Global Scale Modeller

Leaving the comfort zones of aviation and armour for a change I bought an Airfix TR4A from a certain well know aution site a while ago and when I finally opened the box lo & behold the 2nd most important part #2 - the underbody was missing. Attempt at getting a replacement from Airfix - or anywhere else - having proved ineffective it was time for plan B. Which in typical me fashion involved buyingbANOTHER kit tonget the under body so I could copy it and make another for the first kit.


This is the offending part:





.
The basic shape isn't a problem - those rear wheel arches will be though. In a perfect world I'd use a hand scanner to capture a 3D image and then print. But, alas its an imperfect worlcd so I've got to find a way of replicating the compound curves involved......

Geez, you dont make it easy for yourself, do you!

This is the real deal a sight to behold a shining light for TR's

Finally managed to source a spare chassis/underbody from the dread site of evilbay. I tried a couple of times to make one but the underbody parts constantly eluded my skills at making them. This is the part in question:




So - watch this space!!!

Nice work! Now full steam ahead.

Stokesy44 wrote: Wed Sep 10, 2025 6:05 pm Nice work! Now full steam ahead.

Your command is my wish......












Howzat for full steam ahead??








Seriously - thats one I finished a while ago whilst hunting a second chassis. And having forgotten I'd started this thread....
This is the actual progress on #2 - which will be finished in Dark Blue with a Tan interior.


Ejector pin marks are a lot worse on this one which was a fairly recent re-issue so lots more sanding to do.

A good friend of mine had a TR7 while we were in high school in the 70's. I always thought it was a very neat car, but they were not very rugged and did not hold up very well. Another friend, while stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado, had a beautiful TR6. It was indeed a great car in a fun english sort of way. Does that count for my tale of two TR's?

Ben

DRUMS01 wrote: Thu Sep 11, 2025 1:50 am A good friend of mine had a TR7 while we were in high school in the 70's. I always thought it was a very neat car, but they were not very rugged and did not hold up very well. Another friend, while stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado, had a beautiful TR6. It was indeed a great car in a fun english sort of way. Does that count for my tale of two TR's?

Ben

It does indeed.
Purists will say the TR6 was the last of the true TR series having a "body on frame" construction thats to say it has a chassis which carries the power train and running gear onto which a seperate body is mounted. The TR7 was a modern monocoque construction which does not have seperate chassis - and just to male matters worse it was launched during the troubled times at British Leyland, owners of Triumph, Rover, Austin etc.
Personally I always preferred the TR5 out of the range.

Nice - back when we were marshalling the TR Register car club meeting was always one of the highlights of the year.

I'll admit to being a fan of the TR7 for all its failings - I love the Tony Pond rally version and I think I still have my Scalextric model in the loft alongside the black & gold Ford Escort Mexico... uh oh nostalgia attack!

Paint arrived for build 2. Annotingly it started "spotting" as soon as it went on as if the survace was contaminated with mould release agent - but every surface was cleaned thoroughly with IPA!! Going to leave it a few days to dry thoroughly as I think Tamiya's TS range is a lacquer base then give it a light sans and then a rub with Tamiya's coarse paste and see how it looks and hopefully touch in the affected areas..

This is how the paint has dried - better than I first thought but still... The main body is the worst - I'm hoping a good rub with Tamiya coarse paste followed by a wipe over with IPA again might get me an acceptably decent finish. Any thoughts/commentd/suggestions would be much appreciated!

Sorry friend it looks like a restart might be required, it does look awful I'm afraid.

digger303 wrote: Sun Sep 21, 2025 2:59 am Sorry friend it looks like a restart might be required, it does look awful I'm afraid.

I'm afraid you are right.
I spent about 3 hours today carefully sanding it all back till it felt smooth, gave it a hard rub down with IPA then gave the parts another coat. And exactly the same happened.

So - whats a good way of removing lacquer paint (I assume a Tamiya can with a TS label is lacquer??)

The paint might be bad.
I only know GP lacquer thinner, oven cleaner or VMS slate.

I've got some Tamiya lacquer thinner - I'm a bit scared it will do something nasty to the plastic though....... When I've give the plastic handles of brushes a wipe with it to get rid of finger prints etc. they always feel sticky afterwards.....

Got any sprue left overs to try it on first ?

Doh!!! My brains not functioning these days - I should have thought of that.... Thanks Digger.
Got a piece of sprue given a coat of the green now so we'll see what happens!!

Tested the lacquer thinners on sprue and all went well so the body was stripped and repainted. Touch wood its gone on well this time!!

Went to fit the body to the chassis - and one is as warped as hell!!!


So I'm resorting to drastic measures to get it at least reasonably sorted - CA plus pressure......

This is the re-released kit. The original with a re-released chassis went together very well.

Your on to it.

Calling the two TR's done now. The Green one should serve as a warning about the vintage classic releases from Airfix - the chassis, body and bumpers were as warped as hell - straightened them as best I could but even so it required copious amounts of CA and clamping to get it where it is. The white one was the original kit and went together like a dream. The other thing to be wary of is the instructions. Some parts need to go together in a specific order - this is very clear in the original as it has the text "locate and cement...." as well as the exploded diagrams BUT the re-release only has the diagrams....