RichO

Alright Then, I managed to get some work done on the suspension system, in between boxing the house to move. Not a lot of photos today, but some work done on all the crazy parts for this system. The first was the anchors for the suspension. These hold everything into place. These are attached to the frame around the opening that the drive shaft passes through. Everything looks to line up great. On to the next step........ This all line up just right, so on to the suspension away from the frame......... You can see the "A" arm to the right. I have 16 of these to build. For this build I need 32 copies of everything for both sides. I still have packing to do, so next report will probably be small also, but it's getting worked on. Until next time all...........

Thanks for the great comments everyone, and for watching the build. I got a few more things finished inside the frame, but I'm seriously procrastinating with the suspension work. I did manage to get parts cut for outside of the rail. At this point tho, it is just a pile of parts....... I also finished building the main Transfer Case.......... I managed to also build the connecting Drive Shafts and get everything installed. This was a relatively easy process after painting, and while I was starting the weathering........ ????? Well, that's just not right. I was looking at these photos with the wet weathering and was wondering if anyone else would notice the HUGE MISTAKE! The drive shaft at the bottom of the photo is installed backwards and the Transfer Case is also installed sdrawkcab!!! I use superglue by the gallons to build my models, so prying these off the frame was a bit fiddly, but it all worked out........ 'at's betta. After that close call, It was off to built the air tanks and start with the plumbing for the brake system. The build is at this point tonight. I'll be back with, maybe some suspension done. Later All.

Hey All, I spent this week building the Torsion Bar Anchors for the suspension system, along with a few other items. These are the Torsion Bar anchors that anchor the suspension system onto the frame rails The Torsion Bar Anchors. These took all week to build..... Placed along the rail frame......... These all look like they are level enough to move on to the next part of the suspension system...... I also built the Tail Hook Anchor, and hook, and the install..... I also have a bit of plumbing started. The other ends of the lube lines will be attached much later in the build. A busy build week this week. All a lot of fun. I have started building the next phase of the suspension system. I hope to have something to show next week. Packing for the move is coming closer. Thanks All for watching.........

Hey All, I have finished building the four Differentials and the two central Gearbox's, and I have connected everything together. I had to also make little connectors that stabilize and secure the Differentials to the frame. These are the two central gearbox's......... The stable connectors.......... The four Differentials........ And they all live about here......... Getting everything together and a new test fitting..... Everything painted and temp. placed. I have a bit of plumbing to do, so nothing secured. Aft connections....... Bow connections........ This is one big long frame....... I now have several different options. Continue with the Drive Train, with Tranny, and Engine, or start the Suspension system, or plumbing or............. I believe I will punch the drive shafts through the frame wall, and locate the start of the Suspension System. Until next time All.............Thanks

I had to go look all this up at the Model Factory Hiro. These are really expensive kits. At this size you should get some really great details tho.

Hey Mark, it looks like you are using "Master Club" products for your rivet work. I use these a lot and thought I recognized 'em. I build plastic models that are to expensive in reality. I like the detail, about how much cost for a metal kit?

Hey Everybody, I have made the frame connections and the frame is now in one piece. I also have the painting of the frame finished, ready to move on to the Drive Train. A lot of cross connections........ The painting of the frame......... I showed some guys at the model club. 50/50 love/hated it. The rivet counters thought the color was to unrealistic. The artists loved it. I really wanted to go to town with the color on this build, and make it a bit different. I'm now ready to move on to the Drive Train. Starting with the 4 Differentials. I'll be back. Rich

So anyway, I spent the last month building all these tiny parts for the frame after the restart. When I was ready to paint all of these, I wanted to try something new. I have not tried the "hair spray" technique for painting, so, a plausibility study was in order. I can see how this would work really good. I have a ways to go to get the technique down for this build tho. I over sprayed the top coat and had to scrub with a wire brush to get started. I really like the scratches effect with this. If I can get the top coat to come off a lot easier I might have something here. More practice is needed. I kept to my tried and true salt technique for this build. It's easy and I have more control over my colors and textures, and I don't have to think about it. Just do it. I start with a red oxide primer base rust. Then I apply all the variations with other colors over the red base. I sprinkle the salt where I want the rust and then top coat with the contrasting green. I get such really great textures with this technique, it looks like real peeling and rusting paint. Just look at this texture............ More frame mounts and cross plates to build........ Everything is where t is supposed to be and I'm now ready to join the frame. Like 40 connections. Her it is!! The first two pieces to be joined on this build. I have all these connections to deal with to get the cross supports into place. This is just the first one. I'll be back with a together frame man. Thanks All

the Frog Prince is now a King in Finished Work!

Hey Everyone, I had such a great time building this launch vehicle. I'm glad you all tagged along with this long and interrupted build. I want to thank everyone for the great comments and all the time you invested watching this thing grow. I'm off to new projects now, and new builds are coming soon. Thank All you guys for tagging along. Enjoy the photos, Rich And now, for the finished build. Thanks Everyone!

Hey All, I have been trying to finish up with the Frog, and the Frog is now done, with just weathering to do, and I now can concentrate my efforts here, altho a little slow at first. I have a house move coming up in a few weeks, so the postings my be a bit erratic for a short time. I started this project some time ago, but have not put much time into it, and I'm just now posting the build. My original build had gotten to the frame being put together. And then I found much better references, and my frame was so wrong, I started over. My original reference was seriously lacking in some respects to the frame supports and the differential pans. Just so you can see the old frame. These photos show....... that there are eight cross supports and four differential pans. That is 12 cross connections. This is so far wrong from what I have found in subsequent photos and drawings that I can't just live with it. I have new references that show the rail frame of this build and I can count 19 cross members so far that I need to build and place along the frame rail. I usually spend quite a while longer finding references for builds before I start, for just this reason. However this is just to cool to wait much longer. On with the new frame.. The frame rails are the same length and height, so no change there (old frame is painted), but I did start over with all my markings so as not to get confused and recut everything instead of reusing the old frame. I also have all the base plates for the cross supports cut and sized. You can see how many I missed the first time 'round. I also have all the differential pans built... and the major cross members along the bottom of the rail....... This pile of cross member parts along with the diff. pans and frame rails are now ready for painting. They are at the paint dept. as I write, and I'm going to try something I have never done before. I'll show you when I get back. This is were the build is today. I'll be back with fresh paint and a new frame. Sorry if this confusing to some, but all is on track and I have a better frame build to work with. RichO Later everyone........

Hey All, A quick post for today. This is my secondary build after the Frog Prince, so postings will be slow at first. I have finished with the tires. I have all the tires I need painted and ready for install. ..... When I get that far. Cleaned and painted......... I have also started cutting the frame and getting frame components built. Thanks everyone for hanging with me on a slow start to a monster truck build.

Hey All, A short report for today. Not much more to do. I finished with the remaining small items that I want to deal with. All that was left to finish was, connecting the tow hook to the crane, a shield over the engines, and a small control box. I am going to leave the engine covers unbuilt. In the world, the engine bay would be sealed around, with a launch rail shield molded into the top. All of this would have a stash of tools mounted to the top. I wanted people to see the engine detail, so, open it is. I see a small fit issue here, then this gets secured final. I'll try to get more slack on the cable...... And then was a control box. With connecting wires to the launch rail, and the hoist crane.... It lives here........ Front fenders and tires, That's it. The build is now complete! I need to secure the front fenders and mount the tires for photos. I'll now spend a few days painting and weathering and adding just general dirtyness. I will see you all in a few days in the Finished Work section. Thanks for watching everyone. WIP is closed. RichO

Hey Guys, The tire production is now finished. I still have a spare to build, but I'll build that a year or so from now. Once I had the master tire built and sealed, it was ready to cast. I had to build the box for the mold and make a fill plug for the tire. The box is Lego's, and the fill plug is a 3/4 inch dowel. I glued the plug into place and then flipped the tire right side up, plug side down. I glued all this to my base and got ready to pour rubber. I poured the rubber for the mold and let it all set over night. I found this in the morning.... A big dimple, and the level of the rubber had lowered. My tire had sprung a leak and sucked in the rubber, or my box had a leak. It was the box, and it wasn't to bad. When I removed the master tire from the rubber mold, I lost a few treads.... I had to remove all of these from the mold, to get it all ready for casting. Production started, and about ten minutes for each tire. Eight new tires, and a couple of extras, to empty the resin bottles. I have a job cleaning all these and getting ready for paint. I'll remove the fill plugs and sand the treads to wear everything old and used. This will take a bit while I'm building wheels. I'll be back with more rubber shenanigans in a while. Thanks All............

and I thought I was ok at scratching. Great job Shark man!

Thanks for checking in everyone and the great comments!! I have finished up with the cab build. I have placed all the little fiddly bits, that I'm sure will get knocked off at some point before it goes on the shelf. The list of some items to finish for this part were to fit the doors, mirrors, antenna, tow hook and cable, spot light, grates, and general doodads. Three people have looked at my build in person, and no one has noticed, no windows. Of course this will all get really dirty and messy when finished work is viewed. It all looks terrible this close, but will be even worse when done. I'll be moving from front to back as the end is in site. Until next time.

Here We Go! First up are tires. Literally, building this from the ground up. I have had to hand make the tires for each one of my projects. I can purchase any number of after market parts at 1/25 scale, but not Maz tires. And each time, I have gone about it in slightly different ways. Now, I have a good working method at this point, and building a tire only takes a couple days of part time work. I start with cutting the parts out of thick card. I have always used card to build the large tires I use. Using card is much easier to bend, cut, and glue. I arrange these card "doughnuts" stacking each together to create the shape of the tire. While I was beginning to add the individual treads, I decided to "weight" the tires. I'm guessing this big truck weighs a pound or two, so a weight bulge was in order. I water/white glued separate strips of thin paper to build up the sides of the tires to create the bulge. When everything was dry, I sanded the tire flat on the side of the bulge. Here you can see how I arranged the card "doughnuts" and spaced everything to get the tire shape. Now it's a matter of adding the individual treads. The treads are a lazar cut package I have had for a while, just for this kind of situation. I got these from a Polish maker some years ago. With all the treads applied, I painted the master tire and sealed it for casting. Remember that I need eight of these, and one new extra for the spare. I'll hand build the spare tire for the top rack because I only need one new spare, with no bulge. The rest of these will get resin cast. I'll have eight new tires in an afternoon. The weight bulge is a little hard to see here, but looks good in person, and will show better as the build progresses. In this photo you can see the size difference between the tires of the Frog-7 build in the front, and the Maz man tires. Both are 1/25 scale. That's the first report for this build. I'll build molds for next posting and get wheels started. Thanks for tagging along, Rich.

Hey Everybody, I'm starting a new build. This build will be a very large scratchbuild 1/25 scale ex-military truck turned civilian crane truck. SO! ' you ever have one of those moments when the "New Model Syndrome" hit so hard you can't get anything else done. I never had until now. I have always finished a build before I start an other. Something happened I can't explain with this one tho. I found these two photos. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!!!! I never recovered, and have spent the last three or more months getting the references I need for this build. Crane KS-6571 + Maz-543! Seeing how my fascination with BIG Russian Trucks has taken over my build site, I might as well do something about this right now, and add another build to the insanity of the, "Insane Truckworks" of my build desk. As it turns out, I have found a ton of references and vector drawings for Maz man. However, I have only found photos so far for Crane Jane. Remember the Maz-357 build? I'm not sure if I posted this build here. This was built at 1/20 scale and measured 32cm. the Frog-7... measures 35cm at 1/25 scale. A smaller scale at 1/25 than the Maz at 1/20 scale. But a larger truck model. This new beast will be the biggest model I have ever built. At 1/25 scale, the naked frame alone, will measure at 46cm!! and another 15-20cm for all the overhang. That's bigly huge for my work desk. And I'm also hoping that Jane will reach about 90cm tall when fully extended. I'm really excited to start this scratch build, giant Work Truck. I'll build the most tedious parts first. Starting with... TIRES!!! I hope I get some interest, and maybe some of you guys will like another large truck amongst your aircraft. I'll be back shortly with tires. Rich

Thanks Guys for the nice comments during this build! Hey All. I have come to a huge milestone with this build. I am done. With any major sub-assemblies. No more construction of major parts. This marks the end of the build with the major subject it self. I will now take a week or three to finish off all the little things to tighten up this build. And I have a ton of stuff to finish. Meanwhile, this is the finish of the Hoist Crane. I had several sub assemblies to get this to a finished stage. The rotator motor and extra fuel cans squeeze between the two back fenders. construction of fuel cans and rack......... The fuel cans rack lives here........... Next up, was the Hoist Crane Base........ The lift arm for the hoist crane... The main crane arm......... It looks like it will work....... Starting the hoist hook......... I finally got to the point of joining the last two major sub assemblies.......... This is such a beautiful photo for me. This marks the end of all hostilities towards this build, and the truce has been signed. I am finally at piece with this and can finish all the little things without worrying if could even deal with the build......... The young prince has his second major extension, and all is well. I'll be back with a mess of small stuff to finish up the WIP postings. Be back later All..........

Howdy All, I have finished with building the Launch Rail, and have moved on to greener pastures. The install of the launch rail was fairly easy with a rotator joint and some cabling. The rail sits up over the cab and engines. The lift arms attach under the rails, and the hinge is in the back. That's it. ' doesn't really look like much with the rail down, but with a little help, the young prince has his first rail lift..... Cabling..... All hosed up.......... After the Launch Rail was finished, for now, I moved on to more paraphernalia on "The Other Side". Bwa ha ha.......The end is in site! I had an other store locker, and a cable reel, and more.......still a lot of little items. I also started building the Hoist Crane. Starting at the bottom... This is the bottom end of the Hoist Crane. This has a rotator motor that is used to rotate the crane for loading and unloading. I also built a what? A Launch Chair?... You can see where this is installed to. I can't quite figure it tho. It has a blast shield on top as if somebody is supposed to sit here when the missile launches! It looks more like a lid on a barbi. And that makes sense, if your going to sit there when the missile launches. ? You can see it behind the cable reel. I still need to upholster it. This is where I'm at at the moment with the build. I have started with the Hoist Crane Base and have it installed. I'm ready to start with the crane it's self. I'll be back...........Thanks for watching.

Hey All, A short report today. The Launch Rail build is going smoothly enough. I had to build this out of a crazy combo of mixed materials. This all looks sorta wild until painted. Not much in the way of building this, just details on a rail. It's now time to marry all this together. The Launch Base gets mounted to the Zil carrier, and then the Launch Rail mounts to the Launch Base. Afterwards, the hook ups between the two. Hoses, cables, mechanicals......... I'll be back, with more Russian engineering, later all.........

You guys are really killing it with the nice comments. Thank You All. I had a nice long weekend of build time, and, as things start to close in on the finish of this build, I find everything seems to be going faster with all the little details. I finished several more items and I'm ready to start with the Launch Rail mini build. I built a store cabinet that is tucked in between two fenders under the store bins. This is just one large container that is stuffed under here......... After that, I built the Launch Arms. These live under the main launch rail and attach to the launch base and support and lift the launch rail when ready to fire the missile. Launch Arm stuff........ Some tricky bends, but all worked out well in the end (ouch!) This all attaches to the launch base here........ This will rest down in the groove and support the launch rail. Painted......... I have just started with the building of the Launch Rail. This really adds some more length to the over all size of the build. I have started with the inside support structure and thought I should show this before I get to far along. Launch Rail........ As you can see, The raw rail is as long as the entire build. I have to skin this, and add all the hoses, wires, details, and support gear for the launch system. I'll be back, hopefully with a built Launch Rail. Until Next Time............

Hey Guys, it's been a busy week of putting all the small subassemblies together into a single unit. I had a ton of stuff to place around the Launch Base. And a lot of fun trying to keep calm while all the small stuff got crammed into place. Believe it or don't, I still have a mess of items to build for this location. I knew when I started this it would be "interesting" to build........ Then everything gets painted........ All this is installed to this location........... I'm fairly happy with this so far. I still have a bit to go before I can secure this permanently. Leaving this for a while, I finished painting the navigation droid, and started with storage bins. The out side bins have a frame that mounts to the fenders. This is built and installed temp. Building the frame for the store bins...... Navigation Droid placed........... You can see that my paint started spitting all over the place. I didn't want to remove the paint so I'll just cover it up with dirt and weathering when I get there. I still have a ridiculous amount of items to be placed around the Launch Base yet. Plenty more to build just for this location. I'll be back with more of this really fun build. Thanks All.........

Hey Guys, I've been slugging it out for about a week now, and these sub assemblies are very small and never ending. I have started to bounce around a bit to help with the stress of these tiny builds. Not a huge report today, but very busy. I'm not sure what kind of box this is but, it was a nice quick change of pace to build. It lives about here........ Then more of the tiny build..... Not much of a report this time, but I still have a ton of tiny items to build for this Launch Base, so I'll be busy for a while still. Be back with more stuff later.........Thanks All

Hey All, Thanks everyone, for checking in. I had a good build week this week, but just a lot of small items for the Launch Base. The Launch Base sits on top of the rear bumper and also the mid frame support. This is not quite a goose-neck base, but very similar. A hefty support for the rest of the launch gear. Also this has all sorts of things inside the frame, and I'm just getting started with this part of the launch build. This lives about here.... Now I get to stuff it with all kinds of goodies. I'm thinking that this might be a hydraulic pump, maybe, or something. Just a lot of parts, and very small. This sits about here and gets hosed and wired into place. Some of the items. This all fits about as close as the engine bay build. Just getting started....... This is where I'm at tonight with the Launch Base build. I still have an incredible amount of items to squeeze into this, and around this, small space, plus all the piping. I have very good references for this area tho, so I'm just going to have to slug it out for a bit. I'll be back with more Launch Base build next time.