1950 Ford F1 Pick Up (1/25 Scale)

[David King]

Hello Andi.  Laced wheels huh?  I commend you for that one!  I've never considered even attempting doing that.  You touched on something I often wonder about, why invest so much time and effort into a model?   The only people that understand and appreciate all that effort are other modelers, even then not all.  If it wasn't for the local model car club which consist of several long time and newer friends I think I might have quit modeling some time ago, but even so I find it hard to be motivated.

[Ray Dunakin]

Looks pretty nice to me Andi, and the hand-laced wheels are certainly impressive.

[finescalerr]

...Not to mention the choice of what vehicle to model and the overall execution. -- Russ

[TRAINS1941]

Thanks Marc.  Great work.  Love that engine.

Jerry

[lab-dad]

Are any of you guys technical enough to convert Marc's additional info into a pdf?
I tried but I am at a loss for actual pdf software.

-Marty

[David King]

Are any of you guys technical enough to convert Marc's additional info into a pdf?
I tried but I am at a loss for actual pdf software.

-Marty

Just compile all the info into software you are comfortable with, (ie. Word) even Wordpad could work for this.  Download one of the free pdf printer drivers such as CutePDF or pdf995, install the driver then print to it, a dialog will come up asking for a name to save the file to and there you have it, a pdf version of that document.  This is how I publish our club's monthly newsletter.

[marc_reusser]

Andi, thanks for taking the time to post the pics and your comments. I remember that lovely piece....from another post here somewhere.

This next part is not to pick on you or your work...but as it is here, it does serve as an example of what I was trying to get across in the post....and this is what frustrates me....I see the beautiful hand laced wheels, but then in the next instant one gets hit in the face with the molded on detail-less wipers on the windshield.....and at IPMS, this is the type of things that really caused the cars to never get past the well painted toy look. I find that chrome parts...even if stripped of kit chroming, and then re done with paint or BMF....is where almost all the cars I saw, fell apart....the chrome parts so often not properly scaled, properly refined, or properly detailed...


....anyhow...enough soapbox.....and not in any way saying my build is not riddled with issues and flaws.....but here are some more SBS piscs that didn't make the cut.

This is a photo showing the sub assemblies placed together, to make sure that I was achieving a constancy of weathering, and that wear patterns made sense and lined up (primarily along the interior bed edges and the lower section of the tool box, and the rear bumper and vertical panel above it.) The image also shows the ladder rack after chipping, but before any rust effects were started.





Changing out the thick plastic kit windows:

As is typical with these types of kits, the windows that came with the kit, are overly thick plastic, with an ugly molded on detail that is supposed to be painted to represent the rubber gasket.

In order to create more realistic windows, with real cracks, I decided to replace the plastic parts with microscope cover-glass (in this case 1"x2" ; 25x50mm).

Using some very low-tack frisket tape, rolled in a small tube to make it double-sided, the trimmed/sanded, and fitted plastic windshield part is lightly tacked to the glass. This is then placed class down, on a clean flat surface. (I recommend the use of cotton gloves through this cutting process, so that you do not leave prints/oils on the glass). The glass and piece are held in place with just enough pressure to keep either piece from moving...but not enough to break the glass...the part is then traced on the glass using a diamond tipped scriber. Once the whole piece has been traced, the excess glass will simply fall away.

The glass piece is then carefully separated from the plastic part, and a fine sanding stick is used to remove any burrs or irregularities, along the edge. Once this is done, the glass piece is carefully cleaned with glass cleaner and a soft rag.

Next, a piece of super clear packing tape, or Scotch tape if it works size-wise, is laid face up on a flat, lint and dust free surface (you want to make sure that the section of tape has no flaws, hairs, dust, or those odd flecks that occur form air bubbles during tape manufacture/rolling). The glass piece is then carefully placed on the tape. the tape is then trimmed. Once trimmed, a soft cotton rag can be used to lightly press/buff the glass tighter to the tape. (you should not have created any trapped air bubbles while applying the glass to the tape....as the glass is too fragile to allow you to force them out at this point). You can turn the piece over, so the tape faces up, and burnish down this side lightly...but check first on a test piece to see how susceptible your tape is to scratching or dulling.

To create breaks, or rock impacts, turn the piece so the glass faces up, and with a pointed wood dowel, toothpick, or other non-marring tool, press at the point you want the cracks, or impact, till the glass fractures...this can be repeated in the same or adjacent spots till you achieve the effect you want. Sharper harder tools will make sharper/smaller/denser impacts while broader tools will create a singular or more subtle pattern of breaks. (I recommend some experimenting).

Before you can install the glass, you will need to close down the kit/body window opening by adding the rubber gasket. For this I utilize some small styrene rod; carefully glued around the opening using liquid solvent. Don't try to do the whole window at once; using a piece of rod a bit longer than will be needed, start the gasket, so that it will have a seam, where the real life one would...glue a small starting section...let it dry, and then hold it in place with tape.....repeat this with a new section, till you have worked your way all the way around the opening.(NOTE: When gluing the styrene rod in place, you will want to make sure that the inside edge of the gasket is flush/even with the inside edge of the cab; I used a small piece of sheet metal for this. If you do not do this, you will end up with gaps between the gasket and glass,...or worse...your glass will not sit flush/flat to the window opening/cab interior.)

When dry, paint the gasket (I like a Vallejo or Life-Color rubber color)....then lastly, glue the glass piece in place (the tape should be on the interior surface)....for attaching this, you can use the Microscale Kleer Glue, the Testors Canopy Glue, or whatever you prefer.

Lastly, you can apply decals, to represent "stickers" (though make sure you tightly trim any excess decal film before applying), and you can weather the windows with oil washes, and pigments. If too much is applied, or it is too wet, the oil wash will flow/wick into the cracks....this is not bad, and it will accentuate the crack....but, you do not want so much of it to flow/wick in, that it has a chance of weeping/wicking between the glass and the tape on the inside.

[Andi Little]

Andi, thanks for taking the time to post the pics and your comments.

No problem with your observations Marc' - pretty much why I posted the pic's in order to support your argument - [although I'm sorry that I'd repeated the object of the posting - it's getting harder to remember what I have and haven't done lately]?

Nope, I was pretty much getting at your point as well - it was just an abject exercise in frustration that the kits were in need of scrapping and rebuilding to get even close to anything that didn't resemble a die-cast model that you'd just bought off of a shelf - not helped I think by the fact the board I was frequenting at the time would go into raptures over anything that looked like a Maisto or Welly and would rarely raise much more than a eyebrow to a project that you'd just chased to the edge of reason.

I've now got a lifetimes collection of car kits that I know will never be built because of exactly these issues!!!

[nk]

Marc have you ever tried tinting the glass green in your model cars. Its something that is there on real cars and real glass, but something I dont see replicated in scale models?

[chester]

I wish I could find the picture of the tinted glass I recently viewed that was done using thinned Future and food coloring. It was very subtle but effective.  Love the truck Marc, thanks for all the sbs's.

[marc_reusser]

Narayan,

Yes, I have tinted glass....smaller pieces though, not windshields...and generally it has been colors. I did it by using Tamiya gloss clear colors, airbrushed onto the glass surface (I prefer to airbrush it on an interior surface whenever possible, because the clear gloss does not have the same realistic glass appearance as the real glass. Even when coated/sprayed with Future afterwards.

To get that greenish tint, you would have to find the right mix of blue green...and the right intensity mix, of that color, into gloss clear...it would need to be so faint, I don't know if you would notice it. The real glass (slide covers) though thin, probably adds that effect all by itself to some degree.

[Bexley]

How would you do curved windshields on later model cars? Make a plaster mold of the original, then fire up the blast furnace to do a gravity bend?

[Andi Little]

At the risk of seeming boorish? - this is just gift wrap acetate held in with bent florists wire.





PS - Notice I replaced the windscreen wipers on this one!!! ...................... .....................

But, as a build it precedes the MG TC by about ten years - gulp.

[finescalerr]

A rather cool model, with or without the tinted windshield. -- Russ

[Ray Dunakin]

How did you cut the windshield to fit the opening? Trial and error?