1/35 Rolls Royce Armoured Car +++Finished+++

[CliffB]

The waiting's over and I've started to put some bits together.  22 bits to be precise and the result is a six-cylinder, 80HP engine (albeit only 4cm long).

 

 

 

Cheers

[Ray_W]

Cliff,

Looking good!

Ray

[CliffB]

On 12/9/2020 at 10:58 AM, Ray_W said:

Cliff,

Looking good!

Ray

 

Thanks Ray 

 

Here's some more progress to report.

 

 

The chassis is quite a complicated structure, but goes together OK with a little care and cleaning up.  In the photo, the engine and axles are still loose in order to faciltate later painting.

 

I'll be painting next in fact, as my paint set has just arrived.  A very satisfying product, that takes me back to my first Humbrol Authentics set some 50 years ago....

 

 

Cheers

[Ozzy]

Nice job on the engine Cliff.

[CliffB]

On 12/10/2020 at 8:33 PM, Ozzy said:

Nice job on the engine Cliff.

 

Thanks Ozzy and my apologies for the delay in acknowledging your comment .  

 

Here's an update, with the chassis and running gear now complete.

 

 

 

Those of you with sharp eyes may notice the inverted leaf spring on the rear suspension (and with the axle being on one end of the spring).  I must admit that this arrangement is new to me.  There must be reason why Rolls Royce chose to do it this way, but I'm struggling to see why.  Any thoughts folks?

 

I'd also hoped to have the wheels fitted by now, but unfortunately my kit's vinyl tyres are really poor.

 

 

MasterCasters do a set of replacement resin wheels for the Meng kit (mine's a Roden), so I've ordered a set in the hope/expectation that they'll be better.

 

Cheers

[Ray_W]

1 hour ago, CliffB said:

There must be reason why Rolls Royce chose to do it this way, but I'm struggling to see why.

 

Very interesting observation with the cantilevered rear leaf springs. You could go into studying the mechanics of the different leaf spring set up, spring rates and suspension travel achievable, but my thoughts are simpler than that. If I was designing the vehicle, and wanted to keep the chassis mass down, I would simply cantilever the rear axle and keep the main chassis members short or alternatively if I wanted to use an existing chassis design and needed to accommodate a longer engine compartment or gearbox or occupant space then push the rear axle back with cantilevered suspension. Note that this was not a special for the armoured version. It was the standard Silver Ghost suspension design for the time. Worthy of more study. 

 

Ray  

[CliffB]

4 hours ago, Ray_W said:

Very interesting observation with the cantilevered rear leaf springs

 

Thanks for your thoughts Ray.  I am intrigued by it, particularly as you end up only being able to use half the spring (presumably).  I'm wondering whether the cantilever arrangement allows greater suspension travel 

 

Cheers

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

9 hours ago, CliffB said:

Those of you with sharp eyes may notice the inverted leaf spring on the rear suspension (and with the axle being on one end of the spring).  I must admit that this arrangement is new to me.  There must be reason why Rolls Royce chose to do it this way, but I'm struggling to see why.  Any thoughts folks?

My thoughts go to off road vehicles, I believe it would allow for greater wheel travel vertically in an off-road setting. My third car was a 1979 AMC Jeep CJ-5 that had the axle’s moved under the springs to gain lift for deep mud/water traversing. It was combined with a 3” lift kit and gave 6-8 “‘s of clearance to mount 35” tires. This arrangement also allowed for greater wheel travel vertically when going over obstacles. 

[Ray_W]

1 hour ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

My thoughts go to off road vehicles,

 

 

 Yes, longer travel is important, but, in this case, not so much for off-road work, rather improved ride comfort. I expect this was RR's main reason for using the technology. RR first introduced this solution in 1912. The arrangement was standard on the 1914 Silver Ghost. As mentioned in my previous post, it was not a special design implemented for the armoured car, rather, a benefit already built into the existing Silver Ghost chassis and suspension package.  

 

I read an interesting SAE paper on the advantage of the cantilever leaf springs published in 1915 available here  https://www.jstor.org/stable/44579716?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents. The author goes into a number of reasons, besides greater deflection, as to why cantilever leaf springs contribute to improved ride comfort such as harmonics, leaf friction and spring weight. This leads to a very lively and quite entertaining peer review. One of my favourite quotes follows, especially the first sentence:

 

 

We need to see the RR memo. They were obviously ahead of the SAE. 

 

Ray

[CliffB]

11 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

My thoughts go to off road vehicles, 

 

9 hours ago, Ray_W said:

I read an interesting SAE paper on the advantage of the cantilever leaf springs published in 1915 available here

 

Thanks for your comments chaps.  Ray, I've briefly dipped into the SAE paper and what a gem!  I'll definitely be giving it my full attention shortly 

 

Cheers

[CliffB]

I've now finished construction of the static armoured section.

 

 

I'll be displaying the model with the engine compartment closed up, but I've left the top panel loose so that I can take a peek at the engine in future if I want to.

Leaving the top panel loose does however cause a problem with the side panels, as these come slightly distorted with an inward bow.  This is not a problem if you're gluing the top panel to them, as you can use the construction to hold everything straight.  Without any bracing from the top panel however, the bow in the side panels remains quite noticeable.  I've therefore added a brass strut to push the side panels apart.  I've also added a couple of battens to the top panel to help it sit more securely.

 

I'll be halting construction now and moving on to paint this latest section.  I'm quite enjoying this "build some - paint some" approach, but more importantly the paintwork on this section forms the heart of the Caunter scheme.  If I can get this defined now, it should then make it much easier to accurately extend the Caunter pattern to the adjoining areas in due course.

 

Cheers

 

 

[CliffB]

Time for another update

 

 

I found it quite difficult to mask the bodywork because of all the rivets and other protrusions.  Inevtiably some touching up was required.  Thankfully the AK Interactive paints sprayed and brushed really well.

 

Next up will be the rear luggage deck (with one eye on the calendar ).

 

 

[modelling minion]

That's some excellent masking and painting Cliff, she really does look fantastic. 

[Pete in Lincs]

The paint (and build) looks great, Cliff. It must have been hell driving around closed up in the desert in these things. But fun at speed I imagine.

[Ray_W]

Hi Cliff,

Paint job is excellent. Love those Caunter schemes. The AK colours look good to me.

Ray

[CliffB]

Thank you @modelling minion @Pete in Lincs and @Ray_W.  I'm glad you like the paintwork .  

 

This afternoon I've done some more construction.  It seems to longer than it should, mainly because of all the sink marks and mould seams that require attention!

Nevertheless, I'm pleased to see the Roller's distinctive turret now taking shape 

 

 

Hopefully I'll get some more paint on tomorrow..

 

Cheers

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Well that just looks great Cliff. 

[CliffB]

On 12/21/2020 at 8:29 PM, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Well that just looks great Cliff. 

 

Thanks Dennis 

 

I reached a landmark this afternoon, as all the Caunter paintwork is now finished.

 

 

Pretty much all that remains to be done is some detailed painting and final assembly. 

I say 'pretty much', because I'm also still waiting for my new resin wheels to arrive - they're lost in the post apparently!

If they haven't arrived by Saturday, I'll make up the kit items and tack them in place temporarily for the Gallery photos .

 

Cheers

 

[Ray_W]

27 minutes ago, CliffB said:

Pretty much all that remains to be done is some detailed painting and final assembly. 

 

Cliff,

Impressive. My, it is attractive in that scheme. Well executed.

Ray

[CliffB]

On 12/28/2020 at 6:14 PM, Ray_W said:

 

Cliff,

Impressive. My, it is attractive in that scheme. Well executed.

Ray

 

Thanks Ray.  I have to say that the Caunter scheme has lived up to my expectations 

 

This will be my penultimate post (hopefully!).  Everything's done now apart from the wheels (if and when they turn up), and the headlamps.  The latter are pretty flimsy, so I'm leaving them off until the end.

I note than we've now had an extension to the GB deadline, so that takes some of the pressure off me re. the wheels!

 

 

Cheers

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

The guns bring it alive and give it something, sorry to hear the wheels are MIA. 

[stevehnz]

Looking very good Cliff, I've a Meng kit in transit to me & without seeing it, I'm hoping some of your tips will be applicable to that as well.

Steve.

[CliffB]

10 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

The guns bring it alive and give it something, sorry to hear the wheels are MIA. 

 

Thanks Dennis.  I'm told that another set of wheels is being sent.  I'll chase again on Monday!

 

 

8 hours ago, stevehnz said:

Looking very good Cliff, I've a Meng kit in transit to me & without seeing it, I'm hoping some of your tips will be applicable to that as well.

Steve.

 

Thanks Steve.  From what I've subsequently learnt, the Meng kit is apparently sharper but lacks interior detail (if that's a problem).  I bought my Roden in ignorance, but don't have any regrets 

Having now built the last incarnation of the RR, I'd quite like to also build the first.  I'll probably go Meng for that one, as I believe the kit has PE spoked wheels.

 

Happy New Year to both of you.

[modelling minion]

That is some very sharp painting Cliff, excellent work.

[CliffB]

On 1/1/2021 at 2:21 PM, modelling minion said:

That is some very sharp painting Cliff, excellent work.

 

Thanks Craig 

 

Well I've given up waiting for the new wheels to arrive, so I've cancelled the order and obtained a refund.  I've used the kit's wheels and shiny vinyl tyres instead, which actually don't look too bad given that I'm going for a 'fresh from the paint shop' finish.

 

Here she is finished, alongside one of her civilian relatives.

 

 

I quite like this idea of a civvy/military combo, so I'm planning to do the same with both a Model T Ford and a Lanchester.  The civvy Model T will be along very shortly......

 

Thank you to all who have supported this build and especially to @TEMPESTMK5 for proposing and hosting the GB 

 

Cheers