1947 Mercedes F1/ Indy

Looking great so far Den.

Thanks All, it is truly appreciated. I put this thread in the wrong place but it will have to do if it doesn't get moved. Progress is a little slow on this one as I can only work on it a little at a time but I'll get it.

Thank you Frank. I have always enjoyed detailing the engines the most and I try to do a decent job of it. I'm very glad you admire my efforts.

progress may be slow but it looks GREAT

  I do believe this model is the most complicated build I have done in my modeling career. The model is very well made and once you figure out what goes where it goes together well, it's just a high level build. Even though it is a hard build for me it's still fun because I can tell that I am doing things with it I couldn't have done a year ago. I like that. When you can see your own growth in the hobby it is a nice feeling.
   Finished detailing the coolant hoses, they are rubber not plastic, and got them attached to the engine. Also wired the fuel pump and oil pump on the other side but forgot to take the pictures. You can see the radiator bottom hose a little and the brake line hoses to each wheel hub. You can just barely see the copper wire lines I ran down the frame.



This is the rear end assembly with all hoses attached and the underneath with the drive shafts in place. Note the spring in the housing in the rear end that gives the working suspension in the rear. Serious fun to get installed!
   Also note the steering arms connected to the hubs on the front end.



I saved the best for last. This model has working steering and this is how it works. The steering box has actual gears in side it I had to install. The top gear has a brass pin holding it in and the arm coming out the bottom has a built in rod that goes through the bottom gear then the column with the wheel on it fits inside, it has a gear on the column that meshes with the top gear in the box, then I had to put the thing together with everything installed but free floating. When you turn the steering the rod coming out of the box moves all the other rods and turns the wheels. I thought about getting a case of beer when I finally got it together but I didn't.
   This will assemble the way it is layed out. The long brass rod by itself is the tie rod that connects to the steering arms on the front hubs I pointed out. The stubby brass rod on on the arm on the steering box is pinned on with a special screw and the other end is threaded inside. The brass rod with the "L" shaped bracket screws into it. The little rods are threaded on the ends. The end with the long slot on the L bracket screws into the tie rod and the middle hole screws into the frame. All of this goes together with special made screws. I should have had five of these screws but I only had three. Knowing me I probably sent two of them into Never Never Land when I dumped them out of the package. I came up with one but had to have something to connect the L bracket to the rod as you see in the picture. the L bracket has to move freely. I couldn't figure out what to do but finally I thought of using the tiny grommet on the right in the pic and the tiny brass nail. I use these when building doll house furniture. I held the grommet in a tiny pair of pliers and ground down the length of the shaft almost to the head and inserted it in the bracket and rod assembly. Then while holding this mess together I stuck the tiny brass nail in some CA glue and put it through the bottom side of the grommet. After it set, while I held it together, I put a drop of glue in the top of the grommet and it works great. I shot six of those grommets into space before I got one ground to length.  This is called FUN.

Nice work Dennis, you must be in your element with all the detailing on this

Outstanding work Dennis , you sir are truly a Craftsman and really great at it !! Excellent work and detail on this build praising-the-lord-smiley-emoticon

Dale,Les,Frank,Paul and good 'ol Tom, I sure appreciate your comments guys it means a lot to me. I'll sure be glad when this one is finished but these are great for learning on. I have some kits like the Tamiya Caterham and even a Pocher Rolls Royce I want to build when my skills get good enough. I've always had good steady hands and even though they hurt everyday now there is no sign of any shaking. Still steady. Thank God.

Thanks Stitch. I think I'm ready for the big Tamiya Caterham. It's a fabulous model and has won contests box stock. Magnificent engine in it. The Pocher is still intimidating. 3,000 pieces to that model. 500 pieces in the engine, hand lace the wire wheels. Not ready for that yet.

 Les, here's a small view of the inside of a Pocher kit. A lot more inside than you can see and more of those bags on the sides that are filled with screws, pins, springs etc. Over 500 pices in the motor alone. It's a real car with all the components in miniature. Builds to over two feet long. The box is 30 in. long by 20 in. wide and 8 in. deep. Part of a knee shot there too for the kinky folks. It is 90% metal {not the knee, the kit} the engine is all metal and is a complete engine inside and out. You are supposed to be a Master Model Builder to build one. I'll never be a Master but I'll bet I get it built one day.

Holy Crap! 


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Amazing stuff never seen one of these kits before, you are doing a great job of it.