This is now all painted as parts will be difficult to reach when fully assembled. I have painted the battery separately and some of the other parts as well such hand brake etc shown in the instructions.
Same goes for this section all the parts shown on this that have not been installed have been painted pending installation.
The rear axle assembles without any problems and test fits perfectly to the rear of the body as shown in the plans.
The springs for the suspension are mated to the sprue as if they should never be removed! 8 fixing points, all of which need to be filed down and cleaned up – not a quick job. The close up of the spring really makes the surface look very rough. This is before it was cleaned up. The springs were so flexible that it needed something inside it to make it rigid enough to file it. I used a toothpick for the small ones and a paint brush handle for the larger ones.
One of the bogie parts wasn’t drilled out (Cd 10) Not a major issue but a bit of a surprise in a kit of this quality. You can also see the cleanup necessary, just on this part, some of it not very accessible. Once assembled and painted they will look very good.
Next…
Wheels need to be pre painted. The interior plate will be weathered before the bogies are fixed.
Christopher Woolford says
Following closely Julian, having been inspired to fetch home from Telford a 1:16 ‘Achilles’, or rather a ’17 pounder M10′ as I believe the weapon was known to its crews.
Track assembly on your Universal Carrier model looks tedious. Are spare track pins provided?
Julian Seddon says
Hello Chris!
It is a very good model with a few tricky bits to come!!
The tracks, oh my gawd ! They are the most tedious I have ever encountered. I have been assembling them for the last two weeks. Even assembled they are very delicate.
In answer to you question there are a few spares, not many but so far enough!! I can get on with the construction now!