Test fit of cab on chassis

I need to adjust the the cab position taking account of all the other fixtures still to go between the LHS sub-frame and the cab.








More work to do on oil tanks, cab mounts, engine bay fittings, etc

Nige

Looking very good is this, Nige.
I`m enjoying watching this come together.
It will be a show stopper, for sure.

Malcolm

A true Master you are.

Thanks Malcolm and Charles for looking in !!!!!!!!!!! Appreciated.

I am enjoying the sprint I have managed after so long a downtime on this !!!!!!!!!!! I just hope I do not run out of steam ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, or plasticard and profiles ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, !!!!!

Nige

Had a rake through my shed to see what timber I had and came across some balsa sheets of just the right thickness I needed sitting beside my half built 1/10 scale balsa RC Spitfire.

Well that is a couple of wing panels that I will need to replace to get the old kite in flying order !!!!!!! Ha ha ha ha ha !!!!!!! Another famous "round to it" !!!!!!!!!!



Had plenty to make all the planks for the flatrack. Will leave them un-glued until I have put the iso-lock grip corners on the rack, the tie down rails and brackets, and a lick of paint.

Might be a good time to learn about weathering, Nick, as these flatracks sit out in all weather conditions and are less considered for repaints than the trucks themselves. I have also seen all shades of sand and green in pristine to faded.









I am well chuffed with this as instantly the rack becomes recognisable. I think the corner mounts are going to be the next fiddly bit to get right as I need to make sure they all look the same and get the holes and reinforcement welds looking the part.

Nige

Credit where credit is due, my friend
I wish i had the skill to scratch build some thing like your Drops


Malcolm

Going by the ACUTR campaign, and the amount of work that folks put into just adding that little more detail to a full kit build, it is well within every bodies capability to go for some ITCHY SCRATCHY stuff.

You should try it sometime, I find it very therapeutic.

Glad to have you look on in.

Nige.

I can afford to make the boards slightly narrower as there are very noticeable gaps between each and between the main longitudinal metal framework. There will also be a minimal gap to the front and rear frame members, the tail of each being supported on a lip made from angle welded to the rear member.

I will also have to try a few colour samples on the of-cuts of balsa to get the nice greyish tones of the weathered wood. I did see the timbers on a flat-rack painted too, but I don't think it was supposed to have been.

Some reference photos
Note, the flat rack I am doing is the version without the extensions for carrying a 20ft container. You can see the extra ISO locks on the side rails and rear cross member extensions that rotate in line with the side rails. I may do one flat rack in this form to give me the option to make a 20ft container.








This is the basic version


And how to carry a tank with timber blocks to stop the suspension from shimmying the tank off the side. The chains pull the tank down onto the blocks






Shame there isn't a Scimitar or Scorpion tank in 1/24 scale available.

Hello Nige,
I`ve done some scratch work but only parts of models, eg the rear body of a Chevy c60 and other minor things and i am slowly doing a Reme half track with jib, the body work is built and painted along with the jib mount, but still have the jib and cables to do, not touched it for a while but will get it finished for next Feb when the club goes to its first show of the year in Beeston.
I`ve not tried any thing near the amount of scratching that you are doingfor your Drops and Lightweight though
But you are right it is good fun when it is done and looks like what it is supposed to look like.

Malcolm

Hi Marcel

Thanks mate ,,,,,,,,,,,,,, quite chuffed with it bulking up !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Actually makes it look like I have done some work for a change !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

More to follow this weekend !!!!!!!!!

Nige

Had some time to make the corner blocks on the flat-rack for the ISO locks using a few channel profiles, strip and sheet plastic


My electrical heat sink makes a good cutting block


The blocks made up and ready for attaching. Will drill the holes once secured fully.


Setting out to check dimensions for cutting the support plates




And on the trailer to check alignment with the ISO locks. Working on the back end first as the front is a little more awkward.




Glued in position on the rear






I will drill the holes tomorrow after glue had a good chance to set fully.

And I will tackle the front ones tomorrow


Nige

Got the front ISO blocks installed including reinforcement plates.






The King trailer looks the part now




Nige

Slots cut




Moved onto the cab. Cutting off the air intake pipe support


Adding the support for the spotlight on the back of cab


Nige

Making the anchor points on the flat-rack side rails.

First off to cut the thirty 4mm sections of U channel and two at 8mm.


Drilled out the slots in the two centre anchor


There is a pattern to the anchor points to accommodate the pattern of restrain straps that are required to prevent movement of the load due to acceleration, braking, turning and vertical bumps.




Two down, twenty eight to go and have to make sure I get the angles correct for the variations.

More to follow

Nige

One half of the anchor points done


Spaced the anchor points out by measuring to the point of each and sticking to the same points each time as per my measurements. Worked a treat.


The rail is wire from fireworks night sparklers.


Just got to mirror that on opposite side now. More fiddly sanding and placement.


Nige

Really looking good, Nige
Very impressive.


Malcolm

Thanks Malcolm

Flat-rack is complete and can go for a lick of paint soon.




Little tweeks to do to the King trailer and it too can be painted. Locker doors and hinges are one of the jobs to repair as they have been sitting so long !!!!








More to follow

Nige

Added the corner reinforcement pieces to the junction of the front and rear members with the chassis rails


Also added the trailer's rear marker board panels that will need "Long Vehicle" decals to make it legal.


Used the aluminum foil method again with suitable folds for reinforcement.




Nige

wow, talk about significant detailed progress...

Thanks Ko

I have been asked to make a pyramid with my duaghter for her Egyptian school project, so there will be a short break in precedings till that is out of the way.

I might do a build log elsewhere on our wee project.

Thanks guys.

Nige

Well I finally got round to putting some paint on this project !!!! Even if it is only the flat-rack !!!!!! The side rails are strong enough to take the weight which bodes well for the rest of it staying together.


I nice coat of black primer to start with


A quick flick over and it gets a quick belly rub ,,,,,,, sorry primer coat too !!!!!!!!!!!




I am gonna use the hairspray method of weathering ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, so I hope it will STAND UP to close scrutiny !!!!!!!!!!! SORRY FOLKS !!!!!!! Jokes can only get worse from here on !!!!!!!!

All Nick's fault if I screw it up ! Ain't it Nick ????????

Nige

Got a hanger queen to practice some weathering on at the weekend


It has been given the same black primer and will go through the greens that I will use for the flat-rack and will be my trial piece for the hairspray. Got to try hunt down my rusty red spray can to try a few dots of base rust colour too here and there.

Flat-rack got a burst of humbrol dark green 30 overall as the base colour


I am not too bothered about remembering which greens I am going to use on the truck, the trailer and the flat-racks, as I am hoping for some subtle, and maybe not so subtle differences.


Nige

Awesome work Nige, I've been lurking and watching this from the start and got some excellent tips from your work. Thanks for sharing so much detail.




Well, don't stop with the DAF, your MAD skills can be put to good use scratching up a tank. You have nothing else to do, do you ??



Cheers, D