Well,
It has been a while since I have updated this build log as I have largely been on hold while awaiting decals from WnW... which arrived this afternoon! In honor of the delivery, I thought I'd share a couple of pictures of my now completed Taurus Oberursel::
I built the engine following the "detailed instructions" on Taurus' website. I used Mr. Color Stainless Steel, Iron, and Brass, as well as Gunze Off-White for the spark plugs, and a mix of Tamiya Red & Hull Red for the bakelite. At various stages I used 2-part epoxy, and both thin and thick CAs. Finally, I weathered the engine using Tamiya Smoke and Flat Black as well as a bit of AK Engine Oil, and MIG Black Smoke pigment.
This is the first time that I have undertaken an aftermarket item even remotely this complex, and it was a learning process for me. I will preface my comments by stating in the clearest possible terms, that this kit is an amazing piece of artistry, and when completed it is absolutely beautiful (even in the hands of a butcher like myself, let alone in the skilled hands of someone like Bertl and many others on these forums). It is just not in the same league as the kit engines (Wingnuts, Tamiya, etc.) that I have built since returning to the hobby, and in fairness, requires a significantly higher effort than they do. In addition, I am a big fan of Lukasz, and am extremely thankful for his help; his customer service is on par with the quality of his products... as good as it gets.
That said, while I am very happy to have this completed engine to include with my build, I can't say I am eager to repeat the experience. The engine has been on my desk in various states of completion for a bit over two weeks as I found that I could only get through little chunks of work at a time before stepping away. The problems, for me, came from the small size and fragility of many of the critical parts. With my middle-aged eye sight I needed an strong magnifier to see what I was doing, and even with that help, found that I had not done a great job replicating alignment symmetry from cylinder to cylinder only after moving to the next stage (for example, some of the rocker arms are not square, some of the spark plugs are not at precisely the same angle as the others). I also needed to find ways to safely handle the piece during construction in order to avoid damaging the delicate work I had already completed, but even still, repairs were necessary from time to time. This kit confirmed for me that there is a fine line between holding a part firmly in place in tweezers while the CA sets, and squeezing hard enough to break it (or worse launch it into oblivion), and that line exists somewhere near the edge of my patience and skill set.
Please note: these comments are about my abilities rather than any shortcoming of the product. I'd encourage anyone with an appetite for detail work to invest in this little gem of an engine, it will not disappoint you. I have a handful of Taurus bits to add to my D.VII's BMW engine, and am looking forward to this smaller scale project; the full engine replacement may have been a bit too much for me to bit off at this point in my modeling "career".
Anyway... I am hopeful to put the replacement decals to work in the near future, and then get this build back on track and into rigging.
Thanks for checking in,
Chris
