Brabham BT45 - Model Factory Hiro - 1/12

[BlrwestSiR]

Really nice looking engine Rob. 

On the Tamiya Caterham, they did the belts in rubber. It's a bit too thick and slightly long so it's thick. 

[Landlubber Mike]

That engine looks fantastic!  Really nicely done!

[DocRob]

16 hours ago, FullArmor said:

Looks great. It must be nice to put something like this together.

Building these engines is indeed a lot of fun. They are a challenge to build at times, but it is a very rewarding task as well. The sheer weight of the engine feels good, it equals an 1/32 plane easily. I have a metal engineering background and like to work with metals, so it´s a good fit for me.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

7 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said:

Really nice looking engine Rob. 

On the Tamiya Caterham, they did the belts in rubber. It's a bit too thick and slightly long so it's thick. 

 

3 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said:

That engine looks fantastic!  Really nicely done!

Thank you Carl and Mike. It is relatively easy to shine with these MFH engines, as they usually build up well. Studying the manual and thinking ahead helps a lot. The engines are a kit in a kit, no wonder MFH sells some separately. 
Tamiya uses the completely cast belt and wheels for their 1/12 F1 kits and they are a letdown. I wish, they would provide the pulleys separately and use adhesive tape, like here. 

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

Today, I finished the engine so far. There will be some more wires and tubes added later, but this will happen after installing the gearbox and body.
In comparison with the transparent fuel lines, the addition of the wiring was relatively simple. Electronics and some other parts got added on top of the engine. For the first time, I used markers for detail painting, like screwheads and bolts, in this case a silver Playmarker from AK, which covered well, even over black paint.

I may add cable binders to the fuel lines and ignition wiring, but the ones, I tried failed miserably. They were 3D printed flexible decals from MFH and I managed to break four and got one installed and then gave up, so definitely no recommendation here. I think, I will use etched ones.

Another thing, I don´t like about the MFH manual is that there are no wiring length given and far worse, some wires or tubes lead to nowhere in the picture of the manual, which leaves you browsing through the pages and looking for the right connection, which probably isn´t there and the wire ends hidden somewhere in the body. A bit more clearness would be appreciated.











Cheers Rob

[BlrwestSiR]

Are you sure you're not plumbing a real engine and pretending it's a model? It looks absolutely like a real one. Just need a bit of oil or grease.

Carl

[DocRob]

13 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said:

Are you sure you're not plumbing a real engine and pretending it's a model? It looks absolutely like a real one. Just need a bit of oil or grease.

Oh now I get it, Carl, That´s why my bench is bending under the weight .

Cheers Rob

[KevinM]

That's looking really good Rob!!

[belugawhaleman]

That engine is looking very impressive Rob and I'm always impressed by your photography. Looks great!

[DocRob]

6 hours ago, KevinM said:

That's looking really good Rob!!

 

6 hours ago, belugawhaleman said:

That engine is looking very impressive Rob and I'm always impressed by your photography. Looks great!

Thank you Kevin and Paul, nothing in car modeling can beat these kits and the engines are something special.
As an ex part time photographer, there should be some decent shots, but even with all my experience, I struggle at perfect modeling photography. It´s not easy to master, at least for me, but I try to improve.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

Next was the suspension, which is directly attached to the engine. The damper rods were painted with AK´s chrome marker and look really chromish, not like the to my experience really bad Molotow marker.
This was followed by prep work and drilling for the gearbox section, where a lot of bolts and screws are to be added. For painting the gearbox, I used Zero Paints Hewland Gearbox Texture paint for the first time, because it is a Hewland gearbox and have to say, I like the result, at least for a 1/12 kit.
I followed the recommendation of using a larger nozzle on my airbrush (0,4 mm) and raised the air pressure to almost 3 bar or 40 psi, to prevent clogging.
The brake disks were sprayed with Extreme Color stainless steel, therefore the slight bluish tint and the calipers were sprayed with duralumin.

 





Cheers Rob

[GusMac]

Looks great Rob. What issue did you have with the Molotow marker? I've only used mine a couple of times but have always found it pretty good.

[DocRob]

11 hours ago, GusMac said:

Looks great Rob. What issue did you have with the Molotow marker? I've only used mine a couple of times but have always found it pretty good.

Thank you Gus, a while ago, I ordered some chrome markers and used them on different builds. I forgot, that they were of different brands and used them for headlights and oleos mostly. I always tried them out on a piece of scrap plastic and only one delivered. Then I realized, I had two brands and the Ak was looking like chrome, where the other two from Molotow looked grainy gray and were a complete fail.
I made a quick pic on an unprimed piece, both markers shaken and pumped freshly, night and day.

Cheers Rob


 

[HubertB]

I have a similar experience with my Molotov chrome pens. They looked great when "fresh", but now that hey are a few years old, the "chrome is all but gone, even after some vigorous reshaking.

But I can vouch for AK's Super-Chrome. WOW !

I bought a bottle to try and it's fantastic, whether you use it with an airbrush, or a brush. You' ll see the effect when I post some pics of the LG of my Cutlass.

Hubert

[GusMac]

Yes, that's a pretty stark difference Rob. My Molotow pen is only a few months old, so I'll need to watch and see if it goes 'off' as Hubert says. 

Will definitely check out the AK option. I've used their Extreme Metals and found them very good.

[DocRob]

I finished the gearbox assembly step and started with the braking tubes. The fittings were badly casted by MFH, so I substituted them with resin ones. I stopped with the tubing and wiring for now, as I think, it´s easier to do it later, where it becomes more clear, which hose leads where.







If there is anybody out there building the same "Press Version" of the BT45 be aware, there is a mistake in the manual, which can only be discovered, when analyzing later steps. Part 248 (9) doesn´t go into the shown hole, but in the one to the left. It took me a while to figure out, how the supports for the coolers (248 (9)) will properly sit. The shown hole accepts the rear wing support later.

 
Cheers Rob

 

[mark31]

Just wow what you do with this kits

I need to put my mclaren gtr back on the bench one day.

Keep going this way and you have another great model in your display

 

[DocRob]

Thank you Mark, I think, I remember your McLaren build. Would be great to see it progressing and finished. There was also a Ferrari, you beautifully built, was it a 330 P4.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

Chapter 9 of 20 in the manual is done and the rear section got finished sans the wing. Connecting the gearbox with the engine proved a little tricky due to numerous connection points, there is the suspension with adjustment bars, side rods and a shaft to connect all at the same time, trying to insert the screws for fixing everything. In the end it worked.
Another annoying part were the brake lines. The angled tube fittings provided by MFH were badly cast and I used resin ones from the spare box, but two of them broke and needed to be drilled out again.
I also substituted the white cast braided lines from MFH with braided textile hoses from Top Studio, which were far easier to work with. The cast ones need to be lengthened and bent, then drilled out with a 0,5 mm drill bit at the ends, to accept the fittings. Needless to say, that wiggling some of them in is nerve testing. The textile Top Studio stuff only needs to to be lengthened and then stuck on the 0,5 mm rods of the fittings with a drop of CA. Even my relatively liquid go to CA doesn´t soak and darken the braided hose.











Cheers Rob

[BlrwestSiR]

Your work looks so clean and precise there Rob. Nice choice on swapping out the braided line. 

[DocRob]

2 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said:

Your work looks so clean and precise there Rob. Nice choice on swapping out the braided line.

Thank you Carl, There are so many details on these engines, it´s easy to hide tiny hick ups . In fact, there is a little touch up work to do later on.

Cheers Rob

[belugawhaleman]

Beautiful work Rob😀