Hello There! Here is the start of the first of my construction postings. This model was purchased from SHQ, (at a Salute about three years ago!), and has finally been rescued from the lead mountain.
I started with the main chassis and the cab. As it is done so often lets takes it that I 'removed the flash' as it has to be done. Also a dry fit is always carried out as this saves so much rushing try to clean a casting having just mixed some epoxy glue and found the bit in question does not fit in the first place! Lastly the pieces were degreased in methylated spirits to ensure there is no grease on the surfaces before gluing and painting
The cab was integral with the chassis and has had a layer or white Humbrol enamel paint, (in this case two layers), and the front fenders fitted in place with super glue.
In the past I have found that superglue while suitable for holding headlights and similar small parts in place is no good for larger assemblies, especially over a long period of time. Here I glued the fenders in place with super glue the when dried I added epoxy adhesive to the recesses under the model between the chassis and the fenders.
You will see the epoxy adhesive is discoloured. This is because I added the glue then realised that I had not degreased the assembly before hand. I let it dry then immersed it in methylated spirits and allowed to air dry. this caused the epoxy adhesive to discolour. I cut the excess adhesive off with a scalpel.
The bonnet was then fitted with epoxy and the cab interior painted with Vallejo 976 buff. I had to hunt for a driver which I sourced from SHQs pack of drivers in their Mediterranean range.
For simplicity I fitted this figure and the other drivers I need for the other vehicles I was making to a piece of brass rod. This makes it easier to handle and paint. Due to the shape of the figure I did not have to drill into the figure but glued it in place with contact adhesive. It does not matter what the lower part of the figure looks like as it will not be seen.
Next the side storage bins were fitted, The were covered in flash so I trimmed them down with a scalpel first, then a flat file and this still was very rough. So I placed a sheet of 180 grit sandpaper on a flat chopping board and rubbed the sides of the storage boxes down. This still left a grainy surface so I did the same with a sheet of 1200 grit which left a nice flat shiny surface.
The dry fit of the bins to the chassis was poor so I had to file the locating pegs on the chassis down and then a small bit off the bins themselves. Before gluing these in place holes had to be drilled through the back of the bins and the chassis to locate them in place. I managed to do this, with a bit of difficulty and hacking at the bottom surface of the chassis with a craft knife and then glued both bins on with epoxy followed but the bin lids when they had dried.
As this was drying I started to clean up the wheels. The wheels were made up of separate tyres and wheel hubs As the casting of these two items was slightly offset I have too clean out the inside of the tyres and the outside of the hubs. First using a scalpel and then a flat file on the outside surface of the hubs. They finally fitted then I used epoxy again to glue them.
It was during this point that I was using a fresh blade, as if a blade is ever going to jam or slip it will be when it is blunt. Just to prove me wrong this fresh blade slipped majorly and went about 3/4" into the end of my right thumb. It was one of those times when you think 'In a bit that is really going to hurt!' and it did. It took about an hour to stop bleeding and brought any painting or model making to a close for the night.
Later I started again and cleaned up the winch on the back of the flat bed then glued an end of thread to one end of the winch drum, with contact adhesive, then when dry paint PVA along the drum and wind the thread over and along the drum. leave to dry again.
I then fitted the flat bed but found it was slightly out of alignment to the side bins so a slight adjustment to the underside of the bed and it was glued in place with epoxy again. I cleaned up the joints after this assembly was allowed to dry.
I painted the tyres by mounting them on cocktail sticks, pushing them down hard so they stayed there by friction. They were then under coated and painted. The desert yellow colour was Vallejo 976 Buff and the tyre shading done by using 950 black, then drybrushinzg 862 black grey, 994 dark grey and 991 dark sea grey.
Before I fitted the wheels to the body ot the truck I primed and painted the underside to limit the chance of me messing up the tryes later.
Before fitting the cab roof I painted the inside and the driver. After fitting these and the steering wheel I also glued a cut piece of acetate and using PVA glue fixed a widscreen to the inside of the cab roof. PVA dries clear so will not be seen later.
To make handling easier I glued the model to its base. I base my vehicles which helps handling while painting, makes storage easier and gives gamers an option to pick the model up by the base so preventing any damage.Here the model has been assembled and painted. The spare tyre is stored on the front of the vehicle set against the front grill, seen next to the tyre.
All vehicles are stored on a sheet of zinc plate steel kept in a 'really useful box'
You can also see the thread attached to the winch drum before the chain is added.
The vehile was completed, chain added, washed in Army Painter quick Shade soft tone, pigments applied, varnished and base 'gunged up' flocked.
The completed item can be seen in a separate post above.
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