Bengalensis

I think I can make out "AUTOL(EC)" and possibly "BATTERY MASTER (SWITCH) from the original photo source. "Autolec Battery Master Switch" would make sence, but somewhere is probably a definitive photo...

@Toftdale @Neddy @klubman01 @JeroenS @galaxyg @keefr22 @Ben Brown @Fnick @Spiny Thanks a lot gentlemen for all kind praise. I hope I can finish off the paint job to the same level in the new year. Ah, tis only but a corner of one stash shelf, no problems! Mmmm... 15 Tamiya Alpine A110... Actually I do have problems and issues, but don't tell anyone...

While I have been waiting for the test piece with red tinted clear to dry I have been thinking about the interior. There is a grey stitching in several places. It's not prominent but still makes a lot of difference. Some of it is engraved in the parts, but it's not like it can be painted to look good. The idea of using a white or light grey coloured "dry" pencil occurred to me, and my better half actually had a set of such pens tucked away, so I took the risk and tried. I'm very happy with the result, even if not much is seen in the photos. It's quite faint and not super precise, but it gives the needed impression. The door pieces then received the decals for the window and mirror controls. I added a tiny piece of 0,5 mm Evergreen rod for the mirror control and painted it dark grey as it's the only piece really protruding from the surface. It's hardly visible... The red tinted clear was taking it's time to dry. The 96 hours wasn't enough, neither was a full week, even if it's gets harder and harder. I could still make a faint mark of a finger print, which to my surprise disappeared a few hours later. I had enough and needed to continue my test. Sanding dry with 1200 grit was difficult, it was easy to soften and damage the surface, but wet sanding with great care was a success. So any dust specs should be able to be fixed. I mixed a little of my usual 2K clear and thinned it down, then gave the test piece three light coats, just to get the surface back. No crazy reactions and all seem fine. I made the decision to go ahead with the paint process and give the final red tinted clear a good time on a warm shelf until it's fully cured, sometime into the new year, before continuing. So first the base coat was sprayed. And a little later the tinted clear went on. I find it difficult to photograph under my work bench light. It's a little better in sunlight from the window. So at last the red pieces are now resting on a warm and cosy top shelf in the living room, and I expect they will be sitting there for at least two weeks.

All different parts are coming together well. Will be interesting to see the development of the bodyshell.

That's a very nice colour combination for this car, it will look great!

It's taking shape, the tank look good placed on the truck! As for regulations on exhaust and such I think you need to look at Dutch and/or EG (EU) regulations for a tank truck of this vintage if it's in the Van Dordt fleet.

It's looking serious now!

Now we're talking clamping! Good stuff! This may be a lot of work, but it makes a large improvement. I'm sure it will be worth it all in the end. Good work to bite into it!

Thanks a lot for this input. I was a bit concerned by the "inspired but not identical" when I read it, in conjunction with the slot car focus. Still, this should form a useful base for further work. Actually there are deidicated "accurate" resin kits that are much more off than this... Will be interesting to see what decals you get, and what you build of it all eventually.

It seems I provided quite a bit of work by not keeping quiet... Sorry... But I think it will be worth it in the end. I think I have a descent stock of sheet styrene to fill in with if need be...

An excellent day at work!

I'd second that, I usually do exactly the same.

That's good, we need more revs! Aahh, those accountants at it again...

Some more detail painting done and a little interior assembly started. The seats are not finished and only dry fitted here to have the glued seat belt locks drying in the right place. The first decals were applied. I had an internal debate whether to apply the centre screen decal or not as the screen is empty and black when the car is resting switched off, but then so is also the left instrument, which would look stupid on the model (as it does for real). Ignition on then. The mirror is glued to the screen with a little Kristal Kleer and drying. The dash board is completed and finished I think.

Thanks a lot Keith! I've heard stories from painters who had to learn to repair these red paints when Mazda begun to release them, but now I have seen some very good local work. I just hope I don't have to rely on it myself... Yes, I just wasn't expecting it in a paint set like this, but you live and learn.

That's very nice, especially in only two hours OOB!

I had a feeling the test paint would not be completely dry overnight and sure enough it was easy to put a finger print in the surface when trying on an edge. Fine, the instructions in the paint set seems to indicate OK to use after 40 min (of a small stone chip repair) but polish only after 96 hours. So I will leave my test piece at least four days before continuing. All my test fitting indicates the modern Tamiya precision further on, so I have fully assembled the chassis now. As I'm not interested in rotating wheels I have drilled out the poly caps inside the hubs a little to give the wheels a loose fit so they will be easy to glue in place with epoxy in the end. The wheels are also finished.

Sounds like a solution. Just make sure you have enough material around the edge to sand the radious in the end.

Ha, I might have occupied your coming week then I wonder if I might have tried cutting the gable walls from 2-3 mm thick styrene (to allow for the radius) but slightly longer than the original, bent them to the desired curvature, glued them in place and then added filler in the resulting gap, then sanded the radius all round. There are several ways.

Thanks, It's stunning in real life, but it will never be that visible on such small areas as on the model. Yes, that is indeed the case with my red metallic base, water based acrylic, but it was a surprice it was not the same as the transparent red clear. I was fully expecting both paints to be the same basic formula, but not in this case.

Yes, the front and back walls. Those walls are very seldom flat, if ever, they are curved in at least one direction (like it looks in your museum photo) and often bulged or domed all round. (No, I'm not 100% sure about the correct english terms). This makes them a lot stronger, just like a round, or oval, tank mantle is a lot stronger than a square one with flat walls. Basic theory; the more dome the stronger the gable, and lesser need for a radius in the mantle joint as it's incorporated in the gable. Or how I shall express it. The radius I'm talking about is along the edge of the front and back walls where they join the mantle. You have a quite sharp edge there now, which makes this edge a very weak spot, needing more reinforcement added. That's why there is a notable radius in your musem photo. I guess it might bee a 2 or 3 mm radious in 1/24 scale in that photo? The strongest tank in theory would be a circular mantle with half circular spheres as gables, but then it's not the most storage effective in occupied space, like on the back of your truck, so compromises are then sought to make it more storage effective, but still acceptable in strength vs. material thickness (wheight). Possible internal structures adds further possibilities and are often a must in mobile tanks to stop the liquid moving around during braking, acceleration and cornering. Your tank may very well be divided into three or more fully separated tanks inside in real life, but now I'm moving further away from the tanks I have designed more often. If you're still not sure what I mean I can knock up a 3D-model to point it out on. Yes, I get carried away

Looking forward to see more!

Yes indeed, it's the remains of another poor GT40 shell that donated the sills/tank covers, latches and other details for other GT40 projetcs...

This is progressing very nicely! The added detail is making a lot of difference, Now I hope you don't mind (actually I know you don't mind) but one thing you could still add, based on the photos so far seen, is more radious between the tank mantle and gables, and some dome or curve to the gables. One of the things I work with is design, construction and drawing of various tanks for storing and/or transporting hazardous liquids, so I can't help noting. Perhaps cutting gables from 3-4 mm thick material would enable some curvature and radious to be added? A bit like the photo you have from the museum. It's a crucial element in tank gable design. If it's too late or too problematic work I might be the only one to notice, and it's still very nice modelling.

I'm into a very busy working period again, but I have been painting, and masking, little by little. Progress has been slow, but at least some progress. I have mentioned numerous times that masking is not my favourite modelling pastime, but I'm happy to say I'm finding it a bit more enjoyable in recent years. This model is testing me though, with some parts needing masking being very small and tight while others need some four or five colours sprayed. Here we are today with the main parts for the underside ready for a little bit of black wash. The interior parts have received a little black wash here. Still some parts need a little more work. Today I have also been digging into that red paint at last. It's proving to be an interesting excursion so far. I decided to crack two of the three paint sets I got. This being original touch up paint for small stone chip damage means it's way too thick for air brushing. I pried the transparent red clear open first and poured them both into a traditional 30 ml glass jar. To get the most out of the original containers I poured a little of the automotive thinner I expected to work in and sure enough it mixed perfectly. 30 ml transparent red clear ready to spray. I expected the same with the metallic base and poured them both in another glass jar. I poured a little thinner in the first container to wash it all out, and the remains instantly turned into a thick messy useless glop... I wasn't expecting that. Apparently the two paints are very different formulas. Surprise. I then took a little of the paint and tried the Ultimate Modelling Products acrylic thinner for acrylic model paints. It mixed very nicely. Maybe it would work? Test spraying with the air brush worked very well. Sigh of relief. I decided to go for it and thinned all the paint into another 30 ml ready to spray. Spray testing then. Here goes: The base is a light grey primer and the metallic red base is in the pot. The base is sprayed. It had to be sprayed in several light coats, but at least on this small area it wasn't difficult to get a uniform colour. The transparent red clear is in the pot to be sprayed next. Here we are after the red clear coat. The red clear is very tacky and takes a little while to dry and it proved to be a formidable dust magnet. Not that I was very careful in this test, but anyway. As I understand the painting of the full size car it is finished with a coat of traditional non tinted clear. Hopefully that means I can lightly sand any small problem and finish it all off with some very thin 2K clear. This test piece will be left over night and then I will sand some small spots and spray clear to see what happens. The effect of the paint needs larger surface areas, as on a real car, to fully come to life, but it I think it will be ok. On the real car in the garage it looks close enough for my need. We'll see what a final coat of clear tomorrow will bring.