Post by loyalist on Nov 20, 2016 22:12:38 GMT
I've held off working on Flivvers since assembling the first 12 of 18 and having problems the soft metal and weak axles, particularly the front ones. The Flivvers were sitting in a box for several months; when I took them out recently i found the front wheels on several had splayed outwards. I decided the Flivvers had to be mounted on bases to prevent the axles from breaking and to take all weight off the front axles. I think they're too weak to support the model adequately, particularly if the heavy 'canvas' cover casting is used.
Bases have been cut from 1.5mm thick styrene, which is the same thickness as Renedra bases and are 30 x 80mm. I drilled 1/16" holes into the Flivver's engine compartment immediately behind the front axle and glued in a length of 1/16" brass rod that extends 2-3mm below the wheel. A 1/16" hole was drilled in the base after marking the location for each truck because the brass rods aren't perfectly centered. A small piece of 1mm styrene was glued over the hole and then drilled out from the bottom of the base. With the brass pin inserted in the hole small pieces of 1mm thick styrene were glued under the rear wheels.
The next step was to add Liquitex basing material containing fine resin 'sand' for additional texture. This was added up to the edges of the 1mm thick pieces of styrene for the rear wheels and the brass pin and made thicker to allow for shrinkage as it dries. The pieces of 1mm styrene will allow the rear wheels of the Flivver to be glued to a smooth surface and the hole for the front pin to be located easily (otherwise it would have been covered by basing material and the hole would have been drilled out again from underneath).
The bases are drying now and will be painted separately from the Flivvers before they're glued together.
I had 5 kits to make Armored Flivvers, 2 from the KS with metal truck bodies and 3 retail with resin bodies. 2 of the 3 resin bodies were over-sanded, missing material and uneven on the bottom edges. I was going to turf them but today took off more material until they sat level, then replaced the missing material with sheet styrene to restore the original height of 19.5mm. A little bit of model putty and scribing of plate lines and they look OK. The metal body castings were better but needed some flash lines removed from the sides. One had a 0.5mm deep 'step' cast horizontally across the rear doors that couldn't be eliminated. I made a styrene truck body with scribed plate lines for a 6th armored Flivver, using one of the HMG turrets I removed from my modified Land Ironclad.
The other 6 assembled Flivvers are the open version because I don't like the casting for the canvas cover. They'll be used as medium artillery tow vehicles. I plan to make a styrene master for a cast resin canvas top that will sit on top of the wooden sides instead of inside them. I have 6 more Flivver kits to build and may make styrene truck bodies for them. They'll look like Armored Flivvers without the HMGs.
Bases have been cut from 1.5mm thick styrene, which is the same thickness as Renedra bases and are 30 x 80mm. I drilled 1/16" holes into the Flivver's engine compartment immediately behind the front axle and glued in a length of 1/16" brass rod that extends 2-3mm below the wheel. A 1/16" hole was drilled in the base after marking the location for each truck because the brass rods aren't perfectly centered. A small piece of 1mm styrene was glued over the hole and then drilled out from the bottom of the base. With the brass pin inserted in the hole small pieces of 1mm thick styrene were glued under the rear wheels.
The next step was to add Liquitex basing material containing fine resin 'sand' for additional texture. This was added up to the edges of the 1mm thick pieces of styrene for the rear wheels and the brass pin and made thicker to allow for shrinkage as it dries. The pieces of 1mm styrene will allow the rear wheels of the Flivver to be glued to a smooth surface and the hole for the front pin to be located easily (otherwise it would have been covered by basing material and the hole would have been drilled out again from underneath).
The bases are drying now and will be painted separately from the Flivvers before they're glued together.
I had 5 kits to make Armored Flivvers, 2 from the KS with metal truck bodies and 3 retail with resin bodies. 2 of the 3 resin bodies were over-sanded, missing material and uneven on the bottom edges. I was going to turf them but today took off more material until they sat level, then replaced the missing material with sheet styrene to restore the original height of 19.5mm. A little bit of model putty and scribing of plate lines and they look OK. The metal body castings were better but needed some flash lines removed from the sides. One had a 0.5mm deep 'step' cast horizontally across the rear doors that couldn't be eliminated. I made a styrene truck body with scribed plate lines for a 6th armored Flivver, using one of the HMG turrets I removed from my modified Land Ironclad.
The other 6 assembled Flivvers are the open version because I don't like the casting for the canvas cover. They'll be used as medium artillery tow vehicles. I plan to make a styrene master for a cast resin canvas top that will sit on top of the wooden sides instead of inside them. I have 6 more Flivver kits to build and may make styrene truck bodies for them. They'll look like Armored Flivvers without the HMGs.