ROMAN DIESEL | episode II

It is obvious: my nostalgia for old Romanian cars is endless! And one of the brands which made my childhood to be interesting is Roman, the truck factory located in Brasov, not very far from my home town (not important detail because I never visited this factory…).

A short history you can read here, in the post describing my first conversion : ROMAN DIESEL 

So, those being told, I want to show you the second conversion I made from a Saviem SM17o Tanker from IXO @ 1| 43^rd scale. The result is a tarpaulin cargo truck. Very often seen in the ‘80s when the national automotive industry has to provide everything was necessary for the national economy.

The truck looks like below:

ГАЗ M24-02 | old stanced wagon

GAZ 24 Volga was produced since 1967 until 1985, having several minor facelifts.

In 1972, the GAZ 24-02, a 4 door station wagon was introduced, fitted with three rows of seats. Not many cars were sold to the private people due to the small amount of production. The station wagon was used specially by state-owned shops, taxi companies or other state institutions.

The GAZ 24-02 has a generous interior, as told before, having 3 rows of seats and accommodating 7 or 8 seating passengers. Rear area of the interior could be converted in an spacious one level charging surface. This is why Volga 24-02 have heavy-duty leaf springs for the rear axle. Some sources mentioned that could be transported a load of 400kg.

Later on, in 1973 appears the GAZ 24-03, a wagon designated to be and equipped as Ambulance.

My model is 1@43^rd scale reproduction of an 24-02 sold by DeAgostini in Poland. Originally painted in dark violet it was a need to change this unusual color. So I mad it black, I weathered a little and I accessorize it giving the look of an uncared old Russian car. Normally the stance was modified because you know my opinion: the stance is everything.

But enough talking, enjoy the ride!

Chevrolet C30 | Z- ed

In 1960 Chevrolet introduces a new body design for their light pick-ups. The new design has had many “premieres”. First of all, a ladder frame which allows to the cabin to sit lower. Independent front suspension. The 1960, 1961 and 1963 has used a torsion bar but in 1963 was introduced a coil spring for the front suspension. This type of suspension give a car-like ride in a truck. Also we have to mention that 1960 meant the milestone for the changing of the designation system. They passed from “100, 3200 and 3600 to 10, 20 and 30 respectively for ½, ¾ or 1 tone of load.

Engines included the base GMC 305 cu in V6 135 hp till 283 cu in V8 185hp, but also a 6 straight 261 cu in 150hp.

The model I present has as starting base the Chevy C30 Apache from James Bond Car series at 1/43.

The chassis has been “Z”-ed just after the cabin and the rear axle was replaced by a truck one. All those heights has been calculated to have a ground clearance… in-existent.

The Flat bed is scratch built, the gas barrels are from a Tamiya 1/48th lit and the support for this barrels is also scratch built.

The tail lights are custom made from transparent sprues, turned and polished in order to give them back the crystal clear look.

Hoping you like it more than me, let’s enjoy the ride.

cadillac type 57 | victoria

Back in 1914, Cadillac produced the first serial American V8 engine car. The 1914 L-Head. It was a sophisticated engine with an aluminium crankcase and it used a flat-plane crankshaft. Bore was 3.125 in (79 mm) and stroke was 5.125 in (130 mm), for a total of 314 cu in (5.15 l) of displacement. Output was 70 hp (52 kW). It was a 90° water-cooled L-Headed (side valve). The Project team for this revolutionary engine for a mass production car, was leaded by Cadillac's chief engineer (1914-1917), Scottish –born, D. McCall White. He was hired by Henry Leland for his V-Engine expertise form Napier and Daimler, at Coventry. Later on he becomes a vice president of Cadillac.

In 1914, The Cadillac Type 51 was the first mass production car equipped with this type of engine. So, the first V8 equipped mass production car! And is not only thing that make this car different. The steer wheel is disposable to let big people to enter easily inside the car. It was the first left hand direction (at the time as an option) mass production car, also.

The model I present you is an conversion having as base model the Amercom 1:43 fire department car. Originally full red, I repainted it full black. The rims were repainted also, trying to reproduce the wood. The tyres are white walled as in the period.

A light weathering on the browned interior is meant to improve the realism note of the model.

As inspiration I had the car owned by Jay Leno and presented by himsels in some Tv Shows.

But enough talking, just enjoy the ride!

MA3 | 537

MAZ- 537 is a 12-cylinder diesel engine-powered military truck tractor, originally designed for loads up to 50 tons (using semitrailers such as the ChMZAP-9990 or ChMZAP-5247G, for example) with later versions providing a maximum load of 65 tons. It has been manufactured by the Minsk Automobile Plant (from 1959 to 1965) and the Kurgan Wheel Tractor Plant from 1963 until halt of production in 1990.

The metal cab of the MAZ-537 provides space for the driver and a passenger for a total of two occupants, has two access doors on the side and a roof hatch, and is equipped with additional engine-independent heating. The 537G modification version is characterized by the addition of a winch to facilitate loading and unloading, as well as enabling self-extraction when stalled in adverse terrain (like mud). The working cable length of the winch is 100 meters, and the winch is able to provide 15 tons of traction.

The vehicle is powered by a 12-cylinder D-12A-525A diesel engine located directly behind the cab. This engine provides preheating as well. The drivetrain of the MAZ-537 consists of a hydrodynamic transmission transferring power to the two front axles over a torque converter and a planetary three-stage gearbox with assisted steering (power steering) gear.

MAZ-537 has been widely used in both military roles (as, for example, artillery tractor trailer (pulling rocket or (ballistic) missile launchers), tank transporter, and airfield tractor) and in the civilian sphere as heavy tractor trailers, tractor ballast (or secondary unit) for carrying extra heavy loads, and in oil and gas fields. (Wikipedia contributors. MAZ-537. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. July 26, 2015, 22:59 UTC. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=MAZ-537&oldid=673219108. Accessed May 30, 2016.)

 

The model I built is a model kit made by SSM manufacturer division “Автомобиль в деталях” who is selling assembly kits.

This allows you to build your model as you wish from the first time.

I choose for mine to detail the mechanical part as much as is necessary for having a reasonably looking model. The kit as we buy doesn’t provide any detail on the steering system and there are no pipes on the hydraulic system of the transmission.

Reproducing those things you will have a great pluss on your model. And is not very difficult for a medium experienced modeler.

Some weathering will bring also a touch of realism putting this toy truck in the universe of scale models.

After all this, creating an industrial environment using things you find near you, for your photo session will add at your story more and more realism.

But let’s see some photos describing the detailing as well as the final model as it is displayed on my shelf.

All what is in white plastic is scratch build

The front axels detailing and reproduction of the steering system

Some details on the engine and differential system

And the finished model