I’m anticipating a Coppa D’oro scheduled in September for our new PGP/PGP+ models so this build has been moved up the priority ladder.

Regarding this model one more thing – I plan to locate the guide slightly behind the front wheel assembly to make sure it remains hidden… we’ll see – I should have it finished in a week or so… :good:

Measuring twice so that I cut once… [visit our academy workshop chassis build session to download your copy of this printout] Motor has approximately 6mm clearance and the body exhaust detail is just a ‘c’ hair over 5mm clearance – making it a true PGP eligible model.  Driver figure in white [Chiron] took legs, torso, head & arms from four separate driver figures to fit properly into the seat with heat treated arms/hands to hold the steering wheel properly – 3 hours of fiddly unsatisfactory effort – until the final result. I typically glue the steering wheel into the hands of driver – as done here. Without white number decals that I was happy with I decided to paint all four by hand – most things never improve by reading about them – you need to practice for real. Extra tire and flat aero piece added to this model for a ‘LeMans’ look. Painted gauges, hemp wrapped steering wheel and other detailed interior pieces added. Clear epoxy used to glue everything. Body details painted by hand – all using Tamiya acrylics. Windscreen detail that came with the kit was chopped into two pieces so that it could be folded down and the frame painted a body colour – the upper folded portion dipped in ‘Future’ – and clear epoxy holds everything in place, including two piano wire rods which clean up the joint. Front grill number hand painted with acrylic, then washed with Citadel, then Molotow chrome added by hand… don’t try to do too much. Headlamp covers made from inventory headlight bezels painted in a metallic blue acrylic – I was contemplating molding a set of clear blue tinted bezel covers but opted not to.

The chassis consists of a standard rear end but using Slot.It small bushings so that they can be placed anywhere – why make this build more challenging than the others – performance? No need…

To keep the front end of the plastic model true a straight axle couldn’t be used – so stubs were fabricated which would rotate within brass tubes soldered to a bent .055 piano wire… Independent front pins but fragile… note the model’s weathered suspension detail… Nothing unusual in this chassis build. Vintage guide held in place with a brass tube soldered into place and reinforced by a few triangles of wire… note the insulated stop wire to prevent over-rotation of the guide… Motor lead wire soldered to brass washers which were placed underneath the brass screws – and positioned through holes into the braid… Front pin spacers aren’t painted – I’m not a fan of painting them since contact with oil gums up the paint – a chemical solution is best – but still searching… Guide is old-school… Very basic rear end…

I try to avoid complexity when it comes to mounting bodies. For this one I decided to float the body on the chassis using cut out styrene that would snap into place.

Here is the rear end…Nothing fancy, but still allows plenty of body float… Getting back to the suspension detail provided… old school… …and back to the front end…

This build – both chassis and body – are not for the newbie – make sure to ask if you need help… but first and foremost make sure you enjoy the build… BTW, this complete model weighs in at 64.7g…

As always – feel free to share this thread with anyone who enjoys our hobby!!! :yahoo:  

Thank you for the kind words!

The stub axles were cut from a leftover axle that was bent and instead of using a dubro #2 washer which would be too large in diameter I soldered a slice of brass tube (I believe it is the 1/8″ brass tube – the same stock that I used to sleeve the pin) to the end of each one and then filed each one smooth to make them run as well as I could. Using the jig & wheel blocks I soldered a bent .055″ wire to both the chassis and the brass sleeves to secure the front wheels/pins.

For low power cars I tried using sliced styrene tubing to mount bodies before and had good results – Using a slightly oversized tube you get perfect body movement – but you need to plan your basic chassis to accommodate the position of the tubing. Sometimes it just isn’t possible to do. In this case it was clear that three points would work just fine with the body/interior as it was – two along the rails and then one large one at the rear. Rear sideways play was controlled using shims or by removing material from either the body frame or the tube itself. If you use some plastic weld or crazy glue followed with clear epoxy the tubes become one with the body. The snap fit doesn’t need to be that tight – just enough to keep the body on the chassis when it is picked up or handled. The tricky part is fitting the pieces – but if your chassis is complete and you snap on your tubing to the rails and rear end of the chassis and then position it where you need it to be under the body so that everything lines up it is much easier. You may need to add shims underneath the tubes to make sure that the height of the model is correct and clearances are maintained. It is imperative that there be no rub with any moving parts whatsoever and to ensure this the chassis and unpainted body must be thoroughly tested on track. After paint if anyone needs to resort to a file or worse yet the dremel then shortcuts are usually to blame.

A future workshop might be a good forum for body mounting techniques. Perhaps something after the snow falls.

Cheers!!!

For more pictures of this model visit our scratch32 model gallery or CLICK HERE.