Gallery-02 - P3 Alfa Romeo
This month I am moving on to the P3 Alfa Romeo - for which last
months Louvre Press was created.
The car with chassis number B5001, was in fact the first of the 2.6 litre
Alfa Romeo Monoposto, better known as the P3, and was the first
single seater GP car - the date is 1932. Up to this time all GP cars had
two seats, one for the driver and the other for the mechanic.
The photos for these first two Galleries are in black and white -
digitized film - and show the first of these miniatures that I built
some 40 years back. They show the first two chassis of the eleven
subsequently created - it has been a very popular subject with
collectors. The actual car used had been modified, as so many are
over the years, in that the back axle was later hung on quarter elliptic
springs - Bugatti fashion. The then owner who commissioned this
first miniature, wanted his miniature as the car was. However, I was also interesting in having a second made for myself, but showing the original configuration of the rear axle on half elliptical springs. The two chassis are shown in these early chassis photos.
The side frames are machined from 1/16” thick brass plate, after first being marked out, drilled where appropriate then pinned together - in this case four plates for the two chassis frames. After machining, a thin strip of brass is silver soldered around the out side edge of each frame to form a ‘U’ section. When this has been cleaned up with files to match what is required, the cross members are then made and assembled with silver solder.
The rear axle is interesting in that it has two drive shafts, with the drivers seat in-between. These have always been made from brass with the parts machine and then assembled with silver solder and given a nickel plate at the finish. In full size practice they are forged and machined from steel, so Pewter castings would not be appropriate.
The several stages of creating the engine and gear box are shown being worked in brass, this example being later used as the Master Patten for the P3 Alfa, and latter still for the 2.9 Alfa engines. that were developed from it. The engine is first brocken down into parts that can be machined with out problems. All protrusions being taken off for the purpose. These are then made and added at a later stage with the aid of silver solder, after the basic machining is completed. When finished the different parts are machined on the inside to give a final wall thickness of about 1/16” to make the masters suitable for casting. Thick areas can give problems in surface finish when cast in Pewter, so it is important to endeavor to hold as even a thickness as possible over all the parts created as Master Patterns.
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For those looking for more information on the construction of the Falls of Clyde, I am running a ‘Log’ on the building of it on the ‘Model Ship World’ web site.
Check out < http://modelshipworld.com > and search for ‘Falls of Clyde’
Most of the photos will be the same as here, but there will I hope be more insight into the actual working of the materials and building of the model.
Four photos are added at the start of each month and relevant text on the building. It should be running for a considerable time to come, and hopefully will not repeat what I have here too much.
