Brandy Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 I started this as a "quick" out-of-the-box build while waiting for a spare part for my airbrush. It holds a special interest for me as my grandfather was a driver with the Army Service Corps in Dar es Salaam during the war, and I remember him telling me how he drove one of the first "American built ambulances, which were left hand drive" and forgot about the spare wheels stuck on the outside on the right. The result was that he turned in to a hospital a little too close to the wall and the spare wheels knocked the wall down! I don't know whether that was a 1917 model or an earlier one, but this is the only one I can find in this scale. It's a pretty typical short run kit, here's what's in the box: 2 small sprues of parts and a sheet of decals covering quite a few options. I had already removed the main body parts when I took that shot, so here they are. As I mentioned, it's a fairly typical short run kit - detail of the body sides... Some nasty sink marks, and if interior detailing is required, a lot of sanding to clean up the inner faces! Those edges should be straight as they for the sides of a box, there's a separate part to glue over them for the front face! The wheels are not bad, but definitely a little clunky, as are all the smaller parts such as the headlights (at right here). Needless to say the first thing I did was design a new wheel and print some out as a test. I think those will work! So what else needs some remedial work? The list is rather long I'm afraid, so I started with the forward body section. There is a large blob of plastic under both front mudguards which needs removing - you can see it here on the left, I had already done the right side in this pic. I scraped them off carefully with a scalpel blade and the result is acceptable. The curve on the bottom of the front mudguards is not right, in fact there is no curve, but I'm going to leave that with just a little sanding to reduce the sharpness of the transition. Getting the curve right and blending it in to the rest of the bodywork would be a major job. Before going any further I fitted the radiator and bonnet panels. The bonnet panels need a little sanding to square up the edges. I glued them to the radiator first, then attached the whole to the lower floor panel and adjusted the back ends of the bonnet panels to get them square before it set too hard. Once it was dry I attached the front cab panel, which again is not correct - the sides should be straight, but the kit parts taper inwards at the bottom, again I'm not going to bother with that as it's barely noticeable. What is noticeable though, is the bonnet. The 1917 model should be curved but the kit has the older angled panels. A little PPP and some sanding sorted that out. Once the cab front was added I could deal with the next issue. which is this. That straight edge, an extension of the floor, should not be there. Some fine and slow work with a scalpel blade reshaped that to get a better curve and blend it in properly. You can also see in that shot the small strip of evergreen that I have added behind the cab front as the floor sloped at the front where the foot pedals are. The rear body parts all needed a clean up around the edges, and I did the same for the lower side box fronts. The upper boxes needed quite a bit of sanding to square them up and get them to fit below the upper framework, but nothing difficult, just time consuming. The result when they are fitted is not too bad, and that was done before putting the rear body together. The instructions would have you build the rear body on the floor section, which also makes up the cab floor. You can see from the pic above that I didn't follow that route and fitted that floor to the front end assembly. This will enable me to add detail to the cab without the bodywork being in the way. To put the body together without the reference of the floor was fairly simple. The front part has the backrest for the driver on it, which extends in front of the side panels and touches the top of the driver's side cutouts, so it gives a perfect reference for the positioning of those 3 parts. Once they were glued together, but before the glue set hard, I placed the rear body over the floor to ensure that the sides were correctly spaced while they dried. Once dried, the rear panel was added. A dry fit of the body looks good! They will be painted separately to ensure I can get to the lower body behind the side boxes. Next up, the chassis assembly. Well, that helps - I don't think! The forward cross member braces to the gear box will be replaced with brass rod, the rear axle braces are missing completely, so brass rod will be added there too. Brass rod will also replace the brake actuators, steering rack, and exhaust, so pretty much all of the chassis/running gear parts will be brass. The drive shaft and rear diff are 4 separate parts! Needless to say they aren't as round as they should be! I thought about 3d printing it as one unit, but may just drill the diff and insert a brass rod all the way through to mount the wheels on. I think that would be stronger so will probably go with that (but I reserve the right to change my mind!). I will 3d print the steering wheel though. Well, that's brought this up to date, it was a very fruitful weekend at the bench! Thanks for looking in, Ian 22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 Always good to indulge in a little OOB building 😄 Nice repair work! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry1954 Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 3 hours ago, Brandy said: I started this as a "quick" out-of-the-box build I thought to myself, yeah right ........... then I became calm when I saw the next bit! 3 hours ago, Brandy said: Needless to say the first thing I did was design a new wheel and print some out as a test. Some great progress already on this nice and somewhat unusual subject Ian, I'll tag along for this one as well. Terry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steben Posted June 16, 2022 Share Posted June 16, 2022 This is going to be gold 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted June 17, 2022 Share Posted June 17, 2022 Some nice old skool modelling! Regards, Adrian 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted June 18, 2022 Author Share Posted June 18, 2022 Mail call! On 6/16/2022 at 5:51 PM, JeroenS said: Always good to indulge in a little OOB building 😄 Nice repair work! I'm afraid I never manage to achieve that, (as you can see!) so I wouldn't know! On 6/16/2022 at 6:19 PM, Terry1954 said: I thought to myself, yeah right ........... then I became calm when I saw the next bit! Some great progress already on this nice and somewhat unusual subject Ian, I'll tag along for this one as well. Terry Welcome aboard Terry! On 6/16/2022 at 7:51 PM, Steben said: This is going to be gold I hope so, thanks for the support Steben! On 6/17/2022 at 11:21 AM, AdrianMF said: Some nice old skool modelling! Regards, Adrian With some new skool modelling thrown in for good measure! I had promised myself that I would make some progress on this over the weekend. Most of today was spent searching for references and measurements, so I suppose that could be called progress, just not of the physical sort! I had intended to get the chassis sorted, but then when I looked at what we're given in the kit, that sparked the reference hunt.... That is just NOT right! The ambulance rear end was built on top of the chassis frames, this pic of a larger scale model shows it nicely. (Image freely available on the net). The radiator sits within the chassis frames, with the bracket for the front spring fitting around the lower edges, not underneath. So I removed the moulded on bits on the underside of the floor and added some plastic strip, along with a thinned down engine/gearbox bottom end from the kit, to give a more realistic frame. I'm much happier with that! The rear framework is actually mounted slightly over and outside the chassis frames and I've tried to replicate that without adding too much plastic underneath. Onced it's all painted it should be passable. So after all that research and remodelling the kit, I finally got started on designing new running gear. Here is where I got to at close of play today. The plan is to build the entire rear end (diff, drive shaft, bracing, and suspension) as one piece and the same for the front end. More computer work to be done tomorrow! Have a great weekend and thanks for looking in! Ian 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted June 18, 2022 Share Posted June 18, 2022 Uh oh, here we go. Another masterpiece in the making. So much for "weekend project".... Regards, Adrian 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted June 18, 2022 Share Posted June 18, 2022 Love the way this had gone from OOB to 2 hours ago, Brandy said: The plan is to build the entire rear end (diff, drive shaft, bracing, and suspension) as one piece and the same for the front end. More computer work to be done tomorrow! - in a single page! And who cares when we get to watch work this good! A most pleasant subject Ian. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orso Posted June 18, 2022 Share Posted June 18, 2022 I see that I need to follow this build. I built one back in 2004 but I can't remember that it was quite as bad then. the heavy sink marks and those horrible sides inside the body is nothing that I can recall from back then. I have two more kits that I started but I has only concentrated on the body work as I'm doing a 1916 and a 1918 car. Reading this thread has pointed me to other things needed to be fixed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted June 19, 2022 Author Share Posted June 19, 2022 On 6/19/2022 at 12:08 AM, AdrianMF said: Uh oh, here we go. Another masterpiece in the making. So much for "weekend project".... Regards, Adrian See my comment right at the start - "we know what that means don't we".... Predictable! On 6/19/2022 at 12:58 AM, TheBaron said: Love the way this had gone from OOB to - in a single page! And who cares when we get to watch work this good! A most pleasant subject Ian. I really don't think I'm capable of "out of the box" any more! On 6/19/2022 at 2:12 AM, Orso said: I see that I need to follow this build. I built one back in 2004 but I can't remember that it was quite as bad then. the heavy sink marks and those horrible sides inside the body is nothing that I can recall from back then. I have two more kits that I started but I has only concentrated on the body work as I'm doing a 1916 and a 1918 car. Reading this thread has pointed me to other things needed to be fixed. Welcome aboard Björn! I didn't get back into modelling until around 2011, so this was bought much later than yours, maybe only 4 or 5 years ago, so the moulds may be getting worn. Just a quick update on the progress today. Again, lots of time looking at pics, the design work is now getting to be fairly quick as I'm finding my way around Fusion much more easily now. The diff/suspension now looks like this. I will add the drive shaft from brass rod. That will also make it easier to get it all properly aligned once it's fitted. The gap between spring and diff is not quite as much as it should be, but sacrifices have to made due to plastic thicknesses. The spring itself is only 0.5mm thick at its widest, so I really can't get it scale thick at the ends! Thanks for looking in! Ian 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Slowbuild Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 Marvellous work Ian! But I am wondering how many pages this thread may run to before your quick out-of-the-box build is complete…. Not complaining, will enjoy it all! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted June 26, 2022 Author Share Posted June 26, 2022 On 6/20/2022 at 11:21 PM, Dave Slowbuild said: Marvellous work Ian! But I am wondering how many pages this thread may run to before your quick out-of-the-box build is complete…. Not complaining, will enjoy it all! At this rate still not into double figures I guess! More design work done, the front end is now complete. I did it the easy way - all drawn with circles and rectangles, with the unwanted bits snipped off before the final shape was extruded. The drawing was not to scale in both directions, so I used it as a guide for the shape then adjusted the measurements to get the correct size. Or so I hope - only a test print will show if that approach works! Once I'd done half, I simply mirrored it to get the whole thing. I deflected the front wheel hubs by 12 degrees just to give it a bit of life, but I'm still a little worried about how thin it all is.... Only the steering wheel to do now, then I'll run a test print of the whole lot. Thanks for looking in! Ian 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted July 3, 2022 Author Share Posted July 3, 2022 This done yesterday. All the parts are now printing, let's hope they all come out ok. The big issue has been supporting the small details, which are smaller than the supports so may get lost. I'll see how they look and if needed reprint with a different orientation. Update when I see the prints! Ian 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sabrejet Posted July 3, 2022 Share Posted July 3, 2022 Nice work! That does look to be a 'challenging' kit 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendie Posted July 3, 2022 Share Posted July 3, 2022 Aha... I see you are now a full blown addict of the 405 nanometer kind Ian. It's all downhill from here and there is no cure. You are now facing a life of printing and reprinting and designing your own kits from scratch. Interesting project btw. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted July 3, 2022 Author Share Posted July 3, 2022 1 hour ago, Sabrejet said: Nice work! That does look to be a 'challenging' kit The kit itself is not too challenging, just improving it is! 23 minutes ago, hendie said: Aha... I see you are now a full blown addict of the 405 nanometer kind Ian. It's all downhill from here and there is no cure. You are now facing a life of printing and reprinting and designing your own kits from scratch. Interesting project btw. Guilty as charged! I still want to use plastic and brass "old fashioned like" where possible, but this just gives me a source for "aftermarket stuff that's needed but isn't available". Well the print's done and it looks promising. A couple of small failures but nothing that's not easily fixed. I think I added too many supports too so I'll cut back on those as the tiny details they support aren't visible anyway! The missing leaf spring on the rear diff is my own stupid fault and was caused by removing a support before separating it from the part! Overall the rear looks to fit nicely. The front bracket around the radiator needs to be fractionally wider, but again an easy fix. Thanks for looking in! Ian 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted July 3, 2022 Share Posted July 3, 2022 Those latest parts looking very nice now Ian. Great feeling seeing your drawings turn into objects isn't it? 7 hours ago, Brandy said: I think I added too many supports too so I'll cut back on those as the tiny details they support aren't visible anyway! It's a tricky call sometimes. Do you put too few in and risk an unsupported section failing during the print, or too many and having lots of clean-up to do? From experiment I've found that using fans with fewer pillars is a good compromise, but of course it always depends on the shapes involved. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted July 18, 2022 Author Share Posted July 18, 2022 On 7/4/2022 at 12:35 AM, TheBaron said: Those latest parts looking very nice now Ian. Great feeling seeing your drawings turn into objects isn't it? It's a tricky call sometimes. Do you put too few in and risk an unsupported section failing during the print, or too many and having lots of clean-up to do? From experiment I've found that using fans with fewer pillars is a good compromise, but of course it always depends on the shapes involved. Thanks Tony, it certainly is when they work. It can get very frustrating when they keep failing and you can't figure out why - especially when the failure occurs in a place that printed fine the previous time! A long silence from me, sorry for that, but I have been busy! As you may have guessed from my comment above I've been trying to get the parts both corrected and printed as desired. I think I've now reached that point! Rear diff and suspension: Front suspension: Steering wheel: I attempted to draw a handbrake but it's just too thin so I'll do that with brass rod, but I did do a rear panel that for some reason is not included in the kit. I attempted to do it with the centre canvass closed but that was far too tricky so I left the centre open and will add a roll of tissue paper to represent the panel rolled up! [ I still have to remove those from the supports without breaking them (there's a back up print running as I type!) and I'm still a little worried about the fragility of the front end, but we'll see how it goes - it's not exactly a heavy model! Thanks for looking in! Ian 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted July 18, 2022 Share Posted July 18, 2022 Ooh. And if I may, an Aah also. Right on the tolerances of printing at this scale and such delicate little wonders to behold: that steering wheel! 📣 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted July 19, 2022 Author Share Posted July 19, 2022 21 hours ago, TheBaron said: Ooh. And if I may, an Aah also. Right on the tolerances of printing at this scale and such delicate little wonders to behold: that steering wheel! 📣 Many thanks Tony! I must admit that after a few tense minutes with a microsaw this afternoon I'm more than happy with how it's turning out. Fitting of these parts will wait until after all the bodywork is done due to their fragility. This... Made me smile! Ian 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spiny Posted July 19, 2022 Share Posted July 19, 2022 Looking at the size of that and bearing in mind the fragility, I suspect the paintwork may be a major structural element to this build. Excellent work, really belies the tiny scale. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fritag Posted July 25, 2022 Share Posted July 25, 2022 Lovely CADery Ian. On 7/3/2022 at 2:24 PM, Brandy said: this just gives me a source for "aftermarket stuff that's needed but isn't available That’s pretty much how I see it too. Way more fun - not to mention satisfying - to produce your own aftermarket-type stuff. Don’t know if it mirrors your experience Ian, but I’ve found that after a certain amount of frustration and slow going, using Fusion has now become something I actually enjoy. On 7/3/2022 at 2:03 PM, hendie said: You are now facing a life of printing and reprinting and designing your own kits from scratch. Lesser know 1/72 WW1 types? 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted July 30, 2022 Author Share Posted July 30, 2022 On 7/25/2022 at 9:54 AM, Fritag said: Lesser know 1/72 WW1 types? It will certainly provide a solution for the problem I was having with making radiators for the Ilya Muromets! Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted July 31, 2022 Author Share Posted July 31, 2022 I only had 1 day off this weekend, but it was fruitful. Paint was started on the Battle's bomb doors, and preparations were made for paint on this one too. First some small adjustments to the canopy over the driver's compartment. I sanded back the front edge slightly and cut a notch either side to allow the frame to be added from .3mm brass rod. Once bent to shape and glued on with Gator's Grip, gaps were filled with thin CA, then a thin smear of PPP before it was all sanded back to eliminate (hopefully) any signs of a join. I think that should work! Some filler will be needed once fitted but nothing major. The printed rear section was also added. Then it was time to drill out the headlamps and fit .3mm brass rod mounts for them. A wing mirror was also made by punching out a 1.2mm disc from an aluminium beer can and CAing it to a piece of brass rod. Tonight, paint was applied! I still need to modify the small gas lamps, but I wanted to get some proper progress in! More pics to follow. Thanks for looking in! Ian 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendie Posted July 31, 2022 Share Posted July 31, 2022 Some nice delicate work going on there Ian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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