Revell Auto Transporter

[potsie]

SPOILER ALERT: I have actually finished this kit, but given its relative scarcity I thought a wip thread may be of interest. I took photos of most steps and have some advice on the order of assembly as I think the instructions are not ideal in some places. The kit came in three large sprues; one with the treads, one mostly with the frame and the other with wheels and other bits. I spend a night snipping pieces from the third sprue to separate wheels etc, then just sprayed the other two sprues as they were. Touch up after removing sprayed pieces was going to be much easier than trying to remove pieces prior to spraying.



Here is the kit box for reference.





Step 1: The instructions are vague on the colour advice and the box art is not much help. I am not convinced the model on the box is even painted. I went for Tamiya TS-81 Royal Light Grey for the main frame, though in hindsight this was a poor choice as it was very close match to the primer I used so coverage was hard to judge. I also did not have a matching pot of paint for touch ups. Construction started with the two main chassis rails of the lower deck. The instructions did not even call out detail painting of the suspension.





Step 2: Adding the cross-beams. The fitment of these would have been perfect before painting, so there was some finessing required to get painted parts assembled correctly.





Step 3: First lot of treads/ramps added. These are sprayed a generic automotive silver. The centre sections - also silver - served to added structural support to the chassis. The centre piece at the very bottom had the supports for the outer treads molded in, which I painted gun-metal for contrast.





Step 4: Spare wheels, also in automotive silver.





Step 5: Spare wheels added to the lower deck.





Step 6: Added wheel arches. These were painted grey, masked and then the silver sprayed for the tread area. Also added the ramps down to the middle section of the lower deck. These are supposed to sit flush with the lower deck but foul the spare tires so sit high. A consequence is very little are to glue the in place, relying only on the contact area with the arches.





Step 7: Adding ramps in the front section of the lower deck.





The build starts heading up from here.



Grant.

[potsie]

After Step 7 I put the axles and wheels on, even though the instructions call for this much later. I did not want to turn the trailer over when the upper frame was in place.



Step 8: The rear of the upper deck can be raised or lowered. To do this there is a simulated hydraulic ram (outer canister on left of photo below) and a bar that slides through an outer casing (right) with a pin that can lock it in place a various heights. These were both two piece and needed clamping during gluing due to slight warping of parts. This was the biggest problem of the build, with both the piston and bar not fitting in their respective outer sleeves, even after some serious post-paint sanding and filing.





Step 9: Assembling the rear bar with light and number plate assembly. Lights are not clear parts, rather detailed sections painted silver then clear red or orange as necessary. The hydraulic canister and outer sleeve of positioner bar are added in a way they can freely rotate. I will admit this step looked like a potential issue in the instructions, but there was sufficient surface area for glue to work effectively.





Step 10 and 11: Assembling the stand used to support the trailer when not coupled (#10) and mounting this to the frame (#11). The legs do slide within the outer frame, though the paint adds sufficient friction to stop them collapsing under the weight of the trailer.







Steps 12 and 13 were assembling a bracket that served to support the rear of the lower deck and provide a mounting point for the rear bar. For some reason I have no photos of this.



Step 14: Rear bar assembled at step #9 added to the support bar from #12. Also added two short rear ramps. These provide mounting points for the ramps to get vehicles into / out of the lower deck of the trailer.





Grant.

[potsie]

Step 15: The side frames go on. The instructions do not call for any detailing, but there are some hydraulic rams (Tamiya yellow-green for the outers, chrome silver for the piston), ladders (Tamiya hull red), bolt ends (Tamiya metallic grey) and lights (silver + clear red) that I detailed. The frames mount to the lower piece added at Step #3, and the holes in the outer frame fit so snugly to the ends of the lower frame I did not need to glue it in place. A lot of test fitting and filling to ensure fit, but that is it.





With a Fujimi Nissan 300ZX I was completing at the same time. It should be noted that I think the 300ZX is under-size, as despite its supposed 1/24th scale it is smaller that 1/24th scale Nissan R32's I have. But this gives an idea of the sense of scale.





Steps 16 and 17: Painting and installing the 'cage' that goes around the front of the lower section. This also has an advertising board attached on either side that the kit supplies a 'haulage company' style decal for. I will add these at the end with some decals reflecting the overall scheme.

[fafnir]

Very nice work so far,looking forward to more.

[potsie]

Steps 18 - 20: The ramps for the upper deck are attached to the cross-bars (#18), pieces added to the side of each ramp to later attach chains (#19) and these assemblies then attached to the upper part of the side frames (#20). The instructions call for the chains to be added at Step 28, but added them here while the ramps were separate as it was easier to handle each one.









Step 21: The piston of the rear hydraulic ram and inner bar of the height locator were added to the rear upper deck portion, and slotted into the outer pieces attached to the rear bar at Step 9. You can see in the photo to small pin holding the locator bar in place on each side. These pins can be removed, and the hydraulic ram piston and locator bar moved within their respective cases to raise or lower the rear deck; in theory. In reality, with the extra thickness and friction from the paint and the warping of the two piece outer parts the movement is significantly hindered. If I had understood this step better prior to painting I would have spen more time ensuring a better fit and smooth movement. The upper deck piece in front of the rear deck can rotate on the cross-bar to the left on this photo. This gives access to the lower deck to put a vehicle in.

[potsie]

Steps 22 - 25: In these steps the air brakes are assembled (#22) and installed (#23). The three-piece wheels are painted, assembled and installed in the tyres (#24). The two-piece axles are then installed into the suspension. If the order of intructions are follwed the entire upper deck, which is designed to move, is in place. I thought this was a recipe for broken pieces, so did these steps - and Step 26 below - as soon as the wheel arches were added at Step 6.





Step 26: The wheels are attached to the axles.

[Scale-Master]

Nice! It's rare to see one of these done up. I have an early issue of is and have almost taken it on a few times. Maybe I'll build it someday...

[potsie]

I highly recommend building it. Fit was mostly excellent, with just the pieces required for the upper rear deck to move having issues. It was a shame I discovered the severity of this too late but I do not intend to move it much once on the shelf. It has lots of scope for detailing and someone with weathering skills - such as yourself - could make an absolutely stunning build.

[Scale-Master]

Good to know. The other issue for me is making all the cars for it to haul.

I started doing a brand new ZR1 collection for it and made it as far as painting 8 bodies in the various available colors and making vacuum formed side windows before I realized how bad the AMT kits actually looked when finished.

What's really ironic is that I built the Firebirds and the Camaro models in that box art photo for their individual kit box arts. (I don't know who built the trailer.)

[potsie]

Originally Posted by Scale-Master

Good to know. The other issue for me is making all the cars for it to haul.

I started doing a brand new ZR1 collection for it and made it as far as painting 8 bodies in the various available colors and making vacuum formed side windows before I realized how bad the AMT kits actually looked when finished.

What's really ironic is that I built the Firebirds and the Camaro models in that box art photo for their individual kit box arts. (I don't know who built the trailer.)

Oh my word, that is amazing! It must be a real thrill to have your work on boxart. I hope you got free samples of the kits and - most importantly - boxes to keep and entertain you kids / grandkids with the story.

[Scale-Master]

Originally Posted by potsie

Oh my word, that is amazing! It must be a real thrill to have your work on boxart. I hope you got free samples of the kits and - most importantly - boxes to keep and entertain you kids / grandkids with the story.

I did several hundred box art models for many of the major model kit companies. I do have some of kits with my models on the box and I usually got two two kits for each one I was to make so I did get plenty of free kits to build for myself too.
I also designed the decal artwork for even more kits than I did for the box art (sometimes building the box art model with my own custom made decals) and those kits were provided to fit the artwork too, so I had even more kits to build. (That's where those Trans Am Camaros came from.)
Yes, I'm very fortunate to work in an industry like this.

[potsie]

Originally Posted by Scale-Master

I did several hundred box art models for many of the major model kit companies. I do have some of kits with my models on the box and I usually got two two kits for each one I was to make so I did get plenty of free kits to build for myself too.
I also designed the decal artwork for even more kits than I did for the box art (sometimes building the box art model with my own custom made decals) and those kits were provided to fit the artwork too, so I had even more kits to build. (That's where those Trans Am Camaros came from.)
Yes, I'm very fortunate to work in an industry like this.

Thank you for sharing this information. I knew your skills were amazing, but to have converted that into a professional pursuit must have been truly satisfying and enriching. Sometimes when a hobby becomes something more the spark and enjoyment can diminish, but this does not seem to be the case with yourself.

I read recently of the newly established International Model Car Builders Museum in Sandy, Utah. I trust that some of your work will be displayed there!

[potsie]

Step 27: Adding the controls for the hydraulics. The kit came with some black tubing to connect the hydraulic controls to distributors under the chassis; one such "square with knobs" can be seen in the photo of wheels and brakes in previous post. From here lines run to the hydraulic rams on the trailer. Unfortunately the tubing is a relatively rigid plastic, which has only got more brittle over time, so I have not installed it. I will keep an eye out for some small bore rubber tubing - similar to the brake tubing in Tamiya 1/12 motorbike kits - and instal later. If I can come up with a solution I think it will improve the final model.


Step 28: The instructions call for the tie-down chains to be added to the upper ramps at this point, when the ramps are already on the frame. I decided it would be easier to add the chains to the ramps before putting them on the frame. You can see the chains in some of the previous posts. The chains are actually metal, and do lift the overall look of the model.


Step 29: Adding the extension ramps to the top deck and loading ramps on the bottom deck. These ramps are secure enough that a model car could be displayed safely on these. They can also be removed and stored down the centre of the lower deck.


Steps 30 and 31 add the squares used to mount the hydraulic lines (#30) and then run the lines over the model (#31). As noted, I have not yet added lines. Step 32 adds two plates to either side of the frame at the front of the transporter with some "Auto Mover" decals in the kit. I will reveal what I have done here with the "completed" photos.

Step 33: These are perhaps the coolest details of the model, with some tools and gloves added to the lower deck.

[potsie]

Last two photos before posting in the Completed Section. First photos gives an indication of how the transporter looks fully laden; perhaps off to a hypothetical Mazda museum? Second photos gives a clue as to how the transporter will be displayed on the shelf. Eventually.




Cheers,
Grant.