Ive never seen a MFH build log before. Got one of their kits in stash.

Ok so after a full inventory i am missing a further 19 parts. Interestingly this is everything on metal parts list page 5 which in a strange way is reassuring as opposed to random parts. Lets see if they relace them.

In the mean time i will carry on. fortunately the missing parts all refer to the rear wing and oil cooler which would be the last parts to fit so even if i never got them, without the rear wing its basically Version C instead of version D. :-)

Edited June 1Jun 1 by Paddy

11 hours ago, James H said:

Ive never seen a MFH build log before. Got one of their kits in stash.

James, i think the problems i am having are not the norm but its worth downloading the parts list from the MFH website and checking it against the parts you have .

12 hours ago, Landlubber Mike said:

My Corvette kit - ordered directly from MFH - was missing probably 75% of the shiny metal parts. They also gave me two of the corner fender resin pieces for the same side. I almost missed this in trying to go through the box, so make sure that you have each side where the sides differ.

But like I said, MFH made good on completing the kit. I just sent them pictures of the parts I was missing and they were shipped the next day.

Hi Mike, good to see you here again. It was your experience with the Corvette which lead me to check the inventory of all my MFH kits.

11 hours ago, James H said:

Ive never seen a MFH build log before. Got one of their kits in stash.

You should definitely check, if the kit parts are complete. Like Paddy said, I always print the parts list from the MFH website and check the parts against it and the manual. Why MFH doesn´t offer the parts list as good quality print in the manual or pdf-file is beyond me. I asked them about it, but they never answered.

9 minutes ago, Paddy said:

In the mean time i will carry on. fortunately the missing parts all refer to the rear wing and oil cooler which would be the last parts to fit so even if i never got them, without the rear wing its basically Version C instead of version D. :-)

Is there a possibility, that your kit is the wrong version of the MS11 entirely and the mixed up the labels? I guess, the manual is the same for all versions.
Sometimes, the thought process from MFH is hard to understand. Of the BT52, I´m actually building exist two versions, which mainly differ with the rear wing. Strangely, there are all resin and metal parts for both types of wing, which are really different. What´s amiss is a tiny extra decal sheet with the pin stripes for the smaller version, guess how I know, I wanted to build the small winged version.

Cheers Rob

I did wonder Rob but there are 4 versions and each has different parts and i dont have any extra parts from other versions.

If they send the parts its not a problem, just annoying hiccup :-)

Ok so quick update, the first of the missing parts arrived this morning. I have already been told by FedEx that the others are on their way due Friday. If thats the case its a problem well sorted and quickly.

And this where i am at so far. I cant for the life of me see how you fit the cowling and nose cone. I fitted the attachment points and now i am supposed to drill the cowling to suit using a paper template but drilling blind and getting a 0.5mm pin to align with a 0.5mm hole ? basically thats not going to happen 😂

12 minutes ago, Paddy said:

And this where i am at so far. I cant for the life of me see how you fit the cowling and nose cone. I fitted the attachment points and now i am supposed to drill the cowling to suit using a paper template but drilling blind and getting a 0.5mm pin to align with a 0.5mm hole ? basically thats not going to happen 😂

Body parts fitting with MFH kits, phew, a true nerve rattler. I know the connections you speak of, Paddy. In case all parts fit perfectly, I drill one side, insert 0,5 mm brass rod temporarily or a fitting needle, only protruding half a millimeter, dab some pencil or marker on the points and mark the opposite part with that.

Cheers Rob

If you are used to Aircraft and Armour its always a bit strange when you need to do most of the painting "before " assembly and like wise if you want to spray clear over the decals you need to get that done before anything else.

Some people like to get a finish on the paint at this stage but i tend to put the finish on the clear, that way if i go through the clear i get a warning of blue on the cloth where as it i polish the blue you get no warning of a primer coat showing before its too late. Incidentally this is rattle can Tamiya "French Blue" over Halfords white primer

Decals next then a clear coat or 6 , it does look like i am steaming ahead here and i supose i am but there is a lot to do with running gear and details, clocks seats screen and so on.

Radiator assembly was delivered this morning on a pallet ..........................from the other end of the work bench 🤣

Thanks for looking in 🙂

Nice looking Matra blue and good to see you going on with the MS-11, Paddy. I see, that you haven´t bothered with the riveting of the body. I would have skipped that too, for one, it´s pure madness, two, it might look out of scale and too pronounced and third, The structural integrity of some body panels may weaken too much with all the rivet holes drilled.

Cheers Rob

Funny you should mention that Rob. I did look at the 3D print rivets that MFH offer for this kit but without seeing them in person they looked a but large, the alloy rivets are a lot better but in packs of 20 i would need about 30. and i have paid off my mortgage and dont need another :-) TBH i am looking at this car as a learning curve for the future, i have the D type and the other Matra 24h LM car ( and a Norton, Vincent and Montgomery bike) but at this stage i didnt want to start them until i had practiced on this F1 car with no door, glass, bonnet or boot :-) I did build their Abarth a while back but i was so out of my depth it took me a while to recover 😆

I now have all the parts so feeling a lot better about this build. Decals are on and top clears applied so once they go really hard i will try and cut the finish back. I have to say the decals are probably the best i have come across. Very thin but opaque so even white doesnt show the blue through. No tendency to stretch and very sticky. Ever since my troubles with some other decals where the guy said i was applying them all wrong and washing the glue off, i have dunked the decal in warm water for 5 seconds then removed it and allowed the decal to release itself after a minute or so ,so its not possible for the glue to be anywhere other than on the decal and its made a huge difference to the job. That said, i did paint the white band round the nose as i couldn't see that really working with the supplied decal.

I have also made a new screen for the cockpit as i completely messed up the supplied vac form by care fully cutting away the bit i was supposed to keep Fortunately i had just bought some new nail scissors for this job and they came in one of those clear packs that you need scissors to open so i used that to make a new screen

Edited June 7Jun 7 by Paddy

Matra blue looks perfect under the decals Paddy. My decaling process is very similar, only using lukewarm water with a drop of detergent in it and decal softener solvents only later on, when necessary. With my actual Brabham build, I had some issues with the decals. Despite being store perfectly, the surface of the whit decals was marred. No problem under gloss coat, but on the vac formed windscreen, you can notice it. Opacity is great like with yours.
I always dread working with the vac formed parts. With the Brabham, it was only the (luckily) blue tinted windscreen. The Cobra Coupe was a different story with windows everywhere and additional air scoops and headlight covers, phew. Scissors worked best for me, better than blades. I try to cut as neat as possible, because sanding isn´t that good either.

Cheers Rob

Some progress, no fit problems so far, its all going worryingly well 😆

I'm not sure why, but MFH dont like to make parts of any length , instead they will make 2 parts with a stepped joint in the middle like this

an easy upgrade is to cut the joints and fitting off the ends and in this case drill them 1mm , cut a new one piece rod from ally tube and insert 1mm pins

Super glue the whole lot together and fit

Much better than an obvious joint.

I have got some of the rear drive on the left here. it took me hours as the hub is basically held in its position by 5 suspension arms that all converge on the stub axel . The trick will be getting the other side symmetrical to this side . Everything is very bendy at this stage but once all 5 arms are in position the whole thing becomes quite solid. A small bend on 1 part does throw the whole thing out.

all in all that worked quite well but the secret with these kits seems to be getting the parts spot on as you go or the further you get, the more creeping errors will catch up with you further down the line. Also dont expect anything in the box to be straight. The drive shafts here were a few degrees out but over their length that throws everything else out as well. The bottom tie rods are also critical and however carefully get them to length it makes no odds if you drilled the holes for them to deep or too shallow or at the wrong angle and both those dimensions are for you to work out so dry builds ahead of any glue are again essential.

Apologies if i am stating the obvious to those who have built these before 😉.

On 6/12/2026 at 11:15 AM, Paddy said:

Apologies if i am stating the obvious to those who have built these before 😉.

Obvious, yeah, but had to smile about the creeping errors adding up to the end, have been there often , but luckily mostly there is a solution.

Cheers Rob