1/12 Matra MS11

[Paul_OFarrell]

Hi Marcus,

If the dash panel is slightly wider than it needs to be, then I would look at gently sanding the sides of the dash panel, or even carving a slot into the panel for the lines to pass through. Any sanding on the underside of the cowling could be very risky - you wouldn't want to damage the cowling and end up having to repair and repaint it.

Is the dash panel permanently mounted into position? If it is then I would still think about sanding the sides of the dash panel. Before sanding begins, I would take the precaution of laying some Parafilm strips onto the nearby surfaces to protect them from being accidentally scratched.

If you don't want to sand the panel, you could always gently scrape a blade down the side of the panel until enough material is removed.

Good luck and fingers crossed that you get the problem sorted out.

Cheers, Paul
Sydney, Oz

[mvc]

Thanks Paul for your suggestions. I think it will be a combination of solutions. For now, I have sanded the sides a little, but the edge (that gives the panel some rigidity and makes it "3D") is only 0.3 mm thick, so there is not much room to play with. I also sharpened the lower "V"-outline a bit, so the whole panel can be installed a little lower. I'm not that nervous about removing material from the cowling; that thing is way too thick and could easily loose 0.5mm on each side. Even if it goes wrong: I'd rather repaint the cowling than to rebuild the dashboard.

Some more progress today: I fixed the gauges to the panel and added some detail on the back. It's almost ready, it only needs a few switches on both sides.

As you can see, my part is not any wider than the original kit part. So I assume the original part would also have raised some space/fit issues...

Thanks for watching!

[dmandam]

Hi Marcus,
I assume they are functional and am curious as to how you assembled the "U" joint for the gear shift...in particular how you joined the two pieces of 0.45 rod to form the central 'cross'?
And when that was done how are they secured to the plastic tubing?
Thanks and regards,
David M
Sydney, Straya
BTW really outstanding work you are doing on the Matra.

[mvc]

Hi David,

The two .45 rods are not connected to each other; they just interlock to keep both parts together. So the join is not really functional, but it does allow some angle and movement (and I can still choose the gear it's in).

The pins are flattened on one end with a grinding disc on a Dremel, which gives them a bit of a "head", so they don't fall through the hole (like a nail). Once in position, the other ends are secured with a drop of CA glue.

Thanks for following!
Marcus

Btw, I used your advice (couple of months ago) on making bigger holes; used it on the dashboard, so thanks for that

[mvc]

Finally have some assembly work done! I've been looking forward to this stage for a while, and I'm quite happy with the result so far. There is still some cleaning up to be done here and there. The dashboard is not permanently attached because it needs some switches, and the fuel filler caps can still be taken off.

Thanks for watching!!

Marcus

[gavrob]

Simply superb. Really enjoying this build.

[gp-models]

Wow, what a masterpiece of art!

[harveyb258]

Beautifully done!

Cheers, H

[mvc]

Thank you very much gentlemen

Today I worked on the water tank, which hangs between the brake cylinders and the radiator. I cut my finger in the process so most work is done without my left thumb

The kit part, but with the mounts removed because they are inaccurate and can't be used anyway with all the new components on the bulkhead. The opening on top needs to be wider and deeper.

Opened up the gap (which cost me my thumb...)

The new panel (1mm plasticard) is resting on a vertical piece of scrap plastic to give it some strength.

That's 0.3mm plasticard glued into place with Tamiya's extra thin cement (which again is very nice!)

Added some detail - not sure yet if I like everything, I'll decide when everything is primed. The new gap may be a bit too deep, but at least that gives me some space for the upcoming hose/pipe/tube connections.

Test fit with the new supports. (Top only, bottom ones will follow but I need to make some attachment points on the bulkhead first)

Thanks for watching!

Marcus

[orcatkt]

So I guess the next step is to make it actually hold fuel and water? Level of detail is superb, would it be easier to just make the real car though?