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Am I late for the tram?

Am I late for the train?

A while back….okay, a LONG time ago I started a project using MiniArt’s European Tram kit, model number 38001. Since starting this project, the kit itself has been discontinued from MiniArt’s line, having been replaced by the German Tram (Triebwagon 641), model number 38003. No matter, the build must go on. And on it did.

Unfortunately it took me much longer to get this one to the finish line than anticipated. But in the end, making it to the finish is all that really matters. So in this feature, I want to talk a little bit about the build but focus a little more on the painting of the tram itself. Since I decided a while back to build the Tram as a wreck of some sort, I needed to work in some destruction and possible some burnt stuff. Hopefully I will be able to shed some light on a little bit of what it takes to create some burnt effects.

The Kit & the Build

The European Tram, and I suppose the German Tram, from MiniArt has over 600 parts to the kits. At least 1/3 of these parts are attributed to the chassis and suspension; largely made up from some of the smallest molded styrene piece known to man. Bill Cross has an excellent review of this kit here on Armorma, if you have the chance, please stop by and check it out.

Bill's Review Live links

The construction process was fairly straight forward…of course, aside from the tons of little parts to deal with; all located on a section presumably never to be seen if the model were placed upright on the base provided. The undercarriage is highly detailed and for all intents and purposes, impressive. It did not take long to construct the lower end of the Tram actually. I think after a couple of nights of snipping and cleaning, followed by plenty of sanding, the entire undercarriage was together…and the wheels are movable; just in case you wanted to play a little.

After that, it was a matter of muddling through MiniArt’s a pile of wall panels for the trams car construction. Typically this would be where another tedious process of the build would take place; the endless and all but mindless sanding of tiny little plastic window bars. I chose to eliminate most of this process after a few of these snapped in half when trying to remove them from the sprue trees. The plastic in this kit is a little brittle and deserves a lot of care and patience.

Fortunately for me, this will be a wreck. This meant that certain parts and sections can be omitted from the building process due to the fact that either the parts would be depicted damaged or gone completely form the destructive force that cause such damage.