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A Scratchbuilt Frog Prince


RichO

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Hey All,

 

  I've had a fun time of it lately.  I got side tracked, again, because I found one more dang thing to install before the cage can go on.  It just never ends.

 

  The state of the cage today is this.  I have finished the installing of the outer skin and after primer and sanding, finished the paint for this small part of the body work.  I left the finish somewhat rough and abused, and a banged up body, only to get worse later on.  I still have small details to add.  A frame around the fan screens, fill the hatch panels, and fill caps, and.........

 

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Then I discovered that there is still more items to install  before the cage is dropped.  The photo shows what's in the way next, before I can do the final install of the cage.  I hope.

 

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  You can see above how the finished cage sit on top of the forward and mid Mud Fenders.  The cage clearly covers more than half of the fenders width.  These will have to built and installed before the cage can be dropped into place.

 

     I should also install the "Launch Supports" while I can easily get to the space.  The Launch Supports are the large round pad in the center of the photo.  These lower for ground support and brace the frame during missile launch.

 

   I still have a ways to go before I can lower the cage into place and I have been at work on this part of the build for a bit, so I wanted to take a break and finish with the tires and wheels.  Sharp eyed people will notice in the background that I have been working on the wheels for some time now, just a little at a time.  I finally got to the point where, if I gave it a push, I could finish the wheels and tires.  So to get away from the cage for a while....

 

All kinds of wheel parts.......

 

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  I cut the rings by hand and mount each on top of the other to build up the sides of the wheels.

 

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  After adding all the little bits, the wheels finally look like wheels.

 

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  Then, with all the usual procedures for finished parts, and mounted to dirty tires...(witch means I didn't take as many photos as I should have).  

 

 BIG DAY!  I finally have my boy standing on his own eight feet.

 

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  So now that the fun and games is over with the tires and wheels, it's back to the cage install with the building of the Mud Fenders.

 

 I'll be back later all, thanks.....

 

 

 

 

  

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Rich, a momentous occasion. Congratulations. And, having seen everything so far, Can I please cancel my application to be a Soviet Engine Mechanic.

It would be a nightmare to work on. And you just know that would not be when the sun is out! :laugh: It is a thing of beauty.

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5 hours ago, RichO said:

After adding all the little bits, the wheels finally look like wheels.

Of course they do :nodding:

 

5 hours ago, RichO said:

BIG DAY!  I finally have my boy standing on his own eight feet.

Come on then, fire her up and let's take a spin around the block :clif:

 

Kev

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Thanks for all the nice comments guys.......

 

  Hey All,

 

  Building the mud fenders was easy enough, just very slow work.  However I do have six new mud fenders.  Also some work done on the outriggers for the launch system.

 

  The fenders were just simple geometry and bent to a round....

 

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To replicate the fiberglass body panels of the original, I have decided to use a heavy card stock.  My thinking is the original frame and components are metal, so I made these from styrene.  The body of the vehicle is lightweight fiberglass, so I chose lightweight card stock.

 

  Once I got the parts cut I just bent them and glued into place.......

 

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I have a certain amount of clean up to do, but the fenders are done.  I'll send these to the Paint Dept. and in the meantime I'll work more on the outriggers.

 

Parts......

 

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I still have a bit of building for the outriggers so the photo might not make any sense.  These parts bolt to the frame

 

  So sort of a wacky report today.  Just to let all know the work continues.

 

Thanks all.......

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Hey Guys,

 

  The build continues at a steady pace and things are getting done.  I have finished painting and installing the Mud Fenders, and also finished with the Launch Supports.

 

  The Launch Supports are installed, but only half of the full support.

 

Fresh back from the paint dept.

 

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  I only installed this part for now.  The full support is a bit fiddly and I don't want to break anything off, so I will leave it at this point until quite some time later.

 

  I have placed the parts close, but will wait to finish the lower leg and Support Pad.  These will get in the way and stick out to far, just so they get knocked off.

 

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Bolted into place.........

 

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After all that, it was time to place the fenders.

 

Fresh fenders from the paint dept.......

 

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I caught myself just about to do something really dumb.  I had a wet paintbrush loaded with paint and was going to rust out the new fender paint job when I realized the fender are made from fiberglass, no rust.

 

I have installed all but the front fenders.

 

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I checked for more items to get in the way of installing the cage. I think I found something else, so for now the front fenders are just placed.

 

I'm not quite happy with the shape of the fenders, so I will add a strong bead around the outside edge of the fenders to help hold the shape better.

 

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It's in the gap between the center fenders that the next part of the build will be placed.  The Raised Platform Grates.

 

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I'm finishing up the outside details of the cage and will install this weekend.  I'll check up on the details about the front fenders, and then get all this really dirty, but not rusted.  I will have started with the Platforms by the next posting.

 

Thanks All for following along.........

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Hey Guys,

 

  It's been a busy week.  I have the cage dropped into place with the final connections to the engine, fitted and installed, with some extras.  I checked what's coming next with the build and I did find a bit not right with the front fenders, but this is not an emergency at the moment.  I'll reposition these when the cab frame is placed.  Also the elevated platform is finished and installed.

 

I built the Air Filters with a portion of a wood dowel cut to size and shaped, with styrene details.  The Air Filter compartment has a dust liner to help the filter.

 

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  Getting the cage into place was a pain, but I managed to get it to seat.  Once the cage dropped into place I made the final connections to the engines.  This was adding Air Ducts and Water Pipes.

 

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  I knew when I started this WIP it was not going to be a new example of this beast that I was building, but a well used vehicle.  I need to keep this in mind when things don't go just right and maybe it will add to the used look of the machine.

 

  The port side Mud Fenders don't match the curve of the cage.  I have an idea of removing the fender to reposition it, or work with what I have and live with it.  I'll let you know.

 

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  Next came the Elevated Walking Grates.  These platforms welded together are very simple to make, so I only took one photo under construction.  These are all the same build technique.  1.5mm Angle styrene frames with 1 x 0.5mm stringers.

 

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I had so many to cut and string into place that I was going nuts.  This is what took all week.

 

 

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It lives here.

 

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  Like several places now, I need to add more grime, and also get some walking ware on the stringers.  

 

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  I have all my major sub assemblies now in place.  I'll tweek things as I build, but I can set this aside for a bit while I start the Cab build.

 

  The amount of parts to cut and prep, just to get the Cab Frame into shape, will take most of the week.  I'll be back with some strange shapes and the start of the Cab build.

 

Thanks All for watching!

 

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Rich, stunningly lovely and intricate work as always. There are always so many details to see and now, so much depth of detail in there.

As for the fender gap. Call it Soviet tolerance differences. Is it worth disturbing everything? 

It's good to see that this build, at least, is going so well. I look forward to the next update.

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Thank you guys for the great comments!

 

  Hey Altogether,

 

 A small posting this week.  I knew that this week would be a slow build. The skeleton of the cab had to support the skin, so there were so many parts to get things right.

 

Some of the parts.......and nuts.

 

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This part is the floor of the cab.

 

Once I got most of the parts cut and cleaned, it was time to assemble.

 

You can see the back of the cab with the dash board skeleton and part of the door frame.  I should have taken more photos, but every once in a while I get into a zen mode and just work.

 

 

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The cab to date...I still have a ways to go to get everything ready for the skin.

 

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I'll finish what's remaining to build for the skeleton and prep everything for the skin.  I'm thinking ahead a bit and need to come up with a scheme to build the interior of the cab while I can still get to it.

 

 

More later, next posting.......Thanks All.

 

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You guys are great with the bashing of fenders and all.  I'm just going to leave it as is.......

 

Hey,

 

  This week was a bit slower for working on this project.  I had a wild impulse about building a kit OOB just to do something a bit different.   But I did manage to get the cab interior built, and start on the cab details.

 

  One of the things I had to do was to perform a bit of surgery.  I had secured the cab skeleton, ready for interior/exterior, last posting, but upon trying to get the cab interior into place, I had a really bad binding problem and could not gain access to the cab.  I had to, with scalpel in hand, remove the back bit of the cab skeleton to get the cab interior to seat into the cab skeleton properly.  Once I got it to seat, it was a breeze.

 

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Once I removed the back and things opened up, I could start fitting the cab interior.  The cab interior was built from 0.04mm sheet, and is a bit on the flimsy side.  Just strips together, with a door cut for the sides.  The window frame in this shot is from the skeleton, just getting the fittings to match.

 

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I couldn't find the photo before painting, but I colored the interior a Russian military green.  Now I get to wear it all off.

 

 

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It slips into the skeleton like this.........

 

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I think I have thing just right. I'll secure the interior to the skeleton and start with the interior details.........

 

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I have so many items to cram in here that I'll be busy for a while just building the boxes for the dash board.

 

I'll be back with all sorts of items, that I have no idea what they are.

 

Thanks All.........

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That’s great work. I love how you cut slots and tabs and so forth so that the whole assembly holds together by ‘friction fit’. Don’t see that standard of joinery very often! 👍

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Hey Steve,  The Slot and Tab fitting is designed into the original vector line patterns that I am using by whomever rendered the original drawings. I don't need to use these, they just make a much stronger joint.

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Hey All,

 

  This has been a fun and creative week of just making stuff up as I worked.  I had references for most of the cabin control boxes but I sort of just made what looked good, but still resemble the real deal.

 

  I started the cabin build with the floor.  I use the standard Evergreen Siding sheet to form the floor mats.

 

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Once I had these shaped, I started with the control boxes.  I had to build so many, that I just set each apart like little individual mini kits...

 

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The control boxes are just that, boxes.  lots of small styrene boxes.

 

 

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I cut separate faces for some boxes and added items to others.  I was making things up as I was building.  I also had to build and install the other components of the cab.  The seats, floor peddles, steering wheel.........

 

This is the first control box I secured into place.

 

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Then I became busy and built these items, over the next days, and did not take any photos, so you get extra ones now.

 

All these control boxes and other items are to fit onto this window frame.  Are you kidding me!!!!

 

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Well, who knows what will happen next.  All these things actually fit into the cab!

 

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Along with the other items.........

 

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Something to sit on..........

 

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Just more stuff.........

 

 

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All the items are now secured to the cab interior and everything is ready to slip into the cab skeleton.  Once I get this installed securely it will be time to start skinning the cab.

 

More fun and games next posting. Thanks everyone for watching!!!!

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As always, great update, Rich. That is one crowded cab with lots of lovely detail. It looks like Russian duct tape isn't that sticky then.

It also looks like this thing has a manual transmission? I wonder how accurate the linkage is, it could be a nightmare to drive.

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