1/72 MAN 8x8 Truck

[Deleted member 7181]

A bit of detail painting of the engine, transfer box and radiator yesterday and tonight.



And test fitted the two halves of the chassis together to make sure the main components fit. A little bit more sanding to do on the main chassis rails and a couple of small ejector pin marks to fill on the underside, but nothing major.





And I've got a bonus day off tomorrow. My team cracked on and got a 4 day shifts worth of work done in 3 (12 hours today) so we could treat ourselves to a Bank Holiday Monday off for a change! That means a bit of extra bench time before the family and I go for a short camping break on Tuesday.

 

[Allen Dewire]

Really nice work Andy. You definitely have good skills and in all scales at that!!! Drive on Sir and enjoy your holiday!!! See ya on the other side……….

 

[Lee Drennen]

Not much to show tonight, just started painting a few parts, but thought I'd show you the mini sanding sticks I'd made up. I have tons of various sandpaper so I use a bit of double sided tape to stick it to various things.

View attachment 342907

Smallest ones are the new ones, should be just the job for this. I'm going to experiment with double sided foam tape to see if I can make some "softer" sticks.

Andy
I do the same I have my daughters buy sanding sticks and other stuff from there beauty supply place and use it on my models save me a lot of money

 

[Deleted member 7181]

A bit more done today. It's slow work at this scale but I'm enjoying it more, taking my time rather than rushing to get it done.

Firstly, you've got to be kidding me with the size of these:



So small even my phone couldn't focus on them

I'm sure it's nothing special for many of you experienced guys but it's smaller than anything I've worked with before. 16 of these little beauties to fit, we'll see how many are left on it when I'm done. Couldn't even find a decent way to clean them up after cutting from the sprue but found that once fitted, if I wiped them in extra thin glue it softened the plastic enough for me to smooth out the imperfections a bit.

Two of these shackles are fitted on each axle, then the rest on the chassis



I then airbrushed the axles and springs, dry brushing a bit of silver on to pick out the details, then hairy stick on the dampers and mounting brackets. I was concentrating hard so didn't get any pictures but here it is with all the suspension and prop shafts fitted.







A quick check with a ruler and they all seem to be in line, so hopefully it won't be cocking any of it's wheels in the air when finished!

On that note, I've wandered from the instructions a bit. I should have fitted the wheel hubs at this stage but there is quite a bit of play in each one so was worried about the wheels all being cockled when I fitted them on (wheels are a tight fit on the hubs) . So I've left the hubs off and will fit them as an assembly with the wheels, so I can get them all in line. Made sense to me but I'd like to know what you guys think.

 

[Jakko]

Wheels are best fitted as late as possible, is my experience. If you add them when the instructions tell you to, chances are you can’t get paint everywhere it needs to go. With a vehicle like this, I think I’d probably add the cab and load bed to the chassis first, and only then install the wheels.

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Sure, as with the other kit I'm building I'll be leaving the wheels themselves off until the last minute.

However with this one there is a separate hub element that fits between the axle and the wheels. The instructions would have me fit them now, but unless I get them perfectly aligned the wheels won't be straight when I fit them at the end of the build. So I figured gluing the hub to the back of the wheels instead then fitting them as an assembly later on would give me more chance of getting things in line.

 

[Si Benson]

Hi Andy,
Coming along very nicely. I like your logical approach to the asssembly. well worth looking ahead to see how something goes together, something I often forget to do.

 

[Tim Marlow]

With small parts like those U loops it is usually easier to clean them up as much as possible while they are still on the sprue, then you only have the sprue scar to clean up after removal....I usually clip them off with some sprue attached so they are easier to handle.
Looking good so far though......

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Thanks chaps, and sprue scar, I was wondering what to call it!

That was all the cleaning up they needed to be fair, the rest of the moulding is very clean on most parts.

 

[Jakko]

I figured gluing the hub to the back of the wheels instead then fitting them as an assembly later on would give me more chance of getting things in line.

Not having built or even seen the kit myself, I’d say that sounds like the sensible way to go about it, yes.

 

[Jakko]

Thinking about it some more just now, I’m wondering: how big are those hubs? If they’re large enough (without the tyres) that they will all touch the ground if you put them on the axles, then it’ll probably be better to put the hubs on first because that way, you can line them up more easily without the cab etc. to get in the way. In that case, putting the front and rear hubs on and placing the model on a glass plate will let you add the ones for the middle two axles nicely lined up with the rest.

 

[Deleted member 7181]

I like your thinking but the hubs are slightly too small to reach the ground, and the wheels and tyres are moulded as one, so your idea won't work in this case. I've just been out to take some pictures to better show what I mean.



I've got the axle height sorted as best I can, here they are on a flat ceramic tile, so I shouldn't need to worry about that too much.



More tricky is how they align squarely, as in camber and toe angle. Any tiny amount of deviation in the small hub (and there is lot of play in the hub-axle joint) will be magnified when I put the larger wheels on (no play in the wheel-hub joint). So for that reason I thought it best to build the wheel/tyre/hub assembly as one, which will then give me plenty of wiggle room when I finally fit them on (utilising the play in the hub-axle joint).

 

[Steve Jones]

Ah the joys of trying to keep a chassis square. Looks like you have done a great job. I'm sure all the wheels will sit level once added

 

[minitnkr]

I steal the wife's foam sanding blocks she uses for her nails as well as her emery boards. Four grades, from shape to polish, on each block are quite handy, but sometimes only an emery board will do. PaulE

 

[scottie3158]

Andy,
Looking good. the wheels heights look spot on to me.

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Thanks guys.

I'm away camping in the middle of nowhere so forgive me if I don't reply much.

 

[Jakko]

I like your thinking but the hubs are slightly too small to reach the ground

I was afraid they might be Oh well, it was a good idea, just not for this model I suppose.

I've got the axle height sorted as best I can, here they are on a flat ceramic tile, so I shouldn't need to worry about that too much.

That seems to line up very well, yes. As a tip, they’re often easiest to line up by fixing the front and rear axles first; when they’re dry, add the others and before those dry, use a ruler (or the edge of a tile or something) to get them all in a line.

More tricky is how they align squarely, as in camber and toe angle. Any tiny amount of deviation in the small hub (and there is lot of play in the hub-axle joint) will be magnified when I put the larger wheels on (no play in the wheel-hub joint). So for that reason I thought it best to build the wheel/tyre/hub assembly as one, which will then give me plenty of wiggle room when I finally fit them on (utilising the play in the hub-axle joint).

That sounds like the best option to do it to me. The only real alternative is probably to add bushings inside the hubs or something, but that’s often tricky even in larger scales than this.

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Not much to show on this but I finished work a bit early today so managed to make a start on painting the wheels. For some reason I have an extra spare so will try and work it in somehow.

Also pictured are some of the smaller parts I've been working on. Assembling, cleaning up the seam lines, filling pin holes, and priming with either Mr Finish Surfacer or Surfacer 500 depending on how much sanding they've had.



Something I hadn't noticed until now is that this kit has absolutely no dashboard or instrument panel. In fact the interior is empty apart from two seats and a steering wheel. Looking at reference shots there's normally plenty of stuff inside the cab, even a fold down bunk bed, so I've ordered some assorted plasticard and will have a go at making a few things myself.

 

[Si Benson]

Yay....scratch work, Good fun

 

[Deleted member 7181]

Yay....scratch work, Good fun

I'm not saying it will turn out looking any good, but I might as well have a shot