I was going to say door pulls for the triumph pete , but unless youve got the only 4 door TR4 in existence i’m at a loss !
What's on the Bench 2024
- Thread starter Graeme C.
- Start date
Folded roof cover holdowns?
You're both in the right general area.
My TR4A (the A is important!) is what's generally referred to as a 'Surrey Top' model, so it has fixed windscreens front and rear, with a removable hardtop that fits (or should...) between the two screens, and a soft vinyl centre section, the Surrey Top, which is quicker to put up than the hardtop, and can be carried in the car.
My Surrey is probably as old as the car - I bought it second-hand in 1983. Most of it is in fairly good condition, but there are 4 elastic straps that hook onto the A and B posts and hold the sides of the Surrey against the side windows. On my example they've lost their elasticity and two of the hooks have disappeared (hence the twisted stainless steel wire on the end) so they need replacement.
Now I could just buy a new Surrey top from one of the Triumph specialists, but a) they're about £250 or more, and b) the new tops are pathetically thin compared to my old one, so I thought I'd have a go at replacing the straps. The manufacturing process starts with an 8 inch length of 3/4 inch wide elastic, doubled over and the two ends glued together. The doubled ends are reinforced with a strip of vinyl leathercloth glued on. The next stage will be to stitch a square into that vinyl reinforcement, punch a hole in the centre of that square for a rivet to hold a new hook. I've already made 4 new SS hooks.
The middle of the folded length of elastic will have to be poked down between two layers of vinyl that form the side flaps of the Surrey. This will be tricky, but as the original straps are no longer elastic I have no idea how long they should be so I'll have to stretch them until I think the tension is about right, punch a hole through the existing holes in the Surrey, then rivet them in place.
Sorry if some of that is hard to follow - let me know if you want to see how I get on!
Pete
My TR4A (the A is important!) is what's generally referred to as a 'Surrey Top' model, so it has fixed windscreens front and rear, with a removable hardtop that fits (or should...) between the two screens, and a soft vinyl centre section, the Surrey Top, which is quicker to put up than the hardtop, and can be carried in the car.
My Surrey is probably as old as the car - I bought it second-hand in 1983. Most of it is in fairly good condition, but there are 4 elastic straps that hook onto the A and B posts and hold the sides of the Surrey against the side windows. On my example they've lost their elasticity and two of the hooks have disappeared (hence the twisted stainless steel wire on the end) so they need replacement.
Now I could just buy a new Surrey top from one of the Triumph specialists, but a) they're about £250 or more, and b) the new tops are pathetically thin compared to my old one, so I thought I'd have a go at replacing the straps. The manufacturing process starts with an 8 inch length of 3/4 inch wide elastic, doubled over and the two ends glued together. The doubled ends are reinforced with a strip of vinyl leathercloth glued on. The next stage will be to stitch a square into that vinyl reinforcement, punch a hole in the centre of that square for a rivet to hold a new hook. I've already made 4 new SS hooks.
The middle of the folded length of elastic will have to be poked down between two layers of vinyl that form the side flaps of the Surrey. This will be tricky, but as the original straps are no longer elastic I have no idea how long they should be so I'll have to stretch them until I think the tension is about right, punch a hole through the existing holes in the Surrey, then rivet them in place.
Sorry if some of that is hard to follow - let me know if you want to see how I get on!
Pete
Another full scratch build job for my mate that's obsessed with 1/50 circus & fairground vehicles. He wanted to add an equipment and generator box on the back of a chassis cab and had a go himself but was unhappy with the results. It was his first time working with styrene, but at least he had a go:
So he brought it to me. I deconstructed it, squared up the panels and glued them together as a base. To that I added a "skin" of more precisely cut panels and then some door / vent / locker details.
So he brought it to me. I deconstructed it, squared up the panels and glued them together as a base. To that I added a "skin" of more precisely cut panels and then some door / vent / locker details.
Looks excellent Andy. I can see why he brings them to you……
Thanks Tim, it's just getting a lick of VW indium grey to match his fleet.
He's trying to convince me to make more & sell them. Apparently there's decent money in it but I'm sure it would kill the enjoyment, so it's a 'no' from me
He's trying to convince me to make more & sell them. Apparently there's decent money in it but I'm sure it would kill the enjoyment, so it's a 'no' from me
G
Nice save on that truck. It looks like you could indeed just buy it like that, unlike the original effort 
Love it.
I get that Andy. If you turn a hobby into a job then you need another hobby….I’ve done a few figures for people over the years but either done them for free or just for a few quid to cover paint and varnish.
Yes, I'm not in it for the money. He pays for any materials and buys me a few tinnies for my time.
I keep the empty cans in case the tax man wants his cut :tears-of-joy:
I keep the empty cans in case the tax man wants his cut :tears-of-joy:
Something else I started today. He came free with some figures I ordered so I've no idea who/what he is.
I'm only a couple of hours in so there's plenty left to do but I'm happy with how it's going so far.
I'm only a couple of hours in so there's plenty left to do but I'm happy with how it's going so far.
Why's he carrying a big bunch of bananas? :tongue-out:
Pete
Pete
G
Yes Pete, seems an interesting project.
G
Worth View attachment 506075 Andy , brilliant work. Be he's over the moon .
Attachments
I've been tinkering with some spoked wheels. This is off an Italeri (Protar rebox) 1/9 scale Yamaha - first attempt and quite pleased with how its turned out. If I can get a decent result with the rear wheel then I'll have to think about building the kit! I've spent several weeks on and off just doing this one wheel.
Before:
After:
Nick.
Before:
After:
Nick.
Looks way tedious.
Looks superb though Paul. Top stuff.
Yes indeed, hence doing it over a long period. I suspect the rear wheel will be more difficult as the spokes are shorter...
Nick
G
Good progress on the Sherman I was given. There was nothing really wrong with it, other than the front lifting eyes having been fitted 90 degrees rotated from how they should sit, but I’ve been making some corrections of the kind I would also have done had I bought and built this kit myself.
Most important are the rivets on the lower hull, because Dragon gives you a welded hull:
View attachment 506562
The kit represents a fairly early M4 made by the Pressed Steel Car Company (“PSC” to Shermanophiles) but those had a riveted rather than a welded hull until the summer of 1943 — while the direct-vision flaps on the hull front mean the model represents a tank that was made in August 1942 at the latest. That meant punching a bunch of domed rivets … To get their locations correct, I took an unbuilt MiniArt M3 medium tank kit from the stash and removed its hull side plates from the sprue, so I could hold them next to this model’s hull and make pencil marks where the rivets were to go.
Oddly, Dragon also forgot to add the bolts on the sides that hold on the nose armour, when those were present on all Shermans, whether with riveted or welded lower hulls. They’re not in the picture because I only added them after taking that.
The rest was more minor corrections:
View attachment 506563View attachment 506564
Most obvious is probably all of the filler, necessary to get rid of the scars left by removing the armour plates and the stowage box on the rear of the turret, as well as add some texture where it wasn’t moulded at all. The lifting eyes on the gun shield are from an Asuka kit, and I deleted the commander’s vane sight (on the right front roof of the turret) as well as the “ears” to the gun shield to each side of the barrel and the spotlight on the roof, because those were not present on early Shermans.
On the hull front, I straightened out the lifting eyes and replaced the headlight guards by Asuka parts again, as they’re not as too thick as Dragon’s
The holders for the plugs for the headlight mounts are also Asuka (and they’re parallel to the glacis plate because this is an early Sherman) while the siren on the left mudguard is from the Rye Field Models Sherman VC kit. The strip with bolts along the top of the nose should really be replaced by one where the bolts aren’t recessed, but I can’t remove it. Maybe I will carefully file it flat and replace the bolts with new ones. Maybe
In the splash guard around the turret, I drilled some drain holes and also bevelled the upper edge of the rear part, because that’s how PSC made the real ones, which Dragon missed.
On the back, the guards over the lights are also Asuka, the bracket for the tow cable is resin from an unknown make, and I removed the sledgehammer that was on the rear plate as well as reversed the large wrench (that had been glued on the wrong way around).
Most important are the rivets on the lower hull, because Dragon gives you a welded hull:
View attachment 506562
The kit represents a fairly early M4 made by the Pressed Steel Car Company (“PSC” to Shermanophiles) but those had a riveted rather than a welded hull until the summer of 1943 — while the direct-vision flaps on the hull front mean the model represents a tank that was made in August 1942 at the latest. That meant punching a bunch of domed rivets … To get their locations correct, I took an unbuilt MiniArt M3 medium tank kit from the stash and removed its hull side plates from the sprue, so I could hold them next to this model’s hull and make pencil marks where the rivets were to go.
Oddly, Dragon also forgot to add the bolts on the sides that hold on the nose armour, when those were present on all Shermans, whether with riveted or welded lower hulls. They’re not in the picture because I only added them after taking that.
The rest was more minor corrections:
View attachment 506563View attachment 506564
Most obvious is probably all of the filler, necessary to get rid of the scars left by removing the armour plates and the stowage box on the rear of the turret, as well as add some texture where it wasn’t moulded at all. The lifting eyes on the gun shield are from an Asuka kit, and I deleted the commander’s vane sight (on the right front roof of the turret) as well as the “ears” to the gun shield to each side of the barrel and the spotlight on the roof, because those were not present on early Shermans.
On the hull front, I straightened out the lifting eyes and replaced the headlight guards by Asuka parts again, as they’re not as too thick as Dragon’s
The holders for the plugs for the headlight mounts are also Asuka (and they’re parallel to the glacis plate because this is an early Sherman) while the siren on the left mudguard is from the Rye Field Models Sherman VC kit. The strip with bolts along the top of the nose should really be replaced by one where the bolts aren’t recessed, but I can’t remove it. Maybe I will carefully file it flat and replace the bolts with new ones. Maybe In the splash guard around the turret, I drilled some drain holes and also bevelled the upper edge of the rear part, because that’s how PSC made the real ones, which Dragon missed.
On the back, the guards over the lights are also Asuka, the bracket for the tow cable is resin from an unknown make, and I removed the sledgehammer that was on the rear plate as well as reversed the large wrench (that had been glued on the wrong way around).
Not so much what's on the bench more like what's on the shelf gathering dust been looking at me for best part of the year so it's time to finish it just happens to be revells 1/32 tornado 
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