middleagedgrup 218 Posted April 14, 2022 4 minutes ago, Juhunio said: Good decision, those kinds of jokes can get tyred pretty quick 😉 Lovely build so far 👍 Excellent, a fellow aficionado of terrible puns. Would be deflating to think I was the only one around here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Juhunio 6830 Posted April 14, 2022 2 minutes ago, middleagedgrup said: Excellent, a fellow aficionado of terrible puns. Would be deflating to think I was the only one around here. Glad I didn’t let you down 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Busdriver 6209 Posted April 15, 2022 10 hours ago, middleagedgrup said: On with the wheels: And then the rear bumper thingy: Now then, do you remember how I had to trim the bottom of the rear body posts because they fouled the the top of the rear shocks? You do? Good, glad to see you were paying attention. Well, turns out that the Lancia body requires the H8 extenders to be fitted, so off come the rear body posts and in go the extenders along with longer machine screws. And now the underside of the posts are nowhere near the shocks. Ah well...! And here comes that naughty small snap pin that I referred to above - it sticks out so far from the battery tray that it fouls the underside of the body. Think I'll take a pair of pliers to the pin and fold it up 90 degrees to give the shell some more room (and to allow me to drop the shell low enough). On go the rubber sleeves to the rear body posts (part MD15) - had to cut these a bit longer than the required 5mm in order to keep the shell high enough to clear the offending battery tray clip. Pop on the holder for the antenna pipe... ...and add a whole heap of shims to take out the woeful amount of slop in the rear arms... Now then. Here we go. It's a thing of beauty, so prepare yourself for an unparalleled visual delight, the likes of which you've never before experienced nor are you likely to experience again, neither in this life nor the next. I give you...the completed chassis (cue ticker tape explosions, pyrotechnics, dancing girls (or guys...I don't judge), full brass band, balloons et cetera, et cetera)!!!!!! Quite a sight, I'm sure you'll all agree. You'll note that I've opted to leave off the mahoosive front bumper for the meantime given that it's unnecessary for my purposes for the moment. Now, I've just got to pluck up enough courage to start the body... @Busdriver I'm looking to you for inspiration! I’m sure you will do a good job, just take it steady. Are you doing box art? Or something else. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
middleagedgrup 218 Posted April 16, 2022 On 4/15/2022 at 7:37 AM, Busdriver said: I’m sure you will do a good job, just take it steady. Are you doing box art? Or something else. Yes, I'll be going the box art route - I lack the imagination to do anything else! I love the look of the car that way as it happens. Will keep you updated on progress. How's your driver / co-driver combo coming along - you made a start on those? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Busdriver 6209 Posted April 16, 2022 9 minutes ago, middleagedgrup said: Yes, I'll be going the box art route - I lack the imagination to do anything else! I love the look of the car that way as it happens. Will keep you updated on progress. How's your driver / co-driver combo coming along - you made a start on those? Not yet. Weather has been so nice I haven’t spent much time modelling!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
middleagedgrup 218 Posted April 22, 2022 Ok, I'm smitten...this thing looks REALLY good once it's painted and stickered up! Am not completely finished yet, but mostly done. Won't have any time over the coming days to do any more, so will leave you with a couple of teasers for the meantime. 14 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Juhunio 6830 Posted April 22, 2022 Looking veeeeeeeeery nice 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Badcrumble 4204 Posted April 23, 2022 Just caught up with this thread, what a beautiful chassis and body. Nice work! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
middleagedgrup 218 Posted May 7, 2022 Afternoon friends! I hope everyone's well and enjoyed the 4 day week here in the UK. I've decided that the Lancia body is now finished, so thought I'd share some pictures of her in her full glory out in the fresh air. Yes I know the cockpit is missing, and I'll be doing that in due course, but for the meantime I'm happy to let the car sit on the shelf in her current state because, to my mind anyway, it looks rather smart. Will get the body posts trimmed down too. Getting the Martini strips lined up correctly around the headlights, over the wings / arches and down the sides etc would have been impossible without the old water-Fairy-and-hairdryer technique (hereinafter known as the WFAH technique, perhaps?), so I'd suggest to all newbies out there that it's a necessary technique to use. The transitions of the bulge on the bonnet are also so large that it is essential to properly heat up the large Lancia shield when placing it in order to get it to mould to the contours and to stick without any creases. So there we have it. I love the amount of detail that there is on these hard bodies, so much so that I've decided that my next job will be to paint up the Brat body that I got hold of last year to replace the original body on my '90's Mud Blaster. Or perhaps I move on to building the 911 GT1 TA03R-S next?? Decisions decisions! 10 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
toyolien 4682 Posted June 1, 2022 What a great build. Absolutely love it. Maybe I missed it, but did you paint the body or leave it the plastic color? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
middleagedgrup 218 Posted June 2, 2022 On 6/1/2022 at 11:43 PM, toyolien said: What a great build. Absolutely love it. Maybe I missed it, but did you paint the body or leave it the plastic color? Hi @toyolien and thanks for the kind words. No, you didn't miss the painting of the body - I just didn't take any pictures of the process! I gave the body a couple of coats of Tamiya fine white primer and then 3 coats of TS-1. I hand painted the lenses of the rear light lenses using X-26 and X-27, and did the front indicators in X-6. X-11 was used for the silver details (filler cap, door locks/handles, aero catches etc). I attempted to mask off the body and hand paint the windscreen surrounds in XF-1 but I messed that step up and got lots of bleed under the masking. I used the same flexible Nitto tape that I had previously deployed to great success with my 934 RSR build, but I think I tried to put too much paint on in one go, rather than building up layers, and the paint overwhelmed the tape. School boy. So...I used a bit of Tamiya lacquer thinner to remove the XF-1 completely and then resprayed the area with a couple more layers of TS-1 to get it back to how it was. I've left the surrounds white for the meantime, although I may have a go a masking it up again and using a matt black Sharpie when I get the courage. Have been keeping myself busy recently with a Brat body for my Mud Blaster chassis - going with light metallic blue (TS-54) and lots of clear coating for extra glossiness! To go with my glossy mane. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
middleagedgrup 218 Posted September 4, 2022 So, many months have passed since my last post on this thread, but that's not to say that nothing has been happening here at Casa Middleaged. No siree there's been plenty of Tamiya-based goings on - see my Pumpkin build thread for example. But not only that, but also the cockpit for the Lancia which I finally plucked up the courage to paint (or got off my backside to do, you choose). This was my first stab at such a thing so please be gentle, but happy to take on board any pointers should you feel in a sharing mood! How's yours coming along, @Busdriver ? 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Busdriver 6209 Posted September 4, 2022 3 hours ago, middleagedgrup said: So, many months have passed since my last post on this thread, but that's not to say that nothing has been happening here at Casa Middleaged. No siree there's been plenty of Tamiya-based goings on - see my Pumpkin build thread for example. But not only that, but also the cockpit for the Lancia which I finally plucked up the courage to paint (or got off my backside to do, you choose). This was my first stab at such a thing so please be gentle, but happy to take on board any pointers should you feel in a sharing mood! How's yours coming along, @Busdriver ? As it was!!! Need to do the cockpit. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kontemax 1725 Posted September 7, 2022 On 5/7/2022 at 4:07 PM, middleagedgrup said: TORINO... <3 :-) Max 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FoxShot 280 Posted September 18, 2022 What an excellent write up, with really good pictures. Your jokes were on point too. 49207265616c6c7920656e6a6f796564207468652062696e6172792068657861646563696d616c206a6f6b65 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DTSCB 96 Posted June 2, 2023 @middleagedgrup Hi, Nice build! I also have a TA-02 Lancia (that I converted to a TA-02T Ford F150). The battery tray in the TA-02 tub (standard) can only fit my Nicad and small Nimh batteries. Would you be willing to measure the height, length and width of the carbon conversion battery tray? I'm hoping it will fit a large 4200+ Nimh battery. Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
middleagedgrup 218 Posted June 2, 2023 8 hours ago, DTSCB said: @middleagedgrup Hi, Nice build! I also have a TA-02 Lancia (that I converted to a TA-02T Ford F150). The battery tray in the TA-02 tub (standard) can only fit my Nicad and small Nimh batteries. Would you be willing to measure the height, length and width of the carbon conversion battery tray? I'm hoping it will fit a large 4200+ Nimh battery. Thanks! Thanks for the compliment! I've just measured the tray for you and the measurements are 22mm x 48mm x 137mm. I'd take 1mm off all those figures to ensure you've got enough room in each dimension. An Overlander 7.2v 3300mAh NiMH (i.e. 6 cell, no hump) battery fits fine, although from what you say it sounds like your battery is larger than one of those? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DTSCB 96 Posted June 2, 2023 13 hours ago, middleagedgrup said: Thanks for the compliment! I've just measured the tray for you and the measurements are 22mm x 48mm x 137mm. I'd take 1mm off all those figures to ensure you've got enough room in each dimension. An Overlander 7.2v 3300mAh NiMH (i.e. 6 cell, no hump) battery fits fine, although from what you say it sounds like your battery is larger than one of those? Yeah, the 4200NiMH is a little bigger. It sounds like it is worth a try. Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites