Zenrat's Flying Circus

[zenrat]

I figure it's like building and rigging the Sea Witch or plumbing and wiring a 1/25 complete fun car fuel and nitrous oxide system.  I'll do it once to prove I can and then not bother again...

[zenrat]

Attack of the in-laws today.  Mrs z's oldest brother and his current family.
But I did manage to slip down to the shed before they arrived, attach the last few parts onto the Bugatti rear suspension and get what I hope is the last coat of white onto the Mirage UC doors and airbrakes.

[zenrat]

Completed 4wd Bugatti Royale chassis.
Cannonball Bug WIP 07-11-2018 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

[Old Wombat]

That's some impressive work, Fred!

[zenrat]

Thanks mate.

[PR19_Kit]

Strewth, that looks complex! Does it have independent suspension front and rear as well as 4WD?

[jcf]

Beauty. 

[zenrat]

That's upside-down BTW.

Thanks Jon.

Yes Kit, it has fully independent double wishbone (or A-Arm for Americans) suspension on all four corners.  The front utilises '58 Edsel lower arms turned upside down and used as uppers but all others are scratchbuilt tubular construction.
There is a resin Ford 9" diff at each end.
Front is sprung with coil-over shocks, rear has separate springs and shocks.
I haven't built the drive shafts yet but I have a bag of resin 1/25 universal joints from www.thepartsbox.com which i will use.
Both ends also need anti roll bars which I will bend from jumbo paperclips (when I know where the drive shafts are) and attach with styrene tube brackets.

I primed the back half of the chassis today and made progress on the bodywork - PSR stage 3 completed.  I also painted the intake manifold, gearbox and 4wd transfer box.

As well as all this I have finished the Mirage.  Well, I thought so and then I found the exhaust nozzle on the bench.  It's painted but needed some black wash and to be glued on.  Access ladder and pilot also need paint.

Good news on the stash front.  AMT have re-popped one of my holy grails.  I'd been hoping they would do this.
It's the 1/25 1960 Chevrolet Fleetside Pickup.  This was first produced in the 90's along with a number of other kits notable for their fine detail (and in a lot of cases design flaws).  Kits like the '41 Ford Woody (the interior is almost impossible to get to fit properly), '66 Oldmobile 442 W30 (bumpers sit way too far from the bodywork) and '67 Chevy Pickup (windscreen is too small).
Originally available in stock and custom versions (custom had nasty billet wheels and fuel injection on the inline six) with this box art.

I don't know what parts the re-pop has in it other than it has a go kart.  Box art shows stock parts (if it can be relied on).

Why this kit?  I've built two in the past and found they were a great kit to build, thoroughly enjoying them.  I built one as a TV OB unit for a black and white theme build (no colour on it, just black, white and metalisers - even the tail-lights were tinted with Tamiya smoke) and the second as a Panel Delivery for one of the scale Cannonball Runs.  Both were re-engined with V8s - the TV truck with a 348 Chevy W motor and the van with a Pontiac Super Duty 421.
DSC01648 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr
ZTV OB Unit #23 005 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr
While building these I intended to build a third as a pick up with the stock six but the supply just dried up.  Last one I saw here was on sale for over $100.  I could have got them cheaper from the US but postage was a killer so I didn't.
But now they are about again.  One of the OLHS I use has them on backorder.  I've ordered two.  One to build stock(ish) and one to hot rod.

[PR19_Kit]

I can see a bit of a theme running here. 

And the Bugatti sounds AWESOME! 

[zenrat]

Mrs z's niece got married yesterday.

I have a hangover today.

Could the two things be connected?

[PR19_Kit]

We couldn't possibly comment........... 

[TheChronicOne]

 


Last marriage thingy I went to had an open bar.

It also had my parents around so I didn't get to partake as much I would have liked...     (this was some 20 years ago)

[Rick Lowe]

"Son - I say Son, c'mere and lemme 'splain Cause and Effect to ya'll..."
said in best Foghorn Leghorn voice...

Hope the day went well and they're very 'happy ever after'.

[zenrat]

It was a cracking do.  Held in the Long Room at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. 
Open bar, a live band, a dance floor and the company of young people.
The musical highlight was, towards the end of the night a rendition of Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again complete with the crowd response (NSFW) bellowed by those of us still moving.

[Old Wombat]

Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again complete with the crowd response (NSFW) bellowed by those of us still moving.

Ever a crowd pleaser with those of us of a certain generation but, especially the crowd response, not perhaps the most appropriate song for a wedding, perhaps?