Trucks
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Opel Blitz Custom Car Carrier
Stickframe
#362
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Posted: Tuesday, August 27, 2019 - 10:54 AM UTC
Hey D - that’s a nice and clean motivation - congrats! Carrier bearings are used pretty commonly on longbed trucks - light, medium, and heavy duty, as you’ll see them on mid sized “big” trucks like Ford F700’s, and on Toyota 4x4s! In addition to allowing an extended drive shaft they’re used to limit oscillation and vibration - all that said, your build is looking good! Keep it up -

Cheers
Nick
AussieReg
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AUTOMODELER
#007
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Posted: Friday, September 06, 2019 - 02:04 AM UTC
I have cleaned up the chassis extension, primed and painted.







I have also assembled, primed and painted the wheels and engine parts.




My aim is to get the cab and chassis basically completed then start mocking up the wedge tray from thin cardboard before I start hacking up styrene sheets.

Cheers, D
165thspc
#521
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Posted: Friday, September 06, 2019 - 05:12 AM UTC
As clean and neat as work done by any serious speed shop that wanted to produce a really impressive custom "show hauler" for taking their next creation to the competitions!

Good job Damian!

P.S. A nice custom hauler that you might happen to see almost any night on US TV would be on the program "Counting Cars". That Dude, Danny has produced a real sharp extended frame Chevy Cab Over Engine truck to get out there and represent his custom shop!

Your's will be in that same category!
Joel_W
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Posted: Friday, September 06, 2019 - 06:34 AM UTC
D,
The painted chassis looks like it was a molded kit part, that's how good it came out. The split axle donut carrier is just amazing. Another detail that one would never think was scratched out.

I'll 2nd what Michael said about the TV program "Counting Cars". the guy has his resto shop in Vegas, and he and his crew just does amazing custom work. They've got a custom hauler that will blow your mind, as well as the insane paint job.

You're in luck as it's one of the shows on the History channel, and they stream all the episodes plus other stuff on their web site. Check it out: https://www.history.com/shows/counting-cars

Joel


AussieReg
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#007
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Posted: Friday, September 06, 2019 - 11:37 AM UTC
Thanks for the feedback guys, much appreciated as always.

Michael, I did see your notes on the inspection and drain plugs for the diff, and I will add those at some stage for sure. Probably in chrome or copper to make them stand out! Thanks for the info.

Counting Cars is one of my favourite shows but we don't get it on free-to-air TV down here, so the link to the streaming site is great! Thanks Joel.

Their COE hauler is a beautiful thing, but it is very elusive and hard to find good images. The tray seems to be just a big flat surface, probably to be used for parts and bikes etc. as well as cars, where mine will be a twin ramp going further forward with a smaller horizontal area at the front.





Cheers, D
165thspc
#521
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Posted: Friday, September 06, 2019 - 12:45 PM UTC
Well consider silvering/chrome plating the entire rear differential cover plate, hot rod style.
Szmann
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Posted: Friday, September 06, 2019 - 12:58 PM UTC
D., very good scratch build ad painting in display here. You hit bulls-eye with the metallics. Very nice, very nice. KUTGW!

Gabriel
AussieReg
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#007
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Posted: Friday, September 06, 2019 - 12:59 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Well consider silvering/chrome plating the entire rear differential cover plate, hot rod style.



Definitely another option I am considering, so the mirror base to show off all of this work might need to be on the planning list as well

Cheers, D
Cosimodo
#335
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Posted: Friday, September 06, 2019 - 04:25 PM UTC
So much has happened on this in the last two weeks when I meant to be congratulating you on the paint job and now you have truly gone custom. Some fantastic education for us OOB builders here for when we finally get up the nerve. Great work Damian and great input from Mike.

cheers
Michael
AussieReg
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#007
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Posted: Saturday, September 07, 2019 - 02:58 AM UTC
Thanks for checking in Michael, glad you are enjoying this adventure!

More work on the cabin today, the dashboard got a more subtle tone of copper, and I started on the dial detail painting process.


The cabin exterior got a couple of good coats of clear gloss (SMS Super Clear Lacquer).


The SMS Metallic Copper really shines under a nice clear finish. The dials on the dash still need some work, but I am hoping to get the cabin finished and the wheels on tomorrow.


Cheers, D
Joel_W
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Posted: Saturday, September 07, 2019 - 06:56 AM UTC
D,
The dash really looks good, but the Exterior Copper Metallic color under that Clear Gloss is beyond GREAT

Joel
Szmann
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Posted: Saturday, September 07, 2019 - 10:57 AM UTC

Quoted Text

D,
The dash really looks good, but the Exterior Copper Metallic color under that Clear Gloss is beyond GREAT

Joel



One cannot argue with that. I'm right behind Joel in this one.
Gabriel
Dixon66
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Posted: Saturday, September 07, 2019 - 01:58 PM UTC
That looks absolutely fantastic Damian!
165thspc
#521
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Posted: Sunday, September 08, 2019 - 10:08 AM UTC
Damian, do you plan to make the rear portion of the carrier a straight uphill wedge or will it incline up just so far and then level off?

No hidden agenda in the question - just wondering????????
AussieReg
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#007
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Posted: Sunday, September 08, 2019 - 11:40 AM UTC
Thanks once again for the support guys, it really is very much appreciated. This is my first attempt at such a major scratchbuild exercise and the advice I am getting along the way here is invaluable.


Quoted Text

Damian, do you plan to make the rear portion of the carrier a straight uphill wedge or will it incline up just so far and then level off?

No hidden agenda in the question - just wondering????????



Michael, I am leaning towards the long wedge style on the truck in the initial post of the thread.


I like the thought of having the car sitting on an angle to break up the lines a bit. Looking at the image here it seems like there is a slight "hump" and a downwards slope towards the back of the cab, maybe 1.2-1.5 metres. I am planning to build a winch and cable roller setup (just in case I need to transport any Fords or Mopars ) to sit between the ramps at the front, and there will be a solid floor at chassis level between the ramps. There is a system of clamps visible on each side of both ramps, top and bottom, to fix cross-bar chocks allowing for varying wheel bases, and the extra long ramps to get the car off the ground. I have already found a source for the bullet style marker lights on the roof and down the sides, but I don't like the look of the air horns.


I might even think about getting some black pinstripe decals.


So much detail to take in and get my head around

Cheers, D
Stickframe
#362
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Posted: Sunday, September 08, 2019 - 05:00 PM UTC
Hi D,

Wow - The cab looks great! This will be a good looking rig! Congrats on extending the chassis and keeping it squared up, sometimes easier said than done.

Cheers
Nick

Hwa-Rang
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Posted: Sunday, September 08, 2019 - 05:11 PM UTC
Wow, the exterior paint looks spectacular. Love the subtle cobber tone of the dash. Great work D.
Joel_W
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Posted: Monday, September 09, 2019 - 05:57 AM UTC
D,
Love the idea of the black pinstriping. That should really kick your fantastic paint job up another few notches.

Your build is on a whole new level.

Joel
AussieReg
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#007
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Posted: Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - 02:07 AM UTC
Thanks guys, glad you are enjoying the show as much as I am enjoying putting it on! It's great to be able to push the boundaries and test myself on some new techniques and colours.

A bit more progress on the interior and engine to report. The seat was hand painted with Vallejo Model Colour Red Leather and a touch of Saddle Brown around the edges. I am going to experiment with some dry brushed oils to try to get some fading and wear on the broad areas, even though it won't really be seen once the cab is assembled. I continued the copper theme on the pedal arms and levers.



I also decided to carry the copper theme over into the engine bay to contrast with the steel finish on the engine block. I hand painted a couple of details in gloss black, and picked out the exhaust manifold and pipe with a light coat of Burnt Metal through the airbrush.



The engine and radiator were then installed on the chassis. Revell have made an error in the instructions at this stage, and I remembered getting caught out by this last time built this kit. In step 8 of the instructions they would have you fit the radiator and radiator hoses to the front of the engine assembly, and then fit the entire assembly to the chassis in step 9.


The problem is that bottom of the radiator sits forward of the front chassis crossmember, and the lower radiator hose (part number 36) actually passes BENEATH the crossmember and into the back of the radiator. The recess for the hose on the bottom of the crossmember is clearly visible in the drawing for step 9.
There is no way that the entire assembly can be dropped into place, so I fixed the radiator into place, then the engine assembly, and the radiator hoses will go on once everything is cured.



The duallies on the back end look good in place, and an overall shot of the chassis assembly as it sits currently.



Next steps are setting up the front drive shaft, painting and installing the fuel tank (which sits between the chassis rails directly beneath the seat), and fitting off the radiator hoses. I am still considering whether I will wire up the engine with some garish ignition leads.

Cheers, D
165thspc
#521
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Posted: Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - 04:53 AM UTC
OK - here is a WAY over the top suggestion on the Blitz gas tank:

Where the two halves of the gas tank come together on the model here should be a crimped flange all the way around the tank. I am in the habbit of laying down a layer of thin sheet plastic on one half of the tank (drilling clearance holes for the alignment pins) and then gluing the other half of the tank down. Only then do I go around the tank either cutting or sanding this thin sheet to represent that small flange,

(Like I said that might just be WAY over the top regarding insane detail one might add.)

Hey it's me!
Joel_W
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Posted: Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - 05:25 AM UTC
D,
this is turning into one of, if not your best ever builds. The level of added and corrected details is just amazing. I'm still amazed at the donut bearing housing you scratched out. And as I said, the Metallic Copper paint job is just flawless.

Now the paint detailing of the engine is a true custom touch that really adds a lot to the build. Honestly, I would just add spark plug wires as an added touch of realism.

As for Michael's suggestion, it really seems to have a lot of merit.

Joel
165thspc
#521
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Posted: Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - 05:32 AM UTC
Unfortunately barely visible when the truck is fully assembled. However I am just feeble minded enough to install details you can hardly see.

Here is the flange added to the gas tank in the Blitz Bus as well as the fuel line and the connection to the fuel level sender.

AussieReg
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#007
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Posted: Wednesday, September 11, 2019 - 01:27 AM UTC
Michael, that is a very neat method to produce the flange around the join in the tank halves. I have filed that away for future reference! Unfortunately, I have already assembled the tank for my build so I can't do it your way, but a length of half round styrene will do the trick nicely!



Tinkering with fiddly little bits tonight, I fitted off the upper and lower radiator hoses and the radiator filler cap.


. . . .finished off the steering wheel


. . . .and masked and painted the frames on the quarter windows (after I had already removed the larger side window sections)




Cheers, D
Joel_W
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Posted: Wednesday, September 11, 2019 - 01:56 AM UTC
D,
Even the smallest of detail parts are getting your attention so that they're equal to the rest of the build. The sum of the parts is pushing the whole to a new level for sure.

Joel
165thspc
#521
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Posted: Wednesday, September 11, 2019 - 04:57 AM UTC
Damian you have the good fortune of working in a slightly larger scale than I. In the Italeri 1/35th Blitz they don't even provide the crank out cab vent windows - we have to make them ourselves.

(Why when I was a child we had to walk 5 miles to school - Uphill! - BOTH WAYS! Old man's adage!)

Great work. As always!