1930 Bentley Blower by Aifix 1/12 build log [COMPLETED BUILD]

[François]

Continued on the body components. Today, I tackled the soft top frame. They are very few ref pictures of the frame and even fewer of a top in place. I could only find one. So there is a lot of "modelers leeway" in the design.

Here's the frame so far.

And the only pictures of a top up

I'll try to 3d model the top itself, not easy to do.

 

[François]

The top is modeled and it was effectively not easy to do. Hopefully I'll be able to do it for real.

Here's my 3d model

And a real top

I've worked hard on printing the different windscreen components and as predicted, some were very tricky to do. I've dry fitted the meshscreen with it's mounting frame and I'm very pleased with the result. The difficulty with the mesh screen was to figure out the proper shape of mesh to cut. Since the mesh is not flat ( it has a fairly prononced bump to clear the oil tank cap), it's shape is not a rectangle but rather a mix of straight and curved line. I tried to determine the shape using good old geometrie but I've been using a 3d cad system for so long the my basic draftman's skills are very rusty. So I took the easy way out and printed a 2 piece male/female press to conform the mesh. All I had to do was to cut the mesh following the contour of the press. I then had a correctly shape mesh that could be inserted in the frame. Easier said than done. It took me about 1 hour but I got it in! Too bad I'll have to disassemble it for paint but I know it fits.

Here are some pictures.

The male/female press



The mesh in the press ready yo be trimmed

The mesh inserted in the frame





Scratch built clamping screws

The real one

The mesh screen installed in the mounting frame







My assembly next to the kit's



The aftermath...



Next up, the foldable top frame.

 

[François]

Up date time.

I'm slowly advancing the body. I made a full wrapping test using a 4 way stretch fabric. The result was pretty good but installation was very difficult. First, it needs to be glued using a spray on contact ciment. So once on, that is pretty much it. The edges once wrapped around don't hold very well since the material is so stretchy and contrary to leather, it doesn't react to well to ca glue.

Here's what it looks like.



So I went back on the web to search some more and stumpled on a material called a vinyl car wrap which is basically a vinyl menbrane used to wrap over a car when you want to change color. And it just so happens that a big player in the car wrapping business is about 25 min from my house. There are many positive features to this product. First, it very cheap. 15$ for a 12in x 60in piece, big enough for at least 7 to 8 tries. Second, at only .005in (1/16in scaled up) , it's half the thickness of the 4 way fabric I tried and much more to scale. Third, it has heat activated glue on the back so I can reposition it as much as l like and once satisfied, apply heat to bond. And fourth, it's heat shrinking so once wrapped over the edges, you apply heat and it hucks the edge. I found a piece that is satin black that I think should look pretty good.

Here's a test I did on a door



I should be wrapping soon.

I reprinted a body with all mounting holes in it. It's now primed and ready for wrapping. Since the interior will be upholstered in red leather, I painted certain areas red in case the leather doesn't cover everything. I even incorporated hex nuts to screw in the foldable top frame.







here's my body collection so far



I found a nice piece of red leather for 5$. It's a bit thicker than l like but I should be able to skive it.



I started 3d modeling the interior finishes. I modeled the door latch based on the few pictures I could find.

The latch inspiration

My 3d model

And finally, I made some bending test for the foldable top frame.



Here's another comparison shot of my model and the ref car



And another video of the running engine because it's just fun to watch.
View attachment 20240425_120412.mp4
As a side note, I was asked to design and print some parts for a 1/18 scale diecast C8 Corvette. The guy has the real one but his diecast model didn't have the correct wheels, rear spoiler and was missing a few other parts.

Here's the real car



the wheels I printed



And all the parts

 

[Corsair]

The work, dedication and accuracy on your Blower build is absolutely amazing !
Mere words to not convey the full feelings !

 

[François]

Thank you Corsair!

 

[François]

Dry fitted the left side door latch

 

[François]

Tried my hand at lining the interior of a door with leather. It's not perfect but it's only a test so overall not too bad. Also tried the hinges and they work ok. This door is too tight in the body opening but the newly printed doors and body should provide more clearance.

Here's a list of things still to do

- vinyl wrap body and doors

- line interior of body and doors with leather, do piping, make storage pockets

- make wood floor

- make rear seat (perhaps with removable seat cushions for storage

- make front seats with seat rails

- make foldable top frame

- make fabric top

-install windscreen and windshields

- make oil tank filler cap

- make dash with gages

- install lights in display case

- install plexi sheets on display case

- grab a beer to celabrate end of build...

 

[Uwek]

Very good result on the door - especially the leather is well done !!!

 

[François]

Today, I fabricated the foldable top frame out of brass. I was a bit nervous about making it, it's not an easy part to make. It has to be fairly precise and as close to symmetrical as possible. It turned out pretty good.

View attachment 20240429_141253.mp4

I finaly found a good piece of red lampskin. I got a complete skin for 10$. At .015in thick it's pretty much as thin as I can get without needing to skive and being lamb, it's very supple and stretchy. It will do nicely for the seats, and I can use the back side to simulate the carpet as certain areas like the back of the front seats seem to have carpet instead of leather.

 

[Peter Voogt]

Today, I fabricated the foldable top frame out of brass. I was a bit nervous about making it, it's not an easy part to make. It has to be fairly precise and as close to symmetrical as possible. It turned out pretty good.

View attachment 444756

I finaly found a good piece of red lampskin. I got a complete skin for 10$. At .015in thick it's pretty much as thin as I can get without needing to skive and being lamb, it's very supple and stretchy. It will do nicely for the seats, and I can use the back side to simulate the carpet as certain areas like the back of the front seats seem to have carpet instead of leather.

That foldable frame is looking great, François. A very nice job.
Regards, Peter

 

[François]

Well, after many tries, I've trown the towel on the boby wrapping. Althougt the results were relatively good, it just didn't look like it should at 1/12 scale. So I decided to paint the body instead. I pretty happy with the result and most pleased with the door gaps.









I also started working on the interior upholstery. I did a few test on the rear seat back cushion.

 

[François]

Today, contrary to what I thought would be, turned out to be a very productive day. I did alot of upholstering. The rear seat back cushion, both walls and piping are done. On rhe real car, the bottom half of the walls are carpeted while the upper half is covered in leather. I used the back side of my lambskin to simulate the carpet and the result is quite nice. I'll do the same for the back sideof the front seats. I used two different piping size, a small .6mm dia styrene rod to do all curved edges and a larger 1mm dia rod to do the straighter edges and also where the gap is too big for the .6mm rod. Not to toot my own horn but I really did not think it would have turned out this good. Believe me when I say that pictures do not do it justice.

The rear seat back cushion fab

Styrene ribs glued to styrene back wall



Ribs coverded with a thin felt liner



And covered with red leather



Walls upholstering

Bottom of side walls carpeted



and upper portion leathered





Body mounted on frame









I still have a small piece of carpet to install over the center rib after which I'll do the wooden floor planks.

 

[DavidD]

Just found this ….. mind blown. Your work is amazing.
Congratulations.
Cheers,
Dave

 

[Peter Voogt]

Today, contrary to what I thought would be, turned out to be a very productive day. I did alot of upholstering. The rear seat back cushion, both walls and piping are done. On rhe real car, the bottom half of the walls are carpeted while the upper half is covered in leather. I used the back side of my lambskin to simulate the carpet and the result is quite nice. I'll do the same for the back sideof the front seats. I used two different piping size, a small .6mm dia styrene rod to do all curved edges and a larger 1mm dia rod to do the straighter edges and also where the gap is too big for the .6mm rod. Not to toot my own horn but I really did not think it would have turned out this good. Believe me when I say that pictures do not do it justice.

The rear seat back cushion fab

Styrene ribs glued to styrene back wall



Ribs coverded with a thin felt liner



And covered with red leather



Walls upholstering

Bottom of side walls carpeted



and upper portion leathered





Body mounted on frame









I still have a small piece of carpet to install over the center rib after which I'll do the wooden floor planks.

That is some very nice upholstery, François. The new customer will be very satisfied.
Regards, Peter

 

[Corsair]

As always, your work is absolutely amazing !
Out of curiosity, how much of this is still from the actual kit compared to how much have you fabricated?

 

[François]

Thanks everyone !
Corsair, I would say maybe 25% kit 75% me with the 25% often extensively modified.

 

[rshousha]

Hey Francois, this is a work of genius!

Your level of research is outstanding. I am pretty good at designing parts, but the patience you have for the research is absolutely on another level. Well done!



Regards,

Rick

 

[François]

Worked on the wooden floor today. The rear floor is finished, complete with lifting strap to access the battery. The front floor is glued up but I still need to make the brake adjuster and shifter cut-outs. I also made 2 storage pockets as found on the real car.

Rear floor



Real storage pocket( you can just see a hint of the B embossed on tge flap)

my storage pockets

 

[Uwek]

Hi
Have spent an enjoyable hour, reading from start your progress. Very talented and outstanding work. I found this site after googling “ Bentley Airfix” as I am embarking on this kit build and was looking for inspiration and ideas to up detail the kit.
Would you consider printing and selling some of the parts you have designed, eg shock absorbers, horns, etc
Have already made mesh and detailed my fuel tank,
Regards
David

Hallo David alias @Bentley Boy
we wish you all the BEST and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Soory to use your topic for the greetings, hope this is ok for you @François ?!?

 

[Daniel20]

Hello David, I am Daniel, and I just spent the last little while looking at your wonderful Bently Blower. You have achieved a level of breathtaking detail, I'm glad I stumbled onto your build and thank you for sharing. And by the way, happy birthday as well.