Bring forth the Jelly Mould!

As previously reported I acquired a Constructora Armoured Car at Partizan from Syborg 3D. The model itself was a snip at £3 for a vehicle I am unlikely to field on a regular basis, if at all.

I had a slight concern as the Constructora is a very smooth looking vehicle, resembling a jelly mould or two blancmanges stuck together. It is almost Art Deco in its design. The Syborg model is not.


This is the slightly blurry picture from the Syborg website. If you look closely the model is distinctly ridgy from the 3D printing process. And there's a real problem with the MG support.


I considered, very briefly, sanding it down, but decided instead to have a go with some PVA. The first layer I put on I watered down and applied with a brush. It made no difference. So I thought I'd just dive straight in. The model in the picture had 2 layers of neat PVA simply brushed on. It worked a treat.


I cut off the MG and drilled the turret out to replace it with a bit of plastic broom bristle. Much more robust.


I chose not to camouflage it but go for the classic burnished steel look. I painted on a couple of lines between notional plates, as the model doesn't have them. It looks fine from a distance. Then rounded it off with some graffiti.

I'm pleased with the result. A little bit of work required, but it is half the price of resin/metal equivalents. I wouldn't have bothered at all if I'd had to pay more than a fiver.



 

Comments

  1. I wonder if this contraption was inspired by the Airstream travel trailer? I think airstream started building trailers in the 1920s or 1930s.

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    1. Could be. Or it could be because they were using curved boiler plate panels. Or it could be it is that Art Deco streamline look they were going for.

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  2. Good idea about the PVA. I also picked up a few Syborg models and one of them (a fuel tanker) is also a bit ridgy, so I'll give the PVA a go.

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    1. It's a great idea for models that don't have or need a lot of fine detail. I should have done it with the truck fleet I bought last year.

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  3. Thanks for the tip on Syborg BTW - I found him online and contacted him re 20mm versions of SCW armoured cars - they are £6 each - the only problem now is he quoted a min postage to NZ of £25, which means that to make any kind of financial sense, I would need to buy about ten vehicles - and I dont really want that many. You guys dont realise how lucky you are, that you can just walk up to his stall at a show, or go to his shop, and buy one or two vehicles for a few quid (or maybe you do?!) - if postage was £5, they would already be bought and paid for and on the way here!

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    1. That's unfortunate. The guy is a sole trader working on thin margins, so I suppose that's to be expected no the postage. Surely someone down your way will start selling 3D printed models soon.

      I can assure you, after two years of not being able to walk up to a trade stand at a show, I do appreciate how lucky we are.

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  4. Interesting - I've never seen an armored car like that. At first I thought it was science-fiction - It could almost be a Hammer's Slammers type hover vehicle.

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    1. Looks like it is straight out of Dan Dare or Flash Gordon, doesn't it?

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