Marvel's Hydra Coupe 1/12 scale full scratch build

You know the saying that goes 'one step forward 2 steps back'? Well that's exactly what happenned with the head lights. I had 1 completly installed but I wasn't bright enough to test the lighting before gluing everything in place. It turns out that the light from the bulb shines thru the bucket wall, which is only .040" thick and even though it's chromed. So I had to remove it by breaking the mounting bracket. I took the opportunity the redo the chrome on all 4 buckets since I didn't like how it looked so that's a plus. I also printed a heavy wall bucket liner that I painted black on the outside and silver on the inside. Now, the light goes out only by the front of the bucket as should be.

Bucket without liner (this bucket is not chromed so the efect is worse)

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Bucket with liner inside, problem solved

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The heavy wall liner

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And liner in bucket

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On the plus side of my Hydra day, all the firewall parts are painted and I started the pedal box assembly. The hydra logo on the brake and clutch are kinda cool! If all goes to plan, I should have working pedals once hooked up to the spring loaded clutch and brake masters.

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Francois brought this over to my house the other day and I have to say it is absolutely amazing. I am in the middle of building an old Pocher model and the quality of the 3D-printed parts is way better than the injection-molded parts.
 
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Thanks Rick!
You know when you're too close to the forest you can't see the tree? I've been working with the steering mecanism for the last week but just found this problem today.

(Hint, look at the rotation of the steering vs the rotation of the wheels)
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The problem is that I printed a left hand worm instead of a right hand. I've reprinted the steering column parts with the correct worm so easy fix.

I test fitted the dash board, fits like it should but I don't like tge dial gage area

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Newly redesign dashboard with a test dial in place.

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Exploded views of the clutch master assembly

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And assembled

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Brake and clutch masters in place on firewall with brake piping done

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Pedal box completed and installed

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Functional brake and clutch pedals
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I wish I had that kind of steering for sailboat wheels! Every time I sail with someone who has a wheel, I expect it to turn the way you have it! I normally get invited to trim the mainsail on large race boats and this means I have to keep a close eye on the pressure the helmsman feels on the rudder. With a stick, you can easily see which way the pressure is going. With a wheel, you have to follow a little piece of tape affixed to the top of the wheel, or follow some other clue. Of course, if you are used to sailing with a stick, the tape is always going the wrong way!
 
Almost done with the wheels and tires. All 7 wheels have been primed, painted and clear coated. Once dry, I'll install 18 white rivets per wheel and 1 valve. I've got 6 tires printed so far and 3 primed and painted. I decided to forgo the flexible resin and print the tires wirh my usual hard resin. The finished model will be under glass so no one will be kicking the tires. I should have the 7 wheels assembled sometime next week.

Here are a few pictures.

A small setup on my laid down drill press to sand away the support marks from the back side of the tire.

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Pinstripping of the wheels

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Clear coated wheels and painted tires (the paint on the tires is still wet, I used the black rubber from tamiya which gives a nice rubber like finish)

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Nicely done! I have not been building models for a while now, and I have never heard of the XF85. Does the X20A work for cleaning or do you need the actual Lacquer thinner? Are you thinning about 10% for your airbrush?
 
The wheels and tires are all done. That mean I now have a rolling chassis, althought not 100% completed yet. I still need to finish the dashboard, head lights and a few other odds and ends before tackling the body. But I have to say, it's starting to look like an actual car and more and more like the design I made.

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Engine and firewall bolted in for good. The dashboard is completed and installed but was still quite difficult do to despite it's simplicity (espacialy when compared to the Bentley's). All firewall related wiring and piping done. I'll be installing a fuel pump (stolen from the Bentley's spare parts bin) complete with feed hoses from the tank and outlet hoses to carburators. Next up, installing the head lights and wires. All wires from the head lights, gearmotor and tail lights will be routed towards the rear and eventually be hooked up to a multi pin connector that will be plugged into a control panel "a la" Marvel. Then, front and rear bumper and I'll need to design a stand of some sort to take the weight off the wheels, it's getting pretty heavy and I want to better distribute the weight on the frame.

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Every so often I just have to insert a big WOW François. Your type of modeling is so very enjoyable to look at, a big thanks for sharing.
 
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