Aoshima 1/24 London Black Cab

[Cooper645]

Hi guys,

 

Whilst the other main build is on hold, this has maade its way into the build schedule. I am on a deadline with this so updates should come quickly.

 

The kit itself is fairly basic, but thats fine. I will be omitting the engine from the build and sealing the bonnet up.

 

There is a fair amount of butchery required which the photos should detail nicely.

 

 

Box & Sprue Shots

 

 

 

 

 

Quick mock up before any modifications

 

 

Concept

 

 

 

The lowering

 

Lowering the rear of this is a very simple affair. The rear wheels are connected by a piece of brass rod, which simply locates by a hole each side. By elongating the hole upwards the axle will sit higher up the chassis allowing the rear to sit lower overall. a few minutes work with a round file.

 

 

The front requires some modifications. The pin system for the front wheel on to the hub is simply reversed to allow after market wheels to be fitted.

Then a hole through the sides of the chassis allows the lower spring arms to be raised up after splitting the piece in two.

Then its simply a case of using some of the spare sprue to create longer top mounting points to fit higher when receiving the top of the suspension unit.

 

The beauty of this means you can alter the camber angle with ease, so if you were to want negative camber simply mount the lower part further out and/or the top inwards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roof Chopping

 

Marked up where the cuts are required

 

 

 

Front roof cut

 

 

Rear Roof Cut

 

 

 

 

And the roof removed

 

 

Drop roof level

 

Simply cut off the tape end of the uprights using the tape as a guide to ensure equal drop all round.

 

Then re affix the roof, you will need to make a little brace to spread the shorter pillars as they end up not quite fitting.

 

Don't throw the cut offs - We can re-use them later

 

 

 

Now cop the rear and front sections the same way and brace whilst gluing.

I left the front side window uprights attached to the bottom and simply chopped them down to make life easier when it comes to fitting the clear parts.

 

Mr Hobby Filler applied to the joins ready for shaping later

 

 

 

 

Now for those cut offs

 

Simply chop them in  half and cut down to re-insert into roof gaps as their profile very closely matches where we now have gaps

 

 

 

 

Prep for filler

 

I used a wide piece of tape on the inside with a thinner piece allowing me to cover the gap (like a plaster) from the inside. I'm hoping the waxy out lets go of the filler when i remove it later.

 

 

 

I used tape on the outsied to allow quick clean up and reduce amount of sanding hopefully required

 

 

 

 

Bonnet Emblem

 

The eagle eyed among you may have noticed the taxi light holes on the roof filled.  This is due to them no longer being required. The Taxi light is to be the front emblem

 

 

 

 

And thats where things are at currently.

 

I hope that the filler goes well and that i can get to cleaning up the body shell ready for painting tomorrow.

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Coops

 

 

[Anteater]

That's pleasingly mad.

[Spiny]

Definitely something different - nobody can accuse you of following the herd with this one and it looks as though you've made a good start on it. My only worry would be the structural rigidity of that roof - do you have anything to support it other than the filler?

[Cooper645]

22 minutes ago, Spiny said:

Definitely something different - nobody can accuse you of following the herd with this one and it looks as though you've made a good start on it. My only worry would be the structural rigidity of that roof - do you have anything to support it other than the filler?

Not as yet, it is solid on there and doesn’t need to bare any weight but I will use some spare sprue on the inside to brace it. 
 

I am only using things out of the box it came in for the build, but thinking about it I could have got some sprue in the gaps.  If the filler comes out when I remove the tape then that’s what I shall do but I’m sure I’ll make it work. 

[Pete in Lincs]

Nice one, Coops. I've never seen a chopped cab before. I'm with Spiny here, I think you may need some plastic card inside the roof.

I like the taxi sign on the bonnet. 

[HoolioPaulio]

Ha, this is awesome.  Looking forward to seeing the finished product.  Keeping it black, or going for a crazy colour to match the crazy stance?

[Cooper645]

Ok, so to go with the suggestions i have braced the insides of the roof with a couple of bits of spare sprue (I'm only using what came in the box + Wheels for this build)

 

Black is not an option here, its definately a different colour for this build, but that won't be revealed just yet. This is being built for a little competition hosted by Kent Models.

 

The filler is still drying, so the shell is being taken indoors to allow the filler to cure. The shed loses its heat through the night and takes a while to warm up with the warmth of the day.

 

Cheers for looking, and the next update should include some colour applied and potentially a rolling chassis.

 

Then its on with cutting the clear sprues to the new size, painting the shell, decals and final construction.

 

Cheers for looking,

 

Coops

[Cooper645]

Update time

 

Clear Parts

Clear parts have been removed from sprues, marked up and cut down to fit in the now lower body shell

 

 

 

 

Rolling Chassis

 

There is now a rolling chassis ready and awaiting the final assembly stage

 

 

 

 

 

Interior

 

The interior has been completed in black, with tan seat covers and Aluminium seat bases.

The dash has received a little spruce up with Aluminium, gold and decals

 

 

 

 

Body Shell

 

And the body shell has received a few coats of gold, before also receiving some clear red treatment

 

 

 

 

 

The clear coat is still drying so hasn't achieved its final look yet.

 

 

Work still to do, detail paint the window seals and the lower side sills which are currently masked off, the intent is for these to be Alumnium to match the interior details.

 

All the chrome work to be applied and then thin final assembly and finishing touches.

I will likely update this WIP again when the final details are being sorted and then it will appear in the RFI section after being submitted to the Competition host.

 

Cheers for looking

 

Coops

[Spiny]

Looks good to me, but there is a part of me wishing you'd kept it gold - it looks utterly tasteless in that photo and absolutely perfect for this sort of build

 

(hopefully that does come across as the joke it's meant to be)

 

In all seriousness you've done a good job of dropping the roof on it - keep up the good work.

[Cooper645]

Thanks 🤣

 

Part of me wishes I had gone Matt Black with Green tinted windows and green tinted chromes.

 

im sure it will all come together in the end.

 

the body has now got 2 coats of lacquer and is drying.

 

i will add decals and panel lines before giving it a final lacquer.

 

then it will have a while hardening before a final polish and build. 

 

Here's a quick look at the shell with first couple of light lacquer coats applied:

 

Edited April 8, 2020 by Cooper645
Added photo

[mustang1989]

I like the idea behind this one Coop. Lot's of good mods goin' on.

[Cooper645]

Ok, so this is now built, I have the front number plate decal left to apply, here is a sneak preview. Nothing more to come here.  Look out for the RFI which I will link in post #1 when it goes live.

 

Cheers for sticking with this quick build, I've learned a few things through the course of these mods which I can improve on for further builds.

 

Coops