G
You're doing a good job on bringing this together Graham. 
- Status
G
Cheers Ralph\ said:You're doing a good job on bringing this together Graham.
G
OK, onwards and a little bit upwards
Started on the suspension then the drivers position and ended so far today on getting the first resin in. Must admit, this is the bit I had been eager to reach just to confirm, or not, whether it had been worth getting. Remember, I had been humming and ahhhing over this kit for years.....
Anyway, first up the pile of bits that need to go on to be able to attach the wheels.
View attachment 250612
this is where they go
View attachment 250613
And, this is what they look like in position
View attachment 250614
The parts to make up the two front seats
View attachment 250615
And not glued in but showing how they and the front panel look (minus the steering wheel)
View attachment 250616
Now onto the, for me, exciting part. This is the rear with the floor added and, apart from the lamp sticking up at the back, this is pretty much how AFV Club would have you leave it.
View attachment 250617
What is needed is a big lump of 8KW Diesel generator and a raised rear floor section. The resin rear floor is very thin, slightly warped and difficult to fit in by just gluing the edges to the side walls. So I decided to stick some plastic 'I' beam pieces in to give the floor rigidity and to help attach it at the right height. Looks a tad messy but it will not be seen once the bodywork is fastened up.
View attachment 250618
And here we have the generator all detailed up but not glued in. Also the additional stowage boxes that, again, are missing from the kit and a rolled up tarpaulin used to cover the lamp in inclement weather . There are some stowage boxes provided but not the correct sort and positioned in the wrong place.
View attachment 250619
As you can see in the mock-up below, the rear of this is going to be vastly different than AFV Club would leave you with. So, huge sigh of relief, the resin set WAS worth it.
The loose bit of resin you can see to the left is actually a radio unit that hangs down from the drivers roof between the driver and the radio operator. This thing was a superb exercise of shoehorning equipment into and existing vehicle.
View attachment 250620
Next up will be the lamp, a kit in itself, and then it will nearly be time to slap some primer on, in the inside at least.
Started on the suspension then the drivers position and ended so far today on getting the first resin in. Must admit, this is the bit I had been eager to reach just to confirm, or not, whether it had been worth getting. Remember, I had been humming and ahhhing over this kit for years.....
Anyway, first up the pile of bits that need to go on to be able to attach the wheels.
View attachment 250612
this is where they go
View attachment 250613
And, this is what they look like in position
View attachment 250614
The parts to make up the two front seats
View attachment 250615
And not glued in but showing how they and the front panel look (minus the steering wheel)
View attachment 250616
Now onto the, for me, exciting part. This is the rear with the floor added and, apart from the lamp sticking up at the back, this is pretty much how AFV Club would have you leave it.
View attachment 250617
What is needed is a big lump of 8KW Diesel generator and a raised rear floor section. The resin rear floor is very thin, slightly warped and difficult to fit in by just gluing the edges to the side walls. So I decided to stick some plastic 'I' beam pieces in to give the floor rigidity and to help attach it at the right height. Looks a tad messy but it will not be seen once the bodywork is fastened up.
View attachment 250618
And here we have the generator all detailed up but not glued in. Also the additional stowage boxes that, again, are missing from the kit and a rolled up tarpaulin used to cover the lamp in inclement weather . There are some stowage boxes provided but not the correct sort and positioned in the wrong place.
View attachment 250619
As you can see in the mock-up below, the rear of this is going to be vastly different than AFV Club would leave you with. So, huge sigh of relief, the resin set WAS worth it.
The loose bit of resin you can see to the left is actually a radio unit that hangs down from the drivers roof between the driver and the radio operator. This thing was a superb exercise of shoehorning equipment into and existing vehicle.
View attachment 250620
Next up will be the lamp, a kit in itself, and then it will nearly be time to slap some primer on, in the inside at least.
G
Lot's of great work going into this Graham.
G
Interesting info graham will need to reduce the wheels on the next one, bit late for what iam working on oh well we live and learn. Very nice work that interior is coming along nicely.
Scott
Scott
G
On with the lamp..... oh, the lamp......
I said at the beginning that this was not an over engineered kit. Well, it isn't apart from the bl$%dy lamp. What were they thinking? There is a box, about the size of three match heads and it has to have two separate part nuts glued onto it!!! Come on, surely they could have been moulded on.
Anyway. So little done in reality but just over three hours to do it
but here we go....
The clear part sticking up inside the lamp body is the bulb/arc thingy, doesn't matter as it will not be seen but it is relevant as you will see later. Oh, and those nuts..... The clear part in the foreground is a parabolic mirror that has to be painted silver. It will never be seen again but I did as I was told, and yes, it also is important for later......
View attachment 250716
I fitted the bulb and painted the mirror and then attached the mirror, as per instruction order, to the part you see to the side of it in the above picture. You are then told to attach the pair of them to the rear of the lamp. Except the mirror will not go through. So, I had to detach the mirror, remove the bulb hangy down thing from inside, put the mirror in from the front and then attach the rear plate to the lamp body and the back of the mirror. After which, the bulb thingy could be replaced using long tweezers which, in my clumsy hands, scratched the mirror...... doesn't matter as it will not be seen.
View attachment 250717
I know I wasn't going to fit all the lamp insides but I just had this perverse desire to do so even though it was all going to be closed up in the end. You first glue in a clear lens into the inner front lamp cover. Then you attach the photo etch louvers. Naively, I used the tiniest drop of superglue to do this just on the very tips of the blades. All went well then I made a cup of tea and watched the superglue fumes fog the lens. Doesn't matter, it will not be seen.... But I did enjoy fitting the first four of many wing nuts to the inner front cover.....
View attachment 250718
A few more parts on the outside while the lens continued to fog. It is now starting to take shape.
View attachment 250719
View attachment 250720
View attachment 250721
This is partly why none of all that internal work will be seen. The outer lens is the big expensive infrared filter, the Wratten number 87 filter to all you photographers of a certain age. Now this filter is red but it is virtually opaque (to visible light but lets through infrared waves) and in real life looks a really odd black, not tyre black as per the instructions. So I painted it a really odd black and stuck it into its holder which was then stuck over, and hides, the fogged louver lens, hangy down bulb thing and the scratched mirror. Who said modelling wasn't fun? The domed disc in front of the lamp will soon be glued on to cover the odd looking black lens so, all in all, that is three hours of my life I will never get back. But it does look the part I hope you agree.
View attachment 250722
View attachment 250723
View attachment 250724
The above lamp, if you love statistics, contains around 75 parts.
Next up will be the stand to... err, stand it on.
I said at the beginning that this was not an over engineered kit. Well, it isn't apart from the bl$%dy lamp. What were they thinking? There is a box, about the size of three match heads and it has to have two separate part nuts glued onto it!!! Come on, surely they could have been moulded on.
Anyway. So little done in reality but just over three hours to do it
but here we go....The clear part sticking up inside the lamp body is the bulb/arc thingy, doesn't matter as it will not be seen but it is relevant as you will see later. Oh, and those nuts..... The clear part in the foreground is a parabolic mirror that has to be painted silver. It will never be seen again but I did as I was told, and yes, it also is important for later......
View attachment 250716
I fitted the bulb and painted the mirror and then attached the mirror, as per instruction order, to the part you see to the side of it in the above picture. You are then told to attach the pair of them to the rear of the lamp. Except the mirror will not go through. So, I had to detach the mirror, remove the bulb hangy down thing from inside, put the mirror in from the front and then attach the rear plate to the lamp body and the back of the mirror. After which, the bulb thingy could be replaced using long tweezers which, in my clumsy hands, scratched the mirror...... doesn't matter as it will not be seen.
View attachment 250717
I know I wasn't going to fit all the lamp insides but I just had this perverse desire to do so even though it was all going to be closed up in the end. You first glue in a clear lens into the inner front lamp cover. Then you attach the photo etch louvers. Naively, I used the tiniest drop of superglue to do this just on the very tips of the blades. All went well then I made a cup of tea and watched the superglue fumes fog the lens. Doesn't matter, it will not be seen.... But I did enjoy fitting the first four of many wing nuts to the inner front cover.....
View attachment 250718
A few more parts on the outside while the lens continued to fog. It is now starting to take shape.
View attachment 250719
View attachment 250720
View attachment 250721
This is partly why none of all that internal work will be seen. The outer lens is the big expensive infrared filter, the Wratten number 87 filter to all you photographers of a certain age. Now this filter is red but it is virtually opaque (to visible light but lets through infrared waves) and in real life looks a really odd black, not tyre black as per the instructions. So I painted it a really odd black and stuck it into its holder which was then stuck over, and hides, the fogged louver lens, hangy down bulb thing and the scratched mirror. Who said modelling wasn't fun? The domed disc in front of the lamp will soon be glued on to cover the odd looking black lens so, all in all, that is three hours of my life I will never get back. But it does look the part I hope you agree.
View attachment 250722
View attachment 250723
View attachment 250724
The above lamp, if you love statistics, contains around 75 parts.
Next up will be the stand to... err, stand it on.
G
Yes it does look good.
Sounds like you had a touch of AMS putting the lenses in
Sounds like you had a touch of AMS putting the lenses in
G
I think that could be said for the whole of this lamp build\ said:Yes it does look good.
Sounds like you had a touch of AMS putting the lenses in
Quite proud of myself though as I remember a time not so long ago when this would have gone in the bin lol 
G
That's looking the business Graham.
Scott
Scott
G
You should be proud especially as you said not so long ago it would be binned.\ said:I think that could be said for the whole of this lamp build
Now you're getting used to small stuff,have a go at a 1/700 ship with detail set
love afv kits and love the fact your pimping it up...just gone through your thread that light thingy is a model in its self and looks the dogs great work
and that resin interior looks superb will keep up with this mucker
and that resin interior looks superb will keep up with this mucker
G
Cheers John, hope you enjoy and don't take offence to my none too serious approach to modelling\ said:
G
You have to do this kit Scott, even without the resin it is a good kit. I am sure you could easily scratch build the generator and the supplied raised rear floor is more than good enough and a lot easier to fit. Just let me finish mine first so people can forget it before they see how it should be done\ said:
G
Tamiya Yamato 1/700 coming up soon Ralph although it is already started but not too far into it. However, at the time I believe it was the biggest battleship/battle cruiser? Of its day so that is cheating a bit I suppose\ said:You should be proud especially as you said not so long ago it would be binned.
Now you're getting used to small stuff,have a go at a 1/700 ship with detail set
Not at all bud never to serious is serious enough for me
G
Coming together nicely Graham ,can't wait for your next installment.The nightscope was listed on e-bay as genuine ww2 German nightfighting driver/gunner scope with fittings.
that looks quite a detailed kit, especially with the resin bits to add
good luck
good luck
G
Nice work on the lamp Graham - it's funny how all of us put so much time & effort into something that'll never be seen!
G
The weird thing is that I said I wasn't going to bother as it was my intention to close it up. In fact, the covers are now glued on so even the odd looking black colour infrared lens will never be seen again. But when it came to assembling it, I just could help doing it. The mirror was even sprayed with Tamiya X-1 gloss black followed by Alclad Aluminium (I didn't have any Chrome)! It is perverse because I cannot stand unseen detail lol\ said:Nice work on the lamp Graham - it's funny how all of us put so much time & effort into something that'll never be seen!
G
You & me both! The pursuit of perfection may be an impossible dream, but if it's not done it nags away at the mind\ said:
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