Post by Jean B. on Apr 23, 2022 7:14:49 GMT -5
AUGUST 2015
This thread has been transferred from S1/43. Due to technical reasons possibly not all comments of members are visible. I'd like to apology for this. The photos, hosted by photobucket, will be deleted in near future. They will be replaced by new versions from flickr, but this will take some time. For any questions, please contact Jean B. Thank you!
Hello guys, I'm back again. I know, I promised to stay away for while, but I'm a weak nature - I can't take my hands off my model cars for more than a week, as it seems... 
So life goes on, and a Horch 855 Spezial Roadster with short chassis, made by Tin Wizard, waits for being built. This is the former version of the model car, meanwhile Tin Wizard offers an improved one with more photo-etched details. The main parts (and their miscues) though are still the same, and most of the improved parts will be made by myself, anyway. This time I fear I cannot offer a daily blog, but if you like, I'll give you some impressions from time to time.
This is were I started from, the virgin kit:
The rough body:
When honing I was a little bit too strongly and took off the lower lining of the right front fender. It had to be completed by soldering a thin metal strip underneath:
The headlights cut off the grille and placed separately onto the fenders, the additional headlights moulded out:
The body already quite smooth, with the newly designed underline of the fender and a prolongued hood panel (as the windshield frame does not correspond with the doors):
The wheels available as a standard from different manufacturers have generally too long spokes for cars of the late 30s, so I decided to design new ones to be photo-etched. Left the original ones, right the new ones:
New hood ornament (not yet the final version, I believe...):
Self-made steering wheel (at least the basis):
And a pattern of the new hubcaps with a photo-etched Horch-H:
Want to follow? Feel invited
So life goes on, and a Horch 855 Spezial Roadster with short chassis, made by Tin Wizard, waits for being built. This is the former version of the model car, meanwhile Tin Wizard offers an improved one with more photo-etched details. The main parts (and their miscues) though are still the same, and most of the improved parts will be made by myself, anyway. This time I fear I cannot offer a daily blog, but if you like, I'll give you some impressions from time to time.This is were I started from, the virgin kit:
The rough body:
When honing I was a little bit too strongly and took off the lower lining of the right front fender. It had to be completed by soldering a thin metal strip underneath:
The headlights cut off the grille and placed separately onto the fenders, the additional headlights moulded out:
The body already quite smooth, with the newly designed underline of the fender and a prolongued hood panel (as the windshield frame does not correspond with the doors):
The wheels available as a standard from different manufacturers have generally too long spokes for cars of the late 30s, so I decided to design new ones to be photo-etched. Left the original ones, right the new ones:
New hood ornament (not yet the final version, I believe...):
Self-made steering wheel (at least the basis):
And a pattern of the new hubcaps with a photo-etched Horch-H:
Want to follow? Feel invited
Thanks for joining this thread! And here are some results of this weekend...
The horns are milled and drilled out and polished:
The original dashboard and the photo-etched one...
... and the new one in its future position:
The steering wheel (consisting of nearly a dozen single parts :? ):
The original radiator grille (although already with the headlights cut off):
The gilded Horch-"H" (real gold, of course
:
And the radiator without the original mascot (a new one will follow...), sanded and polished, black-washed and equipped with the new "H":
The horns are milled and drilled out and polished:
The original dashboard and the photo-etched one...
... and the new one in its future position:
The steering wheel (consisting of nearly a dozen single parts :? ):
The original radiator grille (although already with the headlights cut off):
The gilded Horch-"H" (real gold, of course
:
And the radiator without the original mascot (a new one will follow...), sanded and polished, black-washed and equipped with the new "H":
Seems that we have to create a new group: AA - Auto-modellers Anonymous. I suggest a weekly conference where everyone tells how hard he has tried to get away from automobilia - and failed :lol:
Photo-etching seems to be quite hard this time. With the first trial I got pieces of tin sheet which were from the end and where the photo-lacquer was too thick, today I found out that the etching acid is obviously finished so that the pieces were much too long in and the edges are "etched over" :cry: Well, all good things come in threes... hopefully!
Next version of the hood ornament (not stuck fully into the radiator grille, but you can catch a first impression, I hope):
The door panels will be formed by a sort of "sandwich" (with the glass inbetween):
And some further tiny parts: door handles (pins of course to be shortened), pedalry and mirror:
Photo-etching seems to be quite hard this time. With the first trial I got pieces of tin sheet which were from the end and where the photo-lacquer was too thick, today I found out that the etching acid is obviously finished so that the pieces were much too long in and the edges are "etched over" :cry: Well, all good things come in threes... hopefully!
Next version of the hood ornament (not stuck fully into the radiator grille, but you can catch a first impression, I hope):
The door panels will be formed by a sort of "sandwich" (with the glass inbetween):
And some further tiny parts: door handles (pins of course to be shortened), pedalry and mirror:
My summer vacation is starting soon, and before I desperately wanted to finish at least the photo-etching parts. For nearly perfect results it is important to obey any single detail and process, so I made new etching solution and gave highest attention to every single step. And - tadaaa! - it worked 
Metal sheet after etching, still with photo-lacquer on:
After cleansing with acetone:
And after polishing with a small rotating steel brush, to give it almost chrome-shine:
All spokes are even and regularly, after the etching process the metal was finally removed within five seconds completely.
Perhaps I will post a couple of photos tomorrow, have a look if you like!
Metal sheet after etching, still with photo-lacquer on:
After cleansing with acetone:
And after polishing with a small rotating steel brush, to give it almost chrome-shine:
All spokes are even and regularly, after the etching process the metal was finally removed within five seconds completely.
Perhaps I will post a couple of photos tomorrow, have a look if you like!
The story so far:
The body had been revised generally, the hood had been lengthened, the "pads" inside make a completely even surface for the door panels. Louvers were added in front of the windshield:
The baseplate had been widened, so that the gap between upper and lower part is not so wide. The "integrated" exhaust pipe had been removed, a new one is already made of flattened brass tube, nickel-plated:
The very strange original construction for the wheels and axes had been removed, brass tubes for holding the new axes had been soldered onto the baseplate (looks a little crude, but it will be hidden, anyway :oops: ):
The headlights had been separated from the grill, holes were drilled into the fenders. The horns got new holes, too, as they sat much too low. The center line of the hood had been removed and will be replaced by a separate steel wire:
The persenning lost half of its dimensions and looks now much more elegant than before:
The licence plate lighting got a new shape, the handles for the dicky seat were cut off and will be replaced by "real" handles:
The searchlights were released from their "mirrors" and got handles, instead. They had been milled out and filled up with clear resine:
And that, my dear friends, is all for the next time, as my workshop will be closed temporarily
But don't get sad, stay tuned, in a couple of weeks I will return - at least I hope that they will grant me some shortening of my imprisonment due to good behaviour... 
The body had been revised generally, the hood had been lengthened, the "pads" inside make a completely even surface for the door panels. Louvers were added in front of the windshield:
The baseplate had been widened, so that the gap between upper and lower part is not so wide. The "integrated" exhaust pipe had been removed, a new one is already made of flattened brass tube, nickel-plated:
The very strange original construction for the wheels and axes had been removed, brass tubes for holding the new axes had been soldered onto the baseplate (looks a little crude, but it will be hidden, anyway :oops: ):
The headlights had been separated from the grill, holes were drilled into the fenders. The horns got new holes, too, as they sat much too low. The center line of the hood had been removed and will be replaced by a separate steel wire:
The persenning lost half of its dimensions and looks now much more elegant than before:
The licence plate lighting got a new shape, the handles for the dicky seat were cut off and will be replaced by "real" handles:
The searchlights were released from their "mirrors" and got handles, instead. They had been milled out and filled up with clear resine:
And that, my dear friends, is all for the next time, as my workshop will be closed temporarily
But don't get sad, stay tuned, in a couple of weeks I will return - at least I hope that they will grant me some shortening of my imprisonment due to good behaviour... 
Well, it took a little time to get familiar with everything again (after having had holidays at the sea-side... ), but first I prepared all parts for priming:
... the wheels almost a pity to paint them, but the original show car really had painted wheels:
And finally primed:
At the moment I do some tests with metallic painting, so I think I will be able to present some further steps during the following weekend! Stay tuned
), but first I prepared all parts for priming:
... the wheels almost a pity to paint them, but the original show car really had painted wheels:
And finally primed:
At the moment I do some tests with metallic painting, so I think I will be able to present some further steps during the following weekend! Stay tuned
As already announced, I made tests with metallic painting. This is the trial with the first type of clear lacquer:
... and this with the second one:
I really don't know yet, which one I should prefer...
Body wrapped for painting a two-tone scheme:
... and this is the top colour:
By now you should know which colour scheme the car will wear (looks a little "violet", in fact it is a deep "black-red")
The dashboard, painted and trimmed with "wood":
The tail-lights:
The bench:
and the...
well, in Germany it is called "Keder" - thin strips accentuating furniture, clothing and so on:
Door panels, licence plates and gauges:
And tomorrow - I hope - some further steps will follow!
... and this with the second one:
I really don't know yet, which one I should prefer...
Body wrapped for painting a two-tone scheme:
... and this is the top colour:
By now you should know which colour scheme the car will wear
(looks a little "violet", in fact it is a deep "black-red")The dashboard, painted and trimmed with "wood":
The tail-lights:
The bench:
and the...
well, in Germany it is called "Keder" - thin strips accentuating furniture, clothing and so on:
Door panels, licence plates and gauges:
And tomorrow - I hope - some further steps will follow!
Tom: Thank you! Sometimes I'm just missing the words...
Body (and all the wheel parts) got the chrome base lacquer:
Baseplate with the new exhaust pipe:
... and top side with "carpet":
Bench with pipings and door panels with wood trim:
Rear bumper and steps (for dicky seat) with heart-shaped plates with a Horch-"H" and with tail-lights:
Front bumper with licence plate, rear licence plate and pedalry:
Dashboard unit finished:
Ready for today! I must hurry up, they promised me a second slice of bread, if I'm ready with my work before 6 p.m. :lol:
Body (and all the wheel parts) got the chrome base lacquer:
Baseplate with the new exhaust pipe:
... and top side with "carpet":
Bench with pipings and door panels with wood trim:
Rear bumper and steps (for dicky seat) with heart-shaped plates with a Horch-"H" and with tail-lights:
Front bumper with licence plate, rear licence plate and pedalry:
Dashboard unit finished:
Ready for today! I must hurry up, they promised me a second slice of bread, if I'm ready with my work before 6 p.m. :lol:
Had to retreat for a couple of days, as I was really unsatisfied with the last step of painting the bodywork. So I decided to strip it again and to start (almost) all new, and now I am proud to present how it turned out this time:
All remaining spots and impurements are removed, several layers of primer applied and honed down, and I've chosen another metallic paint, which brings a much better result. Hope you like it, too
Of course the wheels and headlights are painted, too:
Next step will be the chrome decoration, made with BMF.
All remaining spots and impurements are removed, several layers of primer applied and honed down, and I've chosen another metallic paint, which brings a much better result. Hope you like it, too
Of course the wheels and headlights are painted, too:
Next step will be the chrome decoration, made with BMF.
Today I've developed a new theory of the genesis of mental illness: I think, applying Bare Metal Foil onto a car like this one is the key :mrgreen:
Photos are a little poor, as it is already dark and I'm a little tired to build up the full photo set, so please take this as a first impression of what I've done today. And to be honest: it looks pretty good! A little bit like a christmas tree, the designers obviously wanted to show everything they had shortly before war:
Photos are a little poor, as it is already dark and I'm a little tired to build up the full photo set, so please take this as a first impression of what I've done today. And to be honest: it looks pretty good! A little bit like a christmas tree, the designers obviously wanted to show everything they had shortly before war:
Reminds me of a Hershey's chocolate bar wrapper !
Caught red-handed :oops:
Wanted to post some more details, but the accumulator of my camera is empty :oops: A few hours ago (with daylight) I took the following picture which shows the bodywork equipped with "chrome" strips on top and sides of the hood and with the second layer of clear lacquer (yet to be polished):
Tom: Thanks! It was a difficult decision which colour the Horch should get. Usually the b/w-photos are interpreted as "black & silver", but I think this is a little bit too dull. When watching old catalogues and brochures we learn that luxury cars of the 30s could have almost any fancy colour possible. Especially Erdmann & Rossi used bright metallic paintings ("fish silver") in blue and gold shades, although this Horch could also had been built by Gläser. Either way, now this is my interpretation!
The wheels got a black rim to make them "leaner" (and the tyres wider):
Completed with the tyres (front and back):
And a first "test drive":
Door panels now ready with glass windows, openers and window lifters:
Bodywork is now polished and already equipped with some details (spare wheel, dicky seat handles, rear lights and fuel cap):
Fog lights finished:
The wheels got a black rim to make them "leaner" (and the tyres wider):
Completed with the tyres (front and back):
And a first "test drive":
Door panels now ready with glass windows, openers and window lifters:
Bodywork is now polished and already equipped with some details (spare wheel, dicky seat handles, rear lights and fuel cap):
Fog lights finished:
Axes, wheels and hubcaps in position - and the wheels seem to roll gently . Also bench, pedalry and gear lever are fixed:
The door panels are brought into position:
. Also bench, pedalry and gear lever are fixed:
The door panels are brought into position:
Have you ever thought about doing a model with a door in the open position to show off the interior detail ? It's too late for this one, but perhaps on a future project.
... and lead me not into temptation!
Yesterday I fell asleep over the Horch and could not post any pictures... Here are the last results:
Headlights, horns and front bumper:
Rear bumper:
Door hinges and handles:
Thrilled to see the finished car? :mrgreen:
Once again, mission completed! Final touches were made, and now you can see my interpretation of the Horch 855 "Spezial Roadster" with a coachwork made by Erdmann & Rossi or Gläser (possibly both made the same car according to an original design of Horch). Like every time, the digital magnified pictures show all the details which lead the modeller to some deep depression, but be assured: in natura the model looks pretty nice and - I'm still learning :oops: Enjoy the photos:
And to remember the beginnings :
And to remember the beginnings
: