Big As MAZ

[RichO]

Happy Holiday's All,

 

  So the cab build is going really... strange, for me.  I have a weird sort of conglomeration of the several references that I have, and now I'm trying to get a grip on how I'm going to build this.

 

  The Trumpeter kit has all the great detail that I want to add to my build, so using that as my inspiration to a finished end.  I have worked out an approach that might work

 

  What I'm doing is I'm building three cabs and blending them together.  You have already seen the "hanger" or "skeleton" or "frame"...

 

 

 

  Above is the most basic frame, the first cab to be finished.  This will be the hanger that everything else will be supported by.  What I will now try, is to build the next cab.

 

  The second cab will be built on the inside of the first cab.  I'm going to build the inside of the cab as individual components, and then insert each separately. 

 

 

 

Of course I did a bunch of test fitting.  This idea of the components will work if I get everything tight fitting to a finished state before moving to the pain shop.

 

 

Then adding some details to the under side of the dash board...

 

I built the in cabin heater with some miscellaneous stuff hanging down.

 

 

 

 

  The next thing was to hide it all under were you can't see, under were the dash instruments will be.  This is just dry fit for now.  I will keep everything loose until I can't.

 

 

 

 

  Things with the build have been slowed to almost, non existent, with the holidays here.  Everyone knows how that goes right now.

 

I'll post again when I recover.........Happy Holiday's Everyone!

[DocRob]

Happy holidays Rich,

looking very nice for a non existent progress . Seems to be heavy partying around your holidays if you need to recover from that.
Can't wait to see more of the details inside the cab.

Cheers Rob 

[RichO]

I hope everyone had a plastic Christmas!

 

Hey All,

 

  I have managed to get a little work done over the past week or so.  With all the beer and loud laughing not much really.

 

I did some more work on the cab interior.  You all know me by now, and how I build thing that no one will see.  I spent the time building the batteries that rest under the cab seats.

 

the cab parts so far...

 

 

building the batteries was simple enough.  In the non holiday world this would take a day to build, I must have spent a week...

 

 

 

 

 

That's it for now,  I'll be back when the next round runs out, after New Year's...

[Wingco57]

The pics don't show, but can be seen through the imageshack link though.

Cheers

Cees

[RichO]

Hey Cees, or anybody.  I can see the images great from my end.  Please, is it just the last post that didn't show or are all the Imageshack photos not showing?

 

I can reinsert the photos, let me know how far back to go.

 

Thanks All!

[GusMac]

I can see the pics fine Rich. Batteries look great and you'll always know they're there!

[RichO]

Thanks All for the evil amount of views...6,660

[RichO]

Hey Guys, I hope everyone had a great holiday season!!

 

Now back to work...The cab continues.

 

  I spent what hours I could working on the cab seating.  it seems I spent a ridiculous amount of days building the seats, but in reality, it only took a few hours, just not all at one time.

 

I first had to fit the back wall of the cab.  A couple of openings and some trim, then off to the paint shop.

 

 

 

The camera was full of holiday stuff, so I didn't get as many photos as I should have of the seat construction.  The sizing and placement went fine and the bench and side seat turned out fine.

 

 

I built the drivers seat as a separate unit.  The coloring all has to be weathered yet...

 

I made the basic form out of card, then applied the tissue and white glue technique...

 

 

 

 

Once I got all the seats constructed, it was time to fit to the cab...

 

 

 

 

Now that everything is out of the way for a while I can concentrate on the rest of the cab.  I think the floors are next.

 

 

Until then All............

[RichO]

This is for all the old guys with bad eye sight, the photos aren't the best, but you can see stuff.

 

 

If you look closely, you can see the support springs for the cushion, between the leather cover and the insulation batting.

 

 

 

 

The Driver seat...

 

 

The details are small in the cab.  I'll show better photos with more details later...

[RichO]

Hey All,

 

   I feel, after the holidays, things seem to going a bit slow.  I'm building, but just not so fast.

 

The cab build continues. I have permanently installed the seating and the inside of the cab walls.

 

The cab wall are simple shapes with a bit of a color change.

 

 

 

Then I worked to finish the dashboard underside, and get this ready for install.  This is my Heater Duct for cab front window.

 

The parts...

 

 

I used foil from gum wrappers to get my finish on the ducts.

 

 

I bend thick copper wire to the shape.  Then wrap thin wire around and secure.

 

 

Then wrap with the foil...Heater Ducts.

 

Just odds and ends for this report.  I'll be back later with a more comprehensive cab report.

 

Later All.........

[RichO]

Am I the only one that works like this???????

 

 

Just a thought.

[DocRob]

Hi Rich,

I don't know if it is only me and my very sloooowly island Internet, but I can't load the pictures in your (picture heavy) MAZ thread.
Maybe I have to wait for the beginning of the next page or the installation of fibre optics on my tiny island (projected)

Cheers Rob

[GusMac]

Think it must be your internet Rob as the pictures look fine to me.

Don't worry Rich, that sort of work area looks very familiar!

[RichO]

Hey All,

 

  Today's report...still working on the cab.  I have managed to finish the, under the dashboard details.  The space is getting so tight that I have a hard time taking the photos I want, so you just have to go with what I have here.

 

  The small details took a bit of time, but turned out fine.  The floor peddles are hard to make out here but I did build the fuel, brake, gear shifter, and E-brake.  The steering column took a day by itself.

 

 

 

 

Wrapping the Steering Wheel...

 

 

And then a few shots of the cab interior...

 

 

 

 

 

I have a few more items to do, mostly with ageing the interior and generally making things a mess.  I'm just about to the point were I want to start on the closing of the cab. A bit more on my fitting issues, and then I start building the cab roof to close all this up.

 

 

Thanks for watching........be back later

[RichO]

Hey All,

 

  It's been a bit since I've posted so I'll get to it.

 

  I had a slight stall waiting for material and tools, so I started with trying to get the geometry for the roof and nose.  I started a little work all over for a bit.

 

  I'm still working a bit on the card mock-up of the roof, trying to get the bends correct.  More to go here.

 

 

The Headlamp Buckets are also under construction...

 

 

 

 

I found a hundred photos of a Maz dashboard, and it seems, a hundred dashboard layouts.  The three kits I'm using for references all have very similar layouts.  So, flip a coin and go with it.

 

 

 

Drill out the corners, and cut...

 

 

Always test fitting...

 

 

 

Once I got the floating elements worked out, then it was adding the details.

 

 

Fresh glazed Gauge Glass.  Say that three times fast...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At this point, I'm sorta building a little bit, all over the cab at once.  I'm starting to consider the doors, and finalizing the Interior Roof plan.

 

Be Back Later All.....Thanks for Watching

[RichO]

Hey All,

 

  Today's report is small, but important in that I have started with the final outside skin of the cab.  This part of the build is a matter of cutting a pattern then test fitting this several times until I get just the correct angles. Slow work but I think it will look reasonable in the end.

 

  Once I got the nose skin into place, which was really easy, the rest of the panels have been a pain. I have several pieces that have compound curves that are quite nasty.

 

I started with the nose skin, and side panels...

 

 

Once I got the skin attached for these three pieces I peeled off the paper patterns  and got the seams ready for putty.

 

 

 

The curved nose piece is going to be a huge pain with several curves.  I have cut the piece into to parts to make the install somewhat easier.

 

 

Once I got the bends just right...I hope.

 

 

You can see here that the dash slope to the window is a nice compound curve,  front to back, side to side, and top to bottom.

 

In this next photo I am fitting the Windshield Frame.  The same as everything else. Cut, test fit, recut...

 

 

I just thought I would show that not everything goes well all the time.  I have some major seam gaps and general fit issues to deal with here.

 

 

 

 

I also have a real nasty compound curve to fill in this corner at the bottom of the window..  Somehow I have to fill this space, with a curve that matches the nose skin and the window slant and the corner brace post...It'll get sorted tho.

 

Hope you enjoy the report,  be back later all.

[GusMac]

Looks great Rich. Those corner curves will be nasty as even sanding will be diifficult but I'm sure you'll work it out.

[RichO]

Thanks Gus, it looks to be a right bit of work ahead.

 

Hey Everyone,

 

  The construction of the cab interior progresses.  I have built the interior door panels and installed the windscreen frame, along with some small items that needed tidying up.

 

  Once I got the windscreen installed and the gaps closed up, things were, not as stressful.  The bent and crooked cab walls are straightening up a bit and all looks to be a bit more encouraging.

 

 

Looks to be a good time to putty the seams and corners.

 

Time to build some doors.

 

 

You can see, this is just sheet styrene.  The handles are rod, and the, O.S.! handle, is bent tin solder.

 

Fresh back from the paint shop...

The photo seams to show much more red that green here.

 

 

 

 

Then the install of the Windscreen...

 

 

I also had to install the interior corner posts...always test fitting...

 

 

 

Fresh painted interior corner posts...installed.

 

The cab to date...

 

 

 

 

 

More situations to arise, ensue, and overcome, I'm sure.  I'll be back later...Thanks All!

[RichO]

Hey Guys!

 

I have finished with building the interior roof.  I had a couple of fun items to build, and then close up the cab.

 

The first thing was to putty up the cab gaps and get it all ready for sanding.

 

 

Once the putty has dried, the sanding starts...

 

 

I'm not going to finish this so clean.  The nature of the wrinkles and scabs will add to Betty's used look under the paint.

 

 

Looks like the cab is going to fit nicely.

 

The building of the interior roof was simple enough.  I had some details to add here.  It all starts with a flat sheet...

 

 

The making of the sun screens...

 

 

 

 

The roof is not secured in this photo, but you can see how the sun screen looks.

 

 

 

 

I'm starting to consider the exterior paint job.  A few more exterior details, and it's off to the paint shop. It seems I see a light ahead and I'm now starting with the finishing faze of this build.

 

Once I get the roof installed and closed up, it will be a race to the finish line.  Until then I still have a bunch of small details to add.

 

 

Be back later All...........

[RichO]

Hey Guys,

 

The last photos of the interior.  I'll be closing the roof in the morning.

 

 

 

 

 

I'll put the roof on tomorrow, and then start the surface details.

 

Thanks, Rich

[GusMac]

Seems a shame to hide all that detail Rich but at least you'll still see the dice through the windscreen! 

 

[RichO]

Hey All,

 

  A couple of hours work, and the roof is on.

 

 

The first sanding finished...

 

 

 

Alright Boys,  I have reached the biggest milestone to date.

 

  The MAZ truck is now finished!  I have finely completed all of the major builds to complete this project.

 

  Of course I still have to finish all the little details and paint various items, but all are not the vehicle itself.  just all the extraneous items to clean this up, and all is done. About another month of work left to do.

 

 

 

 

I have a ton of clean up on the cab before I send it to the paint shop.  I'll be back after the paint job.

 

Thanks for watching All........

[RichO]

Hey All,

 

  More to report.  I finally got the cab exterior detailed and the cab back from the paint shop.  It all looks as sloppy as the rest of the pain job.  So everything's great.

 

After I got the cab finished, I started with the corner lights, and then the grab handles and the tie downs...

 

corner lights...

 

 

grab handles...

 

 

tie downs...

 

 

back from the paint shop...

 

 

The color match looks good...

 

 

 

 

I'll be back with more cab details,(windows, lights, etc...)

 

Thanx All............

[RichO]

Hey All,

 

  It's been awhile since my last report.  I ran into a bit of a nightmare with installing the windows and had a heck of a time trying to get things under control.

 

  I shot myself in the foot so bad, I had thoughts of abandoning this build!  The windows should have been installed while I was building the cab interior and installed before I attached the outside skin, before the roof went on.

 

  I had an easy enough time with installing the window seals, but when it came time to installing the glass, I just about through the whole thing in the trash.  

 

  What happened... I just had no room to install the glass. You know the drill. One broken item leads to another and another and another...

 

  A week and a half later, and I have managed to get the glass installed, but just.  I'm afraid that if I breath on this thing to hard it will fall apart.  The rest of the interior has been put back together.  

 

  But Wait....that's not all. After all that, now the doors don't fit so well anymore. More to work on.

 

However, at least the photos look like I had a good time.

 

I used some clear plastic from some pastry container for the glass...

 

 

 

I tried to get a shot with a good reflexsion...

 

 

 

I really want to put a nice dirty mess on the windows,  I just don't want them to fall out again.  I'll work on it.

 

Getting ready to close up the front of the frame,  last looks...

 

 

 

 

The new cab get bolted down for good in the morning...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have plenty more to do, be back later..........

 

[DocRob]

Wow, what a beast you created there. I think your final task will be to design an enormous cloud of fume from the exhausts. This one looks like it has seen a lot of hard use over some decades in Siberian conditions.

Sorry to hear about your problems concerning the windows. Every modelling projekt seems to have a backbreaker episode, but with your epic build it would be a shame not to continue. Sometimes it is good to lean back, have a beer or a whiskey and some no bench time to clear the head and then back to work with a fresh CTRL-ALT-DEL .

For an unknown reason I am able to open your Thread today, did you reduce the picture size? My net isn't accelerated by now, but will be in the future. I hope the best, because I like to see how you finish this Russian Bear.

Cheers Rob