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Forums - Site / Build Logs

Messages in this Build Logs forum are automatically posted when new Build Logs or Chapters are added. Other modellers can then comment on them. Refer to the Build Logs section for more information.

Topics	73
Messages	2461

Subject:

[Chapter] Chapter 5 - A few components

Date:

Nov 20, 2004

From:

Alex Hill

Chapter 5 - A few components

This is a chapter in four parts to cover the modifications to some of the larger elements that won’t be getting attached until the final assembly stages, beginning with the stowage box.

On the full size vehicle this was intended as the home for the overall tracks. I intend fitting some of these, (more of which later) so in this case I’ll be leaving the box empty, but it seems that for most vehicles, the box is a good place to dump anything that would cause a hernia if you had to stow it in the rear body. A.A’s depiction of this part is a bit over simplified. For me it was a toss up whether to ditch it and scratch build another or try and improve on the original. Building my own would have given a more scale thickness to the walls of the piece, but, being reluctant to start chucking bits of a £100+ kit in the bin, I opted for the latter. The modifications shown in the picture are pretty straightforward. The main point to note is the re-shaping of the metal channel where the front of the box bolts to the chassis. The standard kit item will potentially foul the steering drop arm if it’s left in its original form.

Onto the doors. It would be nice to claim that I remodelled these bits to achieve the aforementioned ‘scale thickness’. However, thanks to an error on AA’s or (somewhat more likely) my part, I found that the kit items were a tad too small for the holes they had to fill and no amount of shuffling at the dry run stage would make up that critical half mil’.

Next up is the fuel tank. Very minor alterations here. Both steps were replaced, simply because the kit items were a little rounded on the edges. Not a fault as such, just a limitation in the casting. There’s also a bonus to doing this, as it allows a little daylight to pass though the upper step. Not particularly noticeable on the finished vehicle, but it’s a little extra refinement. The other change here was filing off the cast on level viewing glass and replacing it with a ring, which will take a Fingerprint Designs dial later on.

Last, and most complicated, part of the four is the radiator. AA provides mounting points for the core elements evenly spaced across the width of the radiator. This isn’t right. The elements should actually be in pairs, however, this is easily corrected by filling the existing slots in the radiator housing, trimming the elements to fit and reposition with some home made spacers. At this stage I fitted the kit photo etch back panel and did all the detailing work pictured. It was then that I had to vigorously kick myself. I’d done my dry runs to check the fit of the major components without attaching the fan to the engine. More fool me. Not only did the fan fail to line up with the fan tunnel I’d fixed onto the P.E back plate, it pushed the radiator well forward of it’s mounts on the chassis rails. Much swearing, measuring and juggling of parts followed. The end result is not perfect, (note the hole in mesh to accommodate the bolt which holds the fan) but it’s the best compromise I could achieve.