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Mitsuwa Model 1/24 FUSO K-FV214JR (it's a truck) - FINISHED


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Hi all, I'm joining in with this nice Japanese truck. 

 

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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. 

 

 

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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. 

 

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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. 

 

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There are two sets of instructions, one in English, the other in Japanese. 

 

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Nice '80's style drawings. 

 

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Cab parts. 

 

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Cab interior. 

 

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You're probably wondering what that bulge is. Well, this is a battery housing. The truck is actually motorised. 

 

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It's kind of fun, but I will not be using this, I won't be playing with it. 

 

Nice big chassis beams. 

 

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Truck parts. 

 

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There's a nice set of wheels and tires. 

 

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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. 

 

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Clear parts. 

 

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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. 

 

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This should be a nice build. 

 

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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. 

 

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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. 

 

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Or this. 

 

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No matter, I'll just spray it some colour or other and leave it. 

 

 

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Today, I worked on the axles. 

 

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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.

 

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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 🙂 

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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 :popcorn:

 

Cheers 

Thanks Cliff, my plan is to give it a clean, modern look. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

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. 

 

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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. 

 

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As you can see, the kit is a bit clunky in some places anyway. 

 

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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

 

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which I think is pretty cool. Time to start looking at the cab next.

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1 hour ago, dnl42 said:

Coming along nicely!

 

Will you display this with a trailer?

 

The fifth wheel looks very far forward. :shrug:

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 😆

 

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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. 

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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.

 

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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!

 

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So, bye... 

 

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Some new flooring. 

 

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When I looked at the cab more closely I found this nasty sink mark. 

 

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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. 

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  • 2 months later...

Shame on me, it's been almost three months, I found this thread waaaay back on page 3.... Anyway, due to some unforeseen loss of mojo and another big build over in TLC GB I've been neglecting this one. 

 

The last thing I did was fill those sink marks. I thought it about time to do some sanding and see what I could end up with. So, it was sanding, then Mr Surfacer 500 filler primer, repeat a couple of times. 

 

Then a final wet sanding (you have to cut that filler primer back, it's pretty rough) and here we are. It's ... ok. Let's not let good be the enemy of better here. 

 

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The plan is to throw some glossy paint at it, with the proper lighting it shouldn't show too much. You can still see a little damage in real life, this picture is pretty good. So it will probably be ok. Let's get this build moving along again!

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  • 2 weeks later...

It's kind of slow going this one. This build is not really grabbing me I must say. The kit is so clunky in places it's a bit like Lego. I know, it's an old kit, and maybe I was expecting too much. I didn't really look into the box before I started the build. However, I also don't want it to end on "that" shelf. So we're off again. I've painted a lot of parts in the meantime, once I get going with it I'm usually fine. 

 

This was black, I primed it black and then painted it... black. Sometimes you wonder why. 

 

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To be honest, there are not that many parts anyway. 

 

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Yes, I'm going with the black theme here. 

 

Dark Alu wheels though, the AK paint just goes on beautifully. 

 

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I wanted to start painting the cab as well, but I ran into a small issue with a not very well moulded part. I didn't take a picture from the outside until after filling, but this is the inside, and it looks about the same. 

 

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I tried filling first but that didn't turn out too well. 

 

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It cracked. A repair is needed. 

 

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I should be able to blend this in. 

 

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Work continues. Finishing the build shouldn't be a problem in the time left. 

 

 

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Oh, man... Well you know I haven't been feeling it for this build, but the intention I had was to finish it. The idea I had was to have a white cab over a black chassis, kind of modern looking. So I set about painting the cab. Normally I spray Tamiya paints, with Mr Color Levelling thinner. Winning combo for me. I had primed the thing (Mr Surfacer 1500 grey) and got my white paint out. Then I remembered I had some Zero Paints Brilliant White left. I used it some years ago, didn't 100% like it back then, it's really white but I didn't like spraying it, but I thought well as long as I have it, let's use it. So I did. I shaked and stirred, but I think the paint didn't stand the test of time. It was white in some places, yellowish in others. Maybe more coats would have solved it, but the paint also highlighted some serious moulding issues on the cab. 

 

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You can see those cab corners are not smooth at all. 

 

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This would mean a lot of work to get that cab into shape for a nice glossy finish. I don't know how I didn't notice this before, probably because I was wearing sunglasses to hide that terrible yellow plastic from my eyes 🙂 

 

Anyway, I got even sicker of this thing. I realized I had 2 options. Ditch the kit or weather the absolute crap out of it. Decided on the latter, because at least then I'm going to get some fun out of this build. 

 

So... took out the Tamiya oxy primer. 

 

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Thought about colour a bit. Then decided to go for the same yellow as what's on this truck's little brother, which you can see in post #1. But big brother will end up looking totally different.

 

So now it's yellow. 

 

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You can see the disrespect I have for this kit, normally I always try to take nice pictures but this time I didn't even bother to take it out of the spray booth.

 

Anyway, I'll be having at it, hopefully it turns into something I like, otherwise it's the bin for this one. 

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I'm curious what will befall these lumps of plastic. I have a farm tractor that could probably benefit from similar treatment to get it out of the 'under construction' box.

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I still had my doubts about this truck but decided to make an effort anyway. Started with completing the chassis. Then started on the wheels which is not too much work and makes for a nice change. 

 

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I like the detail on the tyres actually, that's not bad at all. They were a little on the soft side but I fill them with a sheet of toilet paper anyway, before putting them on the rims. They stay in place better that way. The rims got the sponge treatment with various Vallejo colours, and a bit of Tamiya panel liner. Tyres were treated to some Tamiya weathering powder which works really well for that. 

 

Then, I loosely attached the wheels and equally loosely set the cab in its place on the chassis. That's when the build clicked on and I really decided to finish it. I started liking it. 

 

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The cab has its simple interior in place and just needs the windows, mirrors, wipers and lights. Mirrors will be the last thing as usual, they will not survive the weathering process.

 

By the way, the decals didn't hold up and broke into pieces upon contact with water. Did manage to get the plates on reasonably well, the decal for the dashboard is a mess. 

 

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The order of business is now: complete the chassis with lights, bumper, suzi cables. Spray mud and dust as a first layer. 

 

Same for the cab, complete first, except for the windows and mirrors. Spray first layer. Then windows in and wipers on. Spray second layer, just a bit to get the shine off the windows.

 

Then start final weathering on chassis and cab. Attach the wheels. Put the cab in place. 

 

Plan? Plan.

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1 hour ago, Jinxman said:

Good to see you found the love for this build again, :goodjob:

Love might be too strong a word, and this evening I struggled with modifying the cab mounts because it wasn't sitting right, but I'm pretty sure it will be a likeable build in the end. 

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