fractalign

I have been out of the loop for so long trying to get my BB truck kit finished, I only found out about this kit a few weeks ago. Overall it looks good but one thing seems to be missing. A Deuce grill shell. look at 1:1 A hiboys and at least half have a 32 grill shell. Not sure how they could have left that out. A simple enough thing to source though. I really liked the old AMT version and I was in the process of working it into a hiboy until I found out this one was coming out. It will be interesting to see how this one compares with the AMT version.

Hey Guys. I will admit it has been slow going of late, which is why I have not posted anything. The hardest thing has been making the wheels and chassis. I had to scratch build the wheel centre and I still need to do the outer rim as well. It was only recently that I was able to find enough images of the 1:1 chassis to be able to complete it. The chassis is 80 to 90 percent scratch built too. That includes all the cross members. and most of the rails. I am getting some more putty on the weekend so that I can finish adding the transmissions. Once that is done I can put the studs in and the chassis will be finished. Once I add the outer rim to the wheel it will be finished too. Then I begin the moulds for the these last components and start casting the prototype. Sorry I have been unable to put a finish date on it, but has been a very challenging project and I want to get any mistakes ironed out before the moulds are made. Cheers !

I am very sorry to hear that !

I just finished putting the last cross member together tonight. Tomorrow I will fill all the gaps undercoat everything and add the three remaining cross members to the chassis. Once last stud has been added I can start constructing the mould for the chassis.

Hey Guys. This is an important update on the early thirties truck range. It has been months since I posted anything and even though I have dropped off the radar I have not stopped working on completing this project. As you maybe aware a car accident left me with a broken wrist last year which was a major delay. That was only one of many delays that have kept me from finishing this project. The other major delay was creating the wheel, A Kelsey Hay five hole five lug rim. I was originally going to mould the wheels from the Unique Replicas 1:24 scale Diecast 1934 BB Ford Truck, so I went ahead and ordered it. When it arrived I was disappointed to find the wheels not only had the wrong shape holes but the studs were off centre to the holes as well. I tried casting the wheel removing and replacing the studs. This seemed to work and I continued to use this cast wheel as the master for the wheel until I accidently destroyed it while machining it down. Frustrated, I looked at casting a second wheel and starting over again or starting afresh and scratch building a new one altogether. I chose to scratch build it and after several failed attempts I finally created a wheel that I am happy with. The new wheel has separate holes for the studs for added realism and ease of moulding. My other major delay was the chassis. The chassis is 90 percent scratch built and sourcing reference material has proven difficult. It has only been in the last six weeks or so that I have been able to find images of the bare chassis with enough detail in them to transfer that detail onto mine. At the moment I am finishing off the remaining cross members and adding the studs. Once that is done the chassis will be complete. The front and rear suspension has also been sourced and the brakes created. I am really looking forward to completing this kit shortly but due to the intricate details that are needed I have given up setting a specific date. One thing is certain when it is completed it will have been worth the wait. Anyway I would like to thank you fro all your patience and I look forward to my next announcement being that its finished. Cheers !

Hey Tom. Sorry for the late reply, I literally have not logged in for almost a month. Despite the lack of posts I have not stopped working on the trucks. A car accident last year left me with a broken wrist and since then there have been other distractions to contend with as well. I have decided to focus on the 32 BB Ford truck rather than the AA at the moment.Earlier in the month I finished off the cab and fenders, and the bonnet sides are almost ready to mould. One thing that has been hampering this project since day one was how I would go about making the larger drum brakes. Well I came up with a solution and I hope have them finished in the next day or so. The chassis has had all the cross members added and it just needs surface finishing before I mould it as well. This has been a mammoth undertaking and my desire to get everything right has meant that each task has taken far longer than anticipated. I am finally at the stage where I am happy with how everything looks and the only remaining task after finishing the brakes and chassis will be to complete the diff and rear leaf springs. Once I have done this I can begin casting. I am not sure how long it will be before that happens but once it does I will post up the finished prototype and focus and the promotion. Cheers, Rob.

Yeah I know about that body. It was made by a friend of a friend of mine. It was one of the first bodies he cast but he stopped making them many years ago. Cheers !

Hey Guys. Sorry for the lack of updates. I have been taking a break to focus on some other projects. I wish to thank you for all the positive feedback, and look I look forward to recommencing the project in early January. Season Greeting !

With the final wheel arch column in place I ran a piece of balsa wood between the two columns. The purpose of this beam is to keep the two body halves apart. The body halves will need to be locked firmly in place when I begin assembling the body. As I mentioned last time I need to find the centre point in the jig because this where the rear part of the body will need to positioned for the sides to be attached. I anticipate at a least a couple of days more to finish the jig. Once I have the jig finished then i can finally start putting the body together.

Hey Guys. Its been a very slow evening. I have had to stop working on the body to get the jig in order. After adding the third wheel arch column, i cut out the fourth one and clamped it next to the third one to make sure the shape was the same.

The rear end of the body was also shaped to match as well. I won't be re attaching the boot to this section just yet. There is a more pressing task and that involves finding the centre of the body itself. Because I am putting the body together from the rear and not the roof i will need to have everything perfectly aligned. I pulled out the jig I made months ago to make some additions. I will complete the rear wheel arch columns, these will lock the body in place. This is the first one done. With these complete I will add to the section at the back. I have already marked out the centre point on the raised piece at the front. With the back section complete I can run a spine from one end to the other. At this stage I am thinking of using string but I will construct the rest of the jig first before I determine the spine. That will be thee next task.

With the gauge finished the boot which was rounded to match.

Here is the completed contour gauge. The two pieces are attached to a length of balsa wood for rigidity.

Hey Guys. Today I was able finish off the contour gauge but in order to do so I need to find the centre point in the 1:1 gauge. This was a straight forward task.

It might sound strange but I actually don't put that many hours into this project. It tends to be more of an afternoon evening task, so I get plenty of fresh air. Like many modellers, I have several other project on the go at the same time. I would like to get them completed so I can really put the hours into this one because I want have this finished some time next year...........fingers crossed !

Here is the first half of the gauge completed. I will be using the images of the 1:1 to cross reference the shape of this one. Once I am happy with the shape of this one I will use it as a template to create the other half, join the two halves together and then I will have a contour gauge for the rear of the body. This is necessary because once I have completed this gauge I can begin to start putting the body together. I was originally going to join it from the roof but I have decided that this will be a more logical way to do it. That will be the next task once the gauge is a complete.

After getting the outside measurement of the gauge I used my set square to get the inside measurement. One thing that surprised me when putting the contour gauge together was the fact the the rear of the body is not flat. This would would not have been apparent had I not decided to put the gauge together. The curve is very gentle so it would be very easy to miss.

I decided I needed a better perspective with the contour guage so I photographed it from the roof of the shed.

Hey Guys. Having sorted out the taillights I have started work on the rear part of the body. The first thing I needed to do was a construct a contour gauge and due to the size I decided to only do one side, measured from the petrol cap in the centre.

Rare indeed !

Hey Guys. Sorry for the lack of of photos but I did not get much done tonight after a hectic day. At the moment I have been focussing on tidying up the tail light which is proving a tricky process. Next task will be to finish that off, and finish the other one. Hopefully by the weekend I can really put some time into this project.

Here it is sitting inside the housing. The next task will be to duplicate the other side and then start working out how to attach the rear section to the body halves.

Hey Guys. I assembled the basic tail light.

The final image show how the rear tail light sit inside the housing. The next task will be to finish the other side tail lights and both corner tail lights.

After clean up this is what they look like. The corner tail light is taking shape as well but it will take more effort to get to the stage of the rear units.