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Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele)

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Post by Skid Sun 08 Nov 2015, 11:55 pm

The Fiat 500 F2 may have been a disappointment in it's quality for me but it did at least inspire me into doing another 'oldie'.

When finished it will be the largest kit I have done so far.

The real car (a one of a kind) was built in 1923 by Sir Ernest Arthur Douglas Eldridge,  (a British racing car driver) and utilised a Fiat, straight six, 21.7 litre, 316 bhp, A12 aero engine, dropped into a 1908 Fiat SB4 chassis.

With this combination, Sir Arthur broke the World Land Speed Record on 12th July 1924 with a speed of 146 mph at Arpajon, France.

The car was nicknamed 'Mefistofele' which literally translated mean 'infernal noise'.

Click for pronunciation.

This is the kit:

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 4701_310

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 00156

The model when finished:

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 112_fi13

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 112_fi14

Sprue shots:

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 00244

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 00340

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 00434

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 00536

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 00621

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 00921

Multi piece friction lever shockers:

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 01019

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 01215

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 01320

The 400 pieces of the chain drive:

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 01417

Which fortunately appear to go together  'en masse' with what looks like an ingenious system of overlapping and melting.

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 01712

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 01516

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 02310

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 02412

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 02512

The instruction manual is a bit like 'War and Peace' but does appear to be a bit vague in places:

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 01614

A box with myriads of bits and bobs:

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 01916

Including all the exposed valve springs:

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 02013

Plus what looked at first like a metal axle:

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 02110

But turned out to be a very tightly wound 'bendy' spring:

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 02210

That's all for now people, off to clear the bench as this one is going to take a lot of room.

I don't know how many detailed photos I can get of the car but I will be looking to put in extra details as usual.

Should be able to get started tomorrow.

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Post by harron68 Mon 09 Nov 2015, 12:37 am

Insane detail!  Hope it doesn't drive you the same.  Mephistopheles is closer to the devil in this kit.  Good luck on this one.  Serious patience required here!

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Post by Skid Mon 09 Nov 2015, 12:40 am

LOL............. the devil is in the details Harron and it should be a demon build!!

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Post by RetiredMike Mon 09 Nov 2015, 12:57 am

Awesome looking project, Al. I'll definitely watch this one closely. Love the old big scales.
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Post by Sam Mon 09 Nov 2015, 7:52 am

That is a beauty by the looks of it. Love the old "knee jerk" shocks, and the chain drive rear wheels. No doubt you will get a better fit on the chains than the box art. lol

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 1705482731
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Post by Geezerman Mon 09 Nov 2015, 11:11 am

RetiredMike wrote:Awesome looking project, Al.  I'll definitely watch this one closely.  Love the old big scales.

I agree !!!
This looks awesome !!!
Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 1705482731
Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 2776978727
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Post by Guest Mon 09 Nov 2015, 12:06 pm

OMG!!!!

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Post by Guest Mon 09 Nov 2015, 1:01 pm

What john said !!!!!


Slightly bemused what a six part opera has to do with a Fiat racing car though lol

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Post by Guest Mon 09 Nov 2015, 5:27 pm

Awesome looking kit, I can't wait to see this one come together.

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Post by Speed Racer 65 Mon 09 Nov 2015, 9:29 pm

Wow. That chain is a kit in itself.

Have you looked at any PE chains for motorcycle kits to see if you can find something that might look better or to fall back on if the kit chain goes south?
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Post by Johnag Mon 09 Nov 2015, 11:02 pm

I'm in... Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 1705482731

Andy... popcorn

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Post by Geezerman Tue 10 Nov 2015, 11:25 am

This kit got me drooling. Skid. I googled it and came across a couple.
Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 50283314
$150 and $200 !
Too salty for me ! So, I'll be happy watching you go thru it !
Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 2776978727
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Post by Skid Tue 10 Nov 2015, 3:34 pm

Thanks guys. I'm really looking forward to this one. I considered doing it as a barn find but I think it's way to nice to do that to it. So it will be built 'fresh for it's record attempt'

Speed Racer 65 wrote:Wow. That chain is a kit in itself.

Have you looked at any PE chains for motorcycle kits to see if you can find something that might look better or to fall back on if the kit chain goes south?

I hadn't considered that Mitch but it's a good plan B. Thanks.

Geezerman wrote:This kit got me drooling. Skid. I googled it and came across a couple.
Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 50283314
$150  and $200 !
Too salty for me !   So, I'll be happy watching you go thru it !
Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 2776978727

Clay, I 'ummed and 'arrred over the price for three years but took the plunge when one came up at a discounted price!!

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Post by Guest Tue 10 Nov 2015, 5:08 pm

When Speedvision was still on the air, they used to have a show from Goodwood every year.I think it was called "The Festival of Speed". Anyway one year they had one of these cars or this car racing up the hill climb part of it. That Big engine was amazing to hear. I am like Clay I would love to build this kit, but will make do with watching Al work his magic.

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Post by Skid Tue 10 Nov 2015, 6:20 pm

LOL at Buck.

Construction is under way. One noticeable thing is some very long sprue attachment points:

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 00538

However, I'm pleased to say they come away quite easily with a couple of light passes with a scalpel. Just as well, as there are quite a few on the body panels.

Basic chassis assembled. All the parts are a press fit, fit well and true, which makes MEKing a breeze.

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 00341

This photo will give you a better idea of the size of the beast:

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 00436

The front axle halves screw together to allow for the steerable front wheels but I also glued it:

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 00624

I then added the springs, which together with the rear hangers, attach just like the 1:1:

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 00729

Steering left:

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 00826


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Post by Speed Racer 65 Tue 10 Nov 2015, 6:33 pm

That is a big one Al. Looks like you get to build the steering box. I built couple of big kits as a kid and always tried to lubricate the gears in the gear box or window regulator assembly and usually what happened is what ever I used as a lube would make the glue break down and make the plastic brittle and the parts would break and fall apart and wouldn't take glue anymore. I remember using petroleum jelly and or vegetable oil. Dumb kid stuff.

Anyway. I am looking forward to watching this come together. I like all the moving parts.

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Post by Skid Tue 10 Nov 2015, 6:36 pm

Thanks for the heads up Mitch. Never thought about lubricating the steering box but I'll give that a miss now.

That's the great thing about reading and posting in other peoples threads, we all benefit sooner or later. I think it's called 'scratching backs'. LOL

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 1705482731

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Post by Guest Tue 10 Nov 2015, 7:03 pm

You can buy lube especially for polycarb and ABS plastic ... just go to your local radio control stockist ... it doesn't weaken the plastic racks or gearboxes of the cars.

I may even have some knocking around in my RC box ... if there's some there and it's still ok i can pop it in the post if you want.

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Post by Skid Wed 11 Nov 2015, 8:59 am

Thanks for the offer Colin but I'm not big on working parts so I'll just lock everything up.

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 1705482731

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Post by Geezerman Wed 11 Nov 2015, 11:04 am

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Post by Skid Thu 12 Nov 2015, 7:44 pm

The friction shock absorbers go together in exactly the same way as the real deal:

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 00157

The bottom mounting points are also the top of the clamp that holds the front axle in place but the 'pegs' were square and the holes in the shockers were round... and we all know that saying!!! So I had to remove them to make the pegs round!! Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 1757741307

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 00246

Fiat SB4 Eldridge (Mefistofele) 00342

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Post by Speed Racer 65 Thu 12 Nov 2015, 7:47 pm

I am enjoying watching this one go together Al.
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Post by kpnuts Thu 12 Nov 2015, 8:28 pm

I've got this kit deffo one I'm following now.

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Post by Geezerman Fri 13 Nov 2015, 10:51 am

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Post by Guest Fri 13 Nov 2015, 5:41 pm

Looking great Al. I have built several active models. When I built the Lindberg Big Red Rod it was recommended that you use petroleum Jelly as a lube in the steering box , transmission and Differential. I did and now after 8 years there are no problems at all with it. Just my personal experience. I know other modelers who use Corn Oil (cooking oil) they say a very light coat will help keep the moving parts from sticking together when glued.

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