Rik Thistle

CDW, Thanks for that. It sure has a lot of detail...way more than I'd expected. I had hoped that I could have completed the kit in roughly the same timescale as the Churchill tank or Archer SPG, but I suspect it will take much longer than that ...I just hope I have the attention span to stay the course 😉 As an aside I don't have a spray gun...brushes only...and that wasn't too big an issue with the Churchill/Archer since there were no really large panels, and the tank/SPG were covered in mud (to some degree) anyway. But we'll get there....he says 🙂 Regards, Richard

Hi all, Thanks for all the feedback...appreciated as always. Another short update, whilst the garden etc currently dominates my time 🙂 Most of the following pics are related to the frame and the engine. Plus adding some Photo Etch. I was still using my flat pliers, rather than the new PE bending tool mentioned earlier. The engine block starts to get assembled And some parts being added to the block. Three of the sprues included in the kit...there are about x25 more sprues still to be used. This kit is way more detailed than I had imagined. A final close up of the finished engine, soon to be fitted to the chassis, then all the services, exhaust pipes etc. Sorry this is so short, but best I post something now or I will never be able to recollect what I was up to last time I posted. Once I get through the chassis build I should start to be adding some panel work etc. All for now, Richard

It looks like the Small Shop has a UK distributor ... https://www.historexagents.com/# If I decide to later go for one of the larger Small Shop PE benders then I will buy from them, assuming the potentail new owers still use that distributor. Richard

Jack, "...looks almost identical to the Hold and Fold tool produced by The Small Shop." It does. There seems to be a lot of look-alikes about. Did the Small Shop come up with original layout? If so, apologies to them for sending my money East. Richard Edit: Just read Egilman's post above..

Ken, CDW, Alan, Thanks for the feedback. I'm slowly finding my way in the Plastic modelling world...so had started PE bending by using small, needle nose pliers with smooth inside faces, straight pieces of metal etc. But these PE parts are so small, compared to what I'm used to I ended up with bend lines that I am not completely happy with. I had had an earlier look at the two pliers you linked to CDW (...maybe I had seen them being used in one of your builds?) and almost pressed the Buy button but ended up, for whatever reason, going with the Bending Tool. I'll let you know/see how I get on. As for the K51 build, I'm distracted by other things at the moment but am trying to slowly trudge my way though the chassis/frame build. I think once I get through that section my posts will become more regular again. Thanks again, Richard

To help make better bends etc in the PhotoEtch that was supplied with the kit, I have bought a small bending tool from Amazon .... https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08DNT298P?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details ..... the price seems to have gone up a bit since I bought it, IIRC. It is made of metal and seems reasonably well made. Brief usage instructions are printed on the underside of the box. Richard

Hi James, This is my 3rd 1/35 scale vehicle...the other two were Tamiya. There are an awful lot of small, fiddly parts in this kit, with a fair bit of flash and ejector pin remnants on a lot of those parts. Also, the part to part location spots are a bit indistinct at times. However, I find the subject matter interesting and important - that's mainly why I chose it. Building up the chassis is taking a while...a bit longer than I had anticipated. And then there will be the 'when to paint' question ie paint sub-assembllies or wait till the whole model is finished..... I'll probably go with sub-assemblies. I might (...very small might) add some interior LED type lighting) but will likely position the truck in a scenario eg top of a small rise for better radio coverage. But I'm a long ways from all that at the moment. And Spring has arrived, the grass needs cutting, the garden shed/workshop has been re-roofed. etc..so a number of other 'attractions' are vying for attention. Thanks for dropping in 🙂 Richard

James, That NEC show looks very good. And lots of cracking models being exhibited. Very interesting that Pete Waterman is putting his clout behind it....bodes well. Richard

Haliburton, That's a very impressive conclusion to the build. Very well done. It got me wondering if the gunners used 'ear defenders'? But, from what I read online, it seems they weren't allowed to since they would not be able to hear orders. Richard PS: I worked besides a retired tank Commander for a while....and he had hearing aids.

Phil, Thanks for all that. I found a short thread on Reddit that semed to throw some light on the subject - sorry 😉 ... https://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/mx04t/my_eyes_see_colors_differently_than_the_other_is/ I've got an older version of Adobe CS3 that can do all the photo manipulation ever needed, not that I fully use all it's capabilities. I tend to defalult to Paint.net as it's quick and simple. Yes, I saw your mention of the ring light the other day...I was almost pressing the Buy button but first checked my Panasonic micro 4/3 rd lenses ...and only one of them is covered by the lens filter thread diameters available. So, thinking about what Wefalck said, I'll try to make more of an effort to reduce the differing light sources falling on the subject. Nature's multiple colours - yes, and people think trees are only coloured 'green'...well, about a million different shades of green and combinations thereoff. When I started photography I was using B&W film and had my own darkroom.... B&W can be quite beautiful, as Ansel Adams showed us many decades ago. I have a number of his prints dotted around the house. This all remins me, I am overdue an eyetest. Richard

One thing to avoid is mixing lights from technologically different sources, such as LED and incandescent or daylight. I'm very guilty of that when taking Build images with my phone's camera.....I have daylight, ceiling LEDs, and two 'photography LED lamps' all going at the same time....plus, sometimes, Flash. Richard

Phil, Very interesting, particularly your two eyes. I did a short photography course a few years back and remember using a grey scale card (17 or 18% greyscale?) to position where I would be pointing the camera to set the balance. Do you use a similar card for Custom? Richard

Michael, Welcome to MSW. Vanguard Models do a couple of excellent Scottish fishing vessel models - the Fifie and the Zulu, plus a number of other equally good UK fishing vessels. There is a preserved Fife Reaper in Anstruther harbour ..... https://www.scotfishmuseum.org/zulu-gallery.php and https://www.classicboat.co.uk/news/iconic-fifie-reaper-to-be-reopened-to-public-after-1m-restoration/ There are many superb builds of all these vessels on MSW to enjoy and ask questions about. Richard

James, That's a useful last pic in your post above showing the electrics. I recall getting about 3-5mins flight out of my Nano RC helos using one of those batteries. But a helo battery has to power the large diameter main rotor and tail rotor, whereas a fixed wing prop a/c only has the prop to be driven...so I imagine you will get longer flights out of the battery. And of course battery technology also will have improved over the past 10 yrs. Richard

CDW, Welcome on board the truck...space is slightly limited but an extra pair of ears is always welcome 😉 Richard

Hi all, A (very) brief update follows - I've been working on other things for the past week but am trying to keep to a one-post-per-week schedule on the Radio Truck. The vehicle frame is the first part described in the instructions. It is made of many small parts and alignment is done mainly by eye. Some of the parts are not quite as accurately made as, say, Tamiya ones but will no doubt lead to something that does look like the K51 Truck 🙂 Below, the basic parts that form the structure of the fame are removed from the sprue and filed smooth. The kit also comes with a photo-etch sprue. I haven't use PE before so was on a learning curve. I used CA glue to attach the PE parts. Below is the plastic former that part PE1 (x2) is shaped on. A close up of the former in action. Finally, on to the axles. I should make a bit more progress for the next post ...it feels like I have hardly moved forward at all in this post 😉 Anyway, some more info on the radio Transmitter and Receiver from Wiki etc.... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCR-299 "The SCR-299 was a U.S. Signal Corps mobile military communications unit used during World War II. The SCR-299 "mobile communications unit" was developed to provide long-range communications during World War II. The US Military sought improvements of range, flexibility and durability over its existing SCR-197 and SCR-597 transmitters. In 1942, Hallicrafters Standard HT-4 was selected as the SCR-299's transmitter, known subsequently by its military designation as the BC-610. " There are a couple of good B&W videos of Hallicrafters ruggedising their SCR-299 Transmitter for military use .. The Voice of Victory Part I https://archive.org/details/VoiceofV1944 - Part II here https://archive.org/details/VoiceofV1944_2 Below, the Transmitters being assembled on the production line. The Receivers were BC-312's ...more here....http://www.armyradio.ch/radio-e/us-bc312-e.htm "The receiver BC-312 has been built by several contractors in the U.S. for the US Signal Corps in World War II and has been used as receiver in several wireless stations. The Swiss Army used this receiver in their Funkstation SE-402 / SM 46, an American SCR-499/A bought as war surplus." The 3rd part of the radio system and, arguably, the most important are the transmit and receive antennas...more in a later post. A screen grab from 'The Voice of Victory Part II' showing how the radio truck took messages from General HQ and transmitted that info to the battlefield, and then received information back from the soldiers in the field. Having watched the short 'Voice of Victory' videos it is really quite amazing that commercial equipment could be sufficiently ruggedised to allow it to be carried in the back of a truck across battlefields. Although the glass radio valves were now firmly held by clips, and the electrical modules held in retaining slots, it was still quite an achievement. More soon, Richard

Andrew, Yes, the electronic fittings need to be lightweight. My DX6i Transmitter was used with micro-helicopters and slightly larger (...Blade Nano CPX etc) , and drones. The Receiver I have somewhere in my attic will probably weigh more than the Scrappee so is unlikely to ever be used with a Microaces a/c. If/when I get round to making a Microaces a/c, I'll follow James path and the advice/parts on the Microaces website. Richard PS: I still have dozens of the E-Flite LiPo batteries stored away, but they are probably now well past their use-by date. The Dragon Rapide looks like a classic, but may need more parts replacing should it ever crash 😉

"I emailed Jon at Microaces to see what I should buy. The kit comes with the motor and prop and then you can order the receiver from them which I did. It's the Microaces All In One (AIO) 5CH Micro Receiver. And he recommended a couple of transmitters, I went for the cheaper one because I'm not sure how much I'll actually use it, but of course I want to try it, so I bought a Flysky FS-i6X 10CH Radio Transmitter from Amazon. Regarding the battery and charger he recommended the E-Flite EFLB1501S25 as the one to get with a little USB charger EFLC1008 that charges one battery at a time." Great info, thanks. I already have a Spektrum DX6i 6 channel radio....it's about 10 yrs old.... it did come with a Receiver, which is still in it's box safely tucked away in the attic somewhere.... IIRC, it was maybe a bit too large/heavy for the Scrappee. I recognise the battery you mention, and I do have a charger. But if/when I get round to building a Scrappee, the route of least pain may be to follow your Build of Materials. I have watched a few YT videos of Microaces planes flying and they look good. Anyway, all good stuff 🙂 Richard

James, That's a really good insight in to the product. I'm also looking forward to how you wire in the electrics, battery choice etc. Any RC stuff I've done in the past was off-the-shelf, so need to learn the construction side. Richard

Welcome Wayne, Following your build with interest. Richard

It's made from Depron which is an extruded polystyrene foam. Thanks James....will have a read up on the products. I'll follow your build with interest. Richard

James, As OC says, that looks very interesting. Am I right in thinking the fuselage etc is plastic card rather than paper? I do have an RC Tx/Rx stashed away from when I had a go at flying RC helicopters (...not terribly well), so Scrappee could be one for the future 🙂 Thanks for sharing. Richard

Hi all, This is my build of the Chevrolet based K51 radio truck model made by MiniArt .... https://miniart-models.com/product/35418-us-army-k-51-radio-truck-with-k-52-trailer-interior-kit/ The blurb on the MiniArt radio truck page says... "HIGHLY DETAILED PLASTIC MODEL KIT, PHOTO-ETCHED PARTS INCLUDED, CLEAR PLASTIC PARTS INCLUDED,DECAL SHEET FOR 5 OPTIONS, K-52 TRAILER WITH POWER UNIT PE-95 ARE INCLUDED,RADIO SET SCR-299 INCLUDED, DOORS CAN BE ASSEMBLED IN OPEN OR CLOSED POSITION, HIGHLY DETAILED ENGINE COMPARTMENT, TRANSMISSION, BRAKE, STEERING SYSTEMS ,HIGHLY DETAILED PLASTIC MODEL KIT"... OK, fine 😉 Reliable radio communication was arguably the most important technology used in WWII. And, as usual with war technologies, the science was forced to move forwards quickly. First a couple of pics of the box art. Below is the truck plus it's generator trailer. There were a number of countries using the radio truck. Those countries were.... British Forces Radio Station, 8th army sector, Italy, October 1944, Corps Signals Unit, 2nd Polish Corps, Italy 1944/1945, 1st Armored Division, 829th Signal Battalion, North Africa, Spring, 1943, 102nd Infantry Division, ETO, Autumn 1944, US Marine Corps, 4th Marine Division, Pacific, 1944/1945. Below, the large stack of parts that make up the model. Finally, a couple of pages from the rather thick manual. The red box on the second page indicates the meaningful part of the mobile unit, the radio equipments. I'm off now to do a lot more reading up on war comms and how and where the K51 was used. Back soon'ish. Richard

James, An interesting and capable aircraft with a long pedigree. Looking forward to your build. Richard

James, That Spit looks ready to fly! Wonderful job. Richard