A Special Delivery

[superbike-shaun]

Hi mrm I think two bi swing doors on the rear w/a sunroof for lighting,3 shelves Dr/side,2 on pass side,maybe some kind of bumper step,and delivery door step?,Shaun

[mrm]

Thanks for the comments guys

I like the dual "barn doors" idea personally, another thought, you can get some hobby birch plywood in 1/64" thickness that would be much closer in scale appearance, and easier to stain and take a clear coat than the balsa wood. Just a thought.

I actually looked at that birch plywood and was not a fan of it. I'll try the Balsa and if I fudge it up, I'll go the plywood route.

Hi mrm I think two bi swing doors on the rear w/a sunroof for lighting,3 shelves Dr/side,2 on pass side,maybe some kind of bumper step,and delivery door step?,Shaun

Hi Shaun, everyone is saying go with the two doors at the back and it was what I was thinking about too. So probably that's the way it will go. I would not cut the roof tho. I don't think it would look good on a C-cab. About the steps - it already has two steps at the rear and one on each side.

I need to finish a couple of other models I am building for people first, before I come back to this, but stay tuned…..

Thanks for looking.

[BirdWatcher]

Really cool... Is that a low temp alloy?

[superbike-shaun]

Hey, I remembered as I was hitting the reply button about those beauty steps,w the mesh.sorry,Shaun

[mrm]

Really cool... Is that a low temp alloy?

Yrs it is. I am not sure of which kind. I had some left from loooong time ago.

Hey, I remembered as I was hitting the reply button about those beauty steps,w the mesh.sorry,Shaun

No problem man

[mrm]

OK, so after seeing some mind-blowing cool stuff done on here with cutting machines, I could not hold it anymore and pulled the trigger on a Silhouette machine. This called for an immediate try out of its capabilities, which at this time was limited by my lack of experience designing shapes on the computer. So I started with something simple. Like the doors for my "Special Delivery".

So I loaded a sheet of .20 Styrene and cut a bunch of shapes that I designed to get my feet wet with Silhouette Studio - the drawing program that came with the machine.

 

Each door was made from two identical pieces with different window opening sizes to create a recessed space on the inside for the mesh.

 

I think it looks very utilitarian, which was the goal. Now I just need to make hinges so they can open nicely.

 

Cutting identical supports for the shelf like this by hand would be not the easiest task, but with Silhouette cutting machine it is a breeze. I made like ten of these supports and the machine cut them all identical in under a minute. 

 

I also added an edge around the shelf to keep things sliding off of it, but it was done after the pictures. I think it looks cool

 

I think that after everything is painted brown, the shelf painted in aluminum will pop out nicely through the window 

 

[mrm]

After some thinkering and a lot of head scratching and mock ups, I decided to go without the rear doors. The reasoning behind it is that when closed, it creates a very bulky and visually heavy feel to the rear. If displayed with the doors open, they create the illusion of the body being even longer than it is. This brakes the visual balance and I don't like it. So the only solution I could come up with was to leave the doors off.

Before that however, there were few other things to be addressed.

The original kit has no brakes, no hubs, no any detail..... This was addressed with some styrene and railroad modeling bolts. 

 

Meanwhile I got some work done on the interior.  The box walls were cut out of a wood veneer and stained.

 

Then strips of styrene were added with resin rivets.

 

The walls with the scratchbuilt shelf...

 

The roof received the wood treatment too with some balsa wood strips.

 

All the wood panels stained and the strips painted with some alclad. 

[DumpyDan]

Well I sure hope you continue on because this is coming along very well,,,,,,,,And I want to see it finished

[mrm]

Well I sure hope you continue on because this is coming along very well,,,,,,,,And I want to see it finished

Oh, it's getting done for sure. As a matter of fact it very close to be done. I just have not taken pictures. It will be coming with me to the Heartland Nationals, so it should be done in no more than a week. 

[DumpyDan]

Good I am so looking forward to seeing it.

[FredRPG]

Really cool so far, looking forward to the finished build.  On your rear door plans, have you thought of just a short tailgate? Yeah it's more show rod than practical but it might work for both. 

[GerN]

Good work!

[mrm]

Thanks guys.

Well, this model has been completed, but here are the remaining in progress pictures, which I did not have time to post. 

The radiator was a big challenge, due to poor planning on my behalf. I glued the hallowed modified grille shell and firewall to the body before paint. This made fitting the motor in place a real chore without a radiator in place, which would have been 100% impossible WITH the radiator in place. So I had to scratchbuilb a piece which would have to be fitted from the front of the grille shell, but be taller on the back side. Much easier said than done, but got done anyhow.

  First I built the radiator from various sheets styrene. I believe 8 pieces in total and then drilled holes where the radiator hoses were suppose to fit. on the picture is the back side , which is curved and taller than the front. 

 

Then photoetched radiator material was cut in the appropriate shapes and a brass grille was made.

 

At this point a driveshaft was also made from aluminum tubing, the valve covers were made from resin and photoetch and the air filters were almost done. At this stage the radiator is already painted and assembled. 

 

Here the model is already painted in UPS brown with the entirely scratchbuilt interior painted silver. A fuel sell was fitted and the corresponding billet aluminum cap on the outside was fitted. All graphics I designed on my computer and then cut vinyl maskings on my wife's scrapbooking cutting machine. It is all paint, no decals. 

 

The steering wheels and the horn are original kit parts. The shifter was made from the boot from the Rat Roaster '32, jeweler's wire and the knob from the recent revell '29 roadster. 

 

In order to use the original design wheels from the paddy Wagon, but with the front tires from the Rat Roaster, they had to be modified. On the left is the original backing plate of the front wheel and on the right is what has been used from it. 

 

Some crazy pedals to dance on.....

Also visible are the pipes, which have been "ceram-coated" and "heat treated" with various Alclad paints.  

 

The linkage on the carbs topping the supercharger is true to the original Rat Roaster to the last detail. It tested my patience big time. The I felt like I did not have enough abuse and decided to paint it all black. 

 

Like I said, the model has been finished for over a week now. I just have to find time to take some nice pictures and post it in "Under Glass".

Thanks for watching. 

Edited June 21, 2017 by mrm

[Slotto]

looks really nice! great attention to detail

[Super28]

Great job! I'm green with envy! Hope one day I can build them like that!

Tell me, what is this "Silhouette Machine" you speak of?

Please tell me more!

Thank You

[Super28]

Where or how did you make the pedals???? That's the cats behind there!

[Davewilly]

Looks really Cool!