Time to start a new project thread. This is the Resicast Rolls Royce Armored Car, circa 1914…yep, The Great War!
This is a full resin kit, with some photo etch details and a larger etched sheet for the spoked wheels - a quite impressive kit with well over 100 parts.
Work begins as usual with the chassis and engine. Looking forward in the instructions it appears that consideration is made for displaying the bonnet in either the open or closed position.
At this point I have not yet decided whether to display the engine in the final presentation. However, using the supplied extra CD photographs as a guide I have decided to add some basic wiring and detail to the engine and firewall.
This is a nice shot showing the detail to the underside of the chassis.
Rick- yes it looks like a VERY nice kit ! No doubt more $$, but if you want details(and yes we do) then you got the one, I bet. So yes, the plastic kit has no wire wheels(later ya say?) Wire Wheels are VERY stylish aren’t they? And correct for your model, but a good idea on a WarWagon? I guess in it’s day there was a lot less things that could blow it off it’s wheels, but if it happened… As Dirty Harry would say : “It’s a hellofa price for being stylish”[:o)][:D][:)]
Looks like the the Resicast kit is more than twice the cost (no big suprise), Probably 3 times with shipping as I couldn’t find it except from Euro sources (anyone know of a dealer in US?) I did find a blog on M.M. of Willem building the Rodan kit but changing the wheels out for other scratchbuilt solids!
An increadable bit of lathe work for sure, but I really want to see the wire wheels of resin kit !
Hum…I’m not an expert either. I checked the instructions again and it seems to square with their images, and the fit seems fine…so???
Continuing, work now begins on the upper body. The rear cargo bed, drivers area are cast as a single piece. The flooring has a nice wooden plank texture which should be fun to paint a little later. The smaller fittings and rear stowage lockers are moulded as seperate items.
The front fenders are a little tricky, and delicate. If you can notice the fenders basically “float” to the sides of the chassis, as they are not affixed to any hard points. In real life the fenders are supported by two metal brackets coming from the frame, attaching to the underside of the fenders. On the kit, these metal brackets are represented by two strips of photo etch. Although not a complicated affair, it did test my patience to get them lined-up and attached properly.
They look weird because the center of the leaf spring is not over the axle. It looks kinda like a quarter-elliptical spring set up, but with the whole leaf pack. It was probably the cheapest way to put the axle at the very back of the chassis, there by making the most of a small cabin. But thats just my opinion…
Upon closer examination[#oops] it appears they are mounted so as to be able to bear the weight of the vehicle. Interesting setup, not something used commonly for sure. I think Traitor nailed it.
Inverted springs isn’t all that uncommon for vehicles of that era. Especially with trucks and heavier vehicles.
Think of it this way, the leaf springs in a car are designed to return the axle to it’s resting position by pushing down on the axle itself. With a much heavier vehicle it is easier to invert the springs and push the chassis UP, thereby returning the axle to it’s rest position.
In this instance, it is pretty much a double quarter eliptical setup. The setup here is doing both fucnctions, pushing down on the axle, and pushing up on the chassis.
Hi guy’s, I just stumbled on this forum. I have mixed interests, history and films, I’m also a welder/prototype fabricator in Silicone valley.
A few years ago I did a sheetmetal “impression” of a 1914 RR Silver Ghost armoured car, I spent a lot of time on the internet looking for photos and information. If this kit was out then I wouldn’t have wasted so much time.
A few things I learned was, the chassis was a standard Silver Ghost chassis turned over to some boiler maker to armor it with 1/2 and 3/8" plate, the driver did not have a seat, just a pile of grain bags stacked up to sit on, short drivers had a tall stack and tall drivers had a short stack.
A canvas strap connected to the dash board was used to support his back, the gunner had to hang on as best he could while re-loading the Vickers and filling up the radiator for gun. The turret was turned by hand.
Thr cars were sent to Belgium for a few months and then transfered to Egypt and then to Palistine, now you know the trivia I know.
Well, despite the fairly high parts count the construction goes along fairly quickly. Time to pull it all together.
The turret -
All of the major assembly components ready to be mated. As I may have mentioned earlier the kit makes allowances for the bonnet to be in the open or closed position for views into the engine compartment. In the end I decided to close the bonnet…
The final step is to recreate the spoke wheels. I must say that I approached this with some apprehension as it looked as though this step would be delicate and complicated. However, Resicast has provided for the most excellent of solutions!! Simply press the photo etch spokes between the conical shaped templates…it’s that easy! After, remove the photo etch and place within the wheel along with the various spacers.
And here we are…The Rolls Royce Armored Car circa 1914
An increadable bit of lathe work for sure, but I really want to see the wire wheels of resin kit !
