Praga V3S R-140P
Comentarios
47 27 August 2022, 20:59
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I started the build by making a new chassis frame. I damaged the original frame part from the kit many years ago when I first tried to build this model.
30 August 2022, 19:49
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Continued construction. I sprayed the repaired chassis frame and parts of the cabin with surfboard. This will help me expose areas that will need to be puttyed and sanded.
1 September 2022, 20:02
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I started production of a two-wheeled trailer with auxiliary equipment for the radio station (masts, portable unit, antenna ropes, mast anchoring ropes, etc.) The trailer is not part of the kit (the kit contains a basic version of the box car without internal equipment).
I will make the trailer myself, it has simple shapes so it won't be that big of a problem. I will use thin plastic sheets, beer can sheet, wire and paper as building materials.
7 September 2022, 17:48
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I'm continuing to work on the trailer. I am gradually making more details.
13 September 2022, 23:11
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scratch built parts looking really good. good choice making your own steering wheel, it looks much better and no hassle with sanding it out off the resin block
13 September 2022, 23:13
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I'm looking forward to spraying the trailer with a base color to bring the whole trailer together in color.
13 September 2022, 23:26
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The work continues. I finished the brake cylinder brackets and brake control levers on the trailer axle and added fenders to the trailer.
15 September 2022, 21:29
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Somehow I missed this so far. It does not have wings, but still a very cool build 😉 👍
16 September 2022, 01:47
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Hello, Alec! It doesn't have wings, but it's aviation related. If the radio contained a Doppler suppression device, it could establish contact with a flying aircraft.
But for me, it's mostly a throwback to my youth. I operated this radio many years ago as part of my then compulsory military service. 🙂
16 September 2022, 11:47
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Aha! What a blast from the past. I have "missed" the soldiering stint myself (for better or worse). Following, of course 👍
16 September 2022, 12:03
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Welcome, Alec, sit down and make yourself comfortable. It's not an airplane, but I still think it'll be fun to watch. It's my style of building again. Lots of mods and cutting, plus some stuff made from scratch. 😎
16 September 2022, 21:10
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I'm continuing to make parts for the trailer. Before I started building it, I had no idea how many small parts I would have to make for a simple two-wheel trailer. But that makes building the trailer all the more interesting. 😄
20 September 2022, 21:22
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You're right, Spanjaard 🙂
I was really looking forward to this moment, when the surfer unites the colors and shows all the flaws. I was very curious to see what the trailer would look like. And now I can say I'm happy with the result. 😎
22 September 2022, 17:34
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The main parts of the trailer are finished. Now I have to clean up a few spots that surfacer showed. I also have to finish making the trailer axle and the wheels... and fill in a few missing details.
22 September 2022, 19:29
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Thank you Alec 🙂
I don't have much time to build the model at the moment, so the build is going slowly. 🙁
27 September 2022, 13:20
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I finally have some time left for modeling. So I continued to finish the trailer. After adding more details, I sprayed the trailer with brown-green paint. I prepped the trailer sail for mounting to the trailer and started making the wheels for the trailer.
30 September 2022, 20:04
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Thank you, Spanjaard!
I hope the complete bikes will be even better. 🙂
1 October 2022, 13:23
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Our short family vacation is over and I can get back to modeling 🙂
Scratchbuild the trailer is nearing completion, just need to add the jerry cans and small lockers on the sides. I will leave the production of these details for later and now I will work on the car with the radio station.
9 October 2022, 19:58
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I work on the chassis of a truck. I have started to add more parts to the assembled frame.
13 October 2022, 22:50
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Hello, Alec!
The end is still a long way off, but I'm slowly getting there. I'm in the process of making a new cabinet body with radio equipment.
I thought I would be able to use parts from the kit, but the differences between the "regular" cabinet body and the R-140 radio body are so great that it will be better to make a new cabinet body for the radio.
14 October 2022, 16:39
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Making that new cabinet body actually sounds like fun! Not a lot of curvy shapes 🙂
15 October 2022, 12:28
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Yes, the radio station's booth is shaped like a box. Only the roof has rounded edges. But it's not hard to make.
I can't use a roof from a kit. Its underside is flat (it doesn't copy the outer shape of the roof) and the radio equipment wouldn't fit under it.
I sure enjoy making a new body. I'm most looking forward to gradually outfitting it with all the instruments. 😎
15 October 2022, 20:30
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Spanjaard,
I'm sure I'll have a lot of fun making the radio station cabin equipment and I'm curious to see the result myself. In the finished model, the interior of the cabin will only be visible through the glass windows. They're quite small and there aren't many of them. That's why I plan to make the cabin equipment somewhat schematic. I will print the control panels of all the instruments as photos and add only the big stuff, like the various handles and large controls. There's no point in making all the parts with meticulously done details. They won't be visible through the small windows.
16 October 2022, 10:59
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Have you thought of making the roof removable? It will give you the chance of getting a good view of the internal details. Since you are going to scratch build the whole thing....
16 October 2022, 19:34
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to Spanjaard and Alec
But yes, I was also thinking of a removable roof. The thing is, the cabin is divided into two compartments. One compartment (the larger one) holds all the instruments and radio equipment. And the other smaller compartment is the anteroom. The radio compartment is accessed through the vestibule. I have fairly detailed documents on the radio compartment equipment, but I have not found any photo or plan of the vestibule equipment. I'll have to rely on my memory. And after forty years (when I operated this radio), my memory is no longer a very reliable guide. I have a rough idea of the appearance, but that won't be enough. So I'll have to improvise. I'll decide whether the roof will be removable or fixed when I see what the result looks like. For now, both options are on the table. 😎
17 October 2022, 11:44
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It will be great, o w eay or another. Have fun with it, and remember that probably nobody can argue that is not accurate either 😄
17 October 2022, 12:20
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Spanjaard, you're absolutely right. I sought help from other modelers on Czech modelforum and from some friends who worked on the same type of radio station at the same time as me. As a result of my efforts I found that I have the most comprehensive information about this radio station of all those contacted.
So my model will be the best and most accurate ... there is simply no other model 😄.
17 October 2022, 12:43
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Thanks Spanjaard, I'm redrawing everything to scale for now. But I can't wait to start making it. 🙂
17 October 2022, 15:01
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After completing the plans for the interior, I set about making the new radio cab.
18 October 2022, 21:17
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Thank you Robert! So far everything is going as I thought it would.
19 October 2022, 17:33
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The new parts of the cabinet superstructure are ready. After spraying the finished parts and assemblies with the surfacer I will start assembling the cabinet body.
19 October 2022, 20:11
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" So far everything is going as I thought it would."- Not words one hears too often during a scratchbuild effort 😜😃😃
22 October 2022, 22:16
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Really, Alec? That surprises me 😄 I have to change the plan almost every time I build a model from a kit. There's always something that needs to be done differently than my original plan.
But with scratchbuilds I have it differently. With my scratchbuilds I spend a lot of time preparing. I think ahead about what materials to use and how to make the parts, and then how to put it all together. For complex parts, I'll also prepare an alternative process just in case. So then (almost always) the build goes as I imagine. 😉
23 October 2022, 21:14
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Well, you are a better modeller than me. I usually muck something up no matter the amount of planning I do… 😄
25 October 2022, 01:47
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So much work here so far. The best of luck finishing this interesting project!
25 October 2022, 03:54
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Alec, I don't think I'm a better modeler than you. I don't get away with mistakes either. On the contrary, sometimes I feel I attract them.
With scratch building, it's almost certain that something will go wrong, and then you have to find another way.
The only difference is how I perceive mistakes. To me, a mistake is something that belongs to model building. When I'm preparing to build a model, I allow for that possibility. If I then make a mistake, it's okay. What I expected to happen happened. That's why my projects always go according to plan. 🙂
From my point of view, mistakes are useful. They show me where the road ahead is not. 😎
25 October 2022, 09:35
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Thank you, Marius!
Working on building a model is what I really enjoy. That's why I like scratchbuilding and challenging modifications of old kits the most. 😄
25 October 2022, 09:51
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I added a few exterior details to the body shell and started working on the interior.
27 October 2022, 10:35
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Now comes what I was really looking forward to - the production of the internal equipment of the radio station. With a little exaggeration I can say that now I will be making a "doll room" 😄.
27 October 2022, 21:06
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Thank you Munkyslut for your kind words. 🙂
I am also looking forward to getting into making instruments and all other radio equipment. But that will have to wait for next week. I have another 1:1 scale "model" to work on this weekend - I'll be redoing our bathroom. 😎
28 October 2022, 19:23
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A weekend turned into a week, my original time estimates turned out to be very optimistic during the reconstruction. But the bathroom is now finished and I can (finally) get back to building the radio station. 🙂
After adding the window seals, I partially assembled the superstructure. Now comes the fabrication of the equipment and instruments housed inside the superstructure.
4 November 2022, 21:35
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Since I had no documentation for the hallway (other than my memory) and since there wasn't much there, I started outfitting the interior of the superstructure with equipment in the hallway.
5 November 2022, 19:53
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The hallway is finished (as far as the main parts are concerned), so I closed the hallway area by gluing the back wall of the superstructure. And during this afternoon I continued working on the equipment for the radio operator's room.
6 November 2022, 19:53
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The first instruments are installed in the radio operator's cabin. Gradually more instruments will be added as I manage to produce them.
8 November 2022, 00:06
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Kyle, thank you for your kind words. I'm glad you are interested in my project. 🙂
The work on equipping the radio operator's room has slowed down somewhat. I'm redrawing the instrument faceplates on the computer. Some of the photos I have are only in black and white and some of them are still not very good quality. I would lose a lot of detail just by reducing the photos to scale. It's time and patience consuming, but fortunately I have most of the faceplates redrawn.
There is still a test print and possible colour tweaking to do and the manufactory will be up and running again.
8 November 2022, 22:50
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I am now gradually making and adding all the instruments to the radio operator's cabin. So far I have completed the instruments on the right side of the cab. However, before I can place them in their final location, I must first do the wiring. And that's a lot of cables.
11 November 2022, 10:49
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The first cables are installed, including the light switch in the cab.
11 November 2022, 20:50
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Welcome, Villiers! Thank you for your kind words, I really appreciate it.
13 November 2022, 09:59
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As I gradually build more equipment, the radio operator's cabin is starting to fill up.
13 November 2022, 10:18
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Thanks Spanjaard! 🙂
There is still a lot of work to be done, but the finished parts already give a more accurate idea of the future look of the cabin.
13 November 2022, 22:20
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Lochsa River Thank you for your comment and your interest. 🙂
For comparison I have added photo of part of the real cabin and the cabin of my model.
14 November 2022, 00:29
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That's pure madness, Ludviku! I hope these fantastic details will be still visible after you finish assembling the superstructure... (all these devices remind me of my secondary school - I was trained as electronic technician in early 1990' 😉 )
14 November 2022, 08:40
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Nice to see the comparison photo too! Some great work you're doing
14 November 2022, 10:01
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Robert, what can you expect from a madman like me? 😄
I've decided to make the whole roof removable. So even on the finished model (after removing the roof) you will see the interior with all the details.
I'm a "crazy" guy, but not the kind to spend a lot of work and energy on something that won't even be visible 🙂.
Reading your post, I found that we have very similar educational backgrounds in addition to the same hobby. I also have a degree in electrical engineering. I specialized in power engineering and power equipment. So when I do wiring in the cockpit of a model, I'm actually working in a field that I have I'm trained in. 😄
14 November 2022, 17:38
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Kyle, thank you for your post and kind words, I really appreciate it.
14 November 2022, 18:00
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ribellin, thank you for your kind words.
Well... sometimes I feel like shackling a flea would be easier. 😄
14 November 2022, 22:15
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I have completed all cable connections, wiring and missing details. The right side of the radio cab is finished ... so only three sides of the cab and the ceiling are left to finish and the radio cab will be complete. 😄
16 November 2022, 21:53
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Thanks, Spanjaard!
Making new parts and installing them in a radio operator's cab is great fun for me. It makes me happy to see the look of my model getting closer to the original with each new part.
17 November 2022, 13:42
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I'm continuing work on the interior of the radio operator's cabin. I am gradually adding more equipment and instruments.
18 November 2022, 21:15
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The "little room" is filling up fast. All the larger "boxes" are already made and installed in place. After the remaining details are completed and the cabin sawdust and dust is cleaned up, it will be the turn of gluing the right cabin wall and adding the last two boxes and wiring on the right wall under the ceiling and in the vestibule .
23 November 2022, 23:02
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Thank you all for your likes! It's a great encouragement for me to keep working. 🙂
24 November 2022, 12:04
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Villiers, thank you for the compliments, even though I know my build isn't perfect. I appreciate it all the more. 🙂
24 November 2022, 19:18
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I escaped from the interior for a while to make a roof for the radio operator's cabin. The main part of the roof will be sheet metal. At least it will be close to the original in material 😄.
I'm using sheet metal from various food tubes. This sheet metal is from a mustard tube. The sheet metal used for the tubes is thicker (thicker) than the beverage can sheet metal, but it is more pliable. It is much easier to shape and holds its shape once molded. Even rounded corners and various small protrusions can be shaped without much effort.
On the left side of the roof are the insulating grommets of the retractable roof antenna. That's why I "escaped" from finishing the interior to making the roof. The antenna grommets are connected to the receiving antenna switch in the cabin. And determining the position of the switch by the cutout in the roof is easier and, more importantly, more accurate than simply measuring from photos and drawings.
29 November 2022, 17:46
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Thank you both for your words of praise, it's an encouragement to keep working. 🙂
It wasn't hard to make a new roof. It's basically just a piece of bent thin sheet metal. The hard part is yet to come. Now I have to fabricate the instruments under the cabin ceiling and add wiring to them.
And once the interior of the cab is done, the antenna and other details that are on the roof of the cab will come next.
1 December 2022, 22:23
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I am more and more impressed with your build, Ludviku... and I love this notice "Watch out - the enemy is listening!" 😄
2 December 2022, 07:52
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Robert, I'm glad you like my build. This build is a memory for me of the time when I operated this radio station (as part of my mandatory two-year military service). At that time Czechoslovakia was still under socialist regime. At that time, signs were installed on every military communication device (from the ordinary telephone to powerful radios) with the words ATTENTION, THE ENEMY IS LISTENING. 🙂
2 December 2022, 13:25
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Spanjaard, thank you for your kind words. It's encouraging to know that I'm not the only one who likes it 😄
2 December 2022, 13:34
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Although slow, work on the model continues. I added more equipment to the radio cabin.
3 December 2022, 23:56
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Thank you, Villiers!
Truth be told, when I'm making new equipment for a radio operator's cabin from scratch, it's not possible without a certain amount of creativity. 😉
5 December 2022, 22:30
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I finally found a moment to finish outfitting the radio operator's cabin. I added the missing instruments and wiring to the booth and finally installed two chairs. The booth is now complete. Now it's the hallway's turn. I need to add lighting switches and a few cables to complete it.
17 December 2022, 21:07
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Thank you, Kyle! 🙂
The show is still going on, I am far from a finished model. 😉
18 December 2022, 17:20
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After a break caused by the Christmas holidays and fighting a virus that came over me at the beginning of this year, I returned to building my model.
It was a slow start as I had to catch up on a few things I had put off during my treatment.
But the first steps in model building this year have been taken 🙂.
9 January 2023, 19:10
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Finally, was starting to wonder what happened to you! Glad you got over the virus, I was fighting a flu myself. And the holidays do tend to interfere with modeling… 😄
10 January 2023, 12:21
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Hello, Alec! I'm well again, but I don't have much time. I need to catch up on the tasks I've put off due to illness. 🙁
11 January 2023, 14:01
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Another small advancement in model building. This time my building materials were copper wire, rosin and solder.
12 January 2023, 22:13
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You are very skilful. There seems to be no bounds to your talents.
12 January 2023, 22:18
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Villiers, thank you for the compliment. It's very kind of you and it gives me the appetite for further work. 🙂
12 January 2023, 22:24
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Roberte, děkuji za kompliment.
Zdá se, že máš pravdu, pokud jde o mé šílenství. 😄
Nemůžu se rozhodnout, jestli mám udělat střešní anténu ve zvednuté nebo spuštěné poloze. Tak jsem si řekl, že udělám skládací mechanismus antény pohyblivý. Pak budu moci měnit polohu antény podle libosti.
13 January 2023, 10:51
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Well, somebody's gonna say it: while you at it, why not make the engine functional?! Har har, I know… 😉 😄
But seriously, the antenna work is super. I have some soldering looming in my current build so these are good lessons.
13 January 2023, 14:15
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Oh yes... there would be plenty of ideas. Why not just build a fully functional truck. 😄
I think I've already made a lot of different modifications for this project and made many new parts from scratch. The ideas for a removable body roof and a functional folding antenna came only during the building of the model. It's possible that I'll have some more ideas before I finish the model. But even my abilities have their limits. I admit it would be nice, but I'm not counting on any more moving parts. ... at least for the moment 🙂
13 January 2023, 15:54
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I started to gradually build the individual components for the roof antenna and the mechanism for its folding.
15 January 2023, 11:49
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Rui, thank you for the compliments. 🙂
Now it's time for "microsurgery". I've already figured out what the whole system of folding and raising the roof antenna will look like. Now I have to make the moving joints. At 1:48 scale, I'll have to work with almost clockwork precision. The diameter of the movable joint is 1 mm!
16 January 2023, 11:27
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I stopped working on the model for a while. I got a new display case. It was time, my two existing display cases were already full. I took advantage of an offer from my son, who works in a cabinet shop, and had him custom make the body and door frame for the new display case. The parts are already finished and I have them at home. I just needed to make the final touches for the final assembly. The assembled display case is in place and awaiting delivery of the glass shelves, glazing of the doors and completion of the electrical wiring for the lighting. If all goes to plan, the display case should be ready by the end of the week. I finally have a display case that can accommodate larger (multi-engine) models 😄
26 January 2023, 09:25
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Very nice! My display case is getting full as well and coupled with moving in the near future, I will be dealing with the same dilemma. Looking forward to more pics 👍
26 January 2023, 12:00
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I noticed that you also have a nice collection of Cameras 👍. I like to collect them to
26 January 2023, 13:51
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@Alec K
I got the glass shelves and glass for the display case door from the glazier today. As soon as I have time I will finish the display case.
@Lex Jassies
Right. 😉 Another big hobby of mine is photography and collecting old cameras. If you want to check out my collection, I have most of my equipment documented on my blog: kluk-tr.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html. Unfortunately my website is written only in Czech, but for example google translator should be able to handle it.
26 January 2023, 17:00
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I know it doesn't really belong here, but since I brought it up...
After a slight delay (when I broke one of the glass panels of the front wall/door through my own stupidity and had to wait for the glass shop to cut new glass), the new model display case is finished.
And now I can get back to building my Praga 🙂
4 February 2023, 17:21
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Sorry to hear about the glass pane, but as the saying goes, shit happens 🙂. The case looks superb, as do the tenants!
4 February 2023, 18:28
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@John
Thanks for the kind words 🙂
MiG-25 and MiG-31 are missing in my collection on purpose. My MiG collection contains only versions that served in the Czechoslovak and later Czech military aviation. The MiG-25, MiG-27 and MiG-31 never served in the Czechoslovak or Czech military air forces.
But even so, I still have room to expand my collection.
@Alec K
The broken glass wasn't a big deal, it just held me up because I had to wait for the new glass to be cut.
Glad you like the tenants of the new display case. 🙂
4 February 2023, 22:01
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We have invested so much time in the models that they are worthy of being presented properly. 👍
5 February 2023, 18:45
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After finishing the display case, I went back to building the model. On the roof of the radio cabin I added all the brackets for the folding roof antenna and finished the production of the individual antenna parts.
7 February 2023, 22:08
Album info
Conversion of Praga V3S box truck to Praga V3S R-140P military mobile radio station.