Strombecker McLaren M1B....Finished !!

[chrisguyw]

I had this in "Who's Tinkering", but it likely belongs here.

Strombecker made some of the nicest molds, and the McLaren M1B, was one of their nicest, and very much to scale,....it is a tiny little bugger !!

Anyway, it has been sitting in my workroom for eons, and with the forced hometime we are all enduring, I have decided to make it my next build.

Trying to make this..............this one is not mine, unfortunately mine is a little worse for wear..........



Into something like this................so a few bits to be made/added.



I started with the chassis, as I find these the easy part of the job..........a simple single rail chassis with .047 main rails, set for 2mm+ clearance with 19+ mm tyres.

This will be powered by a stock Scaley FF050 motor and will be legal for our early USRRC/CanAm class, although as short and narrow as it is, it will struggle.



I have started the bodywork........removed all bits, opened the vents, (as they should be , they were closed in the original), and added a front diaplane, and a rear spoiler.



Still a lot of clean up to do...........



The car is tiny,....I think I mentioned that,.....luckily the shortest wheelbase setting on my jig was perfect !!




Still miles to go, but, I will post updates......

Stay Safe

Chris Walker

[chappyman66]

Love these old Strombeckers. I am working on a 3D chassis with a lowered SW motor cradle to try and avoid the inline configuration....but it's tough. These scale cars are really narrow.....
But they can be absolutely fantastic with a little work. Looking forward to this build for sure!

[ZackM]

Are you going to try and replicate the far more "flared" fenders of the real car pictured? Or leave it more or less as is in the regard?

Looks like a great start as usual!

Zack

[RACER92]

Chris are the motor bracket and guide tongue home made, also it looks like the side pans are mounted solid to the main rails, if so what is the wire dia. and pan thickness? I have the McKee I should use the same set up, although it won't look anything like that workmanship!!!!

[waaytoomuchintothis]

One of my all-time favorite cars. You're doing it justice so far. I can't wait to see the end product. I have had a gorgeous (and bloody expensive), resin body for years. Maybe you'll inspire me!

[jag007]

YES!!!
Truly looking forward this build,,,,
Please break down each step.
Also would like to know if you plan on flared wheel openings etc?
Best Regards,
Jack

[chrisguyw]

Hello Folks, I got the rolling chassis finished, and took it for a run,..........considering how short/narrow it is, it ran very well.....for what it is, it is one of my better performing recent builds.

Stay Safe
Chris Walker

[ZackM]

Looks fantastic!

Zack

[Brumos RSR]

That looks fantastic Chris. Is it lighter than the other builds?

[chrisguyw]

Hi Tony, Weight wise it is in the ballpark with my other 050 powered cars.....all in with body it will be a snick under 70gms.

[chappyman66]

Hi Chris, great work as always. What about slightly wider side pans to add a little weight to the narrow car? Or is that too much?

[chrisguyw]

Hi Chris, great work as always. What about slightly wider side pans to add a little weight to the narrow car? Or is that too much?

A good suggestion, and, I thank you,.....but,......the pans are .064, so it is really not a weight issue, and you really don't want to overburden the little 050 motors..........the car runs/handles incredibly well, but being narrow is certainly not a bonus. The major constraint is the incredibly short guide lead required by the bodywork, which results in a car that is quite "twitchy", ...which is quite good on a tight track, but, not so good on my more open/flowing layout.

That said, given the constraints of a short narrow body....the car is outstanding, and I am more than delighted with it

Stay safe
Chris Walker

[chrisguyw]

I got a tiny bit more done...........I am working on a few cars at the moment, so, progress is slow.

I installed the body posts............I used the stock front body post location, and only had to install a styrene post from the body post "collection". I did have to create a new position for the rear post, and again used a post from the "collection"

As luck would have it the stock side post locations aligned with the side pans on my chassis, so, by installing some telescoping tubing I can trim these to control body rock.



I did finish the wheels and inserts, and trimmed the body posts to achieve the ride height...........by scouring google "images" it appears to be correct.



Still lots to do, and, if anyone has a windshield in good shape, I would be happy to do a deal..........mine is less than perfect, and will need a ton of work.

Stay Safe
Chris Walker

[chappyman66]

Looking good, Chris. Good stance, that will be fabulous when you are done!

[4424ever]

That body doesn't look like much until you start massaging it and now sitting on the chassis its looking down right sexy You can see already this is going to turn into a stunning example your craftsmanship. Nice work !

[TAMELESSTGR]

My gosh, another body I need to locate and add to the build list. Chris, what glue are you using to attach the styrene?

[chrisguyw]

My gosh, another body I need to locate and add to the build list. Chris, what glue are you using to attach the styrene?

For all styrene, I use styrene plastic weld type glue....."Pro Weld", Micro Mark "Same Stuff", Tenax etc. etc.,.........this is the best glue by far for styrene. It chemically "melts" the surface of the styrene and "welds" it together.......dries/sets very quickly. Do not however use this on "clear" parts.

Stay Safe
Chris Walker

[TAMELESSTGR]

Great, I have some on order! Looking forward to the rest of the build.
Ken