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Airfix 1/12 Bentley blower FINISHED

I reached the stage where i can fit the body to the chassis.. Location points are vague so you cant fit the radiator till the body is on because the rad has to be exactly the length of the engine cowling away from the body if you see what i mean.

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Just balanced together to get a feel for fit..

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Hood cover looks ok and i have rounded it off a bit as suggested by Paul.
This weeks problems......
the chrome on the rad has gone off despite me keeping it for the last 6 weeks is a sealed bag.
The cowlings when open fold over the other side of the car so you can only open one side at a time...so which side do i pose open ?
They are not hinged in kit form and i doubt i could get the fit good enough to have them openable.
The seats are a bit to wide to fit both in to the body width.
I wonder if i gave the Rad another coat of chrome it would go little more silver and look more like Nickle plate which it probably was anyway back in the day and be less susceptible to blemishes.
 
Chrome paint is still an iffy proposition, have you tried AK Interactive's Extreme Metal? It's the most durable I've found to date. The rest looks really good.
 
That was Alclad right? I noticed my shiny jug is not as shinny as it once was, but only the top side. Might be light effecting the finish some how?

What side open? My USAF training reminds me that the Right side was the inspection side so let's go the right side? Better suggestion would what side is more interesting to look at?
 
On my Jug from the MMM build this year, I used Chrome over Alclad black gloss. Gave it several light coats, then a wet coat of Future a couple of days later. While the clear Future didn't affect the Chrome paint in any way it did "slightly" dull it from there being a clear coat on it. To note I did hit some areas with White Aluminum and some other Aluminum colors to vary the finish a little. After 5 months though the chrome parts are really shiny and reflective. Not like a mirror exactly, but reflective where you can see lines and details reflecting well enough to see. It could be air and oxidization are giving some problems, or the mix of paints could be doing that as well.
 
We have wheels

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space is always an issue for me as this is my only table and its really where i rebuild motorcycle parts. i just get a few minutes at a time to drag this out and do a little. :)

Having got the wheels on i can set about the mudguards (fenders) the kit doesnt really tell you how the stays should fit so you have to work it out an bend them to suit before you can spray them

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This is one of the horns.... that should be a tube with a fine mesh over it so it needs a major upgrade :)

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And this is the steering wheel which was bound with cord back in the day to aid grip

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i need to find something to wrap this in thats not "hairy" :)
 
It's really coming together. Wonder if you could make the wrap from thin strips of Tamiya epoxy? Roll it into a thin worm , then flatten it to desired thickness and wrap around the wheel. You can then add the texture. Sort of like weld beads, only leather. Anyway, looking good!! :good:
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Given all the intricate detail you did on the engine compartment, I don't know why you would mount the bonnet at all. :good:
 
You could still use some mercerized thread which is quite smooth Paddy. I was thinking about Hobby Lobby here in the States, but then you are across the pond and I am sure you should have some sewing shops over there. The trick would be to find some the right thickness. If nothing else you could use a thin coat of solvent to bond everything down and it should also tie down the loose fibers.
 
Looking good so far Paddy. I've seen this chrome airbrushable paint from Green Stuff World that looks to be pretty good and have heard some good things about it. I've used Alclad and Molotow with some pretty good results but I am looking for more durable chrome as well.
 
Had a few moments today to spray some paint, i cant get the right green in bottles so its rattle cans here

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its a very dark green but it loos ok and correct.
I finally got brave and fixed the radiator where i think it should go, i had to this with a 2 pack epoxy glue as the contact area on chassis is very small and ordinary glue wouldn't have held it. The position is basically the length of the hood from the body :) Quite pleased with the leather body and metal panels colour contrast.

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This is just balanced in place but you get the idea.
I think i mentioned before there are dozens of "work in progress" threads for this model on forums all over the world but its incredibly hard to find one thats finished. Most stop about fitting the hood time and i can see why, its getting hard work now and i think most of us have gone soft on a life time of Tamiya fall together models :)
I think the fenders ( see i am getting all US now with fenders and hood ) will be near last thing fitted as the attachment points are very small and there is quite a lot of weight hanging on them, i did consider replacing the fender struts with brass rod but we will see how the kit parts go.
Remembered to fit the #8 behind the grill on the rad at the last minute :)

Next will be head lights and horns on the front, there should also be a stone guard over the carbs and sometimes one over the headlights, that might be a little over my pay grade though. I will need to add weathering to the engine and parts before i fix the hood as well.
 
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