Any other scale modelers?

[Buckterrier]

I'm building the above. Boy does this kit have a ton of parts. 95 for the engine alone.







Body panels primed, painted, decals applied, & then clear coat.







Engine installed





In the process of building the front suspension

[Jolly Amaranto]

[drcoastline]

WOW, you guys are just amazing.

[Eric at Pelican Parts]

Originally Posted by Buckterrier

I'm building the above. Boy does this kit have a ton of parts. 95 for the engine alone.







Body panels primed, painted, decals applied, & then clear coat.







Engine installed





In the process of building the front suspension

Woah! I love the detail on the MFH kits. I have yet to one to build myself, but it's amazing how much detail the photoetched parts have!

What are you using to spray the individual panels with primer and paint, are those wooden and foam sticks?

[crustychief]

Originally Posted by BReif61

I received a Bandai 1/144 scale AT-AT walker for Christmas. Kit absolutely fell together, without even needing much glue. Wonderfully designed kit. Tight press fit everywhere, sprue attachment points hidden on nearly every surface, just great.

Now it's on to paint.

Great model. I "helped" my daughter build one and showed her some weathering techniques. She did a good job ( she did do the weathering).

[Buckterrier]

Originally Posted by Eric at Pelican Parts

Woah! I love the detail on the MFH kits. I have yet to one to build myself, but it's amazing how much detail the photoetched parts have!

What are you using to spray the individual panels with primer and paint, are those wooden and foam sticks?

Hey Eric, I used Gravity paints for all three. Really like their paints but I have to say the customer service is severely terrible. They could learn a few things from Pelican.
I just used some scrap wood from old wood ship models I have built.
The kits are amazing. Like I said I'm working on the front suspension now and there are parts that no one will ever see but need to be built.
My goal is to build all three podium cars from the '67 Spa GP, which Dan won with this car. I was fortunate enough to find MFH kits of the BRM V16 & the Ferrari 312 which need to be built.
This all started upon reading about Dan Gurney's passing. I forgot how beautiful the pre aero cars really were until then. I love modeling so I figured what the heck, let's try it.

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by Buckterrier

The kits are amazing. Like I said I'm working on the front suspension now and there are parts that no one will ever see but need to be built.

1/25th? Just guessing based on the photo with the X-Acto knife.

[Buckterrier]

1:20. The X-Acto has a number 11 blade in it. I keep two handy. I use one that doesn't have to be super sharp then the other for sharp needs. I'll eventually throw the 'bad' blade out and add a new one and using the 'sharp' blade as the dull one.

[Buckterrier]

Originally Posted by Eric at Pelican Parts

it's amazing how much detail the photoetched parts have!

I just took this crappy pic with my cell. But it shows 2 points. One is yours Eric about the photo etched parts. The clutch, brake, & throttle are photo etched parts. ( I know hard to see). and the other is my point about building things that no one will see. It is still enjoying.

[Eric at Pelican Parts]

Originally Posted by Buckterrier

Hey Eric, I used Gravity paints for all three. Really like their paints but I have to say the customer service is severely terrible. They could learn a few things from Pelican.
I just used some scrap wood from old wood ship models I have built.
The kits are amazing. Like I said I'm working on the front suspension now and there are parts that no one will ever see but need to be built.
My goal is to build all three podium cars from the '67 Spa GP, which Dan won with this car. I was fortunate enough to find MFH kits of the BRM V16 & the Ferrari 312 which need to be built.
This all started upon reading about Dan Gurney's passing. I forgot how beautiful the pre aero cars really were until then. I love modeling so I figured what the heck, let's try it.

I've just been using blocks of foam to spray down the That's the cool thing about the MFH kits! Even though most people won't see it, it doesn't matter because you get so much gratification building the kit! Their attention to detail is fascinating, and to me that's worth the price tag. Can't wait to see the finished products when you complete them! How long have you been working on the Eagle so far?


Check out this 250LM, the detailing on the parts are spot on!

Originally Posted by Buckterrier

I just took this crappy pic with my cell. But it shows 2 points. One is yours Eric about the photo etched parts. The clutch, brake, & throttle are photo etched parts. ( I know hard to see). and the other is my point about building things that no one will see. It is still enjoying.

Are you going to polish the pedal assembly or painting it? I love how how the photo etch parts are ready to polish, or you can go another direction and give them a weathered look!

[Otter74]

Those MFH kits are gorgeous! That's my kind of kit. I'm afraid to know how much they cost - how much do the 1/12 kits run? I couldn't get it out of the site.

[Eric at Pelican Parts]

Originally Posted by Otter74

Those MFH kits are gorgeous! That's my kind of kit. I'm afraid to know how much they cost - how much do the 1/12 kits run? I couldn't get it out of the site.

When I last checked, it was anywhere from $650-800 depending on what model!

[JJ 911SC]

Start @ $100 US https://www.hiroboy.com/Model_Factory_Hiro--manufacturer--47.html

[Buckterrier]

[QUOTE=Eric at Pelican Parts;9938293]I've just been using blocks of foam to spray down the That's the cool thing about the MFH kits! Even though most people won't see it, it doesn't matter because you get so much gratification building the kit! Their attention to detail is fascinating, and to me that's worth the price tag. Can't wait to see the finished products when you complete them! How long have you been working on the Eagle so far?[QUOTE]

I have foam blocks also for the smaller parts. I think it's been about a month since I started it.
Man, you wouldn't even think that was a model if you didn't know it! Is that a build of yours?

Are you going to polish the pedal assembly or painting it? I love how how the photo etch parts are ready to polish, or you can go another direction and give them a weathered look!

I've painted all the front suspension etc. with a nice silver. I did polish the tub but heck I don't even know were to begin polishing all the smaller pieces parts. Any words of wisdom?! I'd like to do more polishing on the BRM & the Ferrari.

Front suspension completed

[astrochex]

Originally Posted by Buckterrier

I have foam blocks also for the smaller parts. I think it's been about a month since I started it.
Man, you wouldn't even think that was a model if you didn't know it! Is that a build of yours?



I've painted all the front suspension etc. with a nice silver. I did polish the tub but heck I don't even know were to begin polishing all the smaller pieces parts. Any words of wisdom?! I'd like to do more polishing on the BRM & the Ferrari.

Front suspension completed

I have some detail pics of this car if that would be of interest.

Beautiful model.

[Buckterrier]

Originally Posted by astrochex

I have some detail pics of this car if that would be of interest.

Beautiful model.

I sure would, thank you. I'll message you my email address.

[Eric at Pelican Parts]

Originally Posted by Buckterrier

I have foam blocks also for the smaller parts. I think it's been about a month since I started it.
Man, you wouldn't even think that was a model if you didn't know it! Is that a build of yours?

That model is built by a MFH enthusiast. There's a whole bunch of them out there that do amazing work. I'm pretty jealous!!

[I've painted all the front suspension etc. with a nice silver. I did polish the tub but heck I don't even know were to begin polishing all the smaller pieces parts. Any words of wisdom?! I'd like to do more polishing on the BRM & the Ferrari.

Front suspension completed

I haven't done any polishing on white metal models yet, but I plan on doing biting the bullet and getting a MFH kit down the line and perfecting one.

I have read that people use magnetic tumblers (those ones that jewelers use) to polish all the white metal products, and i'm thinking of buying one to make life a bit easier. Wouldn't test it on the MFH kit, but maybe something else first.

What I've read is that people use wire brushes, wetsanding from 600-1500 grit, then then metal polish. Felt wheels on a dremel can take a lot of the grunt work out for you as well, making it easier as well Maybe some of the other veteran modelers can guide us all in the right direction!

[Deschodt]

Can someone in the know give more details on those MFH kits , pretend I know nothing (which I do) ?

I mean, are they resin, no plastic ? Does this take totally different skills / tools ? I saw the website mostly in japanese, no idea on pricing, availability, where do you buy them in the US ? Doable for an average "plastic" 1/48 hasegawa skill level ? Price range ? Decals supplied ? Are they even available or limited release ?

I see a 1/12 Lancia 037 on there and that has my name on it if within my skill level... If it's a totally different skill set and set of tools, please don't be shy to let me know... Don't want to spend $$$ and mess it up.

[Eric at Pelican Parts]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

Can someone in the know give more details on those MFH kits , pretend I know nothing (which I do) ?

I mean, are they resin, no plastic ? Does this take totally different skills / tools ? I saw the website mostly in japanese, no idea on pricing, availability, where do you buy them in the US ? Doable for an average "plastic" 1/48 hasegawa skill level ? Price range ? Decals supplied ? Are they even available or limited release ?

I see a 1/12 Lancia 037 on there and that has my name on it if within my skill level... If it's a totally different skill set and set of tools, please don't be shy to let me know... Don't want to spend $$$ and mess it up.

Some people I know refer to the MFH kits as the holy grail of scale modeling. I would say that the experience level required for the MFH kits is much higher than the average hasegawa kit and requires much more patience. I'm also afraid of messing up on the kit, since it's such a high pricepoint compared to the average plastic model kits, so i'm bit hesitant on pulling the trigger.




The kits are mainly resin, metal, and photoetch parts, and do come with decals.


While it's no Porsche, check out this MHF F40 GTE build. It's actually really fascinating seeing it all come together!
Model Factory Hiro 1/24 Ferrari F40 GTE

I think the easiest place to find them would be on ebay and I see some of the 037's in 1/24 scale going for ~$330. There are some limited edition items, but there are also normal releases.




To give you a better idea on the MFH kits from someone who built theirs:

Having said that, I struggled a bit with it in several places. The basic problem is tolerance stacking. The kit is so complex that there is no way to trial fit all the complex assemblies. You just have to carefully epoxy things in place, trying to get them positioned exactly as intended. But the alignment of subsequent pieces depends on the perfect alignment of the pieces that came before....everything stacks on top of and is connected to everything else. So after about 6 or 7 "layers" of this, tolerances start to grow and the final pieces may not line up exactly as intended. In my case that manifested itself in the bodywork. I had to do a hell of a lot of tweaking and sanding and bondoing of the doors and the front and rear covers to get them to fit properly. I'm sure this was due to imperfect assembly on my part of the underlying bits, but if I had to do it all over again I'm not sure what I could have done differently to avoid the problem. You just have to do your best and have faith, basically.



Also, the clear parts for the windscreen and headlight fairings are vac formed out of very thin and soft plastic that you have to very precisely cut out to fit properly. Not too difficult, but very, very tedious. Make sure you don't scratch them, as they are too soft to polish well if you do and just kind of haze over. I don't even want to go into what I went through to get my windshield looking decent after scratching it while cutting it out.



Another challenge is that virtually all the gluing required epoxy. Some might be able to use CA glues, but I used epoxy nearly everywhere. Epoxy as you know does not stick or hold until it cures....so I had to devise all sorts of elaborate methods to clamp things while the epoxy was setting.



I don't want to sound like I am dissatisfied with the kit....overall it is by far the most incredible kit I have ever built.....but they sell them as being meant only for experienced modelers and they mean it. These things do not fall together like a Tamiya or Hasegawa kit, and I think I probably would have been a bit disappointed if it did. The challenge is half the fun.

[scottmandue]

I am SO impressed by the skill and patience you guys have!

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1/12scale Fulldetail Kit : 917/30 » MFH