Because my airbrush is still pretty unreliable and I don't have the time over this break to really master it, I've elected not to paint this kit, but rather to treat it as an assessment of my construction abilities. It'll be like the box art example kit...no paint, no putty, no scratchbuilding...just build straight out of the box and then display.
Here's the prebuild shot. However, the road wheels are just about complete...I was so excited to build something again that I forgot to take a picture before beginning. The pieces are well molded, very minimal flash, lots of good surface details and some impressive little pieces for a kit from the 70s!
The name of this game is efficiency. So many of my previous builds have had at least some degree of shoddy construction masked by generous helpings of glue and/or paint. There's no hiding this time around...this build is a serious trial of my construction skills I've honed for nearly a decade, and one of my worst habits is using too much glue.
The road wheels, idlers, and drive sprockets were easy builds with ample detail and minimal cleanup. Another facet of my building assessment is that I will make everything moveable that can be. The vast majority of my builds are stationary; hatch covers, wheels, propellers, flaps, etc. But this build will be completely moveable, and there are a LOT of moveable pieces in this kit! First off, every one of these wheels (except the small top idlers) spins!
Another view of the wheels. I think it's pretty well known that there should be a gap between the third and fourth road wheels. But I don't have the time nor resources to fix it during this break.
The stern section went together without a hitch. I've heard that attaching this to the chassis and the the upper hull can be a challenge though.
I'll post more as I do them. Also, pardon the iffy photo quality...this is the first time that I'm using my iPhone for model pictures.
