A Monster Is Born

This is the beginning of an homage to the Merlin-powered Rolls-Royces that have captured

the imagination of car enthusiasts around the world.  The engine is based on a 1:8 scale kit of

 the Allison V-12 that was an American development of the Merlin.  The resin kit is a result of Tim Floyd's

efforts (www.tdrcatalog.com) with a rapid prototyping machine and is a delight.

This early production kit did not contain photos, but luckily one of the prototype Rolls-Royce

 hot rods was in a nearby collection.  The owner was kind enough to start the mighty Merlin and

 even offered a ride.  Alas, schedules and timing conspired, and in a short time the car was sold. 

In the photo above, holes are being drilled for metal fasteners--

lots of metal nuts and bolts--that were sourced from Model Motorcars, Ltd.

Here a cam cover is being drilled for 1mm bolts.  The surface of the castings

 requires some smoothing before painting.

This is a photo of the sump after some paint and hardware have been applied. 

 In this case 00-90 plated Phony Nuts from MMLtd. were used.

There are plenty of similarities between the Allison engine and the Merlin in the prototype,

but it was decided "In for a penny, in for a pound" so the engine in this model will be a

supercharged Allison--with no apologies offered.