¹⁄35

Scale Comparison - 1/48th vs. 1/35th

extendibility

This section was a fun one. This section covers how ‘extendable’ a kit is, how can you add detail, or use simple techniques to make a better kit.

With these two kits it was easy to see where I would compare and contrast – the engine compartment.

The Bandi has an engine the Tamiya does not, that’s change one to the Tamiya. Change two is on the Bandi, I wanted to dress up the foldable roof. A third ‘super detail’ I did was to add spring backings to the seats. The fourth, touch up was the Bandi’s shift lever.

The engine bay on the Tamiya was a bit of styrene work and ‘gizmology’. From the previously mentioned web site I was able to see how the engine compartment was boxed in and it is easily done with styrene sheets. I used the exterior side panel as a pattern to get the basic shape correct on the engine bay side pieces. To remove the engine cover I drilled a series of small guide holes along the edge of the molded on cover. I used a rotary tool with a cut of wheel to cut the gaps between the guide holes. The corners were done with a #11 size razor saw. A few styrene details were added to make ribbing. The hinge is a piece of guitar string (E string I believe).

‘Gizmology’ is a term I learned from a Shep Paine book. It means the creation of a part using totally non-related modeling parts. I built the engine with some gears from an old motorized kit, a road wheel from an M60, a strut from the land gear of a B36, some rubber hose and wire. Since it wouldn’t be readily visible I didn’t worry about 100% replication. I was going for something close to give the viewers eye something to see.

The entire engine sub-project was fun and easy. It wasn’t bad at all.