Pocher Porsche 917K 1/8 HK118

[The Creative Explorer]

I was in the middle of my 3rd Pocher project within a year (very, very unusual for me) and there it was, the brand new Pocher Porsche 917K.
A modelkit that announced not all that long ago. Usually, when Pocher releases a new model, it takes 1-2-3 years before it gets into the stores. But no, basically 6 months later here it is.
And Pocher has been so kind to send over a kit for review and sharing the build over the net.

Just like the Aventador and the Lotus 72D, I will build this box-stock 'plus'. That means I will build this without extensive modifying or detailling the kit. I will be true to the intended kit and only limit myself to (re-)paint parts, fill sinkmarks, sand mold-lines and do detailling with basic-parts.
This way, I hope it will be a inspirational build for everybody who will build the Porsche, but are not experienced modellers and make just a bit extra out of the model.

Let's start with the box, like always; it is big, black and looking pretty good!

 

This is somewhat weird and have yet to decidede what I think of it, yes, it will be easier to have the latest manual, but a manual should not have to change after release anyway. And I feel that a manual should come with the kit, no matter what.

 

Everything is packed very nicely, but in this day and age, I feel that the amount of plastics is a bit much and can be reduced by combining sprues.

Parts for the framework look very nice and intricate

And there it is, the body of this monster.

Putting it together quicky reveales a pretty good paintjob and very nice fitting panels. I am very happy with the small panelgaps.

 

Because there are many sprues, I like to label my bags, this way it helps me find the right sprue/bag quicker.

 

And the first parts, the paint on the metal parts is a bit thick, but just enough ok to make it work. It shouldn't be any thicker. The color on the ducts is weird, I need to dig deeper, but I believe they should be a translucent dirty yellow-ish white.

A good practice for the screw-holes is to re-thread them. It makes assembling a whole lot easier. A must for working with Pochers.

 

I noticed the first issue, on the right side of the gearbox, the driveshaft-shaft reaches the inner part and sits flush, which is good.

But on the left side, the shaft (DCB8A) is too short and makes it not possible to get a good connection with the screw. I replaced the screw from a earlier Pocher kit. I used a M2x4, but better is M2x5 or 6.

Also, in the manual DCB8 & DCB8a are switched, be aware.

I am testfitting the parts and also try a alternative way to assemble, in order for a better paintjob.

 

This is the reason I am looking to do it differently; the parting lines are visible and I want to get rid of them.

And part of injection-moulding, there are sinkmarks and moldlines. in order to make it less 'toy-like', they have to be removed.

 

I glued the ducts together and let it dry overnight before sanding.

If you are not assembling directly, it is good practice to make a picture of the parts if they look a lot like each-other. it is easier to pick the right parts when assembling later on.

The exhaust manifold consists of 4 parts, one big and 3 smaller ones. When assembles, the gap is pretty obvious, so I assembled the exhaust together, superglued the parts together, disassembled the exhaust and filled the gaps with filler.

Some more filler was used on the ducts.

Because of the thickness of the paint, I removed the paint where the metal parts join together. This will result in a tighter finish.

 

I did not care for the molded in generator and other part (which I still have figure out what it is ? ).
So I carefully cut it out and sand the parts. This will make a better paintresult possible.

 

 

Filling all the ejector-pin marks.

I thought of assembling the frame quickly together, at first glance they looked very good. But upon closer inspection, the ejector-pin marks were visible and we can't have that!

[Dave Van]

I had no idea this kit was coming. I had a 1/12 resin 917 but sold it when they got $$$$$.

Thanks for sharing. 

[Bugatti Fan]

Interesting to see how it compares with the Agora version.

[The Creative Explorer]

Time for a weekly update! It has been a week where some progress was being made. A lot of sanding was done and I finally could start painting.
What I do, is put a piece of painterstape on a sheet of paper and stick the parts to it. I can paint them from one side, let it dry, turn them over and paint the other side.
This way I don't have paintstubs.
One thing that is difficult, and I didn't nail it, was the color of the translucent airducts. I got closer, but not there yet.

And the first parts are finally being put together, the start has commensed! ? The airducts were glued together and the gap was filled, it does look a lot better this way.

 

The exhausts were painted with AMMO AK Stainless steel, it has a very nice shine to it. It does not appear in the pictures, but has a very natural look to it.

 

Pocher wants you to have parts DCB1&2 glued to DCA16&17, which is fine for itself, but makes it hard to DCA-9&10 to DCA16&17. You can't get the locator pins in the holes. Best is to assemble DCA16&17 to the enginehousing with DCB1&2 in place, but not glued. Glue them when DCA9&10 will be assembled. This will make it a lot easier.

I had to grind of the locatorpins in order to fit them, as I had DCB1&2 already glued down.

Hard to see in this picture, but I would advise to cut tubing TU-4 a little longer, 3-4mm. This will make it look more naturally and fit better, 28mm is a bit on the short side.

 

And the cage can come together, but be aware, this is not the correct procedure. This way will give difficulty later.

What I think would work better:
-Assemble DC-1 to DC-5
-Put the engine on top of DC-5, but do not assemble yet
-Add part DC-18
-Add parts DC12&13 from the side (use also 'F'-screws to assemble to DC-1)
-Start assembling the parts, first the frame, then the engine
-As last add DC-3, should not be difficult.

Starting the wiring on the engine. ( I do miss wires for the alternator)

[The Creative Explorer]

I can't say I am very happy with the right side with the wires, the wires towards the back are a bit too long and the ones towards the front are too short.

 

 It makes more sense on the left side, both sides uses the same length, but on the left side is the fuelpump they have to go around.

The spring is a very nice touch!

So are the exhausts

This is where I found out that the intened mounting instructions from Pocher are not the best. It resulted in broken of parts and paint damages.

The coils were sanded and painted, to recreate a aluminium bracket, I use Bare metal foil.

 

Parts DC-18 was a pain in the butt to get it in, best is to use my alternative methode as described before.

Hard to see, but N-5 goes to the distributor, but the hole in N5 is tiny, it will glue difficult to the distributor cap. I decided to drill a 0,5mm hole, add a little metal-wire and glue the N-5 on this.

Upcoming are the parts and reference pfoto's for the following steps 4(p12) to 14

[The Creative Explorer]

 

The 917 is now finished up to step 4. and I must say that it does look very good.

When preparing up to step 14, I noticed the hole in the underbody which I can't place nor can find any reason why it should be there.
I added a few parts to see how noticable it would be, and it will be visible. so some filler work has to be done there.

[The Creative Explorer]

a (3?) weekly update. This one took a little bit longer due to preparing for and attending to the Scale Model Challenge weekend and the final races at Assen a week later. Because of that, there was less time to model and not a lot to show for a update.
However, I am posting a new update.

The kit is a joy to work with and goes along nicely, the only unclear part was the airducts, but that will come later.

First I am off to sanding parts again... and paint ofcourse.
What I like to do with the shocks, is to polish the metal rods. It gives them a chrome appearance.

 

Before and after

 

Since the firewall is visible, I took some time to fill the ejector pin marks.

 

The dashboard comes pre-flocked, therefore it is important to keep it very clean. Even using a clean piece of plastic was not enough to prevent dust in the flocking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not all paint was applied even from factory, fortunately, it will not be very noticable when assembled.

 

 

I find this a strange part in the kit. I haven't been able to figure out why this panel is in the interior. The real car didn't had it and it does not seem to have any function in the kit. I filed the stubs and filled the seems and pin-marks to make it less visible.

 

 

Pins have to be used when attaching the suspension arms, I figured out that the holes needs to be pre-drilled to 2mm in order for the pins to go in decently.

 

 

 

I glued the springs to the plastic part, before adding the pedals.

 

 

[The Creative Explorer]

According to the manual, the assembly of the pedalbox is in a early stage. You have to add the suspension arms later on after the cockpit is installed. This seems to be very difficult to do this later.

I figured out a alternative method, where the arms can be installed easily while still be on the workbench.

 

 

 

 

I dissassembled the dashboard again

 

I got the pedalbox and suspension arms and fitted them loosily between the sidepanels.

 

I attached the dashbard back on and then added the assembly to the chassis.

 

 

What I like to do with discbrakes, is to add a layer of BMF to the disc, burnish that into place, put it on a rotary tool and lightly scuff the disc. This will give it a realistic discbrake look.

 

 

 

Left is after the rotary tool and right is before.

 

 

And yes, I noticed I switched the discs between left and right ?

 

 

I added a bit of BMF to the cooling-ribs

 

[The Creative Explorer]

And added a bunch of wiring.

 

 

Whilst the firewall is drying, I worked on the front end and assembled more of the chassis.

 

 

This was a very unclear part for me, the upper air-ducts. The set that goes to the disbrakes makes sense, but the ones for the interior doesn't.
At some point, I got the body and added that on top of the chassis to see what the routing could be, since the manual couldn't tell me.

 

 

 

 

This is how I think they should be. The body is not in place, therefore the hoses are a bit pointing upwards. When the body is in place, it should be ok.

 

 

 

 

Make sure you cut of the tab of this part.

 

 

And back to sorting, sanding and painting....

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The Creative Explorer]

 

 

 

 

 

Oh yeah, and filling....

 

[The Creative Explorer]

Time flies by and so does the progress, even though I was busy with a modelshow and personal stuff last past weeks.
The further into the build, the more the joy disappears and frustration appears. I still love the kit and it's details and looks. But the the build-order should be revised for a less frustrated build.
Some parts can't be installed without disassembling parts or re-do parts.
Don't get me wrong, I love puzzles and challenges, but it has to be doable.

 

We start with painting parts again.

 

I added the metal frame to the box

Later on, these parts will be a pain in the buttocks, trust me.

After airbrushing the part, I painted the inlet parts silvery metallic and added the clear tubing.

From some 3M material, I cut a strip and stuck it on the box.

This subassembly is ready, pay attention that part H-20 is not attached to something and is loose for now.

This is one of those frustrations, in order to get the coolant hoses attached, the subassembly has to be assembled and put into the engine bay, the box should be removed in order to add the couplers to the firewall and then the coolant hoses can be attached.
When that is done, the box can be glued in place again.

[The Creative Explorer]

 

Hard to see, but in picture 19, TU-4 80mm is difficult to place, and when in place it is too short for it to sit nicely

Next frustration, getting the stabiliser through the frame: Impossible.

I loosened the top frame and tilted the X-frame forwards in order to create space for the stabiliser to pass and turn.

And finally it is there.

The hole for this screw is too big, it does not catch. I tried a M1.6 screw, but that was too small. So I used a small dot of superglue to hold it in place.

Re-threading was necessary, but some places were easier to reach than others.

Another frustration, getting this stabiliser into place. It had to be pre-assembled according to the manual, but it is impossible to place the subassembly in place as the stabiliser can not make the turn.

Best is to let it off and assemble after the subassembly is attached to the frame.

Another frustration; the screw hole for the fender is locate underneath this box!

I managed with prying to get to the screw.

To add a bit more realism, I added BMF to the frame for the taillights

It will reflect light and makes it more realistic

These frame bars had to be forced into position

[The Creative Explorer]

I painted the surround of the taillights black, which resembles the rubber seal.

I wish the car had the inner works in the taillights, it looks  bit empty this way.

The spare wheel is not bolted down, I think it should've been.

The screws are too long and they were the shortest.

So, multitool to the rescue and made them shorter.

I think the belts should've been longer and bolted down to something, I superglued them now to the inside of the sparewheel.

And for now, masked the doors in order for airbrush the windowtrim black and the inside of the door grey-ish.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Nice work. Impressive kit.

[RPH]

Just received my model and seems they listened to you as 34 page instruction manual included in box.

[Dave B]

WOW, what a kit and you are doing it justice.

Dave B

[MarkJ]

Looks awesome. I like your idea about BMF on the discs. I might borrow it for the little car I'm doing. 

[RPH]

I will be interested to see if you correct the major error with the kit. Pocher have got the orange stripe wrong near the headlights. John Wyer’s Gulf cars never had a kink, it was straight. See this car in action.