix was going off as required and the finished pieces have got the right stiffness. Here's what I've made:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby674_zps1ac7287b.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby674_zps1ac7287b.jpg.html)

So, top left is the seat and the four wheel covers. Top right is the engine rear mounting plate and the instrument pod. Bottom right is the main dashboard top and the instrument pod cover. Bottom left is the main fan shroud. Over the next few posts I'll be working on all these parts.

I've not done too much with the seat so far, but I wanted to give it a quick trim and try it for size (remember - I took some width out of the mould earlier). Looks promising:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby675_zps5bbe789f.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby675_zps5bbe789f.jpg.html)

I'll slowly refine the shape and work on the supporting frame, and I need to keep a look-out for a suitable piece of material to use for the covering. Somewhere there's an old T-shirt who's days are numbered...!

My main focus this week has been the fan shroud - although it's a small piece it's quite complicated, and has to fit properly. Snip, file, test-fit...snip again, file some more, test-fit again...and so on! Eventually it starts to fall into place and it's worth the effort:

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby678_zpsb17cce09.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby678_zpsb17cce09.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby677_zpsc0581148.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby677_zpsc0581148.jpg.html)

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt121/ScratchBuilt917/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby676_zpsfc25f836.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/ScratchBuilt917/media/Scratchbuilt%20Porsche%20Moby%20Dick/moby676_zpsfc25f836.jpg.html)

The trickiest part was getting the cut-outs for the alternator mounting bushes in the right place, without making them too big - although the alternator brackets will do a good job of covering them up later. You can also see where I've trimmed it around the crankcase breather and the thermostat housing on the top of the engine. There's one or two small areas which need a little more work, but overall it's in good shape.

More next weekend.

SB

Another great update.

Utterly brilliant SB!

May I ask, what are you using for a release agent on the blue foam?

Johnny :smokin:

Hi Cinqster,

Nothing more high-tech than a light smear of Vaseline - works well, although it does mean the finished parts need a good scrubbing afterwards to de-grease them! I changed my fibreglassing technique slightly this time, too - for the first few layers I brushed the resin onto the cloth before laying it on the mould, rather than putting the resin on the mould first. Seems to be better this way...

SB

Hi Cinqster,

Nothing more high-tech than a light smear of Vaseline - works well, although it does mean the finished parts need a good scrubbing afterwards to de-grease them! I changed my fibreglassing technique slightly this time, too - for the first few layers I brushed the resin onto the cloth before laying it on the mould, rather than putting the resin on the mould first. Seems to be better this way...

SB

Cheers SB! No worries, I use Vaseline for silicone mould contact faces - it thins well with white spirit, if needed. Pre-coating the cloth with resin should work well, as after a few minutes it should soften the cloth strands. Your finished mouldings look great!:p