The Gotha

[krow113]

Thanks Gaz.
And careful what you wish for!

After sleeping on the valve train work I'm still happy with it and would do a few things slightly differently. Looking at pics of exposed rocker/valve engines not all of the valves are completely open or closed , some are half open or closed depending on your outlook in life. So I would recommend when matching the spring heights , to make some shrter and some longer for a really different top end look.
Thanks for the views.

[RAGIII]

Still looking awesome. I seem to remember that the Taurus springs and valve lifters that were designed for the Mercedes had different length springs included along with a diagram of the firing order. Would make your life easier if this was included for your engine 
RAGIII

[krow113]

Thanks RIII
 And you can read all about the springs and the entire set on this ( The Gotha) thread.
Page 3 is where it starts and page 7 has the last part ,I deal with all of the probs and point out some probs on the instructions.
Here are my templates for installing the set:

And here is  a new valve position guide  and the explanation why a new one is needed is on page 3.

Plan view:


  ** RATHER THAN SPREAD THE WORK OUT OVER A MONTH OF PAGES i'VE GONE BACK AND ADDED TO THE ORIGINAL POSTINGS ON PAGE 3 AND PAGE 7 **

[Dave in Dubai]

Steve-are you going to replace the kit oil filler ports on the crankcase with Taurus ports too?

[krow113]

Thanks Dave.
Yes the vent set will be added as well. They will need to be pinned and will get in the way of the 30+ other additions so they will be near to the end of the engine work.
 Today I made a mix of metallic acrylic colors , some thinner , some laquer thinner , some of the glue used for the parts , a really thin mix , to go in the parts and begin the coloring:

Brushed in , very thinned , a light coat , one rocker came free but was glued back with the paint , just looking for a thin glue based coloring:


The PVA mix takes a few days to fully cure , this is to our advantage as it allows minute adjustments to get everything even more in line, so I'll leave this for a day or so , adding more paint as the layers dry.
I'll be doing the engine colors in a diff way. No silver crankcase , as aluminum , especially early alloys , were very light in color , after beadblasting the color is almost white with grey tones. Should be fun!

[Dave in Dubai]

Hi Steve,

I found that the oil filler ports are easily glued onto the crankcase, without need for pinning.

You just have to remove the kit moulded representations carefully using a dental burr.

If you drill a 1mm recess at the base of the removed material, the location is perfect to just drop in the replacement ports.

Here they are on my Rumpler engine....



The front port was better than the rear port, as it was the second attempt, but still acceptable enough.
The exhaust is the Rexx replacement, lightly misted over with Mr Metalcolor Dark Iron 214. The exhaust pipe looks like the heat discoloured examples I have seen as aircraft exhausts do not rust.

Edit:spelling correction

[krow113]

Thanks Dave. Your engine looks good.
 My procedures begin with removal and drilling.
I drill so I know something goes there! Working on 30 plus engine detail parts and procedures.
I have your AEG marked as well on my page 3 as examples of DIV engine work.
I'll be referencing a lot of threads , and scouring pics  for the engine work as I add parts.
I'll also identify as many of the engine systems parts as I go as well. I already stole an AEG part , 'the greaser'.

 And today begins with the drilling and removal.
I lopped off the breather posts with a number 10 from underneath and sanded the engine case , the first of some striations to be added to the cast  case surface. Also the engine mounting bolt wells and plug holes were drilled out to accept the resin accy set:

[GazzaS]

With paint, that engine looks awesome.  If my vision was as good as your photos, I think I would be compelled to try to make every engine look as good.

[krow113]

Thanks Gaz.
 Engine work , after a ton of thought , begins with the installation of the water pump and air pump. These have both been pre- drilled for the lines to come, the air pump got 3 holes:

The water pump , none until lines are fabbed up  and openings identified , the 'greaser' will be in play in this area as well:

 
 And seeing a lot of the fabric decals being used for detailing parts , I used it fro the linen strip on the ammo drums, here I use it to good effect on the intake manifold to re-create the insulating asbestos material.
HGW' s Fabric Texture , Base white , 532050.
Blacked out and textured somewhat with acrylic:

 Then wrapped in HGW's linen decal , strips cut from the sheet amounted to around 40" (!) in length to wrap the part:


Not an easy or quick job , but I think it looks ok. Wrapping last night took 2 hours , and  applications of Mark-Fit were constant. This morning it looked pretty crappy , so I got out the most volatile of decal setting solutions , The Solvaset ,  liberal soaking , a cup of coffee , and pressing the decals home with my fingers worked out splendidly.
Thanks for looking.


'

[RAGIII]

Your detailing is amazing! The idea of using the linen decals for the wrapping is excellent, something I will have to try!
RAGIII

[Ssasho0]

I like the linen decal idea and I have some Aviattic linen leftovers so I can try it too . It is looking a bit flat and glossy, but I suppose in reality it looks better and with some stains and smoke and things will looks liek the real thing!

[krow113]

RIII , & Sashoo.
 You are right it is glossy and unrealistic in its primary state.
Here it is with an application of Tamiya panel liner:

Extremely subtle effect.

[RAGIII]

The wrapping looks perfect now! Just the right amount of dirtying up!
RAGIII

[GazzaS]

Wow...linen decal look great.  I hafta get some.

[Manni]

Perfect result, Steve! I did my wrapping with Kabiki-tape but the decal method looks much more realistic.
Bye,
Manni