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Gecko 1/35 Supacat ATMP

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Thread owner
Thanks John, and sorry, I can't help myself.

I'm not normal after all :upside:
 
Andy

Couldn't agree more with John. You should have seen the resultsof my one and only foray into PE.....

ATB

Andrew
 
You certainly have your hands full with this kit Andy. I'm sure you will beat it into submission. Like what you have done so far. Keep up the great work my friend
 
Thread owner
Cheers Andrew & Steve.

Yes, it's more than I bargained for mate, but if I can keep my head in the right place it should all make a nice little scene in the end.
 
Thread owner
Thanks Ian.

I squeezed a bit of bench time in this afternoon to tackle the roll cage.

After a lot of clean up on the roll cage parts, breaking & fixing one in the process, I used blu tack to hold the main hoops in place, so that I could assemble it on the model, rather than separately as the instruction state. I thought that would give me a better chance of getting it all square. I've already done a bit of clean up on the belts here too, and removed one strap to soak in debonder to get rid of the "panic" glue I slapped on it when things weren't going well yesterday.

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I wanted to keep the cage removable for now as I wasn't sure how easy it would be to get the driver in afterwards. So I picked up the driver sprue to put him together for a test fit, and found this:

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It seems like there's a different, compressed seat to use with the driver, but it isn't mentioned anywhere in the vague instructions. There's no way I'm going to fit it now, so I'll have a go at carving the poor drivers derrière away and see if I can get him to look & fit okay.

Having worked out I'd probably have enough room to get the much slimmer guy in afterwards, I cemented the cage in place (after modifying a piece that again isn't mentioned in the instructions, but I'd noticed in a picture on Gecko's Farcebook page). The cage also has a thin bar behind the seats, which I first broke when cleaning it up, fixed it then lost it , found it, lost it again after my tweezers pinged it into another dimension, finally found it again so nailed it on quickly before it disappeared for a third time. There were also 2 thin vertical PE strips and some mesh to add. This is a bit higher than it should be, but it was fairly square and central at first go, so I decided to leave it alone. The seat belts fasten to the same bar.

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I notice in the pictures that some of the cleaned up sprue scars still look a bit rough. They feel perfectly smooth so I think it's just discolouration, but I'll know for sure once it has some primer on.
 
Hi Andy
It will be fine. PE is just a skill like any other. Just takes practice to develop a way of working that suits you. My first attempts were more glue and bad language than PE.
One slight issue I do have with PE that is included in a kit is that you have to use it. If the PE is after market then you do have a choice about whether the PE in an improvement or not and so whether to use it or not.
Jim
 
Thread owner
Cheers Jim. It's frustrating when I can't do the things I want to do, but like you say, I'll just keep having a go :smiling3:

Tackling the jerry cans & cages today. There's no indication of how & where to fold them, nor any score marks to follow so I'll be using the cans as a guide. As you say, I've no alternative either, so fingers crossed.
 
There's no indication of how & where to fold them, nor any score marks to follow so I'll be using the cans as a guide.
That is a bit off, all the PE I have done, but I have not done not a lot mind, has had fold marks but at least the cans will be a help.

Andy.
 
Thread owner
Yeah, I'm used to at least a bit of a clue.

What I end up doing was lining a steel rule up with the back portion (figuring the front should be the same width) and folding the sides up along that line. Seemed to work pretty well and they are almost square :surprised: Just waiting for them to dry now before cleaning off a bit of excess glue.

Blue line showing where I folded. Nice wording detail moulded into the cans too, although I'm guessing these must have been commandeered many years ago! :smiling5:

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Afternoon Scratchy,

Looks like you have your hands full Andy. This is a very interesting kit you've chosen and by George, you are beating it into a nice piece of machinery...

Hunters in America used to use various types of these for duck and deer hunting. If they didn't have a dog, they could drive out and get the duck in the water. Then the EPA got down on their use...

Sorry to get off topic, but with your willpower and skills, this will turn out fantastic in the end. Gotta love the German??? jerry cans too!!!

Prost
Allen
 
Thread owner
Cheers Allen, it does look like a great little thing for hooning around off-road.

And thanks Paul.
 
Thread owner
I got the jerry can cages folded and fitted earlier. It went rather well so I'm pleased with myself. I'll probably knock them off a dozen times like the mudflaps, but at least they are on lol. Cans are a bit wonky but I'm sure I can fudge that.

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To continue the magical mystery tour that is the instructions, I found this. Now it's a fairly easy piece to recognise, but given the number of sprues, a clue would have helped.

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These bits at the front have a separate shackle, with a tiny pin going through to connect them to the roll cage. One of the pins decided to join several other parts in the Twilight Zone, so I shoved in a bit of 0.5mm rod, with a lump of CA glue on the end to make it resemble the other side.

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Then I started assembling the spare wheel. At first I thought having everything moulded separately was a great idea, saving a huge mould parting line down the centre of the tread, but once I started putting it together it revealed a different problem.

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It's not going to hold much air with gaps like that! I've done the best I can with filler, but it isn't easy with all of the surrounding detail. I also lost the kit valve from my tweezers, so added some rod.

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At the end of the day it'll be hidden underneath the stretcher, so probably didn't need doing, but you know how it is. I'm hoping the six main wheels, which use a different centre, are a bit better fit!

If not, at least I have the option of hiding it with mud or sand.
 
Luvin your work Andy. The tyre was really poor from a kit point of view. You have done an excellent job of rectifying the situation. Great to see
 
That was a bad fit on the tire, lets hope the others are better. The nice work on the etch continues.
 
Thread owner
Thanks again Steve & Paul.

I'll be tackling the other wheels today so should find out one way or the other.
 
Andy

Well done for keeping going with the PE. As you say the cages have come out nicely.

ATB

Andrew
 
Hi Andy this looks a great kit to build, plenty of etched parts to add.
Your build is looking great and I like the etched cradles holding the jerrycans.:thumb2:
 
Hi Andy
Good stuff :thumb2: That tyre was very poor but it gave you practice in 'fiddly filling'
Jim
 
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