Tommy Ivo Showboat wip

[farmboy]

Making the linkage levers took a bit of thought so here's what I settled on. As they are so tiny I  decided to use small diameter solder for the job.  I could have used styrene rod but I find the solder easier to work with.

At any rate, a short length is put between the plier jaws and given a good squeeze.  The result is shown below.  I have smooth jawed pliers also but after a bit of experimenting decided I liked the texture finish

I add them to the linkage by filing a small curved indent on the bottom.  This indent cradles the round linkage shaft and at the same time carries a small amount of ca glue with it.  the join looks good.  I posed it in front of a file so it would show up better.

Once attached the solder piece is easily snipped with a pair of good manicure scissors.


As for linkage joining the whole system together I was going to use silver wire but that's just what it looked like.  I tried cutting thin strips of pop can aluminum but I just couldn't get it looking right.  Then I found it.  Regular paper  staples!




The Force works in strange ways lol.  I used a  caliper for proper lengths and glued them to the faces of the levers then cut the excess lever length flush.  A bit of dry fitting shows me it all blends together once the velocity stacks get installed .


Comments and observations welcome.

[rodsnracin]

You do more with less than anyone else I can think of, and it all looks GREAT!

[farmboy]

Wow rn'r, thanx for the kudo! Sometimes ya get lucky trying new stuff. Glad you like the build so far.

[farmboy]

On to the hard fuel lines. The photo below shows a section of hard line running from the fuel delivery tee to the fuel distribution block on one of the two engines

Looking at it like this photo  changes the perspective.  From the left is the brass elbow that will sit on top of the distribution block.  Incidentally the line is small diameter solder.  The bump next to the elbow is vertical to clear an actuator arm like on the real thing while the longer rectangular bend is horizontal to go around the magneto and hook up to the tee



The engine on the left has a more direct line to the tee, the right hand one has the line from the previous photo.  The tee snakes its way from the fuel pump.  Three more fuel lines for this bank and then on to the other side. One note:  if you do this fuel detail keep the velocity stacks in mind and don't cover any of the seats for them.  Tis a pain to redo. You needn't wonder where this nugget of wisdom comes from. 
The magneto needs finishing and wiring also before the stacks get installed. 

Comments and observations welcome. 

Attachments:

[rodsnracin]

Wow, the level of detail you are producing is amazing, plus the fact that you are having to do (almost) everything four times, whew! Having been around race cars since I was about 10 (62 now), I can say this is looking like the real thing!

[farmboy]

Thanx for the kind words r&r. The biggest drawback to this model, at least for me, is detail progression. I attempt to do a new technique and I'm happy it works but by the time I get around to the 4th engine the 1st one sometimes needs re-doing cause it doesn't look as... clean as the last one. Oh well.
Here's where I'm at, the plug wires are next. 
This is the mock up



I won't be gluing the engines in permanently until the stacks are installed to be sure the stacks don't end up crooked. After that the pipes are the monsters to deal with, then the rest of the car. 

Comments and observations welcome. 

[rodsnracin]

Jul 22, 2022 11:57:32 GMT -6 farmboy said:

....by the time I get around to the 4th engine the 1st one sometimes needs re-doing cause it doesn't look as... clean as the last one. 

Makes sense, since practice makes perfect, or so they say! Yeah, I'd want those engines upright to do the stacks, for sure.

[farmboy]

Now the tedious part. Engine wiring.  Wouldn't 'cha know the spark plug insulators show and are a big part of the overall engine view.  I should be using aftermarket plugs but dammit Jim, like the fuel lines, I just prefer to do it myself. Besides, if I'm not happy when I have the wiring done it wouldn't be too hard to order some and redo it. 

Three pieces make up one plug wire assembly.  Left to right is spark plug insulator, plug boot, and plug wire.  The boot material is a slightly larger diameter than the other same size wire. 


A short length of insulation is removed from the plug wire to allow for the boot and insulator.



Enough bare wire is left to anchor the wire in to the block, and a small piece left to cement in the holes drilled in the magneto. 



And here it begins.   31 more to go



Comments and observations welcome

[farmboy]

Sorry for the delay....
Took a while to get back to the bench. Got the 4 engines wired. Didn't need any explanation so here it is/they are








I should have a bit more progress soon
Comments and observations welcome. 

[rodsnracin]

If the valves are adjusted and the timing is close, they should fire right up! Looks real good!

[farmboy]

Thanx r&r. . Might run for 1/8th of a second  lol.

I'm the process installing velocity stacks.  These are metal ferrules, part of a kit of a few hundred in different sizes ordered thru Amazon. 



I used gel superglue as it allows you a bit of adjustment time. A dab on the injector base allows one to accurately position the stack and an additional bit of time for fine tuning. Bonus is if one is inadvertently knocked askew its easily snapped away when dry to try again. 

Here are the results of one bank



A fidgety process but do-able without too much frustration. 

Comments and observations welcome. 

[rodsnracin]

The finishing touch! Nothing looks like metal more than metal!

[TooOld]

I ordered those ferules on Amazon too for that same use but have yet to build anything that needed them .
Nice to see somebody use them on some engines . . . looks great !

[farmboy]

TooOld :_Nice to see somebody use them on some engines . . .

This makes 6 engines I’ve used them on that called for velocity stacks. I used to avoid some kits years ago just because they had them and offered no other option.  No worries with ferrules. A nice affordable detail.

[farmboy]

You can take these to the bank lol!  Mock up only.  What I see as the important step is to have each bank
line up with the two rear engine braces.  My braces looked bent so I  snipped them off and will reinstall them when I'm satisfied with the engine alignment (with the help of Mr clothespin).  Besides, the instructions picture the engines placed vertically (?).   Only a few fuel lines to add between the engines and then the headers. 

C

On to the cockpit, brakes and wheels

Comments and observations welcome.

[rodsnracin]

Awesome progress! Clothespins, the most useful modeling tool ever! Well, after glue.

[farmboy]

Finding it hard to get some bench time lately but winter's coming so it'll get better. I gave the exhaust assembly quite a bit of thought and here's what I've arrived at...

This is what the kit has.  They're probably ok but I looked for another method.  Besides, I didn't want to use the joiner bar that the separate pieces cemented to. 



I had already settled on aluminum tubing and pre drilled the holes to accept the the individual pieces



Using a tube cutter and a digital caliper I made the pipes slightly longer than the kit ones to make up for the extra length required as these sit right in the block.  Any additional trimming is done quickly with a sanding drum in the Dremel. The bend was surprisingly easy as well with no kinks... So far. 



Each pipe will have a short piece of stiff snug fitting wire ca'd in the curved end.  The pipe is test fitted, wire length trimmed for fit, and a small blob of gel cement applied to the end of the wire (not the pipe) so it anchors the assembly inside the block.  This allows individual fine pipe adjustment for the center row if needed.  That's the plan anyway. 



I had considered using ferrules on the end of the pipes. Not really sold on them but you never know. 


Comments and observations welcome.

[TooOld]

The kit header tubes don't look okay and would ruin you build , good move bending your own ! I've got a pair of those pliers and they really work great , best tool purchase I've made in a long time .

[farmboy]

Here's the center header strip.  The pipes are cemented in place, most everything else is mockup for the shot. 










Its turning out alright.  A couple of pipes need additional tweaking but that's ok.  It'll be a few days before I get the outside pipes done. 

Comments and observations welcome. 

[farmboy]

Tooold, I concur. The day I bought the round nose pliers is the day I stopped using knife handles, nails, and most other rounded objects to bend and curve styrene and most metal tube and rod. Bit of a learning curve so as not to leave marks in one's work but I soon learned keeping it this side of a Hulk grip is a good start lol. Use em quite often.

[flounder]

Excellent work! Your attention to detail and correctness it amazing.

I'm glad I found this thread.

Flounder.

[farmboy]

Hey Flounder. Thanx for the shout out. Pleased you're enjoying the build!

[farmboy]

A tip for cutters and small tubing.  The one with the orange knob (1/8"-5/8") I bought a while ago, the silver one (1/8"-7/8") was a stocking stuffer. Both were unable to cut tube or rod smaller than an 8th as the support rollers stopped the cutter wheel from doing so. Note the wooden block beside the cutter on the left. 



I removed the rollers and filled the cavity with a scrap of softwood carved to fit.  I added a small canal across the midpoint to help support and hold the tubing in position - a very important step. 



The roller with the block now handles the smallest diameter I've needed to cut while the unmodified one I use for the larger sizes it was designed for



Comments and observations welcome

[farmboy]

A quick detail.  Rather than leave the seat black, a strip of styrene rod was cemented to the rear edge of the seat bucket and painted aluminum.  Liquid cement is the adhesive of choice as it me!ts the styrene in to shape while leaving plenty of time for correction.



Gives it a bit of added dimension.

Comments and observations welcome.

[rodsnracin]

Replicates the rolled aluminum edge nicely! This model is loaded with "little things" that are making a huge difference!

[farmboy]

Glad you're enjoying the build r&r.

[farmboy]

They may be a little hard to pick out, but here are the two main throttle linkages -- one for each bank of engines. Each 3 piece assembly consists of a separate pivot arm attached to the common main throttle rod, and a control arm to attach them to main pivot arms between the engines

This is a view of the right side engines' linkage



And here's the left.  Note this  pivot arm is mounted pointed down on the throttle rod to allow for clearance. The throttle rod should be mounted lower down however the 2  down pointing headers make this unworkable.  I therefore mounted the throttle rod to the existing unused starter mount.  Not how they do it on the real deal it works for me.



Comments and observations welcome.

[farmboy]

Fuel lines. The injector lines were done first, then the hard lines to deliver fuel from the pumps to the distribution blocks. Time for the lines that run from tank to pumps. The tank mounts up front ahead of the right side engines. From the tank (not installed yet) A single feed line goes between the engines. At about the halfway mark it is tee'd so one line goes to the right fuel pump, the other to the left.

Here are the left and right fuel-in lines

I have the tires bracing the frame off the table as the pan for the fuel tank has just been cemented at the time of the photo and I don't want it being moved out of place. The lines go down between the engines from the pump.  You can also see the hard line above it as it leaves the pump to the tee to feed the engines.

This straight down shot shows the lines joined at the splitter tee.  The feed line from the tank will connect to the empty tee line.




Comments and observations welcome

[TooOld]

This really is getting better and better all of the time ! Very impressive detailing with readily available materials . Reminds me of how I used to try and detail my models before the arthritis and my eyes went south .

[farmboy]

Thanx tooold. It's turning out ok so far. I may use some photoetch for the seatbelt buckles, we'll see lol.