DocRob

Hehe, just preordered the next one, the may release of the Aston Martin DB4 GTZ. I love their kits and they build up to a unmatched result, if everything goes well. They are demanding, complex and truly multi media, but also lots of fun to build. The big challenge with the Cobra Coupe was to fit the doors and foremost the bonnet, after all the previous steps, where even the slightest tolerances can add up. I think, there was a design error with the funnels, not fitting under the hood, something that not happened only during my build, but another one. Other than that, I cannot think of many flaws with the kits. The Crocker motorcycle was my first MFH build and it was completely doable, with the chain being the worst part of the build, but apart from that, it was pure joy. What are your observations on your kits, Count? I think older kits made by MFH were less refined, but I have the impression, the quality improved over time. The BT45 is definitely not the first Brabham coming to mind, when you think about the brand. What I like about it are the cool looks, especially in white and what was possible technically and design wise in that golden era of F1. There is a completely new designed car from one year to the next, impossible in todays boring times, where cars look like a piece of soap and F1 cars look like a piece of soap with wings. I thought about starting the Tamiya 1/12 Brabham BT44b, but saw all the parting lines, which needed cleanup and thought no. Cheers Rob

My next project after the sweet Honda RC166 build will be a bit more demanding and time consuming. I picked the red Brabham BT45 "Press Version 1975" out of the stash and started to get a bit familiar with it´s content. Press Version meant, it was the car, how it was presented to the press before the 1975 season started, the car in this configuration actually never raced. The press version has a white paintjob with Martini branding, where the BT45´s used during the 1976 season was painted red and had some alterations, mostly around the nose section. The #7 car was piloted by Carlos Reutemann, the #8 car by Carlos Pace. Bothe Carlos´s didn´t had any success with the car, but I found the design absolutely cool. I the seasons before, Brabham had their very successful BT44 (b) on the track, but decided to switch from the 8 cylinder Cosworth DFV engines to the Alfa Romeo flat 12 cylinder engine for economical reasons. The design from the BT44 to the BT45 changed a lot and the latter was ultra flat with the Alfa engine. Unfortunately the engines were not very reliable. Some pictures to show the car a bit better were borrowed from the net. MFH kits are not easy to build and you need to be organized. Starting a build requires some preparations, the first being cleaning the white metal parts in a magnetic tumbler filled with soapy water and 0,3 mm stainless steel needles. Drying time This is followed by a very eye straining task, checking if every part is there with printouts from the part list and then, all whit metal parts are sorted into boxes, according to the steps in the manual. I generally like MFH kits for design, engineering, lots of labor and love, which went into issuing their kits, but there are some points of critique as well and I think, I will communicate that to MFH, because, these issues are easy to solve. The parts list are only shown on the MFH web page as pictures, you have to print out, in my case in relatively bad quality. These part lists are immensely important throughout the whole build. I would appreciate, MFH including these into the manuals. As we speak about manuals. You get a printed version, but it helps to have a second set for notes. For some of the MFH kits, there are PDF versions available, but not for all. I would like MFH to issue the manuals on their web site, which is not the case. Tamiya always shows the wire or tube length, which needed to be cut in their manuals. MFH only mentions in which step of the manual the other end of the tube / wire leads. This causes endless page turning. Cheers Rob

Base and plane are looking very good and the livery is rarely seen on a Spitfire. Cheers Rob

Even if I repeat myself, FA, your weathering style looks extremely well to my eye. Cheers Rob

The rear is looking very smooth Carl, good job on sculpting and sanding. Cheers Rob

Very nice Kevin, like Martin said, the camo is awesome. First to finish the 410 buddy build or was it just a fire starter. Cheers Rob

Very fine detail, Gus, I can´t wait to see how all the interior parts sum up. Cheers Rob

The 410 is tempting, definitely. I even pulled out my box of Meng´s -A1 version with some Eduard PE and resin spinner and props, but if I join, I do it later. I just started another Model Factory Hiro project, which fits better to the ongoing bad weather stretch with lots of benchtime. In summer, it will be different and I want to be off of a good start with my Brabham. Cheers Rob

The Hornisse is looking fantastic, Kevin, all blends together perfectly. Cheers Rob

I´ve developed something like a slight group build allergy, lately . Besides, I started another project on the weekend. Cheers Rob

Thank you Dennis, must have been a great experience seeing Hailwood in the Isle of Man race. Cheers Rob

Beautiful result, Kevin. The sleek Hornisse looks great with your finishing touches. Cheers Rob

Thank you Kurok, the finish is one of the most delicate tasks to master with car and bike kits. I learned a lot through these builds, but are far from perfect. Cheers Rob

It looks like Richard made a fantastic Job with the kit and you are doing it as well. Cheers Rob

looking good despite the issues, Kevin, finish line ahead. I take notes about the obstacles for when I start mine. Cheers Rob