rjfk2002 Posted December 30, 2016 Author Share Posted December 30, 2016 (edited) Fuel Tank In my last update I forgot to the show the installed tail light assembly. You can see the rubber flap hiding on my cutting mat. I experimented with painting the Volvo lettering white on but didn't like the results so I left it black in the final assembly Ah the good old fuel tank. It consists of four huge pieces on a comparably tiny sprue. In my kit the two end plates had fallen off the sprue due to age/shipping and there were some gouges as a result. Fortunately those were fixable with putty. The two halves were glued together and puttied like the air tanks. After priming I bent the straps around the tank to shape them. I used electrical tape on the back of the straps to offer some protection - thanks everyone for the suggestion. I think I used a full can of Tamiya Gloss Aluminum and half a can of clear coat to get this thing painted! Getting the tank mounted was a nerve wracking experience. I had to flip the entire frame over first as the screws are in the back (the straps are for show). Unfortunately there are no MMC stands for the beast so I had to prop it up with some strategically place books. Getting the tank in position and screwed in requires either three hands or a delicate balancing act. I was lucky to get it attached without damaging anything. The screw starter was exceptionally helpful here. I can't recommend it enough to other builders out there! And the markings are the mat are in inches... Edited August 27, 2017 by rjfk2002 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codger Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 Meticulous work - but you should have made the tank from clear material and then populated it with a complete aquarium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjfk2002 Posted December 31, 2016 Author Share Posted December 31, 2016 You stole my big reveal Mr. C! My plan was to build an aquarium around the truck so the goldfish have a playground... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjfk2002 Posted January 2, 2017 Author Share Posted January 2, 2017 (edited) Return of the Air Tanks Happy New Year everyone! I spent the holiday fiddling with the rear tank and how to finish it. The tanks has molded straps and fasteners which I want to highlight. My first attempt was to mask these areas off and spray silver. I used bare metal foil to cover the straps and left the fasteners in silver paint. I didn’t like the results. The BMF didn’t stick that well to the surface and had a tendency to kink up leaving marks in the foil. Also the silver paint did not match well with the real metal in the foil. For the next attempt I decided to use 3M HVAC foil tape instead of BMF. It has comes in a roll and is paper backed which makes it easy to cut and apply. It is also thicker than BMF thus avoiding the kink problem. The foil tape worked perfectly for the straps. The molded details were a little tougher. I cut the tape into tiny bits and plastered over the plastic, using a tooth pick to burnish the edges and blend it together. It wasn’t perfect but the effect is convincing. Despite molding in connectors, Pocher decided to not include any plumbing in the kit thus leaving it to the builder’s imagination. I decided to use 2.5 mm rubber hose as it visually looked right compared to the plastic connector (Ted’s Modeling Marketplace stocks tubing in various sizes). I sunk some Pocher 72321 screws in the ends to use as pins for the hose. For the actual connector I originally used 3mm nuts but they turned out to be too big. When I tried to screw the tank to the frame the nuts hit the frame and popped the tubes right out. I found 2mm nuts to look too small so I cut a piece of tube and that looked OK. Below you can see the installed tank. The hoses will be cut to size and attached to some connectors that I'm scratching now. Edited August 27, 2017 by rjfk2002 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maximum warp Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 You're doing a great job on this difficult kit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjfk2002 Posted January 2, 2017 Author Share Posted January 2, 2017 Thanks! I am finding that patience is critical with this kit. On the surface it is not as complicated as the Pocher classics, but nothing fits and every part requires a ton of work to make presentable (just as you highlight in your engine build). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver911 Posted January 3, 2017 Share Posted January 3, 2017 Nicely solved with the straps and fittings....really coming along rather well my man ATB Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Fiat Posted January 4, 2017 Share Posted January 4, 2017 Exemplary work, and it looks so real! I really like this kit.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pouln Posted January 9, 2017 Share Posted January 9, 2017 Beautiful work, these straps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjfk2002 Posted January 10, 2017 Author Share Posted January 10, 2017 Thanks guys. That 3M tape really works well. Thanks Ron for the suggestion! I will post an update later this week with some more progress. I used small metal tubing to replace some partially molded plumbing on a different tank. Pocher molded part of the air lines but didn't supply any further hardware. I think I came up with a good fake... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver911 Posted January 10, 2017 Share Posted January 10, 2017 Very nicely done mate....glad the tape worked ok Look forward to seeing the 'plumbing' in the next update. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjfk2002 Posted January 18, 2017 Author Share Posted January 18, 2017 (edited) Plumbing So here we go, the first pic is the end cap for an air tank assembly fresh off the sprue. You can see that Pocher molded some of the air hose details on the part but it stops with the cap – there is no additional detailing on the tank. I decided to cut off some of these bits and replace with metal tubing. I thought about trying to scratch the fittings but in the end decided to leave and paint silver. The plastic molded tubes came off very cleanly and only needed minor clean up as you can see in the second pic. I cut off the top tube and replaced with real metal. After painting I drilled some small holes and used wires to create a peg for the metal tubes. It took a few tries to figure out how to bend the tube without snapping but otherwise came together quite well. I used the metal foil for the straps and to hold down the metal tube on top. There is only one more air tank remaining. I am waiting for some simulated bolts to arrive from MMC to replace the molded ones. I’ll post the results once I get them in hand. Edited August 27, 2017 by rjfk2002 photos 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larchiefeng Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Much cleaner looking with the individual pipes, clamps etc.! Looking at all the clean shiny chrome and so forth, it looks like this is a truck that the owner keeps very clean. It's one of those show quality builds rather than a weathered looking build. These are the type of builds that I've always done and I like them. I also like the weathered road worn builds but, I've never been very good at the technique. I really like what you're doing with this truck! I just want to know where you're going to display it when it's done? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver911 Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Love how this is progressing....great attention to detail and presentation. Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Codger Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Another nice little scale model to join the other improved and completed bits. Turning sow's ear kit into silk purse replica. Agree with Wayne on two points; the factory-fresh look works great here and you'll need to rent a stadium to display it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pouln Posted January 18, 2017 Share Posted January 18, 2017 Much better with you own pipe wrok. I love the finish you create. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjfk2002 Posted January 20, 2017 Author Share Posted January 20, 2017 Thank you gents. Yes I am going with a showroom finish with this one. I think it is a combination of (a) my lack of weathering skills and (b) my nature - If I had the 1:1 parked out front it would be clean! As for the display of the finished kit I have yet to solve that issue. The beast keeps growing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjfk2002 Posted February 21, 2017 Author Share Posted February 21, 2017 (edited) The Plumbing Continues... After a few week detour I'm back to truck building. The simulated nuts and bolts have arrived. The pic below shows the difference between the MMC metal ones on top and the plastic below. It's an admittedly subtle difference but I like it. It allowed me to put foil under the bolt and get rid of the contrast between the metal foil and painted plastic. The second pic shows all the air tanks installed as well as my plumbing technique. The kit doesn't come with air hoses or hydraulic lines so I used vinyl tubing to simulate, lots of tubing. I used excessively long pieces and cut to size after fitting. Here is a close up of a connector that I scratched along with the simulated lines. I created pins for the tubes with 1 mm rod and the connectors are standard Pocher nuts. The frame is a bit dusty so please ignore the splotchiness. The second pic is an attempt to show the lines to the air brakes. Edited August 27, 2017 by rjfk2002 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larchiefeng Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Looks good and it's pretty good practice for future builds! lol Good to see you back on the beast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjfk2002 Posted February 21, 2017 Author Share Posted February 21, 2017 Thanks Wayne. That reminds me I should point out that I used a techinque gleaned from Codgers Rolls build for the simulated nuts. After cutting the plastic ones off I heated a pin and used that to create a dimple in the plastic to guide my drill bit. The holes were centered and straight as a result. Much superior to my attempting the drilling completely free hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larchiefeng Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 That's a good tip about heating a pin to create a small depression for the drill bit; I wish I would have remembered that when I was drilling all the holes in the Testarossa engine. I'll remember that for my next project though because, I'm sure that there's going to more of the same kind of thing coming up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silver911 Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Nice progress mate.....like the details you are adding Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pouln Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Nice plumbing. Looks real good.... and thanks for the reminder on the drill centering technique Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjfk2002 Posted February 22, 2017 Author Share Posted February 22, 2017 (edited) Thanks gents. I have started to take a look at the engine more closely now. I actually did some assembly and painting of it about a year ago. I will share pics later of the current state of the engine Edited February 22, 2017 by rjfk2002 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjfk2002 Posted February 23, 2017 Author Share Posted February 23, 2017 (edited) Coming Attractions... As promised here are some pics of the engine so far. There some bits and hoses missing but here are the two big pieces. I aided some oil/fluid lines using some tiny 1/32 alum rods and custom fittings from Paul Koo. The filter labels are also from Paul's decal set and the hose clamp is from Tremonia's PE set. On the top-down shot you can see that some of the wire curves are wobbly. The first one on the left was done by hand which was a big mistake as you can. After that I used a metal rod to bend the 1/32 rod around to create the curve. Much improved. Currently I'm debating if I want to do any weathering as well as how many additional details to add. Once installed only the top 1/3 of the engine is visible when the cab is pushed forward so I'm leaning towards not doing too much more than is currently there... Edited August 27, 2017 by rjfk2002 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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