2003 Bentley Speed 8

[Chris Smith]

Next on the Bench is a 1/12 scale 2003 Bentley Speed 8 by Model Factory Hiro.

This car claimed victory in the 24 hours of Le Mans in 2003, from my understanding this was a marriage between Bentley and Audi, which set in motion for the development of the Audi R8 and so on,that dominated the LMP class throughout the early 2000’s

Hopefully I build a decent representation of this iconic car.

Chris

[kenlwest]

This one?  Just looking at the boxes of parts makes you want to build it!  Your skills will do it justice.  Ken

[RancheroSteve]

This should be a good! I've always wished Tamiya had done this one in 1/24. 

[Timonator]

I have this one in my stash. I can't wait to see what you do with it.

[Nacho Z]

Ohhhhh my!  Such a beautiful car.  I can’t wait to follow along. 

[Chris Smith]

8 hours ago, kenlwest said:

This one?  Just looking at the boxes of parts makes you want to build it!  Your skills will do it justice.  Ken

Yes sir ?

[Bugatti Fan]

This has got the makings of a super model in the making and will be following this one.

Steve mentioned that he wished Tamiya did this subject in 1/24th scale. That would have been nice. I think that either Le Mans Miniatures or Renaissance kitted it in resin in 1/24th.

[PatW]

Looks like a great kit. I remember them on track at Silverstone when I marshalled there.

[Chris Smith]

I spent most of my Sunday funday prepping most of the basic engine parts. I seem to get into a nice groove and here’s the results ?

[Nacho Z]

Really nice, Chris!  Forgive me if you have answered this a hundred times already but do you use any type of magnetic tumbler to clean and/or polish your white metal parts?  Thanks!

[Chris Smith]

2 hours ago, Nacho Z said:

Really nice, Chris!  Forgive me if you have answered this a hundred times already but do you use any type of magnetic tumbler to clean and/or polish your white metal parts?  Thanks!

Sure do!! eBay for 150$

[Chris Smith]

Just wrapped up the basic engine, too bad some of the details will be hidden when the engine is installed.

[Funkychiken]

Very detailed and great paint finish on the engine so far

[Chris Smith]

I spent a good amount of time drilling, cleaning and painting.

the gearbox and rear suspension with brakes are done, I am not perfect, I did break one of the white metal parts. Now I’m waiting for the replacement, but I can still move forward. So… stay tuned 

[Bugatti Fan]

Suspension sub assembly looking good, and really doing justice to this kit. A great model in the making here Chris. Your engine detailing looks very realistic. Looking forward to seeing this build progress.

The suspension assembly looked a bit dark in your pictures. I think the floral background distracted a bit. Perhaps a plain background might have been better. Just a suggestion.

 

Edited August 31, 2022 by Bugatti Fan

[Chris Smith]

19 hours ago, Bugatti Fan said:

Suspension sub assembly looking good, and really doing justice to this kit. A great model in the making here Chris. Your engine detailing looks very realistic. Looking forward to seeing this build progress.

The suspension assembly looked a bit dark in your pictures. I think the floral background distracted a bit. Perhaps a plain background might have been better. Just a suggestion.

 

Thanks guy! I agree with the photos. I have to share space with the wife, so the floral has to stay?

[Chris Smith]

Married the engine to the trans and added some oil lines… next up is the cockpit… and after studying the directions there seems to be quite a bit of interesting things coming my way.

[Timonator]

12 hours ago, Chris Smith said:

Married the engine to the trans and added some oil lines… next up is the cockpit… and after studying the directions there seems to be quite a bit of interesting things coming my way.

Looks great so far. Are there supposed to be any wires or hoses on the engine ? I know the kit doesn't come with any but I'm wondering for when I build mine.

[cobraman]

Engine and suspension look great.

[Chris Smith]

4 hours ago, Timonator said:

Looks great so far. Are there supposed to be any wires or hoses on the engine ? I know the kit doesn't come with any but I'm wondering for when I build mine.

Thanks for checking in! 
there are none supplied, but with the reference photos I have it’s a mess of wires and tubes 

[Chris Smith]

3 hours ago, cobraman said:

Engine and suspension look great.

Thank you sir!

[Timonator]

That is a lot of wires. I wonder why the kit doesn't include any.

[Chris Smith]

17 hours ago, Timonator said:

That is a lot of wires. I wonder why the kit doesn't include any.

To be honest I don’t know why either.

maybe because they don’t know where they go ?

[Bugatti Fan]

The wiring and hoses look to be a real challenge, even if you have reasonably good photo references. With this sort of subject getting a good look around the real thing would be a massive bonus to take photos of all those elusive details, but appreciate the difficulty involved.

An interesting build to follow.

[Chris Smith]

I’ve started the cockpit and it’s been a pain trying to find good reference photos and with little or none that show how the computer system is wired, I took some liberty.

I do have a seat to assemble and then the top section with the doors.

stay tuned!!