"Bendy Bus" VW Doka / 5th wheel camper kitbash

[Guest]

That sounds cool Andy. I've seen a couple of T5 Transporters done like that but never a Sprinter.

Yes Paul, quick enough for anyone short of a test pilot, very sure-footed in bad weather, yet still practical enough to carry 8 foot lengths of timber. After 10 years of ownership I'm struggling to find something to replace it with!

[rtfoe]

That looks like a one piece mold Andy, testament to a builder who has experience painting real cars and know what perfect joins are. For stiffer joints you could pour or coat resin glue onto the unseen backs before painting.

Cheers,
Richard

[Jim R]

Hi Andy
That is looking really neat and sorted.
Glad your power is OK now and that the hole gets filled and you drive fixed soon.
Jim

[Guest]

Thanks gents.

Richard, I am having trouble with one particular joint.

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Because the top of the window frame is so flexible, any time I sand anywhere near it the whole thing flexes and opens that joint up again. It'll be fine once the roof is glued on but that's a long way down the line yet. The back of it is slightly visible from the inside which has limited my options, but I think a bit of box section styrene running from one side to the other will strengthen the top of the frame, reduce the flex, and not look too out of place. I'm sure I have some epoxy glue around somewhere so might take your advice and smooth that over the back of it too.

[rtfoe]

Hi Andy, this will sound a little radical, you could sand that area thinner to allow fine wire mesh if you have any and glue that with epoxy then cover with putty and sand over...this is for the back and hope that stiffens and supports the joint.
What glue did you use to glue the spacer strip with? Best that it is plastic adhesive like Tamiya thin cement which dissolves and bonds. let the excess glue seep out so there is no gap to fill. Fillers are the weakest for joints and will crack easily.

Cheers,
Richard

[Guest]

Not radical at all Richard, well not to me anyway. For repairing cracks in plastic parts at work we have tool that heats up various shapes of wiggly wire staples, which are then bridged over the damage and they melt themselves in, so a similar kind of approach.

I mostly used Tamiya Extra Thin as I usually do, with the thicker white capped Tamiya cement on some of the bigger joints that could be clamped. The grey substance you can around the joints is Tamiya sprue dissolved in TET as it seems to be the easiest "filler" to rescribe once it's hard. That's mainly why the process has taken so long up to now as I've found it needs overnight to harden up fully.

I've added a reinforcing strip to the back of it for now and will be smearing some epoxy over the area too. I'll see how that holds up before trying anything else, but thanks for the advice.

[rtfoe]

Hope it all works out. The other alternative is to have a temporary scaffolding support in the interior of the cab to stop it from wobbling which can be removed easily. If you built a flat interior frame just under the cover will it be seen? Trying to think out of the box to see what works.

Cheers,
Richard

[Guest]

Now that's an idea, and something I've done in real life while changing the roof skin on a flimsy Peugeot 205.

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I've already added the blue supports at the sides, and the red strip is now in place. I could add something similar to the purple shape for now and cut it out after. Great thinking!

But - I think all of the heavy sanding and shaping is done, so things will be a bit more gentle from now on. Maybe it'll be fine with just the added strip, but if it splits again I'll give that a go. Thanks.

[minitnkr]

BTW, some excellent bodywork on display here

[Guest]

Thanks Paul. Sorry, I missed your reply.

Because I'm converting a van body to a pick up, the cooling louvres are in a different place. Some Evergreen styrene strip arrived today so had a crack at it. For starters it's a bit oversized. Labelled as 0.75mm quarter round, it's much closer to 1MM so looks a bit bulky. I figured I'd never be able to cut them to length accurately either so I've glued them in over long, using a bit of etch as a guide, then I'm hoping I'll be able to trim them all off together and have it looking something like equal.

I've also seen various numbers of louvres, from 8 to 10, so stuck with the lower number to make it a bit easier for myself :smiling5:

If anyone has a better idea I'd be glad to hear it, although for now it looks like this will work well enough for my standards. I might sand them a little so that they don't stick out so much.

Oh, and you can also see the petrol flap lock detail that I cut off the kit and stuck back on to the newly scribed one, in it's relocated "pick up" position.

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[scottie3158]

Andy,
Just had a good catch up. Man that is some seriously good scratchery looks excellent.

[Guest]

Thanks Paul, I really appreciate that.

Fingers crossed that trimming them to length goes well.

[Guest]

A little more chunky than the real thing, not helped by the kit panel having much more rounded corners, so they've had to be shorter. Good enough for me though!

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[scottie3158]

Andy,
There is nowt wrong with them. Nice job.

[adt70hk]

Andy

Apologies for behind on this. This has come in brilliantly! You really have got the lack for this modelling malarky. Very well done indeed.

Yours

Andrew