1935 Delahaye 135 - Heller 1/24

Looks like it's plan B then. Mount them on the inside. Kits with weak instructions can be a PITA. I think you are doing a fine job of figurine out as you go. Great OTB you are writing.

Just taken a look at the instuctions for mine Mike and like you say, they leave a lot to be desired.

You can do it though.

Moved the filler panels to the inside of the uprights and fit is much better.  It looks like it could use a little filing at the bottom rear of the bonnet, but that will be a last resort.  I'll have to see how things go with the front fenders.




The front spread is a little tight for mating of the hood.  It's confirmed by tightness in the fit of the grill in the filler pieces, but it can be forced open to fit.  Ignore the radiator position - it's a loose fit to hold up the hood.


I originally cut styrene to fit inside the opening of the rear fender to preserve the 'panel lines', but it proved to be too close to the wheel hub.  So that was removed, cleaned up and replaced with larger pieces that lay on top of the fender, giving more clearance.  Filler will smooth out the joint and hopefully keep tthe curves looking good.


Thanks for the support,
Mike

Good job, this is shaping up to be a real winner.

Nice fixes on both Mike.

You're doing a excellent job Mike. I think if it was me, by now I'd have a Frisbee.

Very nice fitting.  It takes patience, more than I have, to make it perfect.  Good work!

A little more progress and much more careful analysis of this one.

This is what the original plan was for the rear skirt.  It was an insert that fit snugly, but it didn't allow much clearance for the wheel.


This is what it ended up like with a larger styrene piece being placed over the opening and blended in.


It'll give about an extra 1/16th inch clearance for the wheel.


When I attached the rear inner fender, I just chose my spot, not paying attention to the interior door card/window piece that mounts to the inside.  It contacts the contour of the inner fender and determines where it will set. The inners were removed and reattached at the very edge relocating the door cards.



Got some color on the body and hood.  Still wondering how I'll adress the little area that should mate to the rear corner of the front fenders.  That little area will be painted the fender color. I don't want to paint the fenders after attachment, because of Murphy's law where the darker paint will get onto an area its not supposed, no matter how well it's masked.



It's getting very interesting. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Mike

Tough call on the front fender thing. What you have done so far is most excellent. I am sure someone can help but it's beyond me at the moment.

Really nice work on the rear fenders Mike.

For the front.... two things spring to mind:

1: Go with a single colour. Not all were two colours. Spray the fenders and then attach. You could even fill the gap with filler after the fenders have been sprayed and attached, then using a .3mm AB, blow in some body colour.

2: I think maybe you are little too shy of masking. However, if you mask carefully, making sure to burnish down well, then give the area a couple of coats of clear, you shouldn't get bleed under.

HTH

If you're not too bothered about the initial coat of colour then what i would be tempted to do might be an alternative.....

i would shave off the little piece on the body and then fix it to the mudguard (fender) then shape and fill as required ... or just shave/sand the bit off and build a new "point" to the mudguard from scratch.

Al, 1) I'm hooked on the two-toned scheme for this flashy classic and 2) it's not the masking's edge I'm worried about, but making sure everything is covered. To paint the front fenders ON the car, I'd have to mask off the frame, radiator, engine compartment, body and firewall. Whenever I've done that in the past, overspray has always found a miniscule gap somewhere to enter.

Snake, I'm considering shaving the piece off the body because it just looks odd. I think it would look better as a single bullet end.

Mike I too would cut off that fender protrusion. It would give more freedom on fitting the front fender assembly to the body.

As to the two tone, how about if you paint the fenders off the car, then mask the body to protect it from the glue as you attach it. Figuring you will use CA. If you are using styrene glue then stick it together and paint it one color.

Really like your approach to the skirts this time around. Much sleeker and more in keeping with the car's style.

Absolutely gorgeous car.
With the xtra care you're taking, this will be a stunning model !!
Nice work !

Catching up here a bit.  The other day, it wouldn't let me add photos.

Well, I decided to put the front end on just as it was intended and hope I don't mess it up.  When looking at the cream color with a splotch of the planned dark blue, i felt the cream was a little too warm toned for blue.  So, I'm going with a cream and brown scheme, again Testors enamel.


It looked good, so I went ahead with masking off the body for the accent stripe.  There will be a chrome piece to go inside of the stripe splitting it in two.


 


Now, it'll get some time to cure before I put a clearcoat on it.

Well, I put the clearcoat on the body and it finally happened - Murphy's Law.  A 3 inch long black hair got onto the top of the body.  I tried to pick it off with a pin, but it was too fine to get a grip on.  So, I'm letting it dry, will sand it down and put another color coat on and recoat with clear.

This is a photo of the suspect culprit - but she's denying any responsibility.



Thanks for looking and your comments,

Mike

Those colours really work well together, I like them.

As for the cat.............. got seven of them, been there etc!!! LOL

I too the the combo really works well.

Nice eye for the right color combo. I think you nailed it.

Just dropping in to let you all know I'm still here.  This build is draining my mojo severely and it just continues.

I tried switching over to the interior, most of which gets installed into the body before it gets attached to the chassis.  The decal for the dash detail is one piece as shown below.  However, it's too big to fit on the flat area of the dash.  The gauge edges will end up curling over the raised portions, looking really stupid.  Just what I needed in this build - more aggravation.  So I'll probably do a cut and paste rearranging things on the dash to fit.  Heck, you'd need a magnifying glass to see anything inside anyway.



Time to look for another project before I lose it with this one.

Mike

Wow! Mike.... there is no way that's going to fit. You'll crack it though I'm sure.

Yet another bummer on this kit.

Gorgeous car !
Color combo rocks! Perfect for this classic !

Are you going to cut the Dash decal into smaller pieces and make it fit? That's the only way I can think of, unless you scan it into a computer deduce the size and print your own.

Definitely be cutting the individual pieces up and rearranging them.

Continuing on - just getting this together and over.  

I removed the center doodads from the decals and rearranged things to fit.


Chrome strips have been inserted on the body and hood. The windows have been cut out to view the interior a little bit. Still have to insert the chrome strips next to the vent windows.





Mike