RichO

Hey Manfred, All my modeling projects, no mater what they are, rockets or big trucks, are painted with old fashioned rattle cans and brush work. I have an airbrush set up, but I just don't use it any more. It's very simple to shake a can and spray. No set up, and no clean up. And the cost is much easier to deal with. 3-4 dollars for a rattle can at 12 oz. and 8-10 dollars for a 1 oz. airbrush bottle. I'm a poor artist what pinches every penny to do my modeling. Thanks All

Thanks guys for watching! Hey All, My modeling hours have been reduced to about two hours a week now. I did manage to get some more work done on this project and came to a decision about the hand rails. These are the finished platform frames. I got all the repair work done and the decks are solid. These are the finished platform decks. Fresh painted Service tower platforms. These are the Rocket Gates, closed. These are to be opened or closed for service access to the rocket. This is what these look like open. This shows that the Rocket gates wraps around the front of the rocket. Here you can see the Rocket gates full open on the right of the photo, and the gates half closed on the left side. I have ten sets of these to build. Also you can see that the Service Tower has no hand rails on the separate floors. The Rocket gates have rails on the outside, but the inside decks have just upright standards with chain rails to hang on to. I could not find a suitable material to replicate a chain rail at 1/110 scale, so I have decided to make a solid rail after all. Next posting should be ten sets of Rocket Gates. Until next time..........

I see handrails and stairs. Good times ahead.

Hey All, It's been awhile since my last posting. So a small posting at this time. I'm starting to work on this again, and if I stay with it for a bit this time I can maybe get to a finishing point (maybe). I last left off with working on the Service Tower. That's were I'm starting this time. I decided to start with the decks inside the service tower. I had a bit of repair work to do to get started after such a long time away. Eleven fresh painted service tower decks. In this photo you can see that I have started with building the service tower deck flooring. The thin white strips around the deck frames are to help secure the hand rails. I'm going to finish cutting the floors and paint grey, then start with the hand rails. I have an interesting situation with the hand rails next posting. Thanks for checking in on this long running project.

Hey All, R.F.I. is ready to view. " Maz Man featuring Crane Jane" Thanks.

Hey All, This has been a great build. I just wish I had a bit more continuity with the timing of this, what with a home move and months in storage and all. I think it turned out ok. I'd like to thank everyone for following along and all the great comments along the way. A note: I show some photos of what I am going to do with this build when placed in it's setting. However I decided to show were everything will be placed without finishing these details. I didn't want to make everyone wait a month or more while I paint and construct a DIO base. This way I can get to it at my leisure without feeling so rushed. Thanks Everyone. The idea is a flat tire change. This is a well used machine with many hours of abuse. It will go on the shelf with the other finished projects and live happily ever after. Home Sweet Home Thanks All! Until next Time.

Hey All, So here it is. The final post for this build. I was actually avoiding this part of the build for a while. I just got stressed with having to thread the cables for the pullies. This threading took some time and still only looks just OK. However, I really don't want to do it over. This is what it looked like when I started getting things messy. I might do some more weathering later, but this is it for now. This front shot sort of looks likes a bug.... I could spend another month adding more bits and baubles to this build, but I'd rather move on at this point. I'll spend some time getting things tighter for RFI, and perhaps show how I wanted to add a flat tire and fix it crew. Maybe no, maybe yes. Next stop is R.F.I. with a bunch of photos. Thanks everyone for tagging along......... P.S. I'm going to finish this project with the RFI section, then it's time to move on. I'll be getting back to my Diorama project (Launch 14, Coopers Rocket) and posting there once a month or so, and I'll also be taking some time off of posting scratch work for a while, to get caught up on a pile of box kits that I really want to get to. I have my next scratch project already picked out and have moved forward with ordered blueprints, and build plans for a civil engineering road grader and a lowboy haul trailer. I already have the tractor truck kit to make a three part build. I'll let everyone know when I'm ready to start that project. Follow me in the Diorama section. Thanks Everyone for watching!

Hey All, Work continues on the crane boom. I have built the extension for the crane and started with the main hook end. Starting the hoses and wiring for the crane. This is the business end of the crane. Here I have started with the wheels for both the crane and the hook. More wires and hoses... parts for the hook end... This is were I am on the build as of tonight. I still have a ton of hoses and wiring to add to the build. Stay tuned for the last parts of the build up next. Thanks All...

Hey All, It is getting close to the end of the build. I have no more major parts of the build left to do. And as you will see, I have quite a bit of do-dads to add. I have built and added the first set of winch wheels. Not hard to do but fiddly. This is the start of the winch end of the crane, called the "upper sheave" I have a ton of winch wheels, hoses, cables, etc, to add here............ Seven wheels at the top end......... That's the last of the big stuff. I still have a solid build month or more to add all the little things, hoses, pipes, lines, cables..........all on the outside of the crane and housing. The next thing to build is the hook, called the "lower sheave", five wheels here, and I'm having bad dreams of trying to cable all these wheels together. I'm really looking forward to adding all the details to the next part of the build tho, and have so many items to add. Until next time........... P.S. So here is my dilemma, I wanted to build this next......... 3 stories of giant earth moving machine. Fun stuff. If I build at 1/25 scale, witch is what I like to build at. the tires are a full 15cm DIA. The bed of the bucket would be 30cm wide and 60cm long. Just the bed by its self. I really want to build this but were the heck am I going to put it. I'll have to clear out a corner of the model room just to park this thing. I could also push the grand kids around the yard in it. It'll be as big as a garden wagon. I have been considering other projects. Everyone let me know if you what you think about a VERY LARGE project. Thanx All.

Hey All, Spring has sprung here where I live. The last two weeks have been getting the yard ready for spring and working in the new art studio. I have managed to get a little work done on the crane but not much for this report. The photo above, in last post, is the start of the crane boom. I cut the weight holes and assembled the main boom, but not detailed just yet. This is mounted to the crane anchor, and rests on a big support pin This is the main boom with the middle extension inserted. That's it for now. When I get back to work on this, I will be working on the business end of the crane. Just one more extension, and then all the lifting equipment up front. I can see the light at the end.........I'll have a question about what to build next. Stay Tuned. Thanx.

Hey Guys, A work week with a little less hours to work on this, but everything is getting finished anyway. Sorta hard to see, but the first draft of the cab. cutting out the windows. This is the anchor for the main crane boom. This is the pivot point and anchor for the boom to rotate around. The piston attachment is for the lift arm that is located inside, up the middle of the main boom. This is for extending the boom at its mid point extension. Start of the cab......... There are a ton of pumps and hoses and wires and connections for this part of the build. All the external items, that never seem to end, need to be attached at the back of the crane. The operators chair is barrowed from one of my 1/25 big rig kits. perfect size.....the Miniart nightmare in the background......... The start of the main crane boom...... This is were the project is as of now. I'll return with more stuff to add to this build part of the build. A light report but more to come...............

Hey, The crane build has started. I have an inner support structure to build that supports the main crane boom structure. This is the central support for the entire crane. adding detail to the boom supports....the long ends are extended for the counter weight at the back of the crane. The components for the start of the crane build. These are basic geometric shapes that in the real world are, full of things and stuff. I really don't know what any of this stuff dose, but the geometry is easy to pick out of the photo references. First components on the rotator base. I plugged the base into a weighted punch base to support the build. the crane bed is now dirty and greasy...... fresh from the paint dept. the black spot is the floor mats for the cab floor. I have a basic start for the weathering. Of course I have more components to add to this, so this might be the last time to view this part of the build open. I have been studying the cab construction and that's up next. Until next time.....

You guys are great, thanks for following along. This weeks report finishes off the crane bed, and sets the stage for the crane build, proper. Here you can see that I have built the fenders and installed the hydraulic lines for the lifting of the legs for transport. I had several small items to address and some items left off for later build. I'll wait to build the small ladders and lights 'till later The clearance for the tires is good, and everything seems to fit well. Off to the paint dept. Rusty old paint for the crane bed. This will get even dirtier as I go along.......... JeroneS asked months ago about the new location for the spare tire, after I had to remove it from my first location. This is it, the crane bed has a big open space at the head of the bed. I have several photos showing the tire located here. The crane bed is finished. The start of the crane build is next and has already begun with building of the crane rotator base. I'll be back with the rest of building the crane. Thanks for tagging along.

Hey, So thing are getting done. Slowly. I got to spend some time this week working on these rotator plates. I'm finding that it's harder to find Master Club bolts here, so I'm using Meng bolts for this part. Working on the under side to get things finished here. I don't have a lot of references for this area, so I'm going to leave it a bit simple for now. My manufacturing bench. This is were I get messy constructing the sub assemblies. I keep the build bench away from the manufacturing area. This area is clean and I only put the finished build as I go, here Front legs folded for transport....... Rear legs folded for transport. The feet are removed and stowed for transport. All legs down and standing alone. I now have wheel fenders to build, finish the rotator pads, and add a bunch of small details to the crane bed. Then off to the paint shop. Show you next time...........

Thanks you guys, with the sympathy about not being able to seeing. The Miniart project takes a bit of time, but I still work on this main build most. Not a lot of modeling either way this week anyway. However I did work on the rear support legs. The patterns for the two legs.... This part of the build was an absolute test of my endurance at this point. Every time I got crazy with the repetition, I went and got side tracked with the other build. It's taken a bit to get to this point. Twenty, of the guide hoops for the hinges. Here you can see at the top that I have built the feet for the legs. Also at left, the rotator plates for the crane bed and its mate for the crane cab. I test fit as I go, and some how it seems to work. The front an back leg braces, so far.......... Here is the state of things today. This test fit is a bit spidery looking, but you can see how thing are planed to fit. I still need to add the wheel fenders, but the bones of the bed are built. You can see the hinge tubes on the front legs to the left. The hinge rod fits into the tubes so everything can rotate. Still, a ton of work to do before I can stand the bed on its feet. That's the report for this week. I'll slave on, woe is me....

Interesting Side note, I'm like a lot of model builders. I have a couple of projects going at the same time. This helps me cut down on boredom working on the same project. While I have been building this crane project I have built a couple of OOB projects. Today I started my very first MINIART project. What the heck were these guys thinking. I had no idea that plastic could be molded in such small shapes. I mean really. These parts are so small that I can't even see 'em. I'm considering giving up on the 1/35 scale altogether, and just staying with 1/25 or larger. Although, I have an expensive stash of 1/35 kits, that I have purchased every known third party kit to go with these giant projects. I'll just have to wear two magnifying headsets at a time to get through these kits. Anyway, what it comes down to is, technology is great for plastic kits, not so much for failing vision. Thanx.

Thanks everyone for following along, This report is more of building the crane bed and stable legs. These stabilizer anchor bases, attach to each end of the crane bed, and the legs insert into these. The stabilizer legs are drafted out onto the styrene flat sheet. Here I have also constructed the support legs for the crane bed. The basic construction of the front stable legs, and interaction with anchor base........ This set of support legs attaches to the underside of the anchor base and supports the front the crane base. This attaches to the main frame rail to hold everything up at the front end of the crane base. When I get this all together the support legs and the anchor base will be one piece and the stabilizer legs will swing out of the way. Here you can see how these parts interact. A large central pin runs through these two parts and creates the hinge for the legs to swing away. The anchor base for the legs has a sharp angle so the legs can be folded out of the way for transport. I had to match the angles on the legs so that legs would engage the anchored base without binding and causing problems. You can see the large hole for the central pin that holds this whole assembly together. Legs folded. The legs appear to be out of the way for now. I'll know better when I get to mounting all of this to the main frame. The construction continues. I have four stabilizer legs to build and then get all this painted and mounted. Until next time.........

Hey Guys, Todays report is short but busy for this weeks build. I worked on the crane bed and started with the front stable legs. This part of the build has some,... geometry involved. The cuts for the front stabilizer legs. Assembly... The crane bed, is a thick heavy piece of work. This has to support the entire crane assembly. This is about the best detail I can find for under the crane bed. A series of bed supports, ( 3 ), under, that hold the crane bed up above the main frame rails. There is a distinct gap between the crane bed and the frame rails. This is multiples of 2mm styrene. This all lives about here. You can see were the front stabilizer unit is attached to the crane bed. Before I get to far into the crane build, I have to stabilize this whole thing. I'll start the crane part of the build from the ground up. That means starting with the stabilizer legs and feet. I now have to build the back stabilizer unit and attach it to the crane bed. I'm looking forward to the legs and feet build. Some wacky geometry involved. Until next time my fellow builders.

Everyone is welcome here, JBourne124, Welcome to the site. Hey All, The build continues with the central platform extension and the official beginning of the Jane part of the project. The central platform extension sits just behind the middle platform, and in front of the main crane bed. This platform supports all sorts of goodies, that I have no clue what they do. I'm guessing a power generator for the crane, along with pumping stations, and general stuff, and junk. My references for these platforms are somewhat limited and generalized, with photos that don't really crawl or see under the crane body. However I do have enough to get a good guess at what things look like. the central platform under construction...... Placed just behind the middle platform......... A rough, of some of the components............ In the shot below, you can see how the central platform is in front of the main crane bed. The main crane bed has a big bend up at the front that is bent to clear the big gear box that rises above the frame, seen in the photo above. Fuel Tanks........ items for the central platform........ Test fit to place.......... This is were the build is this weekend............. That's the report for this week. I'll be back with the main crane bed construction. Thanks All.

Hey All, I hope everyone had a great holiday season this year, and like me, I hope everyone had some time to work on plastic. I had a change of plans while on holiday. In the photo below, I had planed to locate the spare tire at this location. However as I was looking at my references for this, I made a mistake with the vehicle itself. It seems that the spare tire location at this spot is for a tractor/fifth wheel. Not for the crane truck. So I had to build the central structure that houses the radiator fan other items already built. Grab handles and tiedowns.......... This is all the odds and ends that I needed to get caught up on. I have now finished with the vehicle build 100% Crane Jane is up next! Thanks to everyone who has followed this build (for some time now), hang in there, The crane build should go a bit faster. Happy New year!!!!!!!!!!!

Interesting you should say that Pete! My RFI for this build is a tire change operation Dio. You'll see when I reach the end of this build. Thanks.

Hey Everyone, I have finished with building the mid platform skin. This was a bit easier to build than I anticipated, so things went quick and well. Always test fitting..... The openings are; air in for the engine, and for the water cooler/radiator. This is both sides now...... The same paint shop applied this as before, so I will down play the rust a bit, later. I'm leaving the center of the platform open for a spare tire and a small lifting crane. Spare tire.......... Now this is the biggest milestone so far for this build. I have finished with the military references, with no more major build with those. I still have a ton of work to do with the carrier vehicle build, but all else is just trim. And I say "just" like it's easy. I have a couple weeks of just securing everything and adding all the small details. I also have a couple of OOB builds that I need to finish, so I probably won't post again for a while. When everything settles down after the holidays, I'll get back with starting the crane part of the build. I hope everyone has a great holiday time, and can get some modeling done in between snacks and gifts. Thanks for following along, and get ready, Jane is up next, for this build.

Hey All, Just a quick posting today to say that I have installed the cabs permanently, and I have moved on to skinning the mid platform. The Cabs......... With tires.......... This a bit of a milestone for the build. I now get to move on to the mid section. Stay Tuned.........

HEY, The latest work has been to figure out how to mount the cabs to the frame. In the real world, I'm guessing that these are welded and bolted, in such a manner that all is held strong no matter what. The cabs that I built are not heavy at all, but I don't think that I can get away with just gluing these to the frame without them falling off. I needed to support these from the under side. I have looked at a ton of photos, and there is just no large under carriage supports on the real machine. A simple solution was arrived tho, and put in place. You can see here that the cab just sort of hangs here with no support. This is the space that needs the support for the cab. I just built these simple beam supports to be glued to the underside of the frame rails. A bit of adjusting to get things even and at the proper height, but I think this will work. Both side with the supports It's gettin' there. A bit of adjusting to get it all just right. With the mid section platform I have started slowly with the skinning process. I use cereal box card to get the pattern correct before I cut the styrene. So this is were I'm at today with this build. Securing the cabs is now just getting the placement correct, and then on to the mid section. I'll be back with the cabs secured and the skinning process underway. Thanks...........

Hey All, Work continues on this big build. This is the finish of the mid platform. This lives here, and now has to be skinned. The skin is a shell that wraps this for weather proofing. There will be a lot of outside detail to add to the skin here. Also I finally got around to painting the cabs. All ready for the paint dept. My thinking is that the Russian military sold off the outdated equipment. When this was sold to a privet customer, it was still painted in the military green. Then the civilian byer had it painted its current cream color. You can tell that the cabs are just sitting on the frame. The rusting still needs to be cut down a bit, and smoothed out. I still have to make the cab mounts for the frame. All this will be finished before I move to skinning the mid platform. The cab mounts involve adding items that are not on the original vehicle. I'll explain the mount process next post. The weather has changed here quite a bit this year. The rainy season showed up about a month late and now I need to learn to swim. 3 inched yesterday. I guess I'll stay inside until April or so. Until next time..........