Think this all started because Barney was feeling sorry for me ..... I was going thro that situation all modellers, or at least ones like me , lots of half finished projects and no real enthusiasm to finish anything ...... so Barney springs into action ;D ;D ;D
I need a little help with the scrapyard dio says he , OK what can I do says I
I need a small diesel critter says he , OK says I
Mind you it has to be scratch built , ...... Ok says I
And finished & painted ...............pause.............OK says I
And you have 3 weeks !!! , says my friend ;)
Sufficient to say , there was then a flurry of emails to decide on a critter which we both liked , the setting of some criteria .... Such as Barney is not keen on solid wheels :D , had to have bits missing , could not be over 80mm long .... We are talking 1/35 scale here , and so on
Finally we agreed on this one from my files , a McCormick Deering tractor based critter
To be continued ....
Now there is nothing exciting , new or cutting edge in this little build.
At this stage I only had the photo above as a reference and some basic dimensions of McComick Deering tractors ....... Pretty quickly via the magic of Google I identified the possible original tractor as being a 10- 20, this allowed me rough out sizes and shapes.
These tractors used a cast under-pan , if that is what it's called, which acts as engine bearer, transmission and chassis all in one
So this horrible pic shows the under-pan carved out of balsa, which was coated/soaked in super glue allowing me to carve out and hollow the the pan for engine to sit in ...... at this stage a basic engine block was put together using the piston diameter info I had to guesstimate engine length and width ... this allowed me to check the whittling progress on the pan
The strange colours are due to the first coats of primer being applied to check surface finish
I don't have any in progress shots of next stage , so you are just going to have to take my word that all the transmission , steering box humps and bumps were all just pieces of scrap plastic tubing, square and round added to try and look like some reference photos I had found on the internet .
The photo shows the unit again after a primer coat, I had used fillets of thin superglue to try and replicate the "rounded look" of a cast object ( the internal corners specifically ) and the primer was applied to check this look
And with basic engine in place
After this it was all just basic building , the chassis could not really be any simpler
And again checks along the way to see that I had measured twice and cut once :D
I made up a master for the wheels, as I said Barney is not to keen on solid wheels , so I deviated from the prototype here .... These were then cast in resin and the thing is starting to look like a critter ;)
Final details were added
So that's it , final shots of completed .... And painted ;D ;D
And
And
A most satisfactory example of "basic building" with nothing new, exciting, or cutting edge. And wonderful to see you here again. I love that you used balsa for the under pan. Post more things more often. -- Russ
Great job! I'm impressed by both the speed and the quality of your work.
Someday I'd like to build a small critter like this in 1/24th for my RR, and make it run.
A lovely job, and not a lego block in sight! Barney should be well pleased with that critter. A great idea using a balsa piece for the lower engine pan. Gordon you always seem to come up with superb solutions to what would have been a difficult job (I think back to your way of making the wheels for the Ransomes Portable).
Les
Thank you Russ, Ray and Les for the kind words .
Balsa, a much underrated material nowadays ......Les with Stuart's timescale "necessity was the mother of invention" ;D
Russ, give me a break!, you do realise I have posted details of 2 finished models this year :D ;D :D
Great job Gordon! Good to see you back with us, using those wonderful skills of yours.
Jerry
This model is wonderful ! Good work !!!
A great model, Gordon. I love these critère powered by tractors. I especially like the engine with the missing cylinder head. Nice detail.
Bernhard
Gorden, you have made a sow's ear out of a silk purse. And a darn good one.
Just messing about - a Triumph 500cc rail bike - lots to do but its a start
Barney
its small
That rail bike is awesome! I love it!
it's not a rail bike; it's a quadracycle! Keep us posted. -- Russ
Here's one for Barney, photographed at Chemnitz Park Railway in Germany.
Les