GAZ-66 truck

things have slowed a bit on the GMC so thought id make a start on the truck i have been wanting to do for a while

GAZ-66 by Eastern Express in 1/35, kit was new tool sometime in the 1990s, and it seems even Revell borrowed the moulds and punted it out in the early 2000s so it cant be that bad

had this in the stash for a while, cant remember where i got it or how much i paid for it, got another with a ZU23 AAA gun in the back

plan is to do it out of the box, as for cargo im going to have a go at scratching something
the instructions are dire!......printed on cheap paper and stapled at one corner, in russian and english, no paint call outs or where he decals go!!.....will need to do some research lol

I agree with your estimation of Eastern Express' instructions. I also found they don't always show assembly location of ALL the parts and hopping from one step to another and some pieces are magically already installed.

But they do have some unique subject matter.

so ive had a go at making some wooden crates to go in the back



this is what one would look like in the truck bed



next step is to stain them, see which one comes out the best

The crates are very nice Paul, a Tutorial wouldn't go astray?

The crates look excellent. Looking forward to watching this develop.

Nice one Paul. Love those crates.

Nice.

Looks great Paul, and I echo the comments re the crates.

i will do a quick tute some time next week when i get the chance

Roger is getting all my attention at the minute cos ive got to get it done by next wednesday, and im away over the weekend

dublin boy wrote:The crates are very nice Paul, a Tutorial wouldn't go astray?

its made of balsa, cant tell you thicknesses cos i got it in a mixed bundle from a craft shop but the edges are half the thickness of the sides

dont use pva glue as it makes the balsa curl and deform......i used UHU Hart glue which what was recommended when i bought a balsa plane (which i havnt built lol)....but it has problems since it must be 'waterproof' as it repels wood stain or acrylic paint....found it takes about 30 mins to set

first i cut sides and top/bottom...try and make them as square as possible.....this is going to be @35mm x 40mm x 60mm



glue the blocks onto the sides.......get them to the edge cos they are whats going to keep top/bottom square



add the top/bottom bits

note i didnt cut any ends,,,need measure the ends now the 'box' is together...try and get it pretty close but its dosnt have to be perfect cos the edging will cover any gaps



i used the thin balsa to cut some 4mm wide strips to make the edging

again leave the ends til last......trim to flush once stuck secure





when the end edging is added it should hide any gaps and make things neat



ive looked at modern crates and they seem to have reinforcement bits that run edge to edge, not corner to corner but i think corner to corner looks better



ive used proper wood stain on the first ones and it worked ok apart from where it touched any glue that had seeped out....went an orangey shade.....this one im going to try painting with some matt enamel just to see what happens

Nice little tutorial, thanks! And, yeah, using PVA on thin balsa is a problem I remember from past projects. I wound up using 2 part epoxy which worked well but also had the issues of not being all that paintable. Looking forward to seeing the further development.

Nice one Paul. Thanks for the tute.

Great looking crate, Paul. I don't see why it needs stain- just a few stencilled words here and there.

Thanks Paul, enjoyable and valuable tutorial.

You made the crates like "no big deal," but they are. The inventiveness to add something special to a ho-hum model shows real talent!!!!

Love those crates and thanks for the tutorial.

definatly not proving to be the nicest kit......first time ive tried Meng paint (apparently its the same as AK stuff)......airbrushed really nicely i must say, straight from the bottle

back to this one



definatly one of the worst kits ive ever done



to get the cab, spare wheel carrier and the truck bed to fit to the chassis had to do a bit on surgery to each one



next step is sort out the wheels and some little bits, then want to try something new to add some mud

It appears you're overcoming the obstacles quite nicely, Paul.

Wow, quality control isn't what it once was. You'd think they would build a few test kits to see if everything goes together. I understand words (especially the old Japanese kits) sometimes fumbled with English. Poor fit and sloppy flash needing removal is another issue. When pieces don't align and there's no warping, the manufacturer deserves criticism. Thanx for sticking with a bad kit to completion!

and finished..........more pics in the finished thread
truely dreadful kit (and i have another in the stash!!!), if anyone is thinking of tackling it they should know the instructions are rubbish, theres no paint callout or diagram to show where the decals go......nothing seems to fit.......when i had to attach the cab, wheel carrier and truck bed to the chassis all needed some minor surgery
ive misplaced the wing mirrors,.......they were a bit fragile and i had to scratch some angled brackets, i can remember painting them but cant find them now......if they turn up i shall add them
decided to use it as a test subject for the splatter nozzle on my air brush, had it a while but never used it. can see how it works but need some more practice