JeroenS Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 Hi all, I'm joining in with this nice Japanese truck. I'd never heard of Mitsuwa Model before I picked this one up from marketplace because I like the look of these trucks. They're just a little bit different from European trucks which makes them interesting. In fact I've built a similar truck a while ago, which is Aoshima's Hino HH tractor in 1/32 Scale. So the FUSO should complement this nicely. I believe Hino is a Toyota brand, while the FUSO is Mitsubishi. The FUSO kit was newly tooled in 1981 and this is also the boxing I have which is pretty cool. I was able to pick it up for a very decent price as well. Let's see what's in the box. There's a nice "data sheet" in there. I already like this colour scheme better than I like the yellow box art. I have something in mind though, but I'll definitely have a look online as well. There are two sets of instructions, one in English, the other in Japanese. Nice '80's style drawings. Cab parts. Cab interior. You're probably wondering what that bulge is. Well, this is a battery housing. The truck is actually motorised. It's kind of fun, but I will not be using this, I won't be playing with it. Nice big chassis beams. Truck parts. There's a nice set of wheels and tires. Chrome parts, which look more like polished alu, I actually like this a lot. I think for once I will not be stripping and repainting this, though that still depends on how they look when the're off the sprues, and whether I'll be able to do touch-up's on the attachment points. Clear parts. And finally an old decal sheet, we'll have to see how these behave. I think I'll be using the Japanse plates, and not put on Dutch plates. This should be a nice build. 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 Hi Jeroen I've never heard of Mitsuwa Model either so that makes this choice even better in my book Best of luck with this one. Cheers Pat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 This looks interesting. Will this be the Japanese division of Van Dordt? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted February 12 Share Posted February 12 Another Master class in truck building to come Jeroen! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted February 18 Author Share Posted February 18 I always like to start my build on the day the GB starts, at least get some plastic stuck together. So today, I assembled the engine, such as it is. It's not very good actually. Which is fine for the purpose of this build, I just need something resembling an engine to look at underneath the cab. Now, I think the lack of engineering and detail partly has to do with the fact that the little electric motor should be placed inside. Partly. There's also some limited engineering going on. The fit is akward at best and from close up it looks... well. Anyway. Slightly oversized U joint if you ask me, but that's because the kit is supposed to have a working driveshaft I think. I'll see what it looks like later on, if it's at all visible. I can always replace it with something a little more realistic if needed. The yellow parts were formerly chromed. However, I always paint the whole engine. Never do I paint all the separate parts, then put it together. I mean, who does that? So, not a chance to keep the chrome parts here so in a bath of bleach they went. I don't know what's going on here. I've not been able to find pictures of the 1:1 engine but I'm pretty sure it doesn't look like this. Or this. No matter, I'll just spray it some colour or other and leave it. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted February 19 Author Share Posted February 19 Today, I worked on the axles. It's all pretty basic, exactly what you'd expect from a 1981 kit. Fit is good. I feel the chassis is a little bit too basic. This is it with the axles installed. Note the almost complete lack of crossmembers. This is not like the real thing, there should be a bunch of those. In this case, there's a huge step plate which will cover most of it, I think that's why the makers felt they could leave some stuff out 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted February 20 Share Posted February 20 I'm looking forward to seeing another of your beautiful builds Jeroen, while still reflecting the 'classic' nature of the kit Cheers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted February 20 Author Share Posted February 20 2 hours ago, CliffB said: I'm looking forward to seeing another of your beautiful builds Jeroen, while still reflecting the 'classic' nature of the kit Cheers Thanks Cliff, my plan is to give it a clean, modern look. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted March 5 Author Share Posted March 5 It was about time I got some more work done on the FUSO. This afternoon I went ahead and put a bunch of parts on the chassis. I will paint this as one unit, which is what I usually do, especially if the engine is very basic. There's no sense in doing fancy detailing. As you can see, the kit is a bit clunky in some places anyway. But that's fine, it's a classic kit and it should make a nice model. This is only dry fitted, but with the tread plate and fifth wheel on it should look something like this which I think is pretty cool. Time to start looking at the cab next. 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 Coming along nicely! Will you display this with a trailer? The fifth wheel looks very far forward. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted March 5 Author Share Posted March 5 1 hour ago, dnl42 said: Coming along nicely! Will you display this with a trailer? The fifth wheel looks very far forward. No, no trailer, don't have one available. I see your point on the fifth wheel, but it's where it's supposed to be according to the instructions and drawings, just forward of the centre of the rear tandem which is correct if you believe the internet. And why wouldn't you 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeyboy76 Posted March 7 Share Posted March 7 Looking great but why not motorise it? Time for me and Little h to search evilbay. Well they are not pocket money kits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted March 7 Author Share Posted March 7 4 hours ago, Hockeyboy76 said: Well they are not pocket money kits. Nope, they're not. I totally lucked out on this one, I think I paid €45 for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted March 13 Author Share Posted March 13 OK I desperately wanted to paint something, and it had been way too long since I even fired up the compressor. Anyway, it's a step forward, and things always look so much better in primer don't they. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angus Tura Posted March 19 Share Posted March 19 Jeroen, I just homed in on this from your signature and am surprised it's not a battleship! It does look very good, nonetheless. Alan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted March 19 Author Share Posted March 19 A tiny bit of progress to report. I started on cab and interior. First order of business: getting rid of that hump, which is the battery holder. I don't want that in my cab! So, bye... Some new flooring. When I looked at the cab more closely I found this nasty sink mark. I've put some filler on it, but I'm not sure whether I'll be able to fix that in a not too visible way. If not, I'll sand those 2 "ribs" off completely and redo them with card. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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