Matts speedy ScaleAirfixtric Aston and Jag

[splash]

Left hand drive Aston my world has just ended.

[TimJ]

Great work so far.

[JohnRatzenberger]

Maybe he just had the instructions reversed and your world will be OK in the morning ....

[MerlinJones]

Great progress, Matt.

[mattbacon]

Got engrossed and failed to post this one -- the bench at 7.30:



I'm pleased with the way the black surround to the windows came out. No time to make masks, so it's done using a chisel tip Sharpie marker...

Look closely at that DBR9 chassis, particularly the front wheel arches. There's a GOTCHA lurking there....

bestest,
M.

[mattbacon]

And this is where I'm giving up... The skeptics were right, and I did bite off more than I could chew...



...all the reviews talk about how well these kits fit together. Well, I 'm not so sure, though the Aston was a problem of my own making. For future reference for anyone making it, the front wheel arch liners go OUTBOARD of their location tabs by the suspension, and sit on top of the baseplate of the suspension arms, not on the socket that it fits into. That little error puts them about 2mm too close together, and they foul the radiator well and the body air intakes. Nothing for it, but they had to come off, with a great deal of cursing and sharp knives. I was NOT happy. In my defence, the instructions are completely unclear on this positioning.

The second problem, which finally defeated me, is that the square pegs on the wheels just DO NOT fit into the square holes on brake disks. Admittedly, I assembled them out of sequence, with the disks going onto the chassis after painting, not into the wheels, but that shouldn't stop them fitting! There's still a square socket on the chassis and a square peg on the wheel...

So, this is where I'm leaving it for tonight. The wheel problems are fixable, there are only a few more detail parts to add before decals, and they are two pretty nice builds IMHO, so I don't want to screw them up permanently by rushing. The will both get done in the next few days...




The main lesson is READ THE INSTRUCTIONS. I'm not sure if I would have caught the wheel arch problem, but I might have. Secondly, I'm not sure Blitz's are for me at the moment. It's hard to put family and work (and dog) completely on the back burner, and I'm not sure that I want to, anyway. I could have found a few more hours building time, but, what the heck? It's supposed to be fun...

I can highly recommend these kits, BTW, especially if you are taking your time and doing them methodically!

bestest,
M.

[splash]

I think you have done a great job, I now wan't the Aston, even though it's a left hand drive car.

[JamesPerrin]

An amazing effort all the same Matt. I'm sure you'll get them finished soon too a standard that will belie their speed build.

[TimJ]

Shame time ran out but they look great. I look forward to seeing them when they're finished.

[jssel]

Great effort, Matt and very worthy.

[Dirkpitt289]

Nice work. Your made some great strides against the clock. Can't wait to see how they look finished.

[MerlinJones]

Trying to do two at once was the ambitious bit, or would you have struggled equally had you just done the one?

Regards,
Bruce

[Gregers]

Great try Matt. nice one.

All the best.

Greg

[mattbacon]

Thanks, chaps!

@Bruce... I think the decals would have been the bit where trying to do two would have had the most impact. As it is, there are many similar procedures, and since I did a lot of painting with rattle cans, spraying eight parts takes no longer than doing four. The biggest point in its favour is the clear-coat. It's such a faff mixing up two-part clear coat, and cleaning up afterwards, that it makes way more sense to do two at once...

Anyway, the build has now moved over into the vehicles sub-forum, where all of you kind folk who have followed along can see it finished... in not too many more hours!

bestest,
M.

[Ian]

Missed this due to having been camping at the coast. You've got them both to this stage looking superb. Be sure to post pics once they're finished.