Post Apocalypse "Road Train" kitbash.

[Guest]

Thanks all, I'm glad you like it so far.

Great work Andy, you are turning into a modeller with some great skills. This scratchery is impressive, most impressed. Believe in yourself mate.

Cheers John, very kind of you to say. Confidence is something I've always struggled with, and I get knocked back very easily, but I really appreciate everyone's encouraging comments and they spur me on :smiling3:

[Guest]

These kinds of things are good practice for converting/scratchbuilding “real” models: you can experiment to your heart’s content to get things the way you want to build them. You get to develop techniques that will come in handy when you want to convert a model of a real subject, without fear of things going overly wrong — here, you can always just change things so your mistake looks like you intended it that way. For example, say your sawing the locomotive in two had gone crooked. No problem taking a bit more off here, while you wouldn’t want to make that mistake if you were, say, trying to make a model of a stretched car

[Guest]

Ha, yes, I've certainly made a few dodgy cuts!

Because of that I'm in the habit of cutting oversize where I can, then finishing off with sanding. Hopefully I'll get more accurate with practice.

[Guest]

I've made a start on the chassis this morning, so first job was to deconstruct the MAN

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n[/ATTACH]

With that stripped and the chassis from the new kit built, I could start chopping them around. Trying my best to keep the cuts square!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n[/ATTACH]

After a bit of trimming it went together pretty well. This isn't the finished layout, the central set of axle locations got chopped out, and the rear (left) section was extended to add the towing pintle

[ATTACH=CONFIG]n[/ATTACH]

This finally gave me a chance to try on the wheels. There isn't a huge difference between them, but the MAN ones just look a tad weedy next to the larger, more knobbly MAZ ones.

MAN
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n[/ATTACH]

MAZ
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n[/ATTACH]

MAN
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n[/ATTACH]

MAZ
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n[/ATTACH]

I think I'm settled on the bigger ones but would welcome your thoughts.

That then leads to a question about stripping paint from rubber tyres. I usually use methylated spirits for hard plastic, but not sure if it would be safe on the soft rubber. Any tips appreciated.

Thanks

[minitnkr]

There have been so many materials used, I wouldn't hazard a guess. Why not paint over? Test on rear of a tire to see what paint works best. Super job on the crane BTW. PaulE

[Neil Merryweather]

MAZ no contest!

[Guest]

Thanks Paul. If no one comes up with a definitive suggestion I'll experiment as you say. They're covered in paint, pigments, glue from being stuck to a base, so would prefer to start again if possible.

Cheers Neil:thumb2:

[Gern]

In a post apocalyptic world, they're not going to be new tyres, so some wear and tear would be fine. No need to be too fussy cleaning them up and repainting - a bit of sanding to get rid of the worst of what's there so they look usable and you should be OK.

I've always wondered why folks complain about mould seams on tyres. They have a worn area along the surface where the tyre touches the road and a bit of gentle sanding to remove the seams gives exactly that!

[Guest]

Cheers Dave, I'll bear that in mind.

I read somewhere that putting them in the freezer helps with sanding. I'll have to be careful though or it'll end up running on brussel sprouts!

[Gern]

Cheers Dave, I'll bear that in mind.

I read somewhere that putting them in the freezer helps with sanding. I'll have to be careful though or it'll end up running on brussel sprouts!

If your eyesight is that bad Andy, perhaps you've picked the wrong hobby?!

[Guest]

I think I'm settled on the bigger ones but would welcome your thoughts.

Is this supposed to be post-apocalyptic? Then I would go for one type on most axles but another in one or two places, and not on the same axle.

[Guest]

Is this supposed to be post-apocalyptic? Then I would go for one type on most axles but another in one or two places, and not on the same axle.

I totally get what you're saying, but I just couldn't! :smiling5:

The trailer might be a different story though. If I can I'd like that to be almost completely scratch built, except for the wheels, so anything goes. It's a big if, but I'll give it a go.

[Guest]

Nothing to lose except some materials if it goes wrong, so go for it, I’d say

[JR]

Ha, yes, I've certainly made a few dodgy cuts!

Because of that I'm in the habit of cutting oversize where I can, then finishing off with sanding. Hopefully I'll get more accurate with practice.

Nothing wrong in that method Andy, far better to sand than to have to re make.

[Guest]

Progress has been a bit slow due to work but I've been piecing the chassis together, using a mixture of old & new parts.

I had to extend some of the prop shafts due to the new wheel spacing so used the old joints, bits of rod, and some tubing to get the various angles right and the simulate different diameters caused by sliding joints etc.

[ATTACH]391135[/ATTACH]

There are still some redundant holes and pin marks to fix, but adding all this has stiffened it up nicely.