Thanks for that picture Steve. I was correct then.

A few of you have asked for an article on making the springs, so here you go....

First of all, wrap the correct diameter of wire around the correct sized tube. I've used 4.5mm tube and 1mm wire. Make sure the coils are tight up to each other, and keep the tension tight.



Now select the number of coils you require, and snip the ends off to give the correct number.



Now file or sand the ends of the "Tail" flat. About half of the wire diameter is ample.



Now it's time to stretch the spring, but to keep it all square, use two blades or metal strips as shown here. You can use your fingers, but the results are better this way.



And, viola... one finished spring. You may want to tweak the ends wioth some pliers or tweezers to get the seat dead right. This is my first attempt, so there's no reason why you can't do it too!!



To get the spring seat, you need to cut the end off, sand it flat and add a small length of the tube you used to make the spring as a locator.



I hope this gets you all having a go at this, it's easy!!

Regards

Nige

I've been making some slow and painful progress on this kit. It seems that every single part has fit issues, large seam lines and most have flash!!

I found out that the holes for the driveshafts in the Diffs are too big at the rear and too small at the front, so one had to be sleeved, and one had to be drilled out.



Here's the frame starting to come together. Look closely and you'll see the copious use of Mr Surfacer in ejector pin marks and poor fits.



I've used steel braid from littlecars.com for the winch rope. There is a hook, part E17 which I think is spare, and not mentioned in the manual, so I'm gonna use it on the winch cable.

As much as I moan about the build, it is becoming clear that this will be a lovely model when finished. In my opinion, much nicer than the Kinetic kit??

Nige

Superb woks.

OK, thanks Steve. Always thought a coil spring suspension would have a shock or strut in there to provide support. Guess the spring is rigid enough not to need one, hence the separate shock on the other side. Looked a bit more into that TAK-4 suspension and it sounds pretty good.
You are correct Nigel

Jim

Nigel;
bravo. that is one of the best and most concise tutorials I have seen yet. Cheers.

Thanks for responding Damon, you asked, I delivered apparently??

Here's a little more progress....



Thank heavens for mr Surfacer!! Note the brass rod replacement for the platic pipework. I assume this is a fire extinguisher? What colour would the tank be painted?

Following a dusting with some dark earth, just to check all the seams...



I'm trying to make the suspension units look like thy're bolted to the chassis, rather than sunk in.

Thanks for looking in.

Nige

Red is always good:
https://armorama.kitmaker.net/photos/feature/4093/1__46_.jpg

Thanks for that Dimitar. So, it is indeed a fire extinguisher then...

Nige

Yep, and it's nice to see it included as a kit part.

Hi all,

Just found another error in the kit instructions, step One. The link between the two steering arms is labelled as part C32, when it is in fact E5.

Parts C32 are the track control arms for the steering.

I will also post more info soon on the PE frets. There are mis-numbered parts and parts which are missing from the instructions. There is also a load of bracketry to go into the interior roof, which is not shown in the manual either!!

Regards

Nige

Today i have been working on the interior, and have made the etch frames for stowage. I have also found more errors in the manual.

This kit is driving me crazy!!!!!!!!!

I'll post pics tomorrow.

Nige

Nigel;
I don't know about everyone else but when you are done a solid all inclusive list of all the errors and changes would be welcome by me. Cheers.

I ordered mine from over seas for a good price but now I think I'll wait till there is a few build logs to follow with the mistakes are show on them so I have something to follow.

Happy modeling
William DeCicco

I'll second that. It would be most welcomed!!!

I purchased the Panda kit a few months ago, I know it has a lot of inaccuracies but for some reason it’s still a fun kit to build. I’m glad someone is taking the time and energy to point out the flaws just that in itself is a pain in the butt. Anyone out there who is interested in building this kit and is leery of the kit, don’t be. With a little time and patients it does build into a nice kit.

I agree DJ, this is a lovely model, with a wealth of detail, it just requires a little skill and patience to build!!

Well, as promised, I'm posting up some more of my findings and my progress..

Firstly, in step 9 the manual shows a bracket across the frame behind the drivers seat, but no kit part that I can find???



Next we go to step12, and you'll see the "box" for the computer keyboard fitted. It's included in the kit, but not referred to earlier in the build...



In step 11, you'll notice the grab handles fitted to the rear of the seats. They're not mentioned in the seat assembly stages, but are shown here. There are only 6 of these handles in the kit, but eight are required. i suggest leaving them off the rear seats??



In this picture of step 8 we can see the mass of errors in the part numbering for the framework. Just follow the numbers in red pen, and you'll be sorted!!



Now for some questions...

Where do you think these go??? They're part PE-B9, called for in step 24, but the part called for should be PE-B18, so these four bits are spare??



Then there is this part....Any ideas???



Hope this helps???

Nige

So, on with the build..

I noticed that the transmission tunnel in the kit was a little simplified....



Alarm bells rang when I noticed the tunnel overhung the right main frame rail, so did a little research using Chris Greens amazing walkaround on this very site, and found it should look like this...



Here we can see the frames fitted and etch primed.



I have some advice for anyone contemplating this kit....

Make sure the house is empty before you attempt these PE frames. You will shout and ball a lot. I have bleeted swear words I didn't believe I knew!!!

Thanks for stopping by

Nige

Hi,

PE-B9 is the hinge for the side mirrors. Please see my pics. Its a really challenging kit but it does look better than the kintic's offering. Well, I know I am enjoying meself. The last pic is the WIP. Thank you for viewing.

Des





here's interior shots......

hope they are helpful

Thanks Des,I should have noticed that!!

I hate to be the bearer of bad news my friend, but you have made a little error on your kit...

The coil springs on the front are supposed to be in front of the wheel centre-line.

The completely wrong instructions at the suspension build stages have obviously caught you out?? I hope you can rectify at this late stage??

Nice build though, how did you manage to get the three passenger seats up off the floor?

Regards

Nige

Nige,
That photo etch part #7 is the PLGR mount. It goes right next to the FBCB2 display. Look at step 11 and 12, you can barely see it, but that is what it's for.

Pete

Hi Pete,

Thanks for sharing. i completely missed that part. heres a pic for those who might be wondering where the part is.



regards,
Des

Hi Nigel,

Man! i was pissed to realised i had made a big booboo on the suspension. building another just to get a correct suspension ain't gonna happen. well....took the underframe apart.......praying along the way that i dun wreck anything. see the results...



plently of small parts dropped off and i would have to stick em back later. Phew!!!! wat a roller coaster ride for this kit........enjoying it thoroghly. thanks for pointing my booboo out.

the seats are designed with pegs to bring them up over the floor board. see pic



Anyway, hope my booboos are lesson learnt for the many who will attempt this kit.

Regards,
Des

What a fantastic recovery Des!!! Well done.

Thanks Pete for pointing out the missing part location. I shall add this to my corrections list, to be done at the end of this build.

I asked the question about the seats, as all three of mine had no supports on them. Obviously the pegs broke off and remained in the mould tool, so every sprue moulded following that one will not have the pegs. So much for quality control!!

Nige

so what has become of this build very informative i must say about to start mine ....

Hello Gents!

Any update to this build? Some other link?

This was looking impressive! WOuld like to see the rest of the build.

Thanks!

Jorge