Hello Jack,

You are doing a superb job with your build and I still can't believe that this is your first real model build, which I think you mentioned when you first joined the forum ?? Though I may be wrong !! Looking very neat and tidy and a real credit to you, keep up the good work and thanks for holding the fort whilst I am busy. HaHa !!

A little tip for you here Jack that makes a small but noticeable difference to the appearance of your work. When tightening up a group of screws - such as the three in the top of the silver crossmember that bolts to the top of the gearbox - try to tighten them up so that each cross in the head of the screw is perpendicular or identically lined up to the next one. Same as with a cross cut screw where the flat head screwdriver slots all line up either verically or horizontally. It's an old craftsman thing that carpenters and the like used to do when fitting hinges and the like. Just makes everything look that tiny bit neater but you can see the difference once you have done it. Of course don't overtighten the screws just to achieve neatness, if you can't line them up by tightening then loosen slightly to achieve the same effect - as long as the parts are securely screwed together.

Once you have done it, you will always be able to tell a craftsman's work by the way his screws are aligned !!

Nice update and keep posting mate, I always look forward to them.

Kev

No worries Jack, always glad to help those who are willing to learn and help themselves improve. This is where the forum comes to life with members helping each other and it is a real pleasure for me to help where I can. Enjoy the build mate.

Kev

Hi everyone,

Welcome to my photos for week 47.
For those who have their issues, you'll probably know that its really just a box of bits, with very little to assemble and those parts you do, are very, very small.

That said, I don't really mind how big or small the parts are or how many things you do, or do not, have to assemble each week. Big parts are good, but the small ones mostly represent the detail. To see the detail this week you almost have to have a magnifying glass. But if you have one, take a close look because it is brilliant. I dont' know how they print the text so small, yet so precisely. I'm really impressed and as always I take great care with assembling each and every peice, simply because it seems they have gone to a lot of trouble to carefully produce each and every piece for me to enjoy.

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This is pretty much it for week 47. The photos aren't too clear because the parts are so small.
The bottom left piece is the upper left switch panel. All you have to do is fix the lever that you can just manage to see. But, look at the text around the lever. Amazing!!.
I was really careful not to put too much glue on the lever arm so as not to risk spilling onto the text. It would be heartbreaking to loose that detail.
In the bottom right is the battery. You have to fix the connector on the LHS. Again, these are really small parts requiring small amounts of glue, and really steady hands.
The larger piece at the top is the cockpit under panel. You can hardly see the switch panels you fix on the left and right hand sides because everythings black. They're not difficult to fix. I let the glue start to set for a few seconds before offering up the switch panels. That way, I only needed to slightly adjust the alignment at the sides before the glue started setting.

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At the end of issue 47 your left with this handful of goodies. They tell you to cut everything off the sprue, but I left them just so I don't have to go hunting around my box next week for tiny little pieces.
But, look at the detail on the upper right switch panel (bottom LH corner of the sprue) - that's what I'm talkin' about. It's tops!

Apart from the small assembly this week, I have finally finished building my new accomodation for my car. Check it out below.

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This is it. Becuase of the parts in 45 & 46, for the first time you can connect the front and rear together. This is the full length - 595mm.
What I have done is bought a 50l storage bin from Rymans stationers. Then I went and bought a 1500l x 600w x 50mm thick junior foam mattress from IKEA. I have one full layer of foam on the bottom covered with soft cloth fabric for the model to sit on.
Then, I set out and cut out the car base shape in the top layer, allowing different depths for things such as the front and rear wings to sit on so they are self supporting. You can still take out any part you want without having to do too much dismantling considering how much is now fixed together. Essentially, just remove the rear wing and you can pull out the complete engine and cockpit. Just two moves.

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This is the main body sitting down into the top layer. The whole car is well supported, sitting flat and square. No more bits and pieces in boxes all over the place. The idea is that as the bodywork goes on I can shape the edges to follow the profiles. Any part that touches the foam is protected by a layer of white cloth. Oh yeah, good thing is that the box fits inside the removable cover that came with the mattress, so the whole thing goes inside a dust cover...nice

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The full length looking rear to front. It really is big and something to see when finally assembled in a complete line.

Well that's it for this week. I hope you like everything I've posted. More importantly I hope your all still enjoying your build as much as I am.

Cheers until next week

Hi Jack,
Awesome build there!!!
Especially like the close up photos, almost as if you were phographing the full size car!
Keep up the good work mate!
Chris

No progress photo's for this week....yet. I just wanted to post the following message:

I GOT ISSUE 40!!!! Oh yeah! It's only a mere 9 weeks late. Happy days.

That's all. Now down to catching up

Hope you share your build with us once you get stuck in.

Superglue "fogging" is generally as a result of applying too much superglue in a confined space where there is little air circulation.

Certainly don't try nail varnish remover on painted surfaces, its a great stripper of paint!

Good stuff Jack regards Mike

Very sweet build mate, Really want to get stuck into mine reading this!!!

But will wait a bit longer ;)

Keep it up mate.

Hi Jack, you have a great build Regards Mike

Thanks for your comments Chris and Mike. And go easy on the craft knife Chris!!!
As a beginner I sometimes get a little shaky when cutting off some of the finer parts or cleaning off excess moulding. I just put the knife down, walk away and come back a little later. It doesn't always work, but its good practice. You should have been here when I dropped my rear wing. I was on the floor just picking up pieces thinking "I can fix this"...not!

As for my photo's I have learnt a lot from Kev. His photos were superior and his diary was exceptional. Everything else is attributed to the fantastic help I get from other experienced people on this forum. It's so good of them to share their knowledge no matter how simple.

Anyway, here is the combination of weeks 58 and 59. I love my seat. The belts are great and are much better than expected.
Don't know why but I always expect things like buckles to be plastic. But these are metal and look and feel the real deal.

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Assembling the belts requires real patience. The type of fabric is quite soft and they fall about quite a bit. The instruction photo's make it sound easy to just turn the assembly over and fix this and that. But in reality you need about 20 fingers, tweezers and glue. It's a real handful...for me anyway.
But I think this has come together really well so I'm exceptionally happy.

You get the first sections of exhaust pipes in issue 59 and again I was really surprised that they are metal. I know that Kev was going to customise this area so it will be interesting to see how those who are doing modifications turn out.
Cheers guys.