Ferrari 166MM

Well that's one down and two to go.

The 166MM was finished a few days ago and will help pay for the wheel rims I hope to have made in the near future.

It all worked out ok in the end. I made a few mods to increase the amount of interior detail.

These models are amazing. Not 100% accurate, but very well moulded with excellent detail, and all in 1955. When I think of some of the subsequent car models from other manufacturers, I do wonder what happened.

The screen frame and mountings are the ones which came with the kit. The nose has had a few subtle mods. The wheels are good old Scalextric, tyres are Airfix/MRRC, knock-on nuts are my two eared Borranis in whitemetal.

The tail was chopped about a fair bit after filling in from behind, with rear lights moving from wings to boot lid. One of the many good features of the model are the panel shut lines, nice and narrow, though they have been made a little deeper. Far more natural then thinned down black paint and a 1mm gap!

The transfers/decals are from Steve Ward at Penelope Pitlane, easy to use and good value.

The rear lamps are a combination of some self adhesive lenses I found and self adhesive aluminium tape. I think Pendles have similar lenses at £1 for four. I have some for a great deal less! Red, amber and clear.

I was originally going to do a normal motor fixing and fit a tonneau cover, but then decided to do a front motor, more work, but worth the effort. The Mabuchi I have used is an all metal can type with 2mm tappings for mounting purposes.

As mentioned in an earlier post, a change in format to my usual platform or beaten chassis'. The narrow chassis however precluded the fitting of body mounts in my preferred points, behind the front wheels. The front pair of screws are for the motor, the rear pair for the pinion shaft bearing mount. The drive is rubber tube, the pinion shaft home brew running in a standard axle bearing/bush.

The 250P is hard on the heels of the 166.

Peter

A new tool.

By this evening with a bit of luck, the Zagato should be finished and ready to go to the casting
guys. The glazing pieces should be formed this evening after some very minor fettling to the formers. This time around i’m going to be using 15 thou clear sheet as I felt that the 10 thou was much too flimsy and made trimming difficult. As long as my source is reliable, i’ll be sticking with the thicker material.

One feature and probably it's most recognisable, is the flash across the side vent. This is made from 10 thou litho plate, cut to size and polished and sits in a cut in the body either side of the vent. My excisting razor saw has a blade much too wide to reach the very end of the slots. So after a little head scratching, the solution was found in Hobbycraft. 36 piercing blades of three grades for not much money. A length of and an inch and a half was snipped off and placed in a pin vice. And it works. Final touches this evening and then it's just a matter of waiting.

Ferrari x 3

Ferrari cars have no special meaning for me, or should I say, no more than any other favoutites. I think I have about 10 to build, here are 3 in progress.

Nearest camera is a Monogram/MRRC 275P, though details suggest it is actually a 250P from 1963. Finish will be approximating to the '63 Le Mans winner. The detailing on these models is fine, if not particularly accurate, but then for 1965 it is superb. I particularly like the decals supplied with these kits, ultra thin self adhesive with a good satin finish. Most cars I do have satin paint.

Next is an MMK Monza which will be built as no particular car. I do like the shape and find an increasing fascination with the '50's Ferrari. This body is everything a resin shell should be. I filled one pinhole. I would guess that thickness varies between 2-3mm except for the front end (and to a lesser extent the rear) where the undercut from the valences are filled, both improving strength in these exposed areas, and of course, making moulding simpler. I know some like their shells thin, but I prefer a balance, thin around the windows especially, and perhaps around the wheel arches, though the latter of course are usually easy enough to do after manufacture.

Furthest from the camera is a Barchetta. These cars are confusing, but I think the original (Revell) model was intended as a 340? I'm really not sure. Whatever, this car has been modded as a 166MM. The chassis breaks away from my usual platform or shaped types, and is a channel section with front mounted motor, which works quite well. The wheels and tyres are Scaley Maserati, the guide is my usual MRRC. I'll probably post some more pictures of the finished car on the Slot Forum.

This Monza is built to sell, the second I bought will be kept. As is often the case in my builds these days, an eBay listing will be an advert to promote my wheel parts. The 166 is one of three kits I have, the second has already been started. The third and last will be kept, and might be converted to the beautiful beast shown on the Forum recently.

250P? I think I have three left. One had a paint hic-cup, and will be my doner to make a 196P, one will be kept as standard, the other sold.

So many cars, so few days each week.....

Is it just me, or do paragraph/photo spacings on the composing window bear but a passing resemblance to those on the preview window?

Peter

A Mk II Jag, Ocar body.

Continuing my list of cars on the go, this is one which has had a little time spent and is now about ready to go.

Yes, it is an Ocar item, and built as the company intended, except for the lack of plastic chassis.

Body shape is debateable, but of course based on the Slot Classic car. Included are whitemetal parts and etched bits.

The wheels are MRRC as are the tyres. The handed wheel nuts are mine.

The chassis is my standard form ally one, with tweaks.

Peter

Zagato First Cast.

Well it's been a long time coming, but finally it's here. The first cast of the Zagato bodyshell. The main difference between this and the previous bodies, is that I gave it a few coats of paint and polished it to a good finish. This is obvious in the surface of the resin which really is very good. The reflections shown in the photographs show just how good it is. Lessons have been learned in the casting department in that a deeper undercut in the wheel arches results in the removal of surplus resin is very quick and easy. It just snaps off, making the task of trimming so much easier. There are a few minor bubbles on the surface, but nothing worse than i've seen on any other resin model. One area that will require a little more work is round the brake cooling ducts which have had air trapped in them in the mould. A small drill and minor finishing will sort this out no problem.

The glazing is mostly done apart from the rear window, but that will be easier to finish off in the resin. The artwork for the photo etched parts requires around an hour to finish off, with just the rear window trim and the grill needing attention to give a little bit of tolerance when fixing to the shell. All in all, i'm very pleased with the results so far. Graham.