1930 Bugatti Type 35B, Louis Chiron. MFH 1/20.

Good evening,

French blue!!

Let’s start with the engine and some added details.
A little solder to connect the 0.4 copper "tubes" with the 0.7 brass tube.
The copper pipes are bent and matched to their connections on both sides of the motor. There are still a few to install.
The exhaust manifolds are polished and burnished with Blacken’it.















New oil fittings are installed on the back of the block, so we had to make the piping and do some welding.
Same as for the compressor: 0.4 copper and 0.7 brass tube then an iron and tin solder.
Well... a weld.





A large part of the chassis parts are prepared, primed and then painted with the famous Blue.





Some pictures of the gearbox.







The chassis parts are varnished, then assembled.
Engine assembly for test fit.







Suspension and rear drivetrain are done and in place.
The shaft is chemically burnished after being polished.
The blades must be assembled one by one and care must be taken in their alignment.
The two halves of the tank are welded, sanded and then polished.
The sides are added and the whole is treated with oils.













Okay, that's cool, but everything will disappear behind the seat and under the body parts; nothing will be visible anymore ... but it's there!


The gearbox control is installed as well as the crankset.







The radiator supports are prepared, passed to the burnisher and installed in order to validate its positioning.





Slowly due to the parts to be prepared, painted, and masking to protect the parts treated by oxidation.

The ignition is done and set up; I didn’t forget to paint the spark plugs porcelain in white.






The clutch assembled, painted and coupled to the engine






The front axle is partially assembled, but without the leaf springs for the moment.




The radiator is almost finished:
It's a BUGATTI!



I placed a foam insert inside, painted black with gouache.
The grilles are primed and spray painted in "Dashboard" black, decanted from a rattle can.
The stone guard is first painted white and masked to receive its layer of black, then held onto the radiator by the beautiful cap.




Finally (Phew! ...) the two chassis parts are twinned.













Voilà.
I Hope you will enjoy this older race car WIP.

Pascal

I love those vintage Bugatti's . Great work!

French Blue ?...more like Sacrebleu!
Incredible handiwork, and I envy your sight at being able to do such complicated detail.
To be honest, I was never a fan of the wheels, but I understand how innovative they were, but a nice set of wires would have worked for me.

Great stuff, and well done!

Good evening,

Thank you very much!
I’m glad you enjoy this build.
I must admit that I loooove this racing beauty.

Well, In a playful mood, (and completely under the spell of these little gems !!) I decided to use castle nuts like on the Tipo 500.
The front suspension is complete and, like the rear, composed of blades to be assembled one by one and to be crimped.
The assembly of the components of the front axle is extremely precise: a treat!









The Bugatti has just taken an important step with the painting of the main body parts:
Masking, primer, paint and varnish.
The gloss of the varnish is deliberately moderate.









I then looked at the dashboard and the firewall, here they are almost finished. Windows have been added to the dials.







Added some details on the engine and its bulkhead, as well as the cockpit side with a little plumbing.
The flat bottom and the lower parts of the hull are now assembled, as well as the central part.

This set is already starting to weigh a bit...











Cet ensemble commence d’ores et déjà à peser un certains poids.

Gifts day.



Voilà…
If you have any question, don’t hesitate!
I’ll do my best to reply.

Pascal

Wow! That is such amazing detail!

Hi,

Thanks a lot!



I met a small assembly problem: I am missing 1mm for a correct junction between the manifolds and the exhaust pipes ... I had to make a mistake.
I turned two extensions in a scrap of white metal, soldered them, filed and polished them, then inserted a copper rod before treating them with the burnisher.










The plumbing of the passenger compartment is complete, the fuel tank pressurizing pump installed and equipped with its handle.



The seat is painted with oils, a few additional touches will be made later ... but not too much.



The last elements were painted blue. I modified the 3 parts of the front part to obtain a seamless assembly.



The radiator is now attached to the frame and connected to the engine, as are the exhausts.





The front part of the body is also installed and the two parts of the hood are assembled.



The steering wheel is painted and provisionally mounted.
The windshield is finished.





I did not use the leather provided in the kit and preferred a thin lead sheet, all fixed to the body with brass rivets.

The hull is attached to the frame.
The rivets are installed, then "stitching" is done.
I braided some cable to replace the provided photo-cut for ... brake cables.
But we have to review the assembly.
The levers, gear and brakes, are also put in place, as well as the steering column and the steering wheel.
I cut the steering bar and replaced it with a steel one of the same diameter.













Next step: decals.

Pascal

Wow! It must have been fun doing all that safety wire along the body.

Hi,

Thank you very much!
Fun and interesting to do! ;)

The decals are applied but still require a little work.
I took over and repositioned the steering bar, the steering wheel, the windshield and the mirror are also now in their place.
The wheel tightening nuts are masked and burnished.
I drilled a 1.2 hole in the back and installed a 1mm neodymium magnet that attracts the nut to the wheel bolt; the wheels can thus be removed for transport.














Demain, les sangles et leurs boucles, la grille de protection du radiateur et le haut du bouchon ainsi que la mise en place de l’échappement et du capot termineront le montage du bolide bleu de Molsheim.

Well, the buckles, the straps, the exhaust ... In short, what remained to be done is done!
The numbers and letters of the registration have been cut individually for a better rendering without any apparent carrier film.

Basically, the Belle de Molsheim is finished.

Maybe I'll spray a little dark smoky in some places ... and take more photos tomorrow.

















Due to questions regarding the « woody » steering wheel…
It’s not that hard to do.
I first use a base coat of acrylic like Dark yellow or Flat Earth...
Then working with oils, with different brushes long and short bristle. It’s just a bit long due to the drying time of oils...







A cozy nest was built for the Bugatti waiting with her sisters to travel for the next exhibition with friends.







Well, I hope you enjoyed this build…
I really loved to work on this beautiful kit!

Pascal

#WeAreAviation

Excellent build.
We all try to create miniatures of the real thing, complete with all the fine deatail, and hope, when photographed it can fool the eye to thinking it was real.
Well, Pascal, you certainly achieved that.