ZIL 4906 [8] closing stuff up and action on the deck.

Been some time, I know. There was a lot to do with filming, editing and trying to make ends meet with those activities. So less time for building.
But now there is a lot to see again. I made some new stuff for the Zil and it goes well. Of course there are lots of photos I'll show you on this blogpost, here's where I am now.

So, a new wheel, some lifting equipment and a filled-up hole in the deck. If you are curious I'd suggest you read the rest. (-:

 

 

Let's start at where I left you. I closed up part of the bottom and sides and now I added the rest too. It curved around the front end and needed a lot of shaping and almost kneading to get a good fit. It looks kind of rough here and yes, it is. I promise you, it is a lot harder to spot now. I still was in the stage of shaping here.
 

A bumper. Or something like that. It is a small ridge that goes high over the front end, just below the headlights. It was a little flimsy and I reinforced it with a piece of ribbed card.

Next came the three ribbed structures at the boaty-looking front end of the bottom of the Zil. 
Small strips needed to be glued straight up onto the hull. This was a very meticulous job and took some time. A good tip for the future is to create a small lead for these strips by glueing a piece of card the shape and size of the final form of the ribs on to the hull and glue the strips next to them.
 

 The end result of the ribs. Nice fit and after some initial fiddling, all fell right into place.

Then, the rear part of the boat hull. The odd shaped part you see right from the vehicle ultimately gets the shape you see left. It needs some pre-glue fitting and get-to-know this shape before glueing it in its place. 

On top of the vehicle, the rear deck got its tail gate.
Still need to do the lights and hand rails.

The Zil originally has two pieces of tarpaulin alongside the open deck. It it attached to the 'tailgate' at the back and to two poles at the front. I made these myself, they aren't included in the kit.

 The second prop bay is installed. I had to cut away a significant piece of the part; I don't know if I did it all correctly but now it all looks good anyway.

Now here I was a bit too fast. I created this concave cone part and glud the black circle inside of it, thinking this was to be like that. But later on, I realised there needed to be another piece between the black circle and the ring. So I had to cut this one loose again. Stupid, stupid, stupid. The instructions were not that clear but I also had to look a little better...
 

In the meantime I started on the second wheel which was ready in a much shorter time than the first one. I also prepared some work for the other four wheels I still have to do.

Both sides of the Zil got a kind of footboard-looking structure alongside its hull. I guess this is a sort of anti-splash screen for when the Zil is in deeper water or when it drives through puddles. One of the screens is collapsed flush with the hull to make way for the struts used to stabilise the crane section when lifting a capsule.
 

The new berth for the Soyuz capsule. Deeper and now correct.

This is the deployed splash screen at the  co-driver's side. It was kind of hard to get it all solidly in place, I used some extra glue underneath to secure it. It all is invisible but it was difficult.

The collapsed screen at the drivers' side.
 

And then there were the cranes. Two arms at both sides of the deck. They are movable and extendible.
 

I got the piston an outer layer of aluminium tape.
 

I think they really look cool.
 

So there we are again. Two wheels, cranes, and splash screens. Up next is the rest of the crane section, the struts and pedestals, and then I will get to the detailing.
Of course I already am also working a little on the Soyuz capsule that will be on the Zil's deck but I'll save all of that for a later post!

Thanks for stopping by and having a look. See you soon!
--PK