1930 Bentley 4.5 Litre Supercharged

An overview of the box's contents. 

Stripping the paint off the engine block and supercharger. 

The tyres grew moustaches. 

This is the result of many days of work. Most of the parts placed in the organiser. 

The different green colours set next to each other. 

Tamiya TS-43 Racing Green: 1) Paint + Mr. Surfacer 1500 as primer; 2) Paint on untreated surface, and; 3) Paint + Mr. Surfacer 1500 as primer + Tamiya X-35 Semi-Gloss Clear. 

Humbrol 003 Brunswick Green: 1) Paint + Mr. Surfacer 1500 as primer; 2) Paint on untreated surface, and; 3) Paint + Mr. Surfacer 1500 as primer + Tamiya X-35 Semi-Gloss Clear. The Humbrol paint was thinned using Humbrol Thinners to a 50/50 ratio. 

Humbrol 114 Russian Green: 1) Paint + Mr. Surfacer 1500 as primer. The Humbrol paint was thinned using Humbrol Enamel Thinners to a 50/50 ratio. 

The chassis ready for paint. The mudguards will be attached the same time as the wheels. 

Painted the base coat of Humbrol 003 Brunswick Green thinned using Humbrol Thinners to a 50/50 ratio. Three very thin coats were applied using a 0.5mm nozzle. After left to dry another two coats will be applied after which detailed painting will be completed. 

The “wrapped” leaf springs seen on this reference photograph is one of the key elements that needed to be preserved. 

There is a large mould line on each of the leaf springs. Most was removed and the rope wrapping was deepened using a scalpel blade and finally accentuated with Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color (Brown) 87132. 

The scabbards for the stabilisers on the front axel was painted in Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color (Brown) 87132 to simulate leather painted over with green paint. The ball ends was painted AMMO Metal Acrylic Color - Polished Metal 192. 

The front ends of the hooters were painted in Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color (Black) 87131 and wiped down to accentuate the fine mesh on the front end. 

The parts making up the drivetrain laid out to be detailed and painted. 

In my pursuit to find the perfect Aluminium to paint the engine parts, I assembled: 1. Humbrol Aluminium 27001 (pigment out of scale); 2. Tamiya Bare Metal Silver AS-12 (good candidate); 3. Tamiya Gloss Aluminium TS-17 (perfect candidate); 4. AMMO Metal Acrylic Color - Polished Metal 192 (pigment out of scale). 

In my pursuit to find the perfect Chrome to paint the engine parts, I assembled: 1. Testors Chrome 1290 (superior); 2. Humbrol Polished Aluminium 27002 (good candidate); Humbrol Chrome Silver 191 (less good candidate). 

A front view of the supercharger painted in Tamiya Gloss Aluminium TS-17 and detailed with Ammo by Mig Jimenez Metal Acrylic Color – Brass A.MIG-197. 

A lefthand view of the supercharger painted in Tamiya Gloss Aluminium TS-17 and detailed with Ammo by Mig Jimenez Metal Acrylic Color – Brass A.MIG-197 plus Testors Chrome 1290 (superior). 

A righthand view of the supercharger painted in Tamiya Gloss Aluminium TS-17 and detailed with Ammo by Mig Jimenez Metal Acrylic Color – Brass A.MIG-197. 

The two magnetos were painted using Tamiya Semi-Gloss Black X-18, Tamiya Gloss Aluminium TS-17, Ammo by Mig Jimenez Rotbraun A.MIG-014 and Ammo by Mig Jimenez Metal Acrylic Color – Brass A.MIG-197. Following reference photographs, I further drilled out the tops to receive plug wires. 

The remainder of the drive train painted up. 

The engine fully assembled seen from the front. 

The engine fully assembled seen from the righthand side. 

The engine fully assembled seen from the lefthand side. 

The engine fully assembled seen from the top side. 

The gearbox and clutchplate painted using Tamiya Gloss Aluminium TS-17 and Ammo by Mig Jimenez Metal Acrylic Color – Brass A.MIG-197 with which I picked out some of the nuts. 

The differential shaft, prop shaft and wheel hubs painted and ready to be mated to the chassis. 

Assembling the drivetrain is straightforward. I started with installing the steering linkages, followed by the supercharger working my way back and finally installing the differential shaft. 

 

 

 

The parts making up the fuel tank and exhaust. To restore details lost when I initially assembled the fuel tank, I will be using Eduard’s Mesh – gauze/hexagonal 00113. 

Thirty years ago, I removed a lot of detail from the fuel tank in an effort to have it fit better. The details will be reinstated using the mesh. 

Removing the surface details completely. 

Making a paper master which will be used to cut out the mesh. 

Making a paper master which will be used to cut out the mesh stone guard. 

The mesh stone guard glued into position onto the styrene frame using ZAP Super glue. 

Looking at reference photographs, the mesh covering the back, bottom and front of the fuel tank seems to be suspending from a metal frame. I first tried using florist wire, but ran into problems securing the frame to the fuel tank itself. This idea ended up being scuttled. 

The frame was finally constructed using Evergreen round rod. 

The external details were copied using Evergreen card. 

The side wire mesh stone guard panels glued direct to the plastic using Tamiya Cement. 

Using strip styrene, the hoops securing the stone guard was secured.