DocRob Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 Hola friends of American heavy metal, My next project will be the famous and fantastic looking Shelby Cobra Coupe from Model Factory Hiro in 1/12 scale. Only six of these cars were built in 1964 and 1965. It was a successful design and incorporated early aerodynamic aspects. My build will be the second build chassis with the number CSX 2286, which competed in Le Mans, but didn´t finish due to clutch problems. I may add a bit more history later during the build. I purchased the kit directly from MFH in Japan and after one week of record breaking shipping time, it appeared on my doorstep as my second MFH kit after the Crocker. I will show some pictures of what is in the box, but I will not unwrap everything, therefore the quality of some of the pictures is a bit sub optimal, but I will show everything during the build. First of all there is the magnificent two part resin body, with the hood and doors and back will be openable. Casting quality is fantastic and only a minimum of cleanup will be necessary. There are aluminum turned rims, which later receive cat metal inserts and fantastic tyres with producer print and blue hairline. Three plates of photo etched parts: A bag full of multi media accessories, like turned headlights and funnels, clear resin parts, screws and coil springs, cables and tubes, seat belt material, ... The windshield and headlight covers are clear vacuum formed parts, which need to be cut out and the rear window is tinted brown vac style (not shown) For the side windows, there is a flat clear acetate sheet, with cut and drill markings and a rubber framing for the windshield. There are decals for four different cars all in the same Shelby Guardsman blue. I hope the white stripes are opaque enough to not let show the blue underlayer through. And then there is a heap of cast white metal parts, which I cleaned with my magnetic tumble polisher and 0,3 mm polishing needles for about an hour. After picking the parts out of the dirty black water, I spread them on paper towels and started the tedious process to identify all the parts, sort them into box compartments according to the parts list and manual for double checking and after two eye straining days found, all parts are there, phew. The last box contains bits like screws, bolts and rivets, smaller parts, which will be used in different steps of the build and lastly the parts used for other chassis. So far for now. Cheers Rob 12 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FullArmor Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 This will be joy to follow👍 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 Rob My dreams of a MFH Cobra are going to be through your build and I can't thank you enough for doing the Cobra as your next project. The incredible number of parts are staggering and the build will be a joy to follow. I'm onboard for the entire journey, my seat is front and center (at a premium price at the box office. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 This will be great to watch. Another kit I'd love to have. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belugawhaleman Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 Going to be a great build! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 Rob, this is going to be a stunning build. I can't believe the number of parts you have to deal with, and no sprues!!! Wow. This is my favorite Cobra body style, and that blue is just gorgeous. Can't wait to watch your build. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted July 13 Author Share Posted July 13 22 hours ago, FullArmor said: This will be joy to follow👍 18 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said: This will be great to watch. Another kit I'd love to have. 15 hours ago, belugawhaleman said: Going to be a great build! Good to have you onboard, guys. Actually the Cobra Coupe is a two seater, but the second seat has no safety belts. Lets see, how this will work out, I started with cleanup and drilling on engine parts and there was more to do, than with the Crocker, maybe, because there are more resin parts involved with the Cobra. @BlrwestSiR: Unfortunately the kit sold out pretty fast, but sometimes MFH re-releases kits. Cheers Rob 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted July 13 Author Share Posted July 13 19 hours ago, Peterpools said: My dreams of a MFH Cobra are going to be through your build and I can't thank you enough for doing the Cobra as your next project. The incredible number of parts are staggering and the build will be a joy to follow. I'm onboard for the entire journey, my seat is front and center (at a premium price at the box office. Hehe, a bit of the decision to start the Cobra was, because you so much wanted me to do, Peter. There is indeed a lot of parts involved, but hopefully all goes together well. I will not rush the build, which will help to reduce errors. Cheers Rob 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted July 13 Author Share Posted July 13 11 hours ago, CANicoll said: Rob, this is going to be a stunning build. I can't believe the number of parts you have to deal with, and no sprues!!! Wow. This is my favorite Cobra body style, and that blue is just gorgeous. Can't wait to watch your build. There are some resin sprues in the kit, to not loose contact to the plastic modeling world, Chris . The Cobra Coupe is a beauty and I already bought some jars of body color, which is from Number 5 and is called Cobra blue. I don´t expect many AM investments with that seemingly complete kit. Cheers Rob 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted July 14 Author Share Posted July 14 Only to show, that I´m actually working on the Cobra, I made some mock up shots with the prepared main engine components, which will be airbrushed next. The resin body needed quite some adjustments to fit properly and there are about 100 holes drilled into these parts, to accept other accessories. The cast quality of the rocker covers is unfortunately not very good, with a lot of pitting. The photos show the state after two hours of sanding and polishing. The pics exaggerate the effect a bit, but the covers won´t do like this as polished finish, so some more elbow grease is needed. Cheers Rob 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted July 14 Share Posted July 14 Wow, very cool. Actually, those rocker covers look like very old covers that have been though a lot of years. Not the effect you were looking for, but a cool one. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 Rob I'm front and center and ready for the journey. Now those rocker covers surely weren't what you expected but I guess ion a multi media kit, the unexpected is to be expected. I can see the pitting and maybe some filler might be needed? 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottsGT Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 This looks like as much fun as getting to build a 1/1 replica! I’m going to have to live vicariously through you on this one Rob. Way out of my budget for kits. I love the rocker covers! Even has the two holes stamped for the wire loom mounts. I had those same covers on my ‘65 Fairlane and my ‘66 GT Fastback when I got it. Hmmmm…if I was to sell that Thunderbird kit and maybe a few others……🤪 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted July 16 Author Share Posted July 16 On 7/14/2024 at 8:42 PM, CANicoll said: Wow, very cool. Actually, those rocker covers look like very old covers that have been though a lot of years. Not the effect you were looking for, but a cool one. 4 hours ago, Peterpools said: I'm front and center and ready for the journey. Now those rocker covers surely weren't what you expected but I guess ion a multi media kit, the unexpected is to be expected. I can see the pitting and maybe some filler might be needed? Thank you Chris and Pater, good to have you around for the ride. It will be a bit bumpy, at least for me, as my beloved dog is seriously ill at the moment and I have to take care on him, seeing doctors and all that. The rocker covers are much worse than other white metal parts of the kit, I guess due to their shape. There is a lot of pitting and it was even more without me putting a lot of elbow grease in it. Unfortunately they are very prominent and filler is not an option, as I like to have them in polished metal finish. Back to the bench for them and sanding some more... Cheers Rob 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted July 16 Author Share Posted July 16 35 minutes ago, ScottsGT said: This looks like as much fun as getting to build a 1/1 replica! I’m going to have to live vicariously through you on this one Rob. Way out of my budget for kits. I love the rocker covers! Even has the two holes stamped for the wire loom mounts. I had those same covers on my ‘65 Fairlane and my ‘66 GT Fastback when I got it. Hmmmm…if I was to sell that Thunderbird kit and maybe a few others……🤪 Thank you Scott, unfortunately the Cobra Coupe kit is sold out, but maybe some retailer out there still have one. The kits are expensive, but if you are really interested, it might be an option or in case of the Cobra Coupe the only option, at least in 1/12 scale. Like all the holes of the kit, the positions are only marked and you have to drill them yourself. Building a MFH kit means drilling a lot, in fact some hundred holes, in this case 0,5 mm to accept the PE fitting for mounting the ignition wiring. You see, the level of detail and the way it is engineered is outstanding. If you grab one of the god ole Tamiya 1/12 formula one kits, which most sell for crazy prizes right now and add all the Top Studio galore in PE and resin, you may have to pay more than for a MFH kit, with the detail level even, at best. Cheers Rob 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 Rob Terrible news that your 'beloved dog' is seriously ill - wishing the best for a speedy recovery. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 Rob, Also sorry to hear about your dog. Pets are such a key part of our lives. Do you have access to something like this:? 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted July 17 Author Share Posted July 17 20 hours ago, Peterpools said: Terrible news that your 'beloved dog' is seriously ill - wishing the best for a speedy recovery. 14 hours ago, CANicoll said: Rob, Also sorry to hear about your dog. Pets are such a key part of our lives. Do you have access to something like this:? Thank you Chris and Peter for your best wishes, we also hope the best for our dog, but until now, his condition hasn´t changed. I never heard about the liquid metal and have to check if this stuff is available here. Cheers Rob 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CANicoll Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 Rob, If you can't find it there, let me know and I'll send you a tube. Easily found on Amazon. There is also JB Weld which is a metallic epoxy compound. Good luck! Chris 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted July 20 Share Posted July 20 Rob, sorry to hear about your dog. Hope he's better or gets better soon. I looked around at the Nats to see if anyone had any MFH kits for sale but didn't find any. I've settled on a plan B at the moment for a 1/12 fix but it'll be a month before I see the results. Carl 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted July 20 Author Share Posted July 20 On 7/17/2024 at 4:46 PM, CANicoll said: Rob, If you can't find it there, let me know and I'll send you a tube. Easily found on Amazon. There is also JB Weld which is a metallic epoxy compound. Good luck! Thank you Chris that is very great offer, but similar stuff seems to be available here, but I went the hard way, sanding, grinding and polishing and now it looks good enough. Cheers Rob 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted July 20 Author Share Posted July 20 6 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said: Rob, sorry to hear about your dog. Hope he's better or gets better soon. I looked around at the Nats to see if anyone had any MFH kits for sale but didn't find any. I've settled on a plan B at the moment for a 1/12 fix but it'll be a month before I see the results. Thank you Carl, he hasn´t eaten for two weeks, without an obvious reason. He is very weak now, but this morning, he ate a tiny bit, so there is hope. I´m more than a bit curious about your plan B, but it seems you are not willing to share it. In August MFH releases a Ferrari 250P and 275P kit. Beauties both of them, but I have my Ferrari 250 TRI already, which I prefer, design wise and with it´s beautiful engine. Cheers Rob 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted July 20 Author Share Posted July 20 The last days, there was not a lot of bench time to have with my dog being seriously ill and an actual heat wave, but I managed to work a bit on the engine. What you see on the picture consists of about 70 parts. All screws and rivets need to be drilled and glued in. I gave the rocker covers another work intensive go and grinded and sanded, until I was halfway satisfied and then polished the parts with Autosol metal polish. Somehow, my camera struggles to capture high shine finishes, but the rocker covers look ok now. The PE exhaust seals were a bit of a pain, because the holes needed to be drilled out for the fitting `screws´ which are in fact bolts. I would have preferred to have the whole engine in metal. The resin parts needed a lot of work to make them fit. Cheers Rob 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted July 20 Share Posted July 20 Rob The 289 looks fantastic and all the extra work right from the start has paid off. Looking mighty good. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber_County Posted July 20 Share Posted July 20 Rob, looks amazing almost feel the weight and the brooding power……. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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