Chieftain ARRV mk 7

[wibblywobbly]

Still doing bits and pieces on the engine servicing deck when I can.

[Merlin707]

Amazing work Wibbly, really impressed at the levels of detail you are able to achieve.

[SovereignZuul]

How the heck do you guys make such perfect cuts of plasticard... Looks so good.

[wibblywobbly]

Sov, as I have seen your work, and especially those exhaust flaps that you did, it is I who looks and wonders 'how'. lolol.

I buy the biggest sheets that Station Road baseboards has in stock when I need the stuff, as it is cheaper that way, but it also makes cutting more cumbersome. All I do is work with a T square, a stanley knife, a compass cutter, an Olfa styrene cutter, a pencil, a vernier gauge, and a load of files and sandpaper.

The thin sheets are easy to work with, the 3mm ones are a bit of a nightmare when trying to make more than one identical component, so I try and keep to 2mm max unless needing structural strength.

In all honesty I envy the guys that have the tools and experience to work with brass, it is a dark art that I have never ventured into.

[wibblywobbly]

Onwards and errr..upwards.

99% of the engine servicing deck now complete, just a couple of tiny bits to add. At this rate I will be able to start on the final stage soon, which is the shovel at the front. I will need to do the engine vents, and numerous brackets, but I will leave that till last as any fragile bits may get knocked off.

[wibblywobbly]

We all do it, lol, have to stick some tracks on a model to see what it will look like when it is up and running. There are supposed to be engine mounts on the servicing deck, but they are going to be so fiddly to make I am leaving them off until I can figure out a way to make them all accurately.

[HERMAN BIX]

Yip, we all do it !!
I've been keeping an eye on the commodities market & seems white styrene plastic has jumped to unheardof levels

[wibblywobbly]

Thank God I am not the only one. lol.

Gearboxes are on their way. In the meantime I have started on the shovel.

[wibblywobbly]

Ok, despite a few interruptions...

The shovel is done. It is so strong that Anne Widdicombe could jump on it and it wouldn't break.

Need to figure out the small matter of how to get it motorised now.

[wibblywobbly]

Shovel blade done, just needs filler. The whole thing is multi layed, triangulated, and box sectioned to make it as strong as possible. No glue was used, everything is plastic welded. I will add some of the detail of the original to the front of the hull.

To motorise it I am looking at various options. A servo is the obvious one, but then I have to slow it down, etc. My first port of call will be a HL elevation unit. It is geared, it moves relatively slowly, and it can be adapted in a variety of ways. It will also wire straight into the loom, and will be activated by the 8 pin plug. This means that I can stress test it on an old HL board and it that doesn't blow, then neither will the IBU2.