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Well the Vickers Gun threw me a slight curve-literally
I WAS thinking of putting it in hot water to straighten it out, but I was worried I might damage the fine detail of the trigger handles, so in the end I just sawed most of the way through the connection with the barrel and closed up the gap with CA. Forgot to photograph the after, sorry.
The tripod assembly took two attempts due to the poor instructions (sorry, broken record) but I was expecting it, so no big deal really.
So here are some shots of it pinned together and some other bits loose for painting.
So that’s it as far as the kit is concerned, but as I said there IS scope for some extra detail, and I'm not SO traumatised as to ignore it.
First up is the PE (elevation?)wheel on the gun itself. I’m sure it shouldn’t be quite so FLAT so I will 3D print one, no problem.
There’s a PE tray on the sidecar mudguard which photos show with a ‘Water Box’ in it, so I will make one of them.
There’s a PE ammo belt which leaves a lot to be desired, so I will have a look at that.
Photos also show the classic style brass hooter with the rubber bulb, and I’m sure I’ve got a digital model of one of them, so that’s a MUST.
There’s no visible means of attaching the spare wheel ,but whether I can be bothered with that remains to be seen. And there are the aforementioned cables so we'll see how they turn out.
I'm a bit disappointed that the bike is not actually straight but there's very little I can do about that at this stage without losing the will to live.
That's it for today ,thanks for watching
N
OOPS! just noticed the gun is UPSIDE DOWN!Comment
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Despite all your frustrations and head scratching the end result is definitely worth the effort.Comment
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Dear Dr. Merryweather,
So sorry to hear that you are at the end of your rope with this build. I can only say, please don't kick the stool out from under your feet my friend. Let's take a closer look at the situation...
-The mo-cycle w/sidecar is over 100 years old...
-The destructions are also as old as the kit...
-The molds are probably over 100 years old too...
-The etch is probably older than all of the above...
-The weather has been extremely hot of late, causing short tempers on the Insel...
-You are obsessed with going back to work on the fuselages because we talked you into building this kit...
So what's a man to do Neil??????
Hell if I know!!!.......But I do have to say she is looking PDG, despite all of the above reasons. You'll master this build, finish it and have a good chuckle over all the probs you had with it later. It's your nature, my friend and your hobby too....But, there is no excuse for an upside down Vickers Neil...20 minutes on the 'naughty step' for ya!!!
Prost
AllenLife's to short to be a sheep...Comment
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My word that's a troublesome build Neil good that you've been able to wrangle it into shape .
Fully agreed with you on the rider hiding some parts.Comment
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Nah that's in the "stowed" position!! :tongue-out3: :tongue-out2: :thumb2:
I'm glad you're building this and not me....could you even imagine this in 1-87 scale??
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Thanks one and all for the great comments and encouragement. I know I've been qvetching but I have enjoyed the challenges. I will definitely have lower expectations if I ever build a resin kit again....
Now I've got the thing together I can see what's what and I can relax into the interesting stuff of bringing it a bit more to life.Comment
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My word Doctor Soaper.
Looks like you are doing a superb job.Certainly more patience than i have to tackle this Neil.Will look amazing im sure when painted.
Top marks from Miss Hoggard.
RichardComment
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Now that I’ve gotten over myself it’s time to start adding some detail.
First up was the elevation wheel for the gun– it was easy to make a digital one and print it. It was also easier make an accurate digital model of the water box (rather than whittle one) which has to fit into the PE tray.
I said I didn’t like the PE ammo belt so I went looking on line for a Vickers one and guess what I found? Yes, a whole load of Vickers Gun models (admittedly at 1-35 scale but scaling up to 1-32 is simple), some of them free to download, so it would have been silly not to…
So now I have a 3D printed Vickers gun, ammo belt and ammo boxes.
I WOULD have been happy with the kit gun, but the printed one is so much sharper (and it's the right way up, although that wasn't the fault of the kit OR the instructions.... :tongue-out3: )
And then there’s the HOOTER. Yay! That came out really well.
I had also threatened to add some cables, which I did, using solder wire of various thicknesses. I have to say I’m not happy with them, they are too lumpy and bumpy. Bowden cables have a springiness to them, which makes the curves smoother than I have managed, so I’m going to try again with copper wire this time, and if that doesn't work I will try stretched sprue; yes -OLD SKOOL!
Anyway here’s where I am today
I don't really know what I'm doing as far as motorbike plumbing is concerned, and I don't care if it's not correct, I'm just following some photos and trying to get ,as spanner570 would say 'Summat Like'
But I'm not a perfectionist....
I hope nobody's too offended.
Now to rip them off and start again (to paraphrase an eighties band-Orange Juice, I think)
Cheers
NeilComment
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Excellent stuff Neil. All very neat. I know what you mean about the wire. You need something that is stiff enough to hold a smooth bend and yet is not so springy that you can't glue it in place. Your 3D printing shows the future whether done by the modeller themselves or bought in from a third party.Comment
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If you want cables that follow the natural shape, thin nylon fishing line will work — though you may need to drill holes to put the ends into.Comment
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excellent Jakko .my thought exactly!!Comment
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