Post by Taffy on Oct 16, 2023 13:51:59 GMT -5
Hello, gentlemen,
I´d like to show you my last build, the Edwardian Darracq 1905 (George Turner kit)
You will notice that the heading says "1906" instead of "1905". This is not a typo, but is due to this
PICTURE,
where the car with the starting number 79 is shown, driven by Algernon Lee Guiness and with the caption - vainqueur du kilomètre de Dourdan en décembre 1906-
But now to the model:
The body kit consists of the chassis with multi-piece steerable front axle, as well as the body, the radiator, 3D-printed spoked wheels, driver and passenger figure and some additional parts in resin.
The mighty 28-liter engine is very well represented, the exposed valve actuation as well as the various existing lines are cleanly and very finely cast on in resin. If you want, you can just start building and you will get a nice result.
But this is, as usual, not my thing. Of course I wanted to have "real" valve springs, and also all the copper lines should be in copper wire.
Here I have already started to remove the fine resin parts of the valves and valve levers at the front cylinder:
Then I made myself the valve springs from springs I took from old disposable lighters...
...as well as customizing them:
In parallel with the kit, I had also ordered a new 3D-printed chassis to match the Darracq, because I expected better handling from it than from the resin chassis.
In the new chassis, for example, the engine is in a tub instead of just being suspended like in the resin chassis.
To improve handling from the start, I added a plate of rolled lead to the front end of the engine pan and also added 4 grams of lead behind the engine. With the high ground clearance of 7mm, this somewhat reduces the tendency to tip over in corners. With the added weight, the car comes to a total weight of 80 grams.
While adjusting the body, it turned out that the new 3D chassis was not designed quite correctly, the engine sits too high. A mistake that George has also recognized, he sent a mail that on request a revised chassis will be sent. Too late for me, because I was already faster ;-)
Here the body adapted to the chassis:
I made use of the raised poles of the motor in the design, but more on that in a moment.
Here are first the parts prepared for painting:
Now it went on so quickly that I lacked the time to document the intermediate steps :-).
Here therefore a construction phase already quite far advanced:
I soldered copper wire to the two lugs of the motor poles, which sticks out a little further and runs forward next to the motor in the chassis, where the flexible stranded wire is soldered to it, which leads to the guide flag. This way, the motor becomes part of the overall composition and the result is a lifting lever not so far from the original. In fact, the rather short control lever for the two-speed gearbox is also located between the driver's legs on the original.
The rear fuel lines were made in 0.8mm copper wire, with the hand pump the co-driver had to pump the necessary overpressure in the tank, because there was no mechanically or electrically driven fuel pump. I have represented the pump plunger with a pin.
Here is the engine in detail:
I used tinned copper wire for the valve linkage, and the exhaust pipes received a prototypical coat of rust pigment.
À propos pigments: Here is the overview of the colors used for the car. More than one would think...
The driver figures got a coat of paint mainly with acrylic colors, which I did not show here. I swapped the heads of the figures. The driver's head is from Immense Miniatures, the co-driver's one from another Turner kit.
After finishing the figures, I had to make the pedals out of copper wire with soldered small brass plates, because I didn't want to be satisfied with the pedals worked into the body. Finally, I washed the body with highly diluted black acrylic paint (except for the wheels, which I want to leave as I painted them).
This is the result:
HERE Louis Chevrolet 1905 is photographed on the Darracq with a cigarette casually hanging in the corner of his mouth!
I wanted to do the same, so I made a cigarette with a red glowing tip from a metallic red coated wire.
Two more detail shots with a view from behind into the "cockpit":
Of course, the added copper and brass parts are still a bit too shiny. However, experience shows that it does not take long for a natural patina to form on them.
And finally, here a shot from a test drive in front of the Darracq racing department in Suresnes :-)
In its first race appearance last Saturday, the Darracq finished in second place, which I am more than satisfied with.
Best regards,
Taffy
(For the translation I used DeepL)
I´d like to show you my last build, the Edwardian Darracq 1905 (George Turner kit)
You will notice that the heading says "1906" instead of "1905". This is not a typo, but is due to this
PICTURE,
where the car with the starting number 79 is shown, driven by Algernon Lee Guiness and with the caption - vainqueur du kilomètre de Dourdan en décembre 1906-
But now to the model:
The body kit consists of the chassis with multi-piece steerable front axle, as well as the body, the radiator, 3D-printed spoked wheels, driver and passenger figure and some additional parts in resin.
The mighty 28-liter engine is very well represented, the exposed valve actuation as well as the various existing lines are cleanly and very finely cast on in resin. If you want, you can just start building and you will get a nice result.
But this is, as usual, not my thing. Of course I wanted to have "real" valve springs, and also all the copper lines should be in copper wire.
Here I have already started to remove the fine resin parts of the valves and valve levers at the front cylinder:
Then I made myself the valve springs from springs I took from old disposable lighters...
...as well as customizing them:
In parallel with the kit, I had also ordered a new 3D-printed chassis to match the Darracq, because I expected better handling from it than from the resin chassis.
In the new chassis, for example, the engine is in a tub instead of just being suspended like in the resin chassis.
To improve handling from the start, I added a plate of rolled lead to the front end of the engine pan and also added 4 grams of lead behind the engine. With the high ground clearance of 7mm, this somewhat reduces the tendency to tip over in corners. With the added weight, the car comes to a total weight of 80 grams.
While adjusting the body, it turned out that the new 3D chassis was not designed quite correctly, the engine sits too high. A mistake that George has also recognized, he sent a mail that on request a revised chassis will be sent. Too late for me, because I was already faster ;-)
Here the body adapted to the chassis:
I made use of the raised poles of the motor in the design, but more on that in a moment.
Here are first the parts prepared for painting:
Now it went on so quickly that I lacked the time to document the intermediate steps :-).
Here therefore a construction phase already quite far advanced:
I soldered copper wire to the two lugs of the motor poles, which sticks out a little further and runs forward next to the motor in the chassis, where the flexible stranded wire is soldered to it, which leads to the guide flag. This way, the motor becomes part of the overall composition and the result is a lifting lever not so far from the original. In fact, the rather short control lever for the two-speed gearbox is also located between the driver's legs on the original.
The rear fuel lines were made in 0.8mm copper wire, with the hand pump the co-driver had to pump the necessary overpressure in the tank, because there was no mechanically or electrically driven fuel pump. I have represented the pump plunger with a pin.
Here is the engine in detail:
I used tinned copper wire for the valve linkage, and the exhaust pipes received a prototypical coat of rust pigment.
À propos pigments: Here is the overview of the colors used for the car. More than one would think...
The driver figures got a coat of paint mainly with acrylic colors, which I did not show here. I swapped the heads of the figures. The driver's head is from Immense Miniatures, the co-driver's one from another Turner kit.
After finishing the figures, I had to make the pedals out of copper wire with soldered small brass plates, because I didn't want to be satisfied with the pedals worked into the body. Finally, I washed the body with highly diluted black acrylic paint (except for the wheels, which I want to leave as I painted them).
This is the result:
HERE Louis Chevrolet 1905 is photographed on the Darracq with a cigarette casually hanging in the corner of his mouth!
I wanted to do the same, so I made a cigarette with a red glowing tip from a metallic red coated wire.
Two more detail shots with a view from behind into the "cockpit":
Of course, the added copper and brass parts are still a bit too shiny. However, experience shows that it does not take long for a natural patina to form on them.
And finally, here a shot from a test drive in front of the Darracq racing department in Suresnes :-)
In its first race appearance last Saturday, the Darracq finished in second place, which I am more than satisfied with.
Best regards,
Taffy
(For the translation I used DeepL)
Taffy
