U.S. Tractor D7 “Tow Cat” by CDW - FINISHED - MiniArt - 1:35 Scale

[CDW]

Just now, Canute said:

I really like my micro-saw. I got it thru UMM. Fits in some tight spots, sometime better than my sprue nipper or the Tamiya nippers. Unfortunately, with these limited run kits, the sprues are thick and inconveniently located in the joint area. Wonder what the designers were thinking, doing that. Handy for removing resin plugs, too.

 

Blue air is sometimes the only "lubricant" to get parts to slip into place.Works better that throwing it at the wall. 😉

 

Your Cat is coming along nicely.

I kid you not, at least a half dozen of those delicate parts broke in 4 or more pieces and had to be reassembled/glued back together. What a pain in the butt. I guess you can say, I'm getting my money's worth with plenty of things to do. Guarantee you this is not a kit for the lighthearted.

[lmagna]

5 hours ago, CDW said:

I have had many years learning to perfect this skill but remain a novice compared to THE mentor, Senior Drill Instructor Lee Ermey.

That was what always astounded me about our drill instructors in basic. They could get in your face and go on for minutes about how you, and your ancestry, were were less capable than the common worm and never once use a swear word.

[CDW]

[Egilman]

Stunningly Gorgeous...

 

Beautiful work....

[Canute]

The molds used are awesome with all the raised lettering. I have to look into this line. Limited run or not. Guess their finer castings are pretty delicate. Is the plastic brittle? May be why those connecting rods broke.

[popeye the sailor]

yea.......gotta love how intrusive the sprue joints can be    really nice job on it so far!  been seeing a lot of these military vehicles lately by companies I've never heard of.  tempted.....but hesitant about adding another rabbit hole to my collection     a super sharp blade against a flat surface might give you a better outcome,  and just whittle away the rest.

[CDW]

3 hours ago, Canute said:

Guess their finer castings are pretty delicate. Is the plastic brittle? May be why those connecting rods broke.

Larger parts are fine, but some are cast so small they easily break apart so yes they are brittle.

[CDW]

6 hours ago, Egilman said:

Stunningly Gorgeous...

 

Beautiful work....

 

45 minutes ago, popeye the sailor said:

yea.......gotta love how intrusive the sprue joints can be    really nice job on it so far!  been seeing a lot of these military vehicles lately by companies I've never heard of.  tempted.....but hesitant about adding another rabbit hole to my collection     a super sharp blade against a flat surface might give you a better outcome,  and just whittle away the rest.

Thanks for the comments. As for a flat surface and a sharp blade I agree. Trouble is finding a small enough flat surface. It’s like dancing on the head of a pin. As for whittling, plastic too brittle for that.

[Egilman]

2 minutes ago, CDW said:

As for whittling, plastic too brittle for that.

Similar to that old blue or green Revell plastic? Breaking parts was common in those old models using the early forms of styrene...

[popeye the sailor]

that's one of the bi products from adding color to the plastic.  ...try to break the part away and it comes off like string cheese   

[popeye the sailor]

I rest the sprue protrusion on my thumb nail and whittle with a sharp razor blade....little bits at a time.  works fairly well.

[Canute]

There would blood-letting, if I tried that. I went to the ER once upon a time, when I slipped removing the casting sprue on the bottom of a boxcar. Had to come off or the car's underframe could not sit straight.  I wear a Kevlar glove now, when I have to do this kind of surgery.

[Edwardkenway]

I'm late again! But I'm in!

Fantastic work on all those teeny-tiny parts Craig 😉

 

Lou, have you got any brittle spare?😋

 

[mtaylor]

As a test, try using a small saw and cut the sprue apart.  Then remove the sprue from the part.  I had to do this in the past with some plastic kits.  Tedious but saves the parts.

[CDW]

Just now, mtaylor said:

As a test, try using a small saw and cut the sprue apart.  Then remove the sprue from the part.  I had to do this in the past with some plastic kits.  Tedious but saves the parts.

Of course, yes, that's exactly the way I normally do it with small parts with the small saw I photographed and posted in a previous post. However, this is not sufficient with these small parts, they still break even then. 

It's one of those things you can't get your mind wrapped around until you try to do it yourself. I've been doing these plastic model kits more than 60 years so there are very few techniques I have not tried.

There is a very specific plastic nipper I have not yet tried due to the high cost of it, called "God Hands" nippers. The nippers are designed in a very specific way so that only one side of the nipper is the blade while the other side is a flat piece the blade comes down upon. These nippers are probably the most precise you can buy and are specifically made for very fine work. I will probably break down and order a pair this week.

 

Amazon.com: GodHand Ultimate Nipper 5.0 GH-SPN-120 for Plastic Models : Arts, Crafts & Sewing

[CDW]

Just now, Edwardkenway said:

I'm late again! But I'm in!

Fantastic work on all those teeny-tiny parts Craig 😉

 

 

Thanks Edward

[CDW]

My current sprue nipper tool collection.

soon to be joined by the God Hands. 😬

 

 

[Old Collingwood]

8 hours ago, CDW said:

My current sprue nipper tool collection.

soon to be joined by the God Hands. 😬

 

 

Tamiya  side cutters  - I use them too.

 

OC.

[CDW]

The next steps of construction will add the road wheels, idlers, and drive sprockets, so now is the time to get this assembly all primed and painted before the track/wheel assemblies go on. 
The kit did not provide any material to create the cable for the winch. I ordered some 30 gauge soft wire which I will use to make my own cable from scratch.

 

 

[CDW]

[CDW]

Starting the color coats, I like to thin my paint 2 parts thinner to 1 part paint and lay down very thin, multiple coats rather than heavy ones do as not to obliterate detail. Since more paint coats will be applied after the tracks and remainder of the model is assembled, this will be enough painting for now.

 

Paint and thinner is Mr Color lacquer.

 

 

[CDW]

The road wheel/idler/drive sprocket assemblies are fairly complex. This one side took more than a couple of hours to clean up and assemble.

 

Too bad so much of the assemble gets covered with panels and will never be seen. However, s kit like this could make an incredible maintenance diorama.

 

[ccoyle]

Gee whiz, Craig, slow down! Take some time to enjoy the build! 😉

[CDW]

There’s a lot to do before slowing down.

 

 

[Canute]

You're right. All those springs and such just covered.Just so much plastic ballast, eh?

 

Nice stash. Got a few Sukhois in there amid the armor models.

[CDW]

Once the snow started in the fall, pipeline construction would cease for the winter season. All heavy equipment in need of maintenance would be brought into the yard, then pressure washed, then brought into the shop where it would be disassembled and often rebuilt, repainted, etc. Spent a lot of good times working, joking, smoking, and drinking moonshine with good friends. 

[Jack12477]

Nice hobby store you have there ! 😁😇

[lmagna]

On 7/27/2022 at 10:25 AM, Edwardkenway said:

Lou, have you got any brittle spare?😋

You are so late getting here Edward that I only have part of a bag out of three left. 🤔 But the good news is that my wife goes back to Leavenworth in a month or so and will be sure to restock my supply. Any requests for special flavors?

[CDW]

With the covers removed, the spring tensioner for the idler wheel can be seen. A grease fitting on the shaft in front of the spring puts tension on the tracks when grease is injected. 
 

 

[CDW]

Attended a distress sale today and picked up additional kits. The dozer is a D7 like the one I am building now, only no winch. It’s also a completely different tooling. It was done in cooperation with Mig Ammo.