MFH '95 McLaren F1 GTR

[BlrwestSiR]

The McLaren F1 has been one of my favourite cars pretty much since it first came out. For quite some time, there weren't any 1/24 kits available of it. Studio 27 did a curbside kit that's very basic and for a while, that was it. Then Model Factory Hiro announced they were going to do a series of them in their full detail line. I immediately placed a preorder. They've got 4 versions of the short tail early cars (my favourite) and a similar number of the later long tail ones. 

More recently Aoshima and Fujimi have released IM kits of the car both in short tail and long tail versions. 

Onto to the kit.

The box isn't very big, a bit smaller than a typical Revell USA car kit box.

With the inherent complexity of the kit, I bought two in case I screwed one up. 

Hopefully that won't happen but never say never. 

Here's what you see upon opening the box. 

MFH packed the delicate resin body panels in a separate clear box to keep them safe from damage. 

[DocRob]

Great stuff, I'm buckled in and will learn a lot from you. Seeing all these metal parts, I have to bow to your braveness. 

Cheers Rob

[BlrwestSiR]

8 minutes ago, DocRob said:

Great stuff, I'm buckled in and will learn a lot from you. Seeing all these metal parts, I have to bow to your braveness. 

Cheers Rob

When I opened the kit after getting it, my first thought was "what have I gotten myself into?" It was quite overwhelming especially since so many parts are tiny.

 

[BlrwestSiR]

The body panels are further protected by individually bagging each one. 

I tried a quick dry fit of some of the body panels and the chassis.

The fit is surprisingly good. The parts are interleaved and interlock so you really have to follow the instructions.

Here's what it looks like after opening the metal parts bag. 

I started by sorting them out a bit. Then got work on the engine. 

These are the parts to make the block and cylinder heads. 

 

[BlrwestSiR]

I decided to start with the transmission and rear suspension. There's only a couple parts to the basic core.

For the assembly, I used 5 min epoxy to give me some working time. But before that, you have to drill out the various holes for the attachment points. Thankfully MFH gives you a simple for where the drill should go. Most are even the right diameter so you know what size drill bit to use. 

Going through the parts, I was wondering what the disc was until I took a closer look and realized it's the clutch. I have it resting on another part in the pic below.

MFH has you use some screws for some of the assembly but they're tiny. 

I don't know if I'll be able to find a screwdriver for the smaller screw in the pic which is 1mm by 3mm long. 

One tool that will be handy is this file. 

I don't recall where I got it from but it's been great for all the tiny slots and openings that need a quick cleanup. 

Finally to keep track of the various parts, I put them into some empty Tamiya and Gunze paint jars. 

[Bomber_County]

Really looking forward to this build, something different as well.......

[GazzaS]

I thought it was a mechanical pencil!  I'd love a file that fine!

[harv]

Yummmmm !.....harv 

[harv]

One question Carl,the metal suspension parts are the faily rigid? I mean there not soft like SAC gear.......harv

[Vandy1 VX-4]

I use a round thin file. It is used for torch tip cleaner. This may help you

https://www.grainger.com/product/2CYX5?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuY3l25vT6wIVVh6tBh1VqQLbEAQYCCABEgKP5vD_BwE&cm_mmc=PPC:+Google+PLA&ef_id=EAIaIQobChMIuY3l25vT6wIVVh6tBh1VqQLbEAQYCCABEgKP5vD_BwE:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!2966!3!281698276047!!!g!471887498553!&gucid=N:N:PS:Paid:GGL:CSM-2295:IYGXB3:20500731

Yours looks to be a dental burr for a air driven hand piece mounted in a pen?

[HubertB]

These MFH kits are really impressive. If I was ready to commit to such an amount for a kit (knowing very well that in reality I scatter - at least - this amount across multiple kits in one year  ), I confess I’d hesitate between a HpH DC-3 (NOT C-47) and a big scale MFH kit of my all-time favourite racing car, the mighty Porsche 917 ...

Hubert

[BlrwestSiR]

16 hours ago, GazzaS said:

I thought it was a mechanical pencil!  I'd love a file that fine!

I don't remember where I got it from. In fact, I'd forgotten about it completely.

[BlrwestSiR]

15 hours ago, Vandy1 VX-4 said:

I use a round thin file. It is used for torch tip cleaner. This may help you

https://www.grainger.com/product/2CYX5?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuY3l25vT6wIVVh6tBh1VqQLbEAQYCCABEgKP5vD_BwE&cm_mmc=PPC:+Google+PLA&ef_id=EAIaIQobChMIuY3l25vT6wIVVh6tBh1VqQLbEAQYCCABEgKP5vD_BwE:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!2966!3!281698276047!!!g!471887498553!&gucid=N:N:PS:Paid:GGL:CSM-2295:IYGXB3:20500731

Yours looks to be a dental burr for a air driven hand piece mounted in a pen?

Those look cool. 

I think I bought this to go with my other sanding pencils (for want of a better term). They're like the fibreglass pens but a much smaller tip and come in various grits. 

[BlrwestSiR]

7 hours ago, HubertB said:

 I’d hesitate between a HpH DC-3 (NOT C-47) and a big scale MFH kit of my all-time favourite racing car, the mighty Porsche 917 ...

Tough call. Their 917 is a gorgeous kit. I picked up a different vintage Porsche from them in 1/12.

 

[BlrwestSiR]

16 hours ago, harv said:

One question Carl,the metal suspension parts are the faily rigid? I mean there not soft like SAC gear.......harv

Harv, some is about the same for softness but that's fine as they're thin arms, like the ends of a away bar. Will make it easier to tweak their fit  The actual suspension A arms are quite rigid and I don't see any sag issues happening. 

[mark31]

nice one

i have the 1/12 kit in the stash

looking forward to your build

 

Mark

[BlrwestSiR]

Thanks Mark! I saw your purchase of the 1/12. 

I might be able to get one this summer. I'll have to see how things pan out. 

[BlrwestSiR]

I was working on the engine last night. I finished cleaning the basic block and heads.

I then used JB Weld to glue them together. 

A coat of etching primer and some paint are next on the list. 

Here's the partial engine compared to the one in the Fujimi kit. 

Night and day, especially with the piece difference. 

[krow113]

lol

just a tad more detail!

[mark31]

nice start

 

Mark

[BlrwestSiR]

I primed the engine and then gave it a wash. 

The wash has really made the details pop out. 

I also painted the serpentine belt and gave the pulleys a wash there. 

[DocRob]

Cool project, never followed a Hiro build closely, but they seem to be decent kits with great detail.

Cheers Rob

[BlrwestSiR]

Thanks @DocRob! It's my first build of a MFH kit. I've only seen a couple RFI threads on them so it's great to see @mark31 showing his Lotus build too.

They really are impressive kits if pricy.

 

 

[BlrwestSiR]

Got a bit more done today. There's some PE bits to add to the engine. One of them needed some complex folding. 

Here's the basic part prior to the origami.

After some head scratching, I realized the drawing showed the part partially folded. The final shape was a bit more logical.

There's a also a pair of heat shields to make. These at least were less complex in shape. 

I also got the cylinder heads painted and installed. Same with the serpentine belt assembly.

Lastly, I painted the rear suspension arms.

 

[harv]

Wow. Really nice ......harv