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Building a HAS


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Been starting on the other bits in the tug kit tonight.  New extra long tow bar and the platform for the weapons trailer.  I always realised it was wide, but compared to that ESCI trailer behind the green tractor it is huge.  The yellow tug has the shorter ESCI tow bar hitched

 

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When it is built I might have to recreate this picture that @Zone19 posted years ago

 

a7e9b2f9-992b-4de5-b26e-9173bc9e17a5_zps

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Last bits on the Harlan tug done.  Rear lights on & fire extinguisher fitted

 

8sf76DI.jpg

 

CLpbtxy.jpg
 

EEKEZLq.jpg
 

Now on to the weapons trolley & the new longer tow bar

 

v9xNFVO.jpg
 

Told you it was wide!  The centre sections lift out to leave room for missile fins.  There is a raised section to hold the missiles that still has to go on but it’s looking ok

 

uHuRW17.jpg
 

Still can’t believe there is another tug in the box

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On 11/11/2020 at 9:07 PM, bar side said:

Three F-16s in a box.

I looked at those and was tempted. But I decided to leave them for you.

 

On 9/9/2020 at 10:23 PM, bar side said:

And that van would be nice in 1/48

I  Scratchbuilt one of these in 1/25th. We used them on the flightline in Riyadh. So on a quiet day I measured one up and stocked up on plastic card.

The side doors slide into 'pockets' on the sides. Two seats on a square pole. Four wheels. All you need to do is find measurements on line somewhere.

And lots of pictures, obviously. 

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8 minutes ago, Pete in Lincs said:

I looked at those and was tempted. But I decided to leave them for you.

 

I  Scratchbuilt one of these in 1/25th. We used them on the flightline in Riyadh. So on a quiet day I measured one up and stocked up on plastic card.

The side doors slide into 'pockets' on the sides. Two seats on a square pole. Four wheels. All you need to do is find measurements on line somewhere.

And lots of pictures, obviously. 

Thank you for that!  I quite like a box of bits that you don’t really know what they will become.  Speaking of which I got a random box of RF-4 resin bits this week

 

EjtiaJo.jpg
 

And you would think that in the 1/43 - 1/50 range someone would make a cheap diecast step van, wouldn’t you?  I don’t mind building up a fairly boxy body, but could do with some wheels.  Or take one off another model & resin cast it I suppose.  Because I need another scratch build project at the moment...

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41 minutes ago, bar side said:

someone would make a cheap diecast step van,

I do remember seeing one by ERTL I think. The Joker van was part of a Batman series. 

Found them on the bay for about a fiver. (There are smaller (matchbox size) versions too) 1/43rd scale, So that may be too big.

https://i.ebayimg.com/thumbs/images/g/c6QAAOSwiw5fI9Dm/s-l225.webp

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Well, Lookee here, Boy! Presumably these are inches. Looks like a mid eighties version to me.

 

cbca59b7abc7ce0009db9ea1364f8b10.jpg

This is a 1984 version

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZxlETbDAXpM/hqdefault.jpg

 

The rounded edges to the roof look difficult to scratch. But earlier versions has a squared off edge all round.

Wheels generally used hubcaps so any old 1/48 truck wheel would probably do.

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Right the ERTL model on line is advertised as 4.3 inch long by 2 inch high.  Roughly 11cm long by 5.1cm high.  Looking at your dimensions I make it about 175 inches long by 112 inches high.  That at 1/48 works roughly to 9.25cm long by 5.9cm high.  So slightly too long & high, but comparable to the 1/43 Landy and 1/50 Bedford tanker I have.  Let see if I can get one at a good price!

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Well @Pete in Lincs just got a win on ebay.  Princely sum of £1.40 plus postage.  Think the plan will be take it apart, file off the side panel lines & try to curve the roof a bit, tidy up the rad grill & lights.  Maybe drill out one door & pose it open, coat of green paint & some edge & corner reflective strip.  May well pass for scene dressing.

 

Until then I was poking about in the garage & found the HAS tank rack had rather squashed & busted in a box where things ended up on top of it.  So some fix up work needed. Some steel rods to strengthen the warped beams & some patch up work to be done

 

t9RTt4i.jpg

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The eBay purchase step van arrived today.  Size wise it s a little big, but fits in with the other vehicles that are between 1/43 & 1/48.

 

0axEgKw.jpg

 

Similar width to the follow me pickup and the Unimog.  Bit wider than the Landy

 

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The nose & front windows are pretty bad, but from the side doors backwards it’s ok.  The horizontal panel lines on the rear body could get smoothed down or levelled off with car filler, and the roof edges could get smoothed down.  The windows are too small and the bonnet is too high.  The rad is wrong too.  All fixable I guess.  Bit of Dremel time I reckon.

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44 minutes ago, bar side said:

The horizontal panel lines on the rear body

I'm sure that some models did have those. To my eyes, the centre partition between the windscreens is the most glaring error. 

Next to the other vehicles it looks okay, though I remember them as being larger. perhaps they got downsized, like the Transit nowadays.

I think the round Joker badges have to go though! 😆 Glad you're (almost) happy with it.

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Just now, Pete in Lincs said:

I'm sure that some models did have those. To my eyes, the centre partition between the windscreens is the most glaring error. 

Next to the other vehicles it looks okay, though I remember them as being larger. perhaps they got downsized, like the Transit nowadays.

I think the round Joker badges have to go though! 😆 Glad you're (almost) happy with it.

Yes front & triangular side windows are too small.  The big windows are a feature of the vans.  Yes the joker sign has to go!  Might be easier to smooth out the sides as the badge sits on a raised disk on the side.  Happy with it at £1.40 plus postage!  Don’t mind cutting it about when it’s only a couple of quid at stake.

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Missile racks on the trolley painted.  Just needs a quick wash over & it’s done.  The desk level racks are fitted & painted and underneath the deck in this shot.  The racking is getting some straightening & strengthening

 

wZOzG2W.jpg

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This really makes my look forward to the small vehicles I get to build for my project.  These are all looking really cool.

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Seeing your various vehicles and ground equipment again is encouraging me to get on with my 1/72 diecast airfield vehicle project. Feel like I've neglected it a bit recently and been doing normal plastic kits instead. Very interested to see how your Joker van turns out. The only other diecast step van model I could think of is made by a company called Golden Wheel but think it is a bit too big.

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I think you have a better range available to you @danbuoy in 1/72 or 1/76.  Trouble is the little detail is a lots trickier.  You can get a 1/48 mechanic with a scale spanner in his hand.  You wouldn’t be able to see that in 1/72.  However I am always jealous of the range of 1/72 ‘heavies’ you can get.  I saw a C-141 vacform the other day.  Not likely to get one of those in 1/48.  Mind you I was looking at another Herc kit the other day but I don’t know where I would keep it.

quite looking forward to cutting up the Joker van. I liked the way the Cadbury Bedford tanker came apart & reassembled as an airfield tanker.  Still on the lookout for a Leyland Ergo cab 8 wheeler to turn into another tanker.

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Yes, I miss being able to go to toy fairs and car boot sales which can be great for picking up cheap diecast. I know there is always Ebay but once you factor in postage it can make things too expensive to consider repainting or altering. There is definitely more choice in 1/72 - 1/76, both for aircraft and vehicles, but like you say 1/48 does give a lot more opportunities for detailing. Diecast vehicle wheels tend to look less toy like in the larger scales too, although I have found a source of 3d printed ones to suit Matchbox type cars which I'm hoping to take advantage of. I still need a decent USAF refueller, like the Skunkmodels 1/48 one. Currently thinking of doing a cut and shut job involving 2 Corgi trucks. 

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Yes got to get me one of those Skunkwork US tankers.  I keep thinking about resin casting wheels for trolleys & other vehicles but then I build the kit & forget.  
Straightened & strengthened the HAS tank storage rack.  Now got to put it somewhere that it won’t get squashed again.

 

CkB0K9I.jpg

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  • 2 weeks later...

I posted a picture of my three F-16 kits a while back.  They are old ESCI & Monogram kits, so basically A models.  Now I was quite happy with that.  Having built the Academy C kit a while back I have to say that was a less than enjoyable experience.  The ESCI kit I did as a Dutch A was a fun build, so looking forward to these kits.  My first thought therefore perversely had to be ‘can I make a C model out of an A’!  A quick google suggests yes, probably need a resin burner can and seat, but I already have the decals hiding under here

 

2XTP1iu.jpg

 

That would be a shark mouth Spangdahlem Weasel.  I have an ERTL kit & bits to build a F-4G Weasel too, so that would be a nice pair.

 

Now the other two.  The ESCI kit I built as Dutch came with Belgian decals as the other option.  I have always found pictures of the Belgians visiting Wattisham, so doing one as a Belgian A model seems a must

 

R8wFJuB.jpg

 

I found the remaining ESCI decals but there were not two sets of core decals & stencils.  So I picked up a set on line.  Nice set two with three full sets of core decals & cockpit decals.  Got a ladder too

 

 xBCnPA1.jpg
 

And the set has Dutch, Norwegian and Denmark decals too.  So that looks like my three.  All around Europe in the 80s

Edited by bar side
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  • 3 weeks later...

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