Roger's handcrafted 1:12 scale models

Thank you for your comments, Randy. About Gerald Wingrove: I'm not aware that he did 3 books, I have "only" two! As these books had a definitive impact how I'm doing my parts, no wonder that you can see the similarities between us both.

The Unimat lathe: those belts are a nuisance! I did that picture from a soon to be failed belt to show that it can be used even with that king of damage. Another belt failed two or 3 days ago; I still have two in stock. As the supplier is selling only the complete kit, I have a large stock of the smaller belts, I could open a store! Thanks for the link; I may order a belt ot two from this location; however, I did not check if he is exporting.

As Mr. Libuse from the Craftsmanship Museum has (or had) an Avanti, my work with that model is included in the car models section. Some pictures from the Mark II parts are included too.

I know Kenneth Foran; I have his book but I got not so much inspiration with this book than with the ones from Gerald. About books: you may wait a long time about a book from me as I have no intention at all to do that. When I'm looking at my previous two models, sometimes I'm asking myself "how did I that?" Not very encouraging to write a book if I'm asking that kind of question! Then, the book should be writen in French, my mother language. Is there a market for that in French? not sure...Plus a translation in English? Don't forget that the people who write books are usually professionnals. They go from meet to meet so they can sell some books. You see the problem...

Thank you for your comments, Randy. About Gerald Wingrove: I'm not aware that he did 3 books, I have "only" two! As these books had a definitive impact how I'm doing my parts, no wonder that you can see the similarities between us both.

The Unimat lathe: those belts are a nuisance! I did that picture from a soon to be failed belt to show that it can be used even with that king of damage. Another belt failed two or 3 days ago; I still have two in stock. As the supplier is selling only the complete kit, I have a large stock of the smaller belts, I could open a store! Thanks for the link; I may order a belt ot two from this location; however, I did not check if he is exporting.

As Mr. Libuse from the Craftsmanship Museum has (or had) an Avanti, my work with that model is included in the car models section. Some pictures from the Mark II parts are included too.

I know Kenneth Foran; I have his book but I got not so much inspiration with this book than with the ones from Gerald. About books: you may wait a long time about a book from me as I have no intention at all to do that. When I'm looking at my previous two models, sometimes I'm asking myself "how did I that?" Not very encouraging to write a book if I'm asking that kind of question! Then, the book should be writen in French, my mother language. Is there a market for that in French? not sure...Plus a translation in English? Don't forget that the people who write books are usually professionnals. They go from meet to meet so they can sell some books. You see the problem...

Roger,

I am in contact with Tom Wright here in the States. I am sure that he ships all over the world as he has clients all over. I bought my set of belts over a year ago and I am not needing another set. They last for ever. If they don't, they are guaranteed. Send him the failed belt and he replaces it free of charge. Shipping the light weight packet cannot be that much to ship to Switzerland. I will ask him for you.

I guess that the "book" about your craftsmanship and models will be here at the forum. It would be great to see larger pictures of the models, but we are limited to a small format here at the site.

Randy

I was aware that it would not be a "quick" part; the time I had to spend up to now is more than one week. OK, I'm usually slow and not 12 hours per day on the job. Here is what I have up to now:

You cannot see them: there are 4 studs on the back to attach the ornament to the lid. The part may be shiny, but it's far from ready for plating. The cover for the lock is still in the same shape as for 10 days; this is the next step. It will be movable, but not spring assisted like the right one. I have my limitations!

On the lid:

The lions and points are made on a plastic plate on the real car; this is the reason why the small part is a separate part from the main ornament. As I wrote earlier, this will be a decal on the model.

Roger:

I'm still going through your history (I had to take some time off) and have arrived only to page 8. On page 7, you amaze me by actually milling the 1.3 x ~1.1 mm letters for your air cleaner (perhaps you should have done the Good Year logo on the tires by milling--- JUST KIDDING!). You truly are a crazy man! I really admire your tenacity to go for every last detail on this Mark II model. I have a feeling that you approach your work similarly to how I approach mine, you do not even think about how you're going to do something that you've determined will be difficult to do, until you actually are having to do it. Then you just figure it out because it has to be done (I mean, you're not just going to stop making the model because you run up against something you perceived in advance would be difficult to make!). You really challenge my sense of the word patience. Congratulations, and keep it up!!

Question: I can see milling the letters for the word "FRONT." But when you've cut every cut on each letter except the last cut that will remove the letter from the piece that is anchoring it in the vise, how do you cut that last cut without losing the letters anywhere in your shop? Oh wait! Maybe I figured it out? Did you put the otherwise finished letter in the vise and cut off the scrap?

Question: Do you ever use jeweler's saw blades for anything you do?

Question: But I'm MOST curious how you sweat soldered those miniature letters down to your air cleaner housing without the letters "floating" around on top of the molten solder and adhering willy-nilly? What method did you employ to keep them lined up so perfectly until the solder solidified?

Thanks!

~Dwight

Dwight, you are asking things I don't have the answer any more! That's why a book from me is an illusion. I went back to page 7 and I found probably the answer: a thin plate from .3 mm is soft soldered to a thicker base. I probably did machine as much as I could, most certainly all letters. Then I heated the whole assembly to have the letters away from the base. Therefore, they are already "tinned" on the back. Then a thin coat from solder was put on the air cleaner, not thick enough to have the letter floating and swimming on the base part. Then it was a matter to have enough heat to solder each letter, most probably one after the other and with the help of a fine tool to dictate the proper location.

That's my problem: once a part is done, after a while I don't remember how I did because this problem will maybe never come back.

No, I have no jeweler's blade; it would probably help along with other tools from this fine art.

Thinking in advance about some difficult parts? Yes, I do; for example the front grille. I have some ideas how to do it, but nothing concrete. I'm convinced that there is one solution which I can use with my existing tools.

I certainly wrote this at the beginning of this story: I fell on my head when I was 15; this explain most of my behavior!

The small cover over the key hole was completed yesterday. It looks similar to the real one with some differences: the eye's protection is a tad too large and the poor guy will stay in the dark: I did not do the slot into that protection: too small and too risky: if my calculation is correct, the slot would be 1.1 x .2 mm (.04 x .008")

Roger, Send me your email address and I will get you a set of lifetime belts for your Unimat. Just a small token for all the pleasure that I have enjoyed reading your threads on the site. Will there be a time when you will have available the larger format pictures of your model? And where? These small pics are just a tease for us model enthusiasts. Seeing a larger photo would be ever so wonderful to look at. I do hope that you will consider putting them all into a book. There are companies out here on the web that compose and print books for a fraction of the cost that a publisher would charge. And it is all done via email. One that I have used is; My Publisher.com I had a coffee table book made for a very nominal fee. You can describe each print and they compose the page, sending you the proof for approval. When all done, they produce the book and send it to you. As we say stateside; Easy as Pie" ! Just a thought.

Randy

Roger, Did you hand file the Knights helmet? With a file and emery paper? Brass is "butter" in your hands!

Randy

Randy, I'll answered your PM...

You are right about the books. This kind of publishing is also available here. Something to think about...My pictures are stored on my hard disk, I can send some if you like.

The helmet was mosty realized with a file and sometimes with an improvised engraved tool. The final touch was with a bit of emery paper.

My pictures are stored on my hard disk

Do you have a copy stored safely somewhere else too, just in case your hard disk fails? If one ever experiences hard disk failure one learns the hard way that backups are important!

Thanks for your continued updates, Roger. I am humbled by your skill, your patience and your modesty.

Thanks for your comments!

About the pictures: I have all stored on an external hard disk. I was once confronted by a hard disk failure; fortunately, most was recovered. This adventure was hepful to invest in that separate hard disk.

Due to a wrong design, I can begin again the trunk lock. When I installed the current one on the lid, all went well, as I could close and open the lid the correct way. Due to a small problem, I tempted to remove the lock from the lid and noticed that the lever which is connected to the cylinder should be placed the same side than the other internal levers. When placed the way I did, it takes too much space and the removal or installation of the lock is just impossible...

Roger

In regard to your photos on an external hard drive: I believe the point SiliconS was trying to make is that you need to have a back up system. If your external hard drive fails (and they all seem to at some point), how are you backing up the photos?

Just this week one of my external hard drives failed. Fortunately, I've been using Time Machine back-up software, which duplicates everything on all my discs to a 3TB hard drive.

I use Picasa for storing and organizing photos on my computer. They have a thing where you can upload your photos to their server farm (the cloud). I have some, not all, of my pics there. I do that now because I had a stand-alone hard drive quit. Whether this is any safer for keeping the photos is anyone's guess.

Roger,

I have been following the threads regarding your external hard drive back up. My I.T. guy told me to scrap my external hard drive because; If you were to plug or unplug the usb cable with your computer on, a resulting spark from the connection can erase your data. He said that that is old technology and there have been many problems with them. I was just starting to use my I Omega 2 Terrabyte external hard drive tp store all my data. RATS! I have now purchased a Western Digital External cloud that plugs into my router and there is no chance for any issues because it stays plugged in. I can access it from all of my computers or remotely. On line, it wasn't expensive. Nothing is more aggravating and disappointing than losing data. Just a thought as I to have lost irretrievable files in the past.

Randy

I just don't thrust any remote location to store data. All the pictures I have are stored on my PC plus external hard drive. Both cannot fail at the same time.

Roger, My External Cloud sits on my desk and is not a remote site. I too do not like having my data in the ozone. Too old fashioned to let my info out of my location. Enough about the storage of data. As smart as an engineer that you are, I am sure that you have taken the necessary precautions to save your info and files in a safe place. "If it isn't broken, don't fix it". We are all waiting to see your next part, remedy, and improvement on the Mark. You have quite the audience out here and we all appreciate your hard work and genius, Roger.

Randy

In other words, the new trunk lid lock is done! I could rescue the primary pawl, the one contacting the striker. The locking pawl was rescued too; I modified it to fit a little locking spring. Of course, the lever unlocking the lock is new. I can say that this lock is better than the first one; furthermore I can remove and install it into the lid! Here are the various parts: the striker, attached to the body, the outer shell from the lock and the lock itself.

The outer shell and the lock are soldered together:

After choosing the right position from the 4th inner side of the lid, I soldered it to the outer shell. The link was pulled on the first lock to release the lock; now it's pushed like the original car.

To open the trunk lid, a small screwdriver can be used. The intend was to have the slit perfectly vertical; it is not but will be hidden by the cover which will be definitively installed when the ornament is chrome plated.

Hi Roger:

I'm back from knee surgery. I finally have some time to try to catch up to where you are on the construction of the Mark II. I have just finished (ha, ha) page 13! Every page takes an hour of immense concentration to soak up each step you do. I can't say I'm amazed anymore, knowing the quality of fine detail work you do, I'M AMAZED by your desire for every minute detail (well, where I am on you having just primed your frame) in getting every small bracket oriented perfectly, and making them symmetrical, and identical in shape and even your miniature holes are drilled in the center of each bracket. And then somewhere in the last three pages I read this evening, you were concerned about one measurement that was 0.9 mm off??

So for you, what? A miss is as good as nine-tenths of a millimeter?

Your work is too good for words....

~Dwight

Well, Dwight, 0.9 mm represents in real life 10.8 mm (0.425"). On that specific part, this is a lot. If I have the possibility to correct my wrong estimates, I'll do it. I have no time pressure (well, not too much!), just my own satisfaction and, by accident, to entertain people like you.

Take care with your knee!

Roger, I have not been able to "put down" your thread since finding it via unimogjohn's thread. Finally caught up. Excellent work and excellent photos that show it off.

There was talk a few posts back about using a chisel on the lathe. That is common enough in clock and watch making, where I believe the chisel is called a graver.

I admire your knowledge of the lathe. I struggled to make sharp tools to repair a broken pivot (0.7 mm diameter) on the end of a 1.8 mm arbor. I tried to use a twist drill to make the hole in the end of the arbor and broke the bit. Removing the broken bit meant shortening the arbor so I had to make an extension of that first, then turn the pivot on the end of the extension. I notice some of your tiny drills are twist bits, so you must be very gentle and particular about setting the dot in the right place under the bit before drilling. Clock makers use "pivot" drills, which are spade bits. I had no problem drilling the hole in the shortened arbor, in which to fit the extension, with a pivot drill. It went in much easier with the pivot drill.

Keep it up! I will be following you now. Wonderful stuff.

Oh, what is that Schupbach "third hand" tool called. I can't see it on their web site yet.

Spinneyhill, why did you have to drill a hole into a pivot? When I have to turn a shaft with a hole, I'm doing the hole first and then I'm turning the shaft to his final diameter. I only have twist drills; I don't even know the pivot drills...And yes, feeling is required to drill small holes; sometimes I'm getting also broken bits...The most difficult is to remove the broken part!

I also did a search in the Schupbach site; I could not find the third hand. Maybe they buy a batch and when it's gone, it's gone...That tool is from GRS product division, Glendo corporation in Emporia, Kansas.

Spinneyhill, why did you have to drill a hole into a pivot? When I have to turn a shaft with a hole, I'm doing the hole first and then I'm turning the shaft to his final diameter.

The pivot broke off when something fell on the box of parts while I was overhauling the clock. So the idea is to drill a hole in the end of the arbor and fit a new pivot. To extend the shortened arbor, I drilled a hole in it, turned down the extension piece to fit the hole (friction fit), pushed it in, cut the extended arbor to length, turned the new pivot on the end of it, then turned the replacement arbor to the same diameter as the original. Only done this once so far. I procrastinated for about 18 months before getting the courage up to tackle it. During the procrastination period I learnt how to sharpen the tool (though not very well) and made up a wee table for the bench grinder to help me make the lathe tool. Oh, I also had to buy at least one collet (so I got a set) to hold the arbor with the wheel still on, and spent a few hours trying to set the lathe up so the tail stock was concentric with the headstock spindle. My 1963 Myford 7 is pretty worn and being mounted on wood doesn't help get it all square and straight.

I'll look up the Glendo corp'n. Thanks for that.

Any of you fellows ever read "Trustee From the Toolroom" by Nevil Shute? If you haven't and have the time and inclination, you might find it interesting.

Although the mufflers and resonators are done since about 3 years, I was waiting for the body to continue with the pipes. Now, the next step was to finish the front inner fenders as the first pipe is going through them. I decided that it was more logic to adapt the inner fenders to the exhaust pipe that the contrary. Therefore, we continue with pipes and clamps.

The first pipe attached to the manifold is covered by a zinc coated insulation. As I cannot do a tube and then slip on it a flexible insulation, I had the idea to skip the inner tube; but how can I do that insulation? Well, I took a bit of brass tube and machined grooves; of course I had to do a suitable too for that. This process is not correct as in fact the groove should be helicoidal. I'm sure nobody will notice my trick!

Then it was just a matter to bend the ribbed tube at the desired shape. With the proper reduction, the main pipe can be installed, without clamp for the moment. The resonator needs also a clamp to stay; for the moment the whole assembly is attached to the frame with a tape...

As you may understand, the complete exhaust system cannot be installed on the frame before the body is assembled; the insulator is to be installed after the front fenders are on the car (not a very practical system). One of my problem was: when the front fenders are on the car, how can I screw the first pipes to the manifold? The solution: a short fake pipe with the flange will be screwed on the engine before the front fenders are installed and then the insulator will be pushed on the fake pipe. Thanks to a tight fit, no glue will be necessary.

That is some really fantastic work, Roger!!

Thanks, keiser31!

Superb!

Interesting those two comments for which I'm grateful. Somedays ago, I finished the trunk lid and the difficult lock, I got no comments. Today, 2 pictures with rather easy parts and 2 comments!

This is not that I would like answers for each update; I'm just wondering what is the trigger for them!

If you have plugs to attach the exhaust system then how is the exhaust going to get out of the engine? That engine just has to run. Just add a bit of fuel and I bet it will run with all the work you have done. Actually, I continue to be amazed.

Interesting those two comments for which I'm grateful. Somedays ago, I finished the trunk lid and the difficult lock, I got no comments. Today, 2 pictures with rather easy parts and 2 comments!

This is not that I would like answers for each update; I'm just wondering what is the trigger for them!

So, I guess we are just exhaust fanatics! Actually, the picture of the chassis with the engine, transmission, machined pulleys, air cleaner with "FRONT" machined on, intake manifold, the frame cross members and gussets, the end of the exhaust tube expanded...I think you can get the message!

I agree with Unimogjohn, that engine just has to run! You are capable of machining and installing the crank and cam shafts, BEARINGS, valves, etc., so why not?

Geoff

It's Friday Roger. We can finally relax a bit and pay attention to detail. Great work on everything by the way!

Roger, I'm an avid follower and check out every update that you post but do not comment on all. For me personally depending on my mood I could be in total awe of what you've posted and have no words to comment. Other times I may feel so inferior and that there is nothing I could contribute that would sound worthy to post. You have skills in modeling that a so far from anything that I might attempt that it's just great to follow along watching over your sholder so to speak. Your last trunk lid photo when just viewing the smaller image as appears in the thread looks like it could have been taken in a body shop of a real car. Not unlike the comments made about the frame, engine, body et all. It one of the best threads here on the AACA forum and I for one am totally happy that you've choosen to post your project here. Scott...

Crazy cool

Oups! I was really not fishing for compliments...I feel that I have to give some comments.

@ Randy (Randiego) Many thanks for the belt kit you let send to my home address. They will be useful on the Unimat 3 as well as the Unimat SL (the first Unimat machine) I'm still using. I really appreciate this attention!

@ John (unimogjohn) I don't understand very well the first sentence but I can assure you that this poor engine will never run, as it was not designed for. That whole thing is just an illusion! If I'm publishing here what I'm doing is indeed for entertainment. According to the number of views, it seems that I'm on the right track; I thank everyone who is still there since the beginning of that mad adventure.

@ Geoff (Model56s) I'm sure that the engine on the frame (sans exhaust!) is somewhere in this thread. It seems that it's a good thing to show again "old" elements, especially when something new is added. By the way, the expansion at the end of the pipe is again an illusion: it's a larger tube soldered to the pipe. Regarding the functionnality of the engine, please look my answer to John.

According to what I saw on other forums, it could be probably possible to have a running engine, although at 1:12 it may be very difficult as some elements would be very small, think at the valves. Other elements like crankshaft or pistons would be possible; with the proper equipment I could do that. However, I let you imagine the machines needed to manufacture such precision elements...my Unimat machines are way inadequate!

@ dan (dan@larescorp) In case my steering box would get too much play, would your company restore it? As you maybe know, it's almost the same box as 56 to 58 Cadillacs, produced by Saginaw.

@ Scott (Scott_DG8) This forum is in fact dedicaced to real cars; the audience is totally different here that a scale model forum. As I wrote to John, what I'm doing is entertainment and it seems that it works! I understand also that it's not possible to make a comment after each update; it's not the goal.

And don't feel inferior: look at what I did many, many years ago:

This represents the first frame for the Avanti model; in was in...1963. my skills improved somewhat since that time.

@ Accord: I'm increasing the international audience to Russia!

OK, after that long text, I'm going back to the exhaust clamps; still 10 to do!

OK, Mr. Z....one more positive comment here. Not only are you amazing and entertaining most of us here,but by answering the comments as you do, it is obvious that along with being a master modeler, you seem also to be a true gentleman. Just one of your faithful, followers, John.

Thanks John! To respond to commentars is in my opinion basic politeness. Due to your location, Hawaii, (maybe the paradise on earth, even if I was unfortunately never there) I know that you are following this thread since a long time!

Great work Roger, I've followed all of your steps since the making of the tires and wheels, truly amazing skills you have. In my childhood I dreamed about working in the auto industry as a model designer but never realized that goal. As a hobby I've restored many full sized cars and always liked models. My most recent model is of the 56 Mercury Montclair in 1/18 scale,(I believe Sun Star) very impressive and a copy of the real car I had but pales in comparison to your Continental, I remember going to the local dealer and seeing the 56 Continental when it first came out, I remember that car was all black. They were an excellent car and how quiet and smooth they were but costly therefore not many people could afford them. Thanks for posting and keeping us informed of your progress. Keep up the good work. Barry

Barry, scale models in 1:18 scale have improved ; it depends gratly from the manufacturer. Of course, nothing comparable to a hand made model; the price is lighter too, even if I don't intend to sell the ones I built.

I restored also 3 cars; it's not at all the same kind of work and, at the end, you can sit into the restored car and drive away. Once ready, the models go into a showcase!

Sadly Roger, when some people are done with their 1:1 they put them away in a showcase, too.