Miniart GAZ-05-194 Ambulance 1/35

[activexp]

This is my first attempt at a Miniart kit and if this example is typical, it'll probably be my last as the building skills required are way too advanced for me. The problem is that a high percentage of the 414 parts are extremely small and difficult to handle let alone place in the correct position. Lose one and it's gone for good. The whole thing is also very delicate so great care has to be taken during handling to avoid breaking something.

On the plus side the moulding quality is very good with fine detail and the instructions are reasonably clear although some location points are rather vague and open to misinterpretation.

An example of one of the many small parts. There are 4 of these brackets for supporting the brake rods and are located on the rear axles. Three came off during handling and one was lost.

And this is a break rod with 7 sprue gates. Apart from the bend at the left end it should be straight. I find it impossible to remove thin rods from sprues without damage.

Construction begins with the engine (on a penny for size comparison)

Chassis completed minus rear break rods. It's quite flimsy and prone to bending/twisting.

The front axle assembly is particularly delicate.

Miniart's method for the tyres is unusual, 84 thin discs or 'slices' to make up 12 tyres.

The wheel rims are sandwiched between the two halves of each tyre.

Front wings and cab floor fitted. The radiator was troublesome as it appeared to be sitting too far back (or the engine was too far forward) and fouled the engine fan. Something had to give, the fan

More to follow if I've got enough enthusiasm.

[Andy Moore]

Great work so far. I'm afraid most Miniart kits are like this; way over engineered with simple components made up of multiple tiny parts when one would do. When I've built their kits in the past, I've left off any tiny parts that won't be seen.

Hope you stick with it as it's a great subject

Andy

[activexp]

Upscaled tp 1/24 this would be a great kit, the small parts would actually be workable. Anyway, I'm making some progress, not without setbacks. Test fitting the bonnet panels revealed that they were about 3mm too long and had to be trimmed. It's a mystery where I lost those 3mm as I'm sure the radiator and firewall are in the correct locations.

[KAYELL]

Good start....don't give up!

As Andy says they are complicated kits (6 parts where 1 would do)

They are highly detailed so when you complete it I am sure that you will be well rewarded.

Cheers

K

[taggart]

Agree with the comments about over complex part counts , they do need patience to build . Always have trouble bonding the plastic they use , gave up on a set of there tracks on an SU-76 a while ago , no matter what i used they just would not stay together

[activexp]

The headlight mounting bar was a real challenge to remove from the sprue in one piece, 5 gates on such a small and fragile part when 2 would probably do. I goofed with the klaxon horn, it's on the wrong side

Some progress on the ambulance body.

[activexp]

This build is now complete, as far as I'm prepared to take it having omitted many very small details. For anyone thinking of having a go with this kit, pay attention to part H5, the cab floor. The position of this is critical to the rest of the build. I made the mistake of placing it too far forward as the locating points are very vague, not pin and hole or tab and slot, just a slightly raised square on each chassis rail with matching shallow squares on the part. X-ray vision would be helpful here.

The net result is that the engine firewall/cab front is too far forward as this is mounted to the floor. This explains why I had to trim the bonnet panels.

I'll be posting in 'Ready for Inspection' but it's nothing to get excited about.