mattg

The chassis extension is done so far. A final round of filling and smoothing will be necessary before I transplant the engine mount of the donor kit.

It's not really a high precision jig, but it definitely helped. 🙂 I normally use it to fix larger sub-assemblies, bodies or even fully built models in various positions when I need to attach small parts or decals to them. This way they can't move and I habe both hands free. The clamping jaws are just some spare aluminum square rods, washers and a layer of foam rubber glued together. They are adjusted with knurled nuts on threaded rods.

Today I started with the frame extension. Luckily, I did a second measurement and it turned out that only 6 scale inches were needed.🙂 First action was to remove the engine mounts, as I can't use them with the new engine anyway. Then I filed a groove on both sides to provide a larger glueing surface for the extension piece. The chassis then went on the model car straightening bench to keep both sides in alignment after the extension, and to not alter the stance. After clamping it up, I made the cut, moved the front section forward and inserted a piece of 1mm thick sheet into both recesses. I'll let that dry thoroughly before filling the gap on the other sides with another piece of styrene.

I made a bit of progress on the body. Cut the roof apart, glued everything back in place, rough-fit the rear window in the cutout and filled the gaps with some styrene. Then a first rough round of filling and sanding was done, several more to come, I'm sure... I also quickly threw together one of the Revell stock engines and the straight six that I', planning to use. Turns out that I need to extend the frame by about 7 to 8 scale inches, but I think I'll go with 8 to be on the safe side. And a quick comparison of the stock body and the current status:

Today was chop day. I first marked the cuts around the rear window with masking tape, in order to be able to see how far I needed to cut the C pillars. I then did the C pillar cuts first, using a JLC razor saw with two blades and the spacer attachment adjusted to 3mm, which should correspond to about 3 scale inches in 1/25. After that was done, I worked my way around the rear window, again using the dull side of a scalpel blade. The A and B pillar cuts were quickly done, as I could just use the razor saw. I don't want to angle the A pillars back, so I'll need to extend the roof a bit. But this (and shaping it all back together) will be subject of the next sessions...

Its Robbie the rabbit from the Silent Hill franchise: https://silenthill.fandom.com/wiki/Robbie_the_Rabbit

Thanks guys! It's from a German company called Bayha. They produce several grip styles, I think I have all but the longest one. https://www.bayha-skalpelle.de/produkte/griffe

This is going to be a long project with slow progress because my time to spare on the hobby is quite limited since our kids were born in 2017... Anyway, here is what I'm planing to do: - A 3 scale inches chop. Not exciting for most of you, I'm sure, but it will be my first "chop job". I want to maintain the height of the rear window (or at least reduce it's height to a lesser extent), so it'll be a bit more involved than just making straight cuts all around. - Maybe channeling, but I'll make my decision about that later on. - Kitbashing a straight six engine into the Deuce, which will probably require a chassis extension and a scratch built hood (If I'm going to add one). - Cutting out the vinyl top section to add a folding sunroof (in the opened position). Everything else will most likely remain box-stock. Maybe I'll decide on aftermarket or kitbash wheels and tires, but that's about it. I thought it might be better to make the top cutout first (al least before the chop), when the body still has it's full stability. Also, I might have more likely broken or bent the A or B pillars if I had done this after the chop. So, using the dull side of a #11 blade, I carefully scraped my way along the inside of the rim, which fortunately acts as a nice guide for the blade. Just like when scraping panel lines, I always take my time with this kind of work, moving the blade slow but steady with little pressure. At the end I was rewarded with a nice clean cutout that required just a little bit of sanding to smooth the edges.

IIRC with Invision Community it's basically the same as being "invisible" in other forum software. However, the option to log in anonymously/invisible seems to be disabled for normal users here, so I guess only mods and admins are able to use that option.

You can get gears in countless sizes and variations by searching Ebay for watchmaker/clockmaker stuff. I got a box of hundreds of metal gears ranging from about two inches to tiny for basically free (1€ + shipping), but you should at least be able to find something for less than $50 that will last a modeler's lifetime.

You can use CA glue or Epoxy, but whatever you use, the bond will only be as strong as the bond between the paint and the plastic.

You can use the Iwata K200 grip which is more easily available and fits perfectly. I use it on my PS 290.

I usually don't find the time to build more than one kit a year (maybe two when the kits are simple and I build them box stock), so it's always a tough choice. But I think I'll do the Revell '32 5 window coupe with some modifications (top chop, kitbash engine and wheels).

This one should work normally. It's the same article but in German: https://roadstars.mercedes-benz.com/de_DE/magazine/route/01-2018/on-tour-with-arto-simola-in-the-actros-lowrider.html

Finland ? https://portal.mercedes-benz-trucks.com/en_GB/magazine/route/01-2018/on-tour-with-arto-simola-in-the-actros-lowrider.html