Daihatsu 1957 Midget

[frank2056]

I love tricycle vehicles and the 1957 Midget was one of the first.  I'm using the Arii '57 Daihatsu Midget as a base kit:



It's listed as 1/32 but I'm declaring it to be 1/35, because I want to.  It's still a very small vehicle in this scale. I've built this one before, about 9 1/2 years ago:

Asimoto Roboto Repair

It won't be completely accurate and I'll set in some sort of soft post apocalypse setting, although I haven't decided if I'm going to add a robot. Right now I'm detailing it, based in part on the very detailed pictures of a 1960s version.

Very garish green plastic:


I thought the back wall and roof were made of metal, but they're stretched canvas. So I made a frame from scratch:

[Wardukw]

Oh that's so cute Frank 😄 😆
I'll be watching this for sure 

[Dizzyfugu]

Oh, sweet. 

That reminds me that I have a (cute) 1:32 Daihatsu Mira Step Wagon somewhere in The Stash that waoty to be built some day...

[PR19_Kit]

Looks like you don't so much drive it as RIDE it! 

[frank2056]

One nice thing about this kit is that it builds nicely out of the box, with just some minor fixes and refinements, or you can go wild and detail it accurately. I decided to detail it, but with some whiff additions.

The front wheel is in place, but the two rear wheels are tacked on. Our two 1/35 French buddies scale out about 5'8"/1.7m They still tower over the Midget:



Not visible(but still took quite a bit of time) is the completely reworked front wheel fork. I replaced the two arms with the rubber booted suspension from the DML Light Infantry Motorcycle. It fit well. I added brake and speed cables and of course, 90% of the work is hidden by the fender...

I have most of the default decals on (instrument panel and name badge). I started on the rubber seal for the windscreen (no glass in place). The roll frame/rear wall support is just tacked on. It's pretty sturdy, but I keep banging into it as I work in the "cockpit" so it'll stay off until the end.

The stick shift is a thin brass wire glued into the original part's shift ball.:



Most of the fiddly bits are done - I now have to decide if I want to add a roof, and a few other details before the weathering/rust (which will be extreme) starts.

That reminds me that I have a (cute) 1:32 Daihatsu Mira Step Wagon somewhere in The Stash that waoty to be built some day...

That is a cute little truck!

[kerick]

Interesting! I'll be watching.

[Wardukw]

It does make me wonder how much fun it would to shoot a mounted .50 cal from the back of that little beast 😆 🤣

[su27rules]

      Very nice!!  

[NARSES2]

That really is a lovely little model    I can just see it loaded up with a couple of crates of wine in the back.

[frank2056]

It does make me wonder how much fun it would to shoot a mounted .50 cal from the back of that little beast 😆 🤣

If it doesn't tear the gun out of the floor, it may add a little bit of speed or slow the vehicle down if it's in motion. Maybe have the French mechanic in the driver's seat for ballast?

That really is a lovely little model    I can just see it loaded up with a couple of crates of wine in the back.

I have some Miniart wine crates and bottles...

[Wardukw]

It does make me wonder how much fun it would to shoot a mounted .50 cal from the back of that little beast 😆 🤣

If it doesn't tear the gun out of the floor, it may add a little bit of speed or slow the vehicle down if it's in motion. Maybe have the French mechanic in the driver's seat for ballast?

Simple stuff matey 👍..a large steel plate ..bolted thru the frame and floor..that's ballast and strength in one hit 😆.
I wouldn't use a M2 HB .50cal..I'd us a M3 .50...a much lighter gun with a higher rate of fire too..so benefits everywhere 😉😊

[zenrat]

I keep looking at these kits and thinking about extended front forks and Easyrider...

Captain America and Billy three wheelers...

[frank2056]

Fred, it wouldn't be hard to do - although the fender would have to go if you want to keep it anywhere close to level.

I worked on the canvas roof and rear wall today.
I like the look of the original vehicle:



But the kit's roof and back wall look very much like metal and not canvas. I tried tape on the original part, but it didn't look good. I had some 0.005" (.13mm) Evergreen styrene sheet and it was easy to manually bend into the shape of the cover. I trimmed it to size, then put it on a soft surface (my chair's armrest) and ran a pencil over it on both sides to imitate creases. I repeated the same for the back wall, tracing the kit part, then using a pencil for tracing. The creases are not visible in the pictures below (bad lighting) but they're there.

This is what the rear frame, canvas rear wall and roof look like, just resting on the Midget:



The colors are washed out in this picture, but the belts holding the back wall to the frame are made from Tamiya tape (they still need some touch up paint) and the buckle is from a Trumpeter generic rifle sling PE sheet. The bit of belt in the middle of the buckle is just a sliver of tape glued in place:



The creases aren't obvious in those pictures - I'll try a better shot tomorrow.

[Old Wombat]

 

[Wardukw]

Damn nice Frank 👌 👍 😄😄