AC-30(130)-65A firetruck by NovaModel build log.

[Boris]

Hello all
I began building a new model.
This time it's AC-30(130)-65A Soviet firetruck. I have a very warm feelings to this type of firetruck. When I was about 11 years old, I used to ride my bicycle to a firefighter's station located about 15 minutes ride. There I watched the firefighters exercise, caring for the firetrucks which all were of this or newer AC40 type (not too different from the AC30, atleast externally). There were some kids playing around the station, some became my friends. These were the children of the station's officers. One day, father of one of the friend, who happened to be Deputy Station Commander, took me to the ride in the firetruck. Every kid's dream came true....
Later the firefighters let me climb the trucks which I, of course, really enjoyed.

AC30 means auto cistern 30, the number designated the pump capacity in liters per second, 130 meaning the chassis used, ZiL130 which was the workhorse of Soviet Union in 5 ton class. 65A is the model designator.

The model designed by NovaModel, very talented Russian designer. This modes is distributed free from NovaModel's site in 1:32 and 1:43 scale.
The model is quite detailed and contains the engine, gearbox, detailed wheels, axles, crew compartment and pumps. The ladder also exists but I am not sure if it's movable.
This is the front page of the model

 

[Boris]

Instructions are 4 pages of drawings. I decided to begin from the frame. The beams and the crossmembers are made as closed boxy structures. I always had a problem making these long and narrow boxes straight. This time the beams look pretty much ok from the beginning. Then, I connected the clossmembers, making sure the frame doesn't become crooked. Need to be very careful here.
Then came the reinforcements on the top of the beams. These also exist on a real truck.
Then came the front bumper. The designer suggests installing the towing hooks at this point, but I am sure I am going to loose them. So I will install them later
Then came the side steps bases.
To be continued...

 

[Revell-Fan]

That looks pretty good!

 

[zathros]

Neat, that's a hard, if imposible model to find here. I've been wanting to see one built.

 

[Boris]

Thank you!
Next are the steps. Two layered pieces. Quite hard to fold, but it's manageable
Then came the muffler and the air tank. In regular ZiL130, the air tank and the muffler are mounted on the frame's outside. Here they inside because of the extended crew compartment

 

[Revell-Fan]

I like the deep colour. It looks almost like the monochrome cardboard you find at craft stores.

 

[zathros]

Wow, you folded those? That frame looks great!

 

[Rhaven Blaack]

You are off to a great start! Everything looks great!

 

[Boris]

Thanks a lot!

 

[Boris]

Hello all
Continue with the build
Suspension and axles.
The leaf springs are represented by boxy structures with no gluing tabs, forcing to do but-gluing. Don't like this way, made gluing tabs. Everything else went smooth and without too many issues. Brake drums went along, differential case, brake cylinders - all was good
The final drive shaft was a bit longer than needed. This might designate that I am off with distance of the rear axle. Well, I will have to fix this when mounting the firefighting compartment, if needed

 

[Gandolf50]

Don't care for Nova much...more like a model built around a box...But you have made me re-think some...I do know they have GREAT GREEBEL potential!

Yours is really looking good and off to a great beginning...

 

[Boris]

Thanks!

 

[zathros]

There is a lot of greeble potential, like brake lines, etc. The final product will look great judging on the progress you're making.

 

[Boris]

Hello all.
Continue with the wheels. Oh, boy... That took me a lot of time.
Each wheel is made from:
2 Tire side bases from cereals box
2 tire sides
1 tire thread ( the part that actually touches the ground)
1 tire bottom
1 rim (a parer ring 2 mm wide )
1 rim cone
2 rim center pieces for front wheel
1 rim center for internal rear wheel
1 rim center and 2 piece hub on the outer rear wheel.
Many edge-gluing. The threads are glued to side bases' edges. The whole rim is edge glued. A lot of small connections, hoping it will eventually becomes strong enough wheel to hold the model's weight.

The tire sides are made round to simulate the real wheel tire roundness.
There's a need to strike a circular line on the middle of the tire side. Tried to do this by my cutting compass - the result looked awful. So I made a template from cerial box cardboard to stroke a line around it with my awl. I liked this idea, maybe someone will use it.

 

[zathros]

Clean job on the wheels. I cover wheels with Liquid Electrical Tape. You can add fine strips of paper for threads. When it dries, the wheels look like rubber. I'm sure you must have something like that in your country.

 

[Boris]

Thanks Zathros for your advice

I am almost sure we don't have this liquid tape product.
The most common thread pattern is shown in the attached picture. The grid on the cutting mat is 1x1 cm (around 0.4 inch). The pattern has many small rhomb-shaped items. Unless I find some creative way to make these rhombus pattern without cutting paper, I won't make these.

I am more into making nuts and bolt heads on the wheels. These are in real life 38x44 mm with 22 mm height. Scaled to 1:32, the nuts should be 1.4x1.1 mm with 0.6 mm height. 0.6 mm is the width of the cereals box cardboard. I am checking now a way of making these nuts by making my own punch. (Sorry, I am not too good with imperial units)

 

[zathros]

I am sure you have some kind of liquid rubber product, and almost any one will work.

 

[Boris]

Hello all
I tried to find a way of making the nuts for the wheels. I have in my toolbox a screwdriver with changing torx heads. The T4 size is the exact size of the nuts in-scale. Firtsly, I tried to make a punch using the syringe needle. I cut the angled tip off, and then I pushed the Torx screwdriver into the syringe tube. This, theoretically should have caused the syringe to become hexagonal. That didn't work, since the syringe tube simply broke lengthwise. Probably, I should have used a larger sized needle, but I don't know if there exists needle larger than 1.2mm ( I think it was marked as 20 gauge). Maybe for veterinary use, I will ask my dog's doc.
Then I tried to punch out by simply tapping on the screwdriver head against the cutting mat. That was a bad idea, since the "nut" got into the mat very deeply without any possibility to get it out. That's a fail. On the positive side, the holes left are very clean. Then I tried to use this hole as a mold to fill it with solder. That didn't work also. There are more ways to check. Will do this next week.

On that note, I continued with the engine. ZiL130 used a V8, 6l petrol engine. This is a very compact engine and it is very small in 1:32 scale. Hence it is not really detailed.
So I started with the engine block, then the oil pan and then the engine heads.
Next should come the accessories: pumps, alternator, air filter and so on. I managed to mount the pneumatic pump and that's all for now

 

[zathros]

If you punch the Torx head into a Two Part Steel Epoxy piece to the depth of the nut you wish, do it a few time, then, after it hardens, put Vaseline in the holes, you can put more "two part epoxy" into the hardened piece and when the little bits harden, you can easily remove them as the Vaseline reacts as a release agent. You can make a lot of nuts that way.

 

[Boris]

That is an interesting idea. Will check this.