1/16th Ford Model A (Police Sergeant's Car)

Glad to see this being worked on again, Skid.

  

Left peddle is clutch, right pedal is brake, the throttle the first round pedel that the arrow is pointed at and the second round pedal is the starter. The gear shift is the tall one with the black knob on top and the shorter one to its right with the button on top is the e-brake.

Thanks for the input guys. Think I have it sorted now. A member on another site posted this for me:



The two oblong pedals on the far left are the clutch and the brake, respectively. It is a stick shift, but it's not quite a standard as you would know it today. You have to double-clutch when shifting gears, for instance. (So it goes clutch in, shift from first gear to neutral, clutch out then clutch in, shift to second.)

Beside the steering column there's a very small round metal button: that's the electric starter.

The two tall things in the middle are the gear shift (round handle) with the park break beside it (the straight metal one with the button on top).

The weird thing on the far right of the image that's coming out of the dashboard is the choke, to add extra fuel to begin with. This is done automatically in modern cars when you turn it on by turning the key.

Now for the two round pedals on the floor, side by side. The metal one on the left is your accelarator: your gas pedal, as you would find in a modern car. The one on the right isn't a pedal at all, but an immovable peg. It's the foot rest. You see, in the 1920s the road conditions were generally terrible. If you go around driving with your foot solely on the gas (as I found out the first time I drove this one), and you go over, say, a rut, or a set of train tracks, or something, you stomp down on the gas, and you lurch, and it's terrifying. So don't do it. You rest most of your weight on the footrest, then roll your foot onto the gas.

Just what I said, and I have not driven one since I was 12.

It took a little for it to come back to me and I was editing my post while Al snuck in with his.

  

Glad you got it figured out.

Hi Al,

Not sure if this will be of any help...: - Model A Basics

The pictures go through the set procedures if you watch them...

Andy...

Thank Colin.... double de-clutching.... boy that brought back memories. I learned to drive on a crash gearbox. Later I would learn how to power shift up the gears without using the clutch at all.

Whoa!!! progress at last.

I got the passenger side A pillar crack filled and sanded again:.....



.... and the brake and clutch pedal arrangement done.





This is the Mk1 version. The Mk2 version will have the spindle split as per the 1:1. Otherwise pressing one pedal would mean pressing both.!!!!  



It might be a tiny detail but it's worth doing methinks.

Isn't macro photography wonderful. I hadn't noticed it before but now I'm going to have to take care of that massive injection pin mark, on the underside of the spare wheel well!!!!!   

Great detailing Al. My late Grandfather would have recognised everything here, he owned a ute
version back in the '30s.

Ahhhhh, crash gearboxes!
My 59 VW bug had a non-synco first trans. Also most US big rigs have non-synchro trannies too. It is just a finesse thing, but I always found it easier to drive a big rig without the clutch, as it was just a matter of matching the revs. When you match the revs, it just slips right into gear. Except on hills, as the clutch helps ease the load on the driveline.

Thanks Chris.

I knew from the outset, that the biggest weak point of this kit was the opening doors. They are an atrocious fit as you can see:











I've never been a fan of wibbly wobbly opening doors on plastic models, I just think the styrene is not suited to it, but I had hoped to be able to glue the drivers door open but due to the terrible 'hinges' that's not really on, so both doors will be glued in the closed position.

These are the door side of the hinges that Minicraft supply.....



.....and these are the scuttle/window frame hinges they supply:



No fixing points on the scuttle/window frame are provided for the hinges.

They bear little resemblance to the real deal:



Minicraft even modified their box art model to look correct.!!!



Onwards and upwards!!! LOL

Now that stinks...

I FUBARD a door on my rat version trying to overcome this. Fortunately the poor repair wasn't so bad for a beater rat !

That's going to take a bit to work through. It's a shame the doors don't fit better than that.

Yup, it stinks alright but it's what I have to work with and the recovery is now 2/3rd complete. I just have to glue the tops of the doors and leading edge of the windows and it should be done. Leaving a little shut line scribing to do.

Well, that's plan A anyway!!!!   

Al: When I see opening doors on a kit that is my signal to put the &$&;;.@@ thing back in the box. I just have no talent for making them work. Good luck with these.

Hot water, superglue and a nail gun........ Sorted!   

The doors are now fitting properly.

The door cards and rear cards have to be fitted before the body marries the fenders.....



...but they wouldn't fit between the floor and the rear fenders. I had to remove the floor, and open up the gap on the right rear.



This is how it sits now, just need to scribe the shut lines, prep some more, prime and paint.

Jeez, a shame the doors didn't fit better. Your patience really makes a difference. Thanx for pix.

Looks good Al. Nicely done.

Sorry missed this one Al, but I've really enjoyed catching up!!
Superb craftsmanship on the bodywork and sublime detailing on the engine and chassis.

That's looking choice, Skid !!!!!

I'm really liking these larger scale models.
When we take the effort to override the shortcomings of the Minicraft die makers, A great looking model is pretty much assured !
  

Thanks for your nice comments guys.

Not a major update methinks but it feels like I'm making good progress again.

Got the base white paint laid tonight. Tamiya XF-2 Flat White. I'll let it dry for 24 hours then mask off for the base black.

I thought I'd commented on your great door repair... Obviously not, I'm sure I'm losing it.

So then, great door repair, nice job.

Base coat looks very swish, looking forward to the next update.