Tintin Project - the Vehicles

[strobez]

Thanks guys!

We're into the 'pack your bags' portion of the build now... so I'm... making them... and the luggage rack.



A few minor add-ons (like handles on the luggage) and all that will be left will be the final assembly.



I have to say, I'm a little disappointed with how the front of the car came out.  The tiny little grill was a bit tricky to replicate, but I think I did a passable job.  The headlights were another matter though.  The resin cracked when I drilled them out, leaving gaps that I thought I could cover with the light fixtures, but it didn't quite work that way.  I tried to fill the gaps, but then the clear bits wouldn't fit in the fixtures and we jumping around spraying little bits of silver paint all over my nice blue body coat.

I finally just had to say "enough is enough" and move on.  There was no way to win and any more fiddling was just going to make it worse.  Oh, well. It's not the main focus anyway.

[TheChronicOne]

Wee lil bits!   

They look nice!

Don't worry too much about the lights. Call it "weathering". 

[Old Wombat]

 

[NARSES2]

Very neat 

[strobez]

Finally got the Peugeot 403 finished... before it finished me. 

Everything was more or less fine right up until I tried to install some windows.  I couldn't quite get the shape right for the front and rear windows so that it would fit snuggly in the slightly curved opening.  The battle that ensued to try and make that happen though was nearly one of mutually assured destruction.  I ended up having to repaint the shell 3 times because of the absolute mess I made around the window openings.

In the end, I was triumphant enough (there's still some gaps that I just had to give up on) and the bright side is that I was able to redo the headlights (the site of an earlier battle).  So all's we'll that ends well.

Considering this one started as a PEZ-style toy from the 1960s, I'll claim victory.












And while I'm at in taking pictures, here's the final ones for the Opel Olympia as well...

[ericr]

beautiful ! 

[zenrat]

Fantastic work.

I know what you mean about the windows.  I've had similar problems but in a larger scale.

[Old Wombat]

Without knowing the scale, they're really good builds.

Knowing that they're 1/72, they're stunning!

[NARSES2]

They are truly gorgeous 

[loupgarou]

Without knowing the scale, they're really good builds.

Knowing that they're 1/72, they're stunning!

YES! Really nice builds.

[strobez]

Alright... now that I finished off a couple of Area 88 projects... and even though I have both the Tintin Udet Flamingo and the Racing GB Supermarine S.7 on the bench... why not start something completely different?

In that vein, I grabbed the 1/76 Airfix Esso Tanker kit (via a more recent dapol re-box... urm... re-bagging) and started cutting plastic.  I think it should be a nice little interlude project.  My plan is to turn this oil tanker (Esso/BP) into something much more useful... the Loch Lomond Whisky tanker from the Tintin adventure The Black Island.

First up... the bag. I hadn't realized that the Airfix tanker had been re-popped until I ran across this bag in a LHS in Singapore.


Not a ton of parts, but the instructions are of the "go find (x) and glue it to (y)" type... so it's off to the internet for more visual guidance...



The main bits went together easily enough, but man there's a lot of flash.  The biggest issue is that the frame is slightly warped.  It's got a slight bow to it, but I don't know how to flatten it down properly. Also, the fit is somewhat suspect, so I had to fill some unneeded holes and drill a couple in the more correct spot. 



Luckily it's going to fit... but just barely.



It's not much, but I decided to jazz up the underside a bit by adding some styrene axels to the brakes.  Since I haven't got a clue as to the real mechanics at play here, I'm just waiting for someone to point out some error.  Either way... busier is better... right?

[NARSES2]

I didn't realise those old Airfix kits had been repackaged. They go back to the early 60's I think, so have held up quite well.

Nice work on it 

[PR19_Kit]

They go back further than that even, to the original Kitamster kits that first saw the light of day in the late 50s.

Airfix bought Kitmaster out and then promptly dropped most of the loco kits, and Dapol bought Airfix's railway stuff out in turn. Sadly, by then many of the moulds were irrecoverable, but some are still in production, like the Deltic and Battle of Britain locos.

I have a terrific book about the Kitmaster stuff, and not a few of their locomotive kits too, including the awesome LMS Garrett and the NYC Hudson.

[NARSES2]

Cheers Kit 

[strobez]

I hadn't realised they'd been re-released by Dapol either.  The guy who owns "Hobby Bounties & Morgan Hobbycraft Centre" in Singapore is a huge Airfix fan (and now owns the FROG trademark and has release a couple of kits under it), so I thought he might have a line on those old Airfix train cars.  Well he had more than a line... he had a whole box full of the Dapol bags.  It was a bit pricy but a) he was waving it under my nose after I'd asked specifically for that kit... and b) I like supporting "stacked to the roof, can't find anything without a major excavation" hobby shops (and bookstores).  So I bought it.

I actually planned to do this build a bit later, but when I was printing decals for my Area 88 1/144 project bases, I needed a bit more stuff to fill out the decal paper (waste not want not!) and so I printed out the LOCH LOMOND WHISKY wordmark.  Of course, once I had that in my hand, it was a short hop to "well I just have to paint the tank yellow..." and here we are.

Speaking of yellow...



It seems I need a bit more putty and sanding though...