Pocher 1/8 Volvo F16 Globetrotter

[The Creative Explorer]

Hi all,

 

It has been sure a long time since I posted a project and I will not post on a regular base, sorry. Usually my available time is short and I usually choose to build, rather to sit behind the computer, which I already have to do for my dayjob...
Sorry!
But, I hope I will make up for the irregular updates for good updates.

I have just started restoring a Pocher 1/8 Volvo. I bought 2 of them in the last couple of years, both build and both not so good. I already disassembled the first one and put it away. This one was in my display cabinet downstairs and after tackling 2 Pochers last year (Lotus F1 and the yellow Aventador), both being mostly assembly models with paint-tweaks, I decided it was time to actually build a Pocher again. And I thought this was a good candidate for it.
 

This is how the Truck looked how I bought it, I had to held it together with tape to keep the shape. The previous owner must had similar issues, since there are non-standard screws at odd places. That has to be improved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[The Creative Explorer]

 

Did I mention this thing is huge?

 

 

 

 

Now that everything has been disassembled to its bare bones, it is time to work on it and start the rebuild.

I started with the engine, getting rid of the molded in bolt-heads and replaced them with punch-and-die styrene heads that I made myseld. it does look a lot sharper.

 

The thing has huge seem-lines, which has to be taken care of.

 

 

I have put the engine aside for now and fixated myself on the frame rails. Both rails contains of 2 pieces, the plastic display piece and a metal insert for stability.

I marked all the ejector marks that have to be sanded and/or filled.

 

[The Creative Explorer]

A lot of filling, filing and sanding has to be done.

 

Also getting rid of the molded in details, they just don't look right on a 1/8 model.

 

 

 

Then I also decided to get rid of all the molded in studs, nuts and bolts. Again, it looked crappy and with actual studs, bolts and nuts it will look so much better.  But it gives a whole lot more sanding and filling.

 

Making a hole in the plastic is halve the story, the metal bracket has to be drilled through as well.

 

The plastic parts have to be modified too, they don't fit good out of the box.

[The Creative Explorer]

I put a layer of primer to see where I was and what had to be done.

 

The rear end of the framerails had to be sanded down quite a bit, in order for the plastic end piece to fit. The previous owner didn't do anything about it and made that piece of plastic tear. That had to be fixed too.

 

And finally time for some assembly. I ordered for over 100 dollars in miniature bolts and screws. The hexagon head bolts were surprisingly expensive, so I will use them only where the head will be visible.
When the threadend is visible, I will use inner-hexagon screws.

 

A sort of before and after.

 

I also went ahead and installed the mud-guard studs. They are somewhat patina'd.... I took care of that, using my rotarytool as a lathe.

 

Left is the result after a polish

[The Creative Explorer]

Assembling the studs before a light coat of primer.

 

When doing the 4 studs for the other frame rail, one of the threaded ends broke... oops... Had to think for a solution as glueing would not be sufficient.

 

So bring in the metalworks experience! First I found the center and punched it with a centerpunch

 

Than I use my rotary-tool drill-stand to make a straight cut and drilled a 1,2mm hole, 2mm hole and a 2,5mm hole

 

Than threaded the hole with M3 thread and insert the longest M3 bolt I had

 

When I had it clamping on the inside, I cut of the head, deburred the cut and I was back on track.

 

This is where I stand now, I assembled both frame halves together and now waiting for paint to show up.  Both halves are not bolted together yet, I will first paint the insides of the frame rails, before I assemble them.

Each frame halve has taken me 2 weeks, with more than average build hours for me, since I am struggling from being rear-ended and having a whiplash. I am starting to go back to work with increasing hours per week.

[The Creative Explorer]

[The Creative Explorer]

I made a boo-boo, can one of the moderators move this topic to the (obvious, duh) work in progress section?

[yh70]

i had one of the kits back in the 80's but ended up selling it. will be watching your progress..

[iamsuperdan]

This is excellent!

 

I have a hard enough time finding room for 1/24 scale trucks, let alone a 1/8 scale!

And now I want one. 

 

[The Creative Explorer]

Update 3-9-2024; the last couple of days has been mostly sanding, sanding and more sanding. Not much fabricating or assembling.
I continued on the front axle and the front wheel hubs had 2 screws per side, I decided to open up the other 2 holes and have 4 screws per side, for that beavier look and rigidity.

 

The torsion bar at the front was also weird with the pins sticking out, I decided to cut them and drill a hole, so it can be attached with a screw and nut.

Here is a view with the torsion bar and the 3D printed part.

The front axle got assembled and being prepared for paint.

In the meantime, I worked some more on the engine, the molded in hose was a real nuisance to me and I made the decission to grind it off.

Also the molded in detail on the rear axle was not to my liking and I replaced all molded in nuts with nuts and screws.

This rear axle turned out to be a real pain in the buttocks, I have been working on sanding it smooth for several days now and finally got to a point where I put a light coat of primer on top, to see how much is necessary.

The front axle got painted in primer.

And assembled to the chassis

Work continued on the rear axle, sigh…

[BK9300]

Tremendous detailing, Erik - there will be lots of hours invested in this project!

Edited September 3, 2024 by BK9300
typo

[Gary Chastain]

Wow, looks good

[The Creative Explorer]

On 9/3/2024 at 6:55 PM, BK9300 said:

Tremendous detailing, Erik - there will be lots of hours invested in this project!

Thanks! and I am affraid many more have yet to come ? Holy cow, this is a giant undertaking.

[Rockford]

Quite a task ahead of you there but will look great when it's done. There's no end of detail you can add to something that size. 

[The Creative Explorer]

@RockfordThat is both the advantage aswell as it's downfall, With the amount of possibilities to add detail, when is the end? When does one stop? you can go really nuts on the detail, but also strand the project that way.

 

Update 19-09: Even though it doesn't seem like it, but many, many hours have been spent on working on the Volvo, mostly it has been sanding, as the kit parts itself are horrible. The tanks were so horrible, that the easier way would be to draw some new tanks, add more detail and print them. There was no way to get the kit tanks actual round, the fitment was very poor.
I also worked on the stacked exhaust, I didn't like the plastic parts and replaced parts with metal tubing. I also replaced the upper metal kit tubing with the same brass ones as I used for the lower part, so it has a bit smaller exhaust.

I took the oppertunity to draw new tankfiller caps and the fuel sender unit, the kit examples were not good either. For the rest, it has been sanding, sanding, sanding, oh and some sanding....

[BK9300]

With all the detail work you’ve done so far, imagine what it will be like when you carry on with the engine!