[Anonymous]

 

 

Strombecker made some of the nicest molds, and the McLaren M1B, was one of their nicest, and very much to scale,….it is a tiny little bugger !!

It really does not look all that great in stock form, sitting high, and without any details/decals.

Anyway, it has been sitting in my workroom for eons, and with the forced hometime we are all enduring, I have decided to make it my next build.

Trying to make this…………..this one is not mine, unfortunately mine is a little worse for wear……….

Into something like this…………….so a few bits to be made/added.

I started with the chassis, as I find these the easy part of the job……….a simple single rail chassis with .047 main rails, set for 2mm+ clearance with 19+ mm tyres.

This will be powered by a  FF050 motor.

I have started the bodywork……..removed all bits, opened the vents, (as they should be , they were closed in the original), and added a front diaplane, and a rear spoiler.

Still a lot of clean up to do………..but the rear molded in screens/vents have been opened as on the original.

The car is tiny,….I think I mentioned that,…..luckily the shortest wheelbase setting on my jig was perfect !!

Still miles to go, but, I will post updates……

Stay Safe

Chris Walker

Topic

[Ken]

Chris. Amazing looking car and chassis! :good:

How do you get the solder joints so clean? You can barely detect any solder to the side plates. Super-clean is an understatement.

Your build jig looks like it’s been used quite well.

Thanks a million for posting! Looking forward to the completion.

[JMSracer]

As always, look’n good Chris.

Your chassis is impeccable.  I can’t wait to see the finished car.

 

[Arthur]

Looks great Chris!

The Happy Canadian Scale Modeler!

[Luis Meza]

Wow, That chassis looks like a machine made one, all the pieces look spot less, please give us some guide lines on how to achieve this, of course besides experience.

[Luis Meza]

Is that motor bracket made by you?

[f1nutz]

Beautiful build as always Chris!

[Anonymous]

Luis Meza wrote:

Is that motor bracket made by you?

Hi Luis, I do make a lot of my motor brackets, but, this one is an older BWA/Dart bracket.

 

Cheers

Chris Walker

[Luis Meza]

Thank You Chris it is an admirable work

[Anonymous]

Hello Folks, I got the rolling chassis completed, and took it for a run…….considering how short/narrow it is it ran very well. all things considered, one of my better performing builds.

Stay Safe

Chris Walker

[Ken]

Nice work Chris. Everything about it looks amazing!

For me as a brass newbie. There are a lot of fine details worth studying in that one picture. Most is self-explanitory. Thank you very kindly for the inspiration.

How is the front axle mounted please? It’s not clear from the top view.

[Anonymous]

Hi Ken, The front axle tube is soldered to “L” shaped bits of piano wire that , on the chassis run parallel to the main rails, then bend up in front of the axle tube.

The first chassis pic. in this thread shows this more clearly.

 

Cheers

Chris Walker

[Ken]

Hi Chris,

Thank you very kindly for a quick repsonse.

The axle tube is hiding under what looks to be a small piece of flat brass. What is the flat brass for please?

I noticed the motor wire is soldered though the tabs. Very thorough and clean build indeed! :good:

[Anonymous]

The flat piece of brass is “square” brass tubing……it is the axle tube !!

Stay Safe

Chris Walker

[Ken]

Square axle tube? Wow. I did not see that coming. :wacko:

If I may please ask. Why square?

[f1nutz]

Less friction for the axle and more soldering surface for the uprights I would think.

I used the same on my Caddy

[Luis Meza]

Thank You Chris for sharing, having the pictures of your work gives us a great learning tool, it is beautiful

[Ken]

My whole life they’ve been telling me round things aren’t supposed to fit in a square hole.

Thanks for the info Bill! :yahoo:

[Anonymous]

 

I got a tiny bit more done………..I am working on a few cars at the moment, so, progress is slow.

I installed the body posts…………I used the stock front body post location, and only had to install a styrene post from the body post “collection”. I did have to create a new position for the rear post, and again used a post from the “collection”

As luck would have it the stock side post locations aligned with the side pans on my chassis, so, by installing some telescoping tubing I can trim these to control body rock.

I did finish the wheels and inserts, and trimmed the body posts to achieve the ride height………..by scouring google “images” it appears to be correct.

 

Still lots to do, and, if anyone has a windshield in good shape, I would be happy to do a deal……….mine is less than perfect, and will need a ton of work.

Stay Safe
Chris Walker

[Anonymous]

A tiny bit more progress…….(working on a few cars , so, progress is slow).

I managed to use the stock front body post position,…just had to insert a styrene body post from the ” body post” collection, and I did have to add a rear body post, again, from the “collection”.

As luck would have it, the rear stock body posts lined up with my chassis side pans, so inserting some “telescoping” styrene tubing will allow me to control the body rock,…they will just need to be sanded a touch.

Everything needs to be cleaned up and painted, but it (the underneath) is essentially done.

I also finished off the wheels and inserts, and have adjusted the front/rear body post length to get the ride height I was after……..looking through “images” it appears to be darn close to the 1:1 car.

 

Still lots to do………..on inspection, my windshield is less than perfect. and, will need a lot of work, so, if anyone has one in good shape I would be happy to do a deal.

 

Stay Safe

Chris Walker

[Ken]

Hi Chris. The car looks stunning so far!

Interesting idea to limit/control the “body rock”. That idea might work well for a few wider bodies on my “build list”. Thank you.

[Felix]

Hi Chris:

I’ve admired your chassis builds for many years, the scratch-built as well as the Scholer and Plafit examples you did for Mark’s site.

This one is another interesting example. It looks like there may be some degree of torsional effect to it even without any hinging.  Since your testing shows that it performs well, I am inspired to try a much simpler design than the ones I have been planning. (That’s something Art has been advising me to do for a long time now, but I’ve been stuck in the mindset of the chassis that I am used to, with the multiple layers and complex spring posts.)

Good idea with the extra posts to control body roll. I’ve also encountered the problem and was planning to use L-shaped styrene attached inside the side panels of the body.

I came across another article of yours on Brass Cutting, in homeracingworld from a while back. It also shows some of your fine work; I hope you don’t mind my adding it here for everyone else’s reference:

 

 

( PS: Interesting motor pod; is there a current supplier available for it ? )

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Felix, the design and materials used, impact the torsional flex in any chassis, and while hinges can be employed, and do have a place, they are not mandatory in creating torsional flex………interestingly, over the last 10/15 years or so hinges have been much less prevalent in slot car chassis design, a lot of this due to the intricate capabilities of EDM cutting.

As far as the design itself, a chassis with some torsional flex will always outperform a rigid platform (assuming that both are similarly well executed), with the ideal amount of torsional flex dictated by,  tire grip, motor power, and track layout.  Torsional flex allows the outside rear tire in a corner to load more progressively, which is critical given the comparatively “hard” tires most of us run on these days, This results in a smoother more progressive chassis (it transitions better)  and, more grip.

That said, as with any chassis, the execution, is far more important than the design,…….I have seen a ton of simple well executed chassis, far outperform more complex, but less well built chassis’. (so Art’s advice may well be worth considering here).

As far as the motor pod, I got it ages ago, and was asked to review it, so I built it into a chassis for a proxy that took place more than 10 years ago………..the important info is that it is OK (it will not change your world), it certainly looks cool, it is expensive ($37 US), and it is still available (I just checked) from Kenon Hobbies in the US. It is a…. PN V3 motor pod,..part# MA1308

If you have a spare $50US or so (incl. shipping) for a cool/trick looking motor pod, go for it, otherwise save your money.

Stay Safe

Chris Walker

 

 

 

[Felix]

Thanks Chris; very good advice all around.

 

[Anonymous]

Not a ton of progress, as I have been working on a few 1/24 Vintage kit builds……..slowly but, surely !!

The body needed a fair bit of repair/filling/sanding, and the shut lines needed a ton of work, but the primer is now on, …..another quick sand, and she is ready for paint :yes:

PS I did get a really neat Bruce McLaren head (no helmet visor), from accurate miniatures, and if I can do it well, it will really make the car.

Stay Safe

Chris Walker

[Anonymous]

Finally finished………….I did make a few bits, and, the “correct” (no Visor) Bruce McLaren helmet is from Immense Miniatures.

The paint has not been rubbed out to any great deal as the 60’s race cars were far from show stoppers.

 

Cheers

Chris Walker

Here is Bruces’ M1B…….

 

And my attempt……..

[Anonymous]

 

Hi Folks, this was a duplicate post……deleted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ken]

Chris,

The car looks absolutely beautiful! The details are spot on. If I were Bruce McLaren, I would be very honoured that you copied the details of this car so closely. Very cool!

Thanks a million for posting, and for your inspiration! :yes:

[f1nutz]

Beautiful build Chris. Much improved over the stock version.

Thanks for sharing.

Bill

 

[JMSracer]

Very nice Chris

Did you paint the body with a can of  Tamiya or did you use an air brush?  Also, what is the colour code/name.

Thanks

[Anonymous]

JMSracer wrote:

Very nice Chris Did you paint the body with a can of Tamiya or did you use an air brush? Also, what is the colour code/name. Thanks

 

 

Hi Jim, Sorry for the late reply…………….The car has been painted with Tamiya TS-8, straight from the can. Tamiyas’ pink primer was used.

Cheers

Chris Walker

[Author]

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