elan Posted March 6, 2012 Posted March 6, 2012 Would switching to a smaller diameter tubing help? What comes with the kit looks a little large?
Scale-Master Posted March 8, 2012 Author Posted March 8, 2012 The instructions make this kit look more daunting than it is turning out to be. I am almost out of parts already. This won't bump my Seven out to be my avatar Monty. The tubing and wires are too big, and sloppy looking. Replacement is a good idea, but as I have mentioned, this one is to see what happens if it is built out-of-the-box. (I only machined the rims to replace the damaged kit parts. Everything else is straight OOB.) Time to attach the engine/rear suspension assembly to the tub. I built quite a bit out of sequence and added as much of the vinyl wiring and plumbing as I could beforehand since it appears many of the mounting points for them are obscured if following the instructions to the letter. The vinyl does a very good job of making a model look like a pre-built die-cast. I applaud the thinking outside the box, but I wish these parts were made of styrene. Cleaning up the flash is next to impossible, and they don’t fit well. Even trying to use just the fittings and replacing the hoses & wires is not worth the effort for me on the next one. But that is part of what I wanted to find out by building it as intended…
jaydar Posted March 8, 2012 Posted March 8, 2012 My recollection of the "nightmare" rumors is the fit of the body over a completed chassis with engine. I hope you have been test fitting as you have been going along. All of your assemblies look great. joe.
mcandela Posted March 8, 2012 Posted March 8, 2012 My recollection of the "nightmare" rumors is the fit of the body over a completed chassis with engine. I hope you have been test fitting as you have been going along. All of your assemblies look great. joe. I agree 100% with You. Mine is still unfinished because of the final assembly. After putting the hours into building it I felt like killing the model, so I put it away for a couple of months. But seeing this one come along it makes me want to finish it.
drball Posted March 8, 2012 Posted March 8, 2012 This is a very important to me and I assume many others to finally determine if I should attempt this kit build. If anybody could tackle this, it would be you. If you do get all the assemblies together and have the rear hatch sit in place with a reasonably detailed engine-I'll start my build. I am counting on you Mark!
torinobradley Posted March 8, 2012 Posted March 8, 2012 When I was first looking through the kit I was impressed by the fact it came with all the hoses and wires. Now, reading all the comments, I believe when I do build the ones I have, I will just use them as guidelines for replacing them with more in-scale lines, wires and fittings. The last thing I want is some un-trained eye to think I bought the darn thing after sinking many, many hours into it. Will be watching this one till it's done to make sure I can glean off as much experience as you wish to impart to us drooling masses... Keep up the great work. That body is impressive.
Rmodeler Posted March 9, 2012 Posted March 9, 2012 Pretty interesting kit I've only read the controversy about... Looks like you are taming it ))) Sounds like the end will be like stuffing a packed suitcase (wink)
ValvEasy Posted March 9, 2012 Posted March 9, 2012 Oh man, I'm so jazzed. I am seriously gaga for your Caterham, Mark; thank you for this privilege.
Scale-Master Posted March 15, 2012 Author Posted March 15, 2012 The chassis is getting close to being ready to accept the wheels…
Dave Van Posted March 15, 2012 Posted March 15, 2012 (edited) You are building about the best AM McLaren I've seen! I know how tough a build it is. I built 4 of them for the original Accurate Minatures company....two of which went to McLaren itself! The vinyl lines are cool and tough! I got all of them to work but never did get injector lines on.....If I did you had to leave the engine cover off. Great woork....... My last build for AM...... PS....when AM closed shop they tossed a bunch of kits as they couldn't sell them any longer. Edited March 15, 2012 by Dave Van
JHDrew Posted March 15, 2012 Posted March 15, 2012 My hat is off to anyone who builds one of these with the vinyl lines. Looking forward to the finished beast.
Scale-Master Posted March 16, 2012 Author Posted March 16, 2012 The dash is done and installed. The wheels are on and all touch the ground…, now. There are some alignment issues, but since the rear wheels and tires are so small, I think the eye will be drawn to that problem and I doubt the other issues will be all that visible.
Danno Posted March 16, 2012 Posted March 16, 2012 Wow. Looking great, Mark! Been watching it come together; eagerly awaiting the final 'reveal.' = That's serious approval, Jim.
Dave Van Posted March 18, 2012 Posted March 18, 2012 You're making me want to do something I said I'd not do again.....build a AM McLaren!!!! Nice work!
Scale-Master Posted March 26, 2012 Author Posted March 26, 2012 With all the plumbing and wiring crammed in the engine bay, the engine cover does not (as expected) fit well. I found it is possible to attach the center section of the engine cover to the main part before installation then feed the wing supports through and mount them to the framework. The roll bar cross brace had to be cut and raised to allow the engine cover to fit under it. I used the kit provided seatbelts and they were not difficult to work with. While they are a bit heavy handed, I wish more kits came with something like them.
mcandela Posted March 26, 2012 Posted March 26, 2012 This is at the stage where I stopped working on mine. But seeing yours come along and You pointing out the same problems I was having, made me open the box again and decide to finish it, Thanks Scale-Master!!
Rmodeler Posted March 27, 2012 Posted March 27, 2012 Wow , 10 pounds of McLaren in a 9 pound box. Nice packing Mark!
Kanedge Posted March 27, 2012 Posted March 27, 2012 This is looking really nice, if it is as tough as you say, then you've done an excellent job. Now the talcum powder effect, how do you put that on, if you don't mind me asking?
Scale-Master Posted March 27, 2012 Author Posted March 27, 2012 I put the talcum powder in the paint and spray it.
Scale-Master Posted March 28, 2012 Author Posted March 28, 2012 I shot the wing with Alclad Chrome and then cleared it before applying the decals. The body panels are on; it was a bit of a fight to get them even partially lined up. As you can see, it looks like sits a bit high in the rear; the look is exacerbated by the undersized wheel & tires.
jaymcminn Posted March 28, 2012 Posted March 28, 2012 Jeez, how have I not been following this thread? Excellent work on a really tough kit, Mark!
jaydar Posted March 29, 2012 Posted March 29, 2012 What parts were painted using the talc? Did you use the talc with acrylic or solvent based paint? thanks, joe.
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