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1/35 Tamiya British Special Air Service Jeep


sunray

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I had this sitting on a shelf so I thought I would build this as a fast build, well fast for me.  I also bought the Eduard Photo Etch Set for it and I was surprised how much photo etch there is for such a small kit.

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So after looking at the kit and photo etch instructions to workout how I am going to do it.  I started on the chassis and the body parts tiding them up, seeing what kit detail is going to be removed for the photo etch.

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On the chassis the front bumper (right) is going to be removed as are the two small rear bumpers.   

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On the body sides there were only small amounts of detail to remove such as the tools straps.  Once they were done I got on with putting the body together which was straightforward.

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As you can see I have added some photo etch detail such as the foot pedals, etc.  Also I decided to replace the kit steering column with my own.  This is because I find this is one of the parts of a kit that latter on want to snap.  So using the kit parts as a template I cut a pin to half the length of the column.  The pin is to act as a spigot as the pins I had were too thin.  Also the original hole for the column was bigger the the head of the pin.  To get around this I cut a small piece off a coke can to act as a washer then using another pin, a piece of wood and a small hammer I made a hole in the piece of can.  Then I poked the cut pin through the hole and glued in place with CA glue.  

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In the photo what looks like sugar on the pinhead is in fact sodium bicarb (baking powder) which acts as an accelerator for the CA glue, it cures instantly like concrete.  I inserted the pin through the steering column hole from the engine side to test fit.  For the steering column itself I used a syringe needle cut to size using the kit part again as a template and a Dremel with a cutting bit.

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This is then inserted over the pin.  Once I was happy I stuck it all together using CA glue ensuring that the angle of the column in relation to the body right.

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On the underside of the chassis I bent into shape and fitted the gearbox shield.

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I had to test fit this a few times to get it right as you can see from the photo and then I attached it with CA glue.

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I added the radiator grill and I had a think about the lights.  

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On previous builds I have painted in the lights but on this one I wanted to add lens.  I have checked a few photo's and some had them paint over and some haven't but I am going to leave them clear.  I painted the reflector of the lights Vallejo Steel and I hunted around for clear PET plastic for the lens.  PET plastic is the same stuff they use for blister packs, pop bottles and vacuum form canopies.  So I rescued a blister pack from the bin and cut off a nice flat clear piece.  Then using my old punch set with the right size punch and small hammer I made two lens.

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Using PVA glue I attached the lens and assembled the front of the jeep as per the instructions.

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While I was waiting for the glue to cure I assembled the wheels.

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On the front of the jeep I also added the photo etch bumper, expansion tank straps, expansion tank and I made the hose from copper wire.

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The next thing I added were the handles on the jeep sides.  I didn't want to use the kit parts because again I think these would snap off latter so I had a look around my shed but I couldn't find any copper wire that was the right size so I used staples instead bent to fit.

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For the gear stick I again decided to make my own but this time I used small piece of copper wire.  I also added a blob of CA glue on end of the gear stick to act as the knob.

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Next on the list was the gun mounts.  The twin mount in front of the passenger I decided I was also going to make my own as I was on a roll.  I again used the kit part as a template for measurement.

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I cut a small strip off a brass sheet using a razor saw to size and I hand drilled a hole in the centre of the strip to take a pin.  Then I cut to size a piece of syringe needle.  I slightly enlarged the hole for the mount to take the needle and then I inserted and glued the needle in place.  I then attached the pin to the brass strip using CA glue and inserted the pin  into the needle setting the height from the kit part and added CA glue.

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As I was going to use the photo etch bracket for the side mounted gun I thought I might as well use a metal mount for this as well.  The problem with this was that the whole in the bracket was too big for the sizes of syringe needles I had, so I looked again around my shed and found a piece of steel bar that would do the trick but it was just a tiny bit too small for the hole.  So I had another look around and this time found a small piece of aluminium tubing which the inside diameter was just right for the steel but the outside diameter was bigger than the bracket hole.  So I cut a small piece of tubing off to act as a collar for the steel rod to enable to get a good fixing to the bracket.  Also it helped to keep the rod vertical.  So I glued them again with CA glue.

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Moving on I assembled the jerry can.  As per the photo etch instructions some of the jerry cans that were moulded together needed separating and this was done with a razor saw.  The jerry cans also required some of the moulded detail removed for the photo etch and tidying up.  While I was doing this I noticed the middle bar was missing from all of the cans so I added them in using plastic rod and I also added plastic disks for the lids.

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After doing them which took a bit of time I moved on to the Lewis guns themselves.  I opened up the handles using a drill and a knife.  I then look at the filler between the barrel and the gas chamber and I was thinking if I open that up they will snap off.

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I looked around for aftermarket ones but the were way to expensive so this is what I did.  First I removed the barrels using sprue cutters.

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I sanded the gun to give me a flat edge then I drilled out to holes to take guess what?  Yes two barrels made from cut down syringe needles.

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I used the kit barrels again as template adding a bit extra to be inserted in the gun and I have worked out that I could easily get the barrel and gas chamber out of one needle.

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I measured the kit barrels using calipers and Tamiya tape as a marker.

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Then I used my Dremel to cut the needle.  I find it easier and safer to hold the sharp end of the needle in a hand vice while cutting.

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Once cut I swap the cutting bit in the Dremel for a grinding one and again I fix the needle in the hand vice.  Them I proceed to remove any burring off the cut end and I blunt the sharp end slightly but not completely.  I do the same for the gas chamber.  Now ensuring they are the right length I glue then in place.  I used the grid on the cutting mat as a reference to keep them straight and also ensuring the needle point was in the correct position to act as the flash eliminator.

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Now there is a small bracket between the barrel and chamber.  I was going to use a small piece of metal but changed my mind and used a blob of CA glue.

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Having done one I made two.

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And then three.

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I did say this was going to be a fast build?  Oh well I got that wrong.

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Fine work on the detailing,finished one of these OOB,love what you can add with the gear all round this vehicle,these were tough guys that drove this vehicle during the war.Enjoyed Cheers.

Edited by Jim Wasley
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On ‎23‎/‎11‎/‎2017 at 4:47 PM, sunray said:

which acts as an accelerator for the CA glue, it cures instantly like concrete.

Yep, I discovered that while 'snowing-up' a Nashorn. Be aware though that if you use a water based wash, or just give the model a rinse, the bicarb WILL react and the CA bond WILL be destroyed! My Nashorn fell to bits in my hand!

 

The SAS Jeep was the very first model I ever built, back in 78 or 79. It's a classic but I'm distressed to see the large amounts of flash and ejector marks and the loss of sharp detail. Still, a bit of work will get most of that sorted. Will you be using the kit's figures or replacing them?

 

Rearguards,

Badder

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Thanks guys.

 

6 hours ago, Badder said:

Yep, I discovered that while 'snowing-up' a Nashorn. Be aware though that if you use a water based wash, or just give the model a rinse, the bicarb WILL react and the CA bond WILL be destroyed! My Nashorn fell to bits in my hand!

 

The SAS Jeep was the very first model I ever built, back in 78 or 79. It's a classic but I'm distressed to see the large amounts of flash and ejector marks and the loss of sharp detail. Still, a bit of work will get most of that sorted. Will you be using the kit's figures or replacing them?

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

Thanks Badder but I am a bit confused with the problem you have had with the bicarb and CA glue.  The reason why is because I have used it for years and I have never had a problem with the bond and water.  The only problem I have had is with the heat produced by the exothermic reaction of the monomer in the CA glue polymerising really fast with the addition of the bicarb, when I have added too much and to help kill the reaction I have used water.  I am not a chemist but I have worked on a chemical plant for years controlling exothermic reactions using monomers, etc.   That's where I first heard of using bicarb from one of the lab guys at work in the years that started with a 1 and a 9.   I have even used it on a wing mirror on an old Sherpa van and it lasted years until it was scrapped.  So anyway after reading your post I thought I would check it out.  I stuck a pin to a piece of coke can using CA and bicarb.  I first put a drop of CA on the can then the pin and finally the bicarb.  After about a minute I submerged the joint completely in cold water for about five minutes.  I took it out and the joint was solid.  I tried the same thing again but in hot water with the same result.  The only thing I can think of is that might cause a bad joint is that the bicarb has been added to the joint first and then the CA.  So that the CA has reacted with the bicarb before the CA has had a chance of making a good bond.  Anyway I hope this all makes sense and helps someone.

 

I agree with you about the kit.  According to Scalemates it was released in 1974 so for a forty three year old its not too bad and as for the ejector marks there are loads.  But on a good point the photo etch set is well worth the money.  As for the figures, I am not going to use the kit ones if any as I haven't decided yet. 

 

 

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Thanks mate. 

1 hour ago, Gremlin56 said:

It was a mind blowing model in it's day, but in need of the super detailing you are now adding. Nice work so far :yes:

My next little job on my list was to add the photo etch to all the jerry cans.  First there are two jerry can racks to makeup and this is how I got on.

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These are the tools I use to cut the photo etch from the sprue.

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I know, pink scissors but they do the job.  Both were bought off ebay for a few pounds. 

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As you can see from the photo I have left a bit of sprue on the rack.  The only reason is that I find it easier to clean up the edges, etc, off the sprue and with that done on to the bending.  I always have a good look at the photo etch instructions to workout the order in which to bend the brass.

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Then using my photo etch bender or clamp, I first line up the part and clamp it down.

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And with an old razor blade I slide it under the part so that the blade is right under the part completely to where the bend is going to be.  On the photo you can just make out a little groove on the base just in front of the edge of the clamp.  Thats where line up the blade edge before I do the bend.  Then I just lift up the back of the blade keeping the front of the blade almost touching and in line with the clamp groove.

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The next tools I use are bending pliers.

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The bottom two are made by Tamiya and the others are just cheap flat nosed pliers off ebay.  Pink handles again I know.  The Tamiya ones are good but I also find so are the others.

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For the narrow sides I used the tip of the long Tamiya pliers.  I use the long side bend as guides and I first bent from the corners then straightened the middle.

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The rails were bent again using the small pink handled pliers.  Once lined up they were then glued using CA glue.  For some reason this did not want to play.  I dropped it on the floor twice, the glue joints pooped a few times but I got there in the end.

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Now I just added the jerry cans.

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I attached the jerry cans using CA glue at the base of each can as I wanted a visible gap if I could between the cans so they didn't look glued together.  To finish off the rack I just added the photo etch strip again glued with CA glue and the first rack is done. 
 
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The second compared to the first rack just fell together.  I managed to glue it together at the first attempt without any drops.

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The racks fit on the back of the jeep but I am not going to attach them yet.  I had another six jerry cans to do next which were a breeze to do.  One on the side and five on the bonnet.

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With all this done I had a play around with how the rest of the stores are going to look.  There are still a few jobs to do before paint but its starting to look the the part.

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2 hours ago, sunray said:

 

Thanks Badder but I am a bit confused with the problem you have had with the bicarb and CA glue.

Hi Ian,

First off, great work with the PE and aluminium! This Jeep is going to look well busy in details, just as it should be.

 

Right, the bicarb and CA. I didn't actually have time to explain the problem with my now deceased Nashorn and left out a vital detail, so here it is:

 

Firstly, I stupidly used CA to glue the Nashorn's large side armour plates to he hull, and the upper hull to the lower. After the painting and weathering had been finished (a heavily worn winter camo whitewash) I decided to try using bicarb to add some frost and snow to the beast. I first sprayed some hairspray into a jar and collected the lacquer. Then I brushed the lacquer into those areas where snow and frost would gather, mostly along concave joints between sloping armour and flat. Then I sprinkled bicarb over the top and let it set. In some places I reapplied more lacquer and more bicarb, building the deposits up. But later I decided I didn't like the look and decided to take it all off. I used a water-loaded brush to take the bicarb off, but it must have reactivated the hairspray, and whether it was the hairspray, bicarb or water, or some combination thereof, the CA bonds holding the armour together all came undone. And then I finished it off by smashing it against the kitchen tap! :D

 

I have since used bicarb and CA to make a snow covered tree for my 'ever evolving dio' diorama, and as you say, it does set like concrete. I didn't use hairspray, just the CA, which the bicarb soaks up. And I had no need to wet it with water either. But having had the experience with the Nashorn falling apart, I just thought I'd warn you of the possibility of a similar disaster if you used hairspray to fix 'sand' to the vehicle for example.

 

That explains more fully what I meant to say.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

 

 

 

Edited by Badder
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Thanks again lads.

 

3 hours ago, Badder said:

Hi Ian,

First off, great work with the PE and aluminium! This Jeep is going to look well busy in details, just as it should be.

 

Right, the bicarb and CA. I didn't actually have time to explain the problem with my now deceased Nashorn and left out a vital detail, so here it is:

 

Firstly, I stupidly used CA to glue the Nashorn's large side armour plates to he hull, and the upper hull to the lower. After the painting and weathering had been finished (a heavily worn winter camo whitewash) I decided to try using bicarb to add some frost and snow to the beast. I first sprayed some hairspray into a jar and collected the lacquer. Then I brushed the lacquer into those areas where snow and frost would gather, mostly along concave joints between sloping armour and flat. Then I sprinkled bicarb over the top and let it set. In some places I reapplied more lacquer and more bicarb, building the deposits up. But later I decided I didn't like the look and decided to take it all off. I used a water-loaded brush to take the bicarb off, but it must have reactivated the hairspray, and whether it was the hairspray, bicarb or water, or some combination thereof, the CA bonds holding the armour together all came undone. And then I finished it off by smashing it against the kitchen tap! :D

 

I have since used bicarb and CA to make a snow covered tree for my 'ever evolving dio' diorama, and as you say, it does set like concrete. I didn't use hairspray, just the CA, which the bicarb soaks up. And I had no need to wet it with water either. But having had the experience with the Nashorn falling apart, I just thought I'd warn you of the possibility of a similar disaster if you used hairspray to fix 'sand' to the vehicle for example.

 

That explains more fully what I meant to say.

 

Rearguards,

Badder

 

 

 

 

No problem Badder mate and thanks.  CA glue is funny stuff.  I also forgot to mention that Roket Card Glue which is basically a fast drying PVA is also excellent for attaching photo etch.  I find it allows you to position the photo etch better and cures in about 10 minutes.

 

The owner of my local model railway shop recommended it to me.  He used CA glue all the time fixing coaches, wagon, etc, for customers.  He got into the habit of using his mouth to pull off the cap of the glue tube and holding it in his mouth while he used the glue to free up a hand.  Until one Saturday working late at his shop he glued his tongue, teeth and lips together with the cap.  As luck would have it he didn't have any Super Glue Remover in stock but remembered he had some at home.  So using the shop phone he rang his wife and when she answered he couldn't get the words out.  His wife hung up on him thinking it was an obscene phone call and stopped answering the phone.  He then thought he would text her on her mobile   The problem was his mobile was flat so he had to wait for it to charge enough to use.  When he texted his wife about the remover she could't find it and because it was a weekend nothing was open, so she had to take him to the local A & E and tell them what has happened.  The staff had to keep walking away while she was telling them the story as they tried to but couldn't stop laughing.  As I was when he was telling me this.  He said he was in there for well over four hours due to it being a Saturday night and more serious cases were coming in all the time so he had to wait to be treated.  So he was sitting there in A & E like "Adrian Mole" but with his lips and teeth stuck together and instead of a Spitfire stuck to his head he had a Super Glue cap firmly fixed in his teeth with an expression on his face like a smile off Wallace from Wallace and Gromit.  He eventually was treated and got home in the early hours of Sunday morning.  He is an excellent bloke and I was in his shop for about half an hour while he was telling me this and I was laughing that much I forgot what I went in for but came out with a bottle of Roket Card Glue.  Thinking about it still makes me laugh.  The joys of model making.

 

Sorry for waffling on but I thought you might like it. 

 

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Wouldn't the SAS have used German or British copy style Jerry cans with rounded bottoms and square with x indentation, rather than the US flat bottom with just the X?

German

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British

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US

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I think maybe Tamiya just multiplied the US can from their normal jeep?

 

Great detailing on the Jeep.  Nice guns - they're Vickers GO (gas operated) rather than Lewis,  the LRDG supposedly  used a fair amount of ex-aircraft weapons, and the SAS in the desert were working in a similar way.

Cheers

Will

 

Edit: As you were, chaps.  I should have looked at SAS Jeep photos, there's mixes of US and GB/DE types on the same car in period photos.  The different caps and the seam around the circumference make it easy to spot the difference.  You learn something every day!

Edited by malpaso
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6 minutes ago, malpaso said:

Wouldn't the SAS have used German or British copy style Jerry cans with rounded bottoms and square with x indentation, rather than the US flat bottom with just the X?

German

https://goo.gl/images/hj7i1t

British

https://goo.gl/images/pMNLV

US

https://goo.gl/images/D28N57

 

I think maybe Tamiya just multiplied the US can from their normal jeep?

 

Great detailing on the Jeep.  Nice guns - they're Vickers GO (gas operated) rather than Lewis,  the LRDG supposedly  used a fair amount of ex-aircraft weapons, and the SAS in the desert were working in a similar way.

Cheers

Will

Thanks Will.  I know what you mean about the jerry cans but I think Tamiya used that famous photo of Stirling standing by a SAS jeep.

 

SAS-in-jeeps-1943-595x592.jpg

 

As for the Lewis guns I was reading a book about Lewis guns before I started the thread and it stuck in my mind for some reason, instead of typing Vickers "K" guns I typed Lewis; it must be an age thing.  The Lewis gun is also gas operated and with the radiator casing off the barrel they look quite similar except the position of the pistol grip and trigger assembly.  The "K" gun has the trigger and grip in the butt where the Lewis has a normal pistol grip.

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