Evening All,
A week has gone by and it's time for an update I think. Been kinda busy, between work, helping my good buddy Dude 2, trying to keep up on the great builds here, shopping (oh no) and playing in resin at the table. So,
Coming on nicely dude, it's good to see you at the bench more often.
Thanks Paul, I'm trying to keep active at the table, but there is still a lot going on that eats up my time away from playing...
I found that they work very well for that when building the tracks for my on-hold M29C Weasel. It’s definitely a tool to keep in the back of your mind when you’re building resin kits that have warped, small parts.
So true Jakko, I used my old iron (from my R/C battery pack making days) to bend plastic rod to make my cable reel carts. I saw this one in Lidl for €9,95 and thought...Why not!!! Temp control is the great thing about it...
Hello Younger than me,
Ref the wingy thing, just got the urge as i neede the break from the bridge thing, but it is not permanent and the matron reackons a good dose of her favourite oil rememdy should see me ok in a week or two.
Older than you.
Hey Mike, everybody takes a dip in uncharted waters. A shame it didn't turn out positive as it was a beautiful build. Let the snake oil remedy work for a few weeks and maybe the 1/48
madness urge might strike again...
You're really going to town on this. The soldering iron trick is worth remembering. Progress is good and speedy.
Thanks Jigs. I really think progress is moderate and not too speedy. I'm always double checking each step before the CA and seeing what has to be painted first. I have to admit building a resin kit isn't all too bad. Better than I first thought too...
After getting the road wheels painted up, it was time to add the idler wheels and pins. I thought the pins were long enough so I could glue the caps on them. Nope, the pins are about 2mm too short and scratching new ones was an option. No, I decided to use the kit parts as they fit the idlers snuggly and allowed them to slide back and forth as required. With this done it was time to glue the whole assembly to the frame, but first I needed to add the brake mechanisms to the diff hubs,
I had to make a couple of short pins from plastic rod to fit into them because the cast pins were too short. I then CA'd them in place. Next, I CA'd the whole rear thing in place,
It was important to ensure this assembly was straight and had good contact with the frame. Letting it dry for ten minutes, I could check the fit,
Looks pretty good and the springs sit well on the frame points. In between, I kept busy cutting the tracks to their proper lengths (top & bottom runs) and slapping a coat of AK 722 dark tracks color on them,
The I went on to add the front tie rod and steering arm. Had an oopsie and broke the tie rod when trying to pick it up after it fell in my lap,
I did my best and glued it together again. Not 100% perfect, but it held and with a dab of paint, prob solved. I also had to add the diff stabilizers (gray parts) to the road wheel assembly. These were a tad too wide, so I cut some shims from 0.05 sheet pieces, 1.5mm x 1mm and CA'd them on the inside side of both ends. Then added them with more CA,
Hard to see them in this pic, but they fit spot on. You might notice the left one is more canted inwards than the other. One of the joys of a resin cast kit. Nothing is perfect and you won't even see these anyway. On to the steering. Care is needed so you don't snap the tie rod (again) or the steering arm while fitting them in place with tweezers. Some dabs of CA on the pins and a steady hand, gives you this,
With the steering done, I painted up the muffler in AK 787 and then coated it in MIG rust pigment. CA'd that on and went about doing some painting and touch ups with my
Tamiya dark yellow mix,
So, the next step will be adding the tracks, but before I can do this, the underside needs to be weathered and mucked up. It would be too difficult to do after the tracks are in place. As a last step for today, I test fitted the front wheels,
Hey, they're steered!!!......These will have to be on when I mount and glue the tracks together, so my baby sits level. After the tracks are glued and set, the suspension won't be moveable anymore. Sort of a bummer, but no one makes indy links for the Somua 1/2 tracks...
That's all for this episode of building a resin kit with sausage fingers. So far, only 2 broken pieces and with care, hopefully no more!!! I have to work tomorrow, so, if I'm not too tired, I can start the mucking up of the underside...A huge thanks for your interest in my project and all C, C, and abuse is welcome and appreciated. Have a great night........
Prost
Allen
.......now what did I come in here for?
