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Paula & Dan · Last edited by Paula & Dan on Wed 12 Aug 2009 08:13 am; edited 1 time in total

Progress of Spudgun's build will be recorded here.

Paula
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Airbusians.

Spudgun · Posted: Tue 11 Aug 2009 16:02 pm Post subject:

Right folks, I'm a bit late on this one as I completely forgot about it, then I started an Airfix B25. Anyway, I'll be building the 1/32nd Ford Escort (It appears that nobody else is building one).

I used to have a Mk1 Escort (KDM73K, where are you now?). As much as I'd like to produce a mini replica of it, it was painted metallic blue and I don't know if the paint is still available from Halfords.

Normally, I plan my builds before I join a given GB. However, since I only finished the B25 a couple of days ago, I haven't done a thing. I'm just going to 'wing' this one. More later...
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Collectable kits built here. Baggies, blisters or boxed. You collect 'em, but I'll build 'em.

chrisbh · Posted: Tue 11 Aug 2009 17:53 pm Post subject:

Go for it! I had a nice Mk 1 myself. WMH837G. I only blew the head gasket twice......
Aye
Chris
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I'm very happy to believe that the excellent can be the enemy of the good enough.

Spudgun · Posted: Tue 11 Aug 2009 19:42 pm Post subject:

OK, here we go with a bit of preamble.

KDM73K was the base model of the Ford Escort range. In short, it was the model below the L. It had rubber matting instead of carpets. It didn't have a temperture gauge in the instrument panel. It had drum brakes all round and a 1100cc engine.

Now, the kit is probibly of the 1300cc L. The biggest clue is the brake servo (Part no25). Still no reversing lights though. The dashboard has a few more 'extras' such as place to slot in a radio-cassette (The base model had nothing in this department). I'm not going to completely replicate KDM73K, but I'm going for a Base/L model. This means a simple finish.

I've already mentioned the rubber matting, so I painted the floor pan H96. This is a reasonably close match to what KDM73K had. Other parts that will get a coat of H96 will be the pressed carboard parts. This includes the rear parcel shelf.

The seats were covered in vinyl back in the 1970's. As was the door panels and the dashboard trim. I've already painted the seats with H104. It's a little darker than I'd like, but it's different enough from the H96 of the rubber matting to the contrast realistic. As of yet, I haven't decided what the overall colour of the car will be. The painted metal parts the make up the suspension, etc will be painted H85. I've already given the rear axel and suspension springs a coat. For some strange reason, I cleaned up the exhaust parts and painted them with some H56. I still haven't figured out why.

For the next couple of days, things will appear a little random in this build. This is what happens when you don't have a plan...
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Collectable kits built here. Baggies, blisters or boxed. You collect 'em, but I'll build 'em.

chrisbh · Posted: Tue 11 Aug 2009 19:52 pm Post subject:

A plan is only a basis for change, Spudgun
Aye
Chris
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I'm very happy to believe that the excellent can be the enemy of the good enough.

Spudgun · Posted: Tue 11 Aug 2009 20:15 pm Post subject:

True, but I need a plan in order to change things.

Oh, as an aside. This is my 10th build for 2009.
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Collectable kits built here. Baggies, blisters or boxed. You collect 'em, but I'll build 'em.

Spudgun · Posted: Tue 11 Aug 2009 21:20 pm Post subject:

And now for some extra randomness.......

This car has a driver! Sadly, I can't paint him as a representation of me (He's got hair for starters), and he's wearing a two piece suit with a collar and tie (Shouldn't he be wearing a tank-top and flairs?), so I'm going to give him a 70's Teacher look (Brown from head to toe). I've already given him a coat of H51. I may add a typical 70's 'tash (Peter Wyngard was still popular back then) when the time comes.

I've assembled the major components of the engine. I'll paint them tomorrow.
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Collectable kits built here. Baggies, blisters or boxed. You collect 'em, but I'll build 'em.

Spudgun · Posted: Wed 12 Aug 2009 19:55 pm Post subject:

Right folks, it's time for some randomness.

It goes without saying that there's only so much you can do on a car kit before the thorny subject of the major colour gets in the way, so I've had to decide what colour I'm going to use. Now, KDM73K was a metallic blue. The nearest in the Humbrol range is H52. It looks about right for a full sized Ford, but it's a bit dark for a 1.32nd kit. I'm going for a colour that's close to Ford Monza blue. Strangely enough, I used this colour on my BSA as it was a close match for BSA Nutley blue (Nutley blue wasn't available in spray cans, etc, etc). At this time, it's a case of H47 or H48, neither of which I have in my paint stash. Of course, this'll mean a trip to my LMS on Friday (Oh goody!!). In the meantime........

Everything that had a coat of paint yesterday, recieved a second coat (I won't bore you with the details). The new parts that got attention were the assembled engine block, front axel unit, gear stick and pedals. These recieved a coat of satin black. The clutch and gearbox will get painted with H56 later.

I had to open a new tin of H33 to do the four wheels. It doesn't matter how much I stir the paint, the first coat from a fresh tin never comes out right. The tyres are no exception.

Now, I had to dig around in my mind as to what colour certain parts of the car were. The engine fan I sure was made of yellow plastic, so i painted the fan with H24. One thing I do remember is that the rocker box cover had a red sticker on it. This indicated that the engine was a high compression unit. I think that yellow indicated the engine was a low compression job. This I'll paint on when the time comes. The handbrake unit had a rubber gaiter on it. As I've mentioned before, rubber parts get painted with H96. The remaining part with get painted with H85.

The inlet and exhaust manifold was given a coat of H56 (Yeah, I know the exhaust manifold was almost always rusty, but they don't come from the factory like it) was was the fuel pump.

The only assembly I could do was to add the inner wings and front bulkhead to the floor pan.

Lastly, I gave the 1970's Teacher driver a nice white(ish) shirt and a full head of brown hair (Lucky sid).
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Collectable kits built here. Baggies, blisters or boxed. You collect 'em, but I'll build 'em.

Spudgun · Posted: Thu 13 Aug 2009 19:59 pm Post subject:

Here we go with todays buildy bits (With just a hint of randomness).

The fact that I haven't got the overall colour paint yet is beginning to limit what I can actually do. What can be done is out of assembly sequence and could cause problems later. I'll just have to sort that out when the time comes.

More of the underpinnings were painted satin black. The tyres were given another coat of matt black and it seems that this tin of H33 now dries matt (At last). While I was at it, I painted the radiator core with H33. The covers will be painted with the satin black when the matt dries.

The 70's Teacher look continues on the driver. I rummaged around in my paint box for different shades of brown. The tie got one shade and his jacket got another. I'm somewhat tempted to put leather elbow patches on his jacket as well.

Assembly was a little limited. The gear stick was added as well as the pedals. I went to remove the pre-painted hand brake lever that was secured in a pair of tweezers when........PING!! They flew off across the room! OK, there now followed a frantic battle with the 'carpet monster'. Hmmmmmm, the 'carpet monster' won. I decided to use the hand brake lever from the Triumph Herald kit that was sat in the box. As I looked in the box foe the Triumph part, there was the missing hand brake!! It was glued into place before I could lose it again!

Much relieved, I assembled the inlet and exhaust manifold to the engine, then glued the seats onto the floorpan. Lastly, I painted the rear parcel shelf matt blue.

Sigh......
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Collectable kits built here. Baggies, blisters or boxed. You collect 'em, but I'll build 'em.

Spudgun · Posted: Fri 14 Aug 2009 19:09 pm Post subject:

It's a bit short and sweet today (At least there's no randomness). I'm off to MVT event over the weekend, so there's not much time to make models.

I've been to my LMS and I bought a tin of H47. It's a little lighter than Ford Monza blue, but when you take the 'scale effect' into consideration, it's about right.

The entire underside of the chassis and the engine bay was given a coat of H47.

Other bits that were painted were the hub caps and both bumpers. These parts were painted with a new tin of H11.

That's it folks. I did say it was short and sweet.
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Collectable kits built here. Baggies, blisters or boxed. You collect 'em, but I'll build 'em.

Spudgun · Posted: Sun 16 Aug 2009 17:45 pm Post subject:

I'm back!

I managed to do a bit of building last night. Well, not so much building, more like painting. I've also done some today. Here's the details;

Firstly, the floor pan was given a second coat of gloss blue. The brake servo mounting already had its blue paint, so the actual servo and the brake fluid doo-dad got a coat of H56. Once dry, I can assemble it to the engine bay.

The engine has had some further assembly. The pre-painted dynamo (You can tell by its size) was glued to the pre-painted fanbelt assembly. The starter motor, air filter and fuel pump was also glued into position. Lastly (for the engine) the gearbox got a coat of H56. Fingers crossed, the engine will be finished tomorrow.

I painted the wheel trims and both bumpers with a second coat of H11. I used a fresh tin for this and the paint has come out well.

The dashboard has recieved its first paint. The pressed metal part recieved a cost of gloss blue, while the two air vents (because they were plastic) were painted matt blue.

That sums it all up thus far.

Now, I had a phone call at 6.20pm from a friend who lives in Plymouth. The local branch of Help for Hero's are going to walk the length of Hadrians Wall. He's been asked to make a Roman outfit for a teddy bear for them to take on the walk. He phoned me to see if I would scratchbuild the short sword. Obviously I can't refuse, but time is limited. It's quite possible I will have to put this build on pause for a while.
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Collectable kits built here. Baggies, blisters or boxed. You collect 'em, but I'll build 'em.

Spudgun · Posted: Mon 17 Aug 2009 19:55 pm Post subject:

With an 'emergency' scratchbuild in the offing (I'm expecting the reference photo's tonight), there's been a flurry of activity on the Escort. So, where am I and how did I get there.

As it stands, everything connected to the chassis is finished. The engine is fitted. The suspension is complete and the exhaust and wheels are on. Strange to say but; It was handy that I did things at random at the start of this build.

All of the parts had already been pre-painted during the 'random' phase of this build. The engine was completed first by adding the fanbelt assembly and then the fan itself. Any exposed sprue marks were painted and then left to dry.

The core of the ratiator had already been painted matt black. The two ends were given a coat of satin black and then left to dry.

The brake servo unit was added to the engine bay. The battery and the windscreen washer bottle followed. Befor I could add the engine, the two boxes on the bulkhead were painted matt black.

The engine was mounted to the front wishbone and then glued into position on the chassis. The two suspension units were fitted into place with a pair of tweezers.

The exhaust system was then added. The rear end was added first, then the front section added second. I just found it easier to do it this way as the two butting ends were fixed (Doing the other way around means the rear end of the front pipe is floating and is more awkward to fix).

The rear suspension and axel was going to be a devil to do, so if your going to build this kit, read carefully.

Firstly, the propshaft was connected to the gearbox. The other end was fixed to the rear axel. The two rear leaf springs were glued into place, then the two rear dampers were added using tweezers. Once dry, the axel was glued into the slots of the rear axel. Trust me people, this is the only way to get the angle of the axel right (in relation to the propshaft and gearbox).

I then added the middle bits to the four wheels. Under normal circumstances, these parts wouldn't be glued into place so the wheels could rotate. I'm not bothered about rotating wheels, so these bits were glued into place. Finally, the hubcaps were added.

Once dry, the four wheels were glued onto the two axels. Excuse me while I endulge in an aside:

Dear Airfix.
Can you please re-release the Bond Bug. I would actually like to be able to build a car where all of the wheels sit on the deck when the car is built.
Thanks.

Well, I suppose you've guessed it. Only three wheels are sat on the deck. The fourth is about 1mm off it.

Hey ho.

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Collectable kits built here. Baggies, blisters or boxed. You collect 'em, but I'll build 'em.

Spudgun · Posted: Tue 18 Aug 2009 20:17 pm Post subject:

Right. Very little has been done today (juggling projects ain't easy), but here's an update.

The radiator grille was given a nice coat of satin black. The vinyl sections of the dashboard was painted with H104. The steering wheel and mounting piece was painted with H96. Next I pained the headlining of the bodyshell with H28.

Lastly, I gave the driver some brown trousers. Ah, when I say I gave the driver brown trousers, I mean I painted the trousers of the driver, brown (H29). That it all.
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Collectable kits built here. Baggies, blisters or boxed. You collect 'em, but I'll build 'em.

Spudgun · Posted: Wed 19 Aug 2009 19:22 pm Post subject:

Time for another update.

I'm certainly on the downward slope. With a bit of luck, I might be able to finish the Escort and put up some photo's over the weekend. Anyway........

The first job was to finish off the dashboard. This only required the painting of the clocks and switches with some H33. The steering wheel and column both recieved a second coat of matt blue.

Now, the bodyshell is slightly distorted. I had to glue on the front scuttle one side at a time. This has improved things, but I wil have to glue on the bonnet in the closed position to make everything straight. At this point, I painted the areas around the windows and front grille with gloss blue. When the paint is dry (and after a second coat) the grill will be added and the bonnet glued on. Oh, I painted the inside of the shell as well.

The headlamp lenses were attached to the front grille and then put to one side.

Lastly, I gave our driver a brown pair of shoes.

Here's a thought. Since the dashboard and steering wheel assembly will be stuck to the inside of the body shell and the driver will be stuck to the seat, it'll be virtually impossible to glue the drivers arms into the correct position. I may be forced to leave the driver out.
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Collectable kits built here. Baggies, blisters or boxed. You collect 'em, but I'll build 'em.

chrisbh · Posted: Thu 20 Aug 2009 13:06 pm Post subject:

I had something similar with the MG Magenette. Best compromise (if there can be such a thing) was to afix arms and steering wheel to driver before locating that as a sub-assy in the car. I don't think the misalignment with the steering column/dashboard shows.

Depends on how much you want the driver I suppose.

Aye
Chris
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I'm very happy to believe that the excellent can be the enemy of the good enough.

Spudgun · Posted: Thu 20 Aug 2009 19:11 pm Post subject:

That's an interesting idea. I only wish I read your Post before I glued the steering wheel assembly to the dashboard (which makes up most of todays buildy bits!).

The only other thing I could do today was to give the ares of the body shell I painted yesterday with gloss blue another coat.

Ah well, that's life I suppose.
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Collectable kits built here. Baggies, blisters or boxed. You collect 'em, but I'll build 'em.

Spudgun · Posted: Fri 21 Aug 2009 19:18 pm Post subject:

The end is in sight and it's all gone horribly wrong!

The first job of the evening was to install the 'glass' into the body shell. I test fitted the clear part and it didn't quite fit. Ah, says I it's just a bit of moulding flash. File, trim and file some more.......... There are now some gaps.

The front grille was then glued into position, shortly followed by the bonnet (Airfix, why wasn't this piece fitted with a hinge?). The dashboard unit was then glued into position. So far, so good. Not for long though.....

The bodyshell was then test fitted to the chassis. The steering wheel was too close to the front seat. I can't get the driver in! SOZ!! Ah well. I still have the Triumph Herald left. I'll use the driver for that kit. The body shell was then removed and some door panels were painted onto the inside of the shell.

I then glued the rear parcel shelf to the rear of the back seats.

After a coffee and a seeth, the paint on the inside of the bodyshell was dry. I then glued the bodyshell to the chassis. A couple of rubber bands were needed to ensure that everything fitted correctly (I previously mentioned that the bodyshell was warped). The last job was to attach the rear scuttle to the bodyshell.

Still looking good for a Sunday finish!
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Collectable kits built here. Baggies, blisters or boxed. You collect 'em, but I'll build 'em.

Spudgun · Posted: Sat 22 Aug 2009 18:18 pm Post subject:

Disaster has struck at Chez Spudgun! I'd painted the bodyshell with gloss blue and then went into town to get some bits and bobs. Somebody (who shall remain nameless) decided to do a spot of dusting. The Escort now looks like it's been pebbledashed! This sort of thing never happens when I stay at home. Ah well, just hope it doesn't show up to much in the photos.

The front numberplate was given a coat of H33 and the remaining light lenses wre painted gloss red and orange respectively.

Just an hour ago, the bodyshell was given its second and final coat of gloss blue.

All parts are now painted and should be dry enough for the final assembly tomorrow morning.
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Collectable kits built here. Baggies, blisters or boxed. You collect 'em, but I'll build 'em.

Spudgun · Posted: Sun 23 Aug 2009 08:51 am Post subject:

Right folks. I got up early to finish this build off.

The fist parts to be put on were the front and rear light units. The rear ones went one easily enough, but the front indicators were problematic. The indicators locate into holes in the front scuttle. The edges of the indicators are tapered to ensure a good fit. However, to take advantage of this, the indicators needed to be fitted from the rear of the scuttle. Since I'd aleady glued the bodyshell onto the chassis, I couldn't do it correctly, so I glued the indicators on back to front.

Using some H33, I painted on the rear number plate, then I attached the front and rear bumpers. After that, the petrol cap and two door handles are attached. The last part to be glued on was the front number plate. The Escort was almost complete.

Using some H11, I highlighted the lettering on the bodyshell. Then, I used a .05 pen to highlight the edges of the doors, boot lid and the air vents on the front and back of the bodyshell. The Escort was now finished.

I've done a quick piccy for the Completed Builds thread. I'll do some better ones for the Gallery later.
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Collectable kits built here. Baggies, blisters or boxed. You collect 'em, but I'll build 'em.