Blog Catch Up: This really happened in October 2018, although the wording of the text is as if it happened today.
I consider this build done. Here is the digger on my workbench.
A blog about my non-railroading modeling.
Monday, March 8, 2021
Building a Hitachi Zaxis 135US Excavator - Part 6
Blog Catch Up: This really happened in October 2018, although the wording of the text is as if it happened today.
The last piece, the undercarriage, has been done.
Next step is to put it all together, followed by touch-ups and final weathering.
Building a Hitachi Zaxis 135US Excavator - Part 5
Blog Catch Up: This really happened in October 2018, although the wording of the text is as if it happened today.
Following a YouTube (Sergio Solo) tip I cut off the plastic pistons and replaced them with blind ("pop") rivet mandrels. This method requires some work but the advantage is that there is no painted or treated surface that can be harmed by the pistons moving in or out of the cylinders. Here is a photo of a blind rivet as bought and a removed mandrel.
Here the first new piston is in place.
The below comparison shows an original painted piston to the left and
the new version to the right. A clear improvement in my opinion.
The above piston was the easy one since at the non-cylinder end I could
drill a whole in the remaining fitting where I could insert and fasten
the piston. The other three pistons will require a little more tinkering
to get in place.
The piston at the bucket had "claw" at the bucket end. The claw was an integral part of the original plastic piston. I found no way, sturdy enough, to reuse that claw. Instead I formed a new one from a piece of brass tubing soldered to the new piston.
Building a Hitachi Zaxis 135US Excavator - Part 4
Blog Catch Up: This really happened in October 2018, although the wording of the text is as if it happened today.
Boom and bucket. As for the house, I'll come back and add dust and grime. Especially the bucket needs some dirt. Also, the pistons (is that the proper English term?) have to get some more shine.
Building a Hitachi Zaxis 135US Excavator - Part 3
Blog Catch Up: This really happened in October 2018, although the wording of the text is as if it happened today.
Some more progress to share. The excavator "house", including counterweight, engine, fuel and hydraulic oil tanks, has been done, and mated with the cab. I wanted it to have a somewhat beaten up look but I might have overdone that part 😀 Anyway, please enjoy.
Building a Hitachi Zaxis 135US Excavator - Part 2
Blog Catch Up: This really happened in October 2018, although the wording of the text is as if it happened today.
Progress has been slow but at last the cab is all done. Here are the parts, ready for assembly.
I tried to tint the glass for the windows and as can be seen above I
think I got the color fairly right, but the it did not flow as it
should. The result is glass that is sort of uneven as can be seen in the
pictures below. I think the problem was that I diluted gloss medium
with water, which contrary to my intenstions, raised the surface tension
of the fluid, and prevented it from flowing evenly on the glass
(plastic). I take it as an learning experience for next time.
Anyway, here is the assembled cab. The windows actually look better in real life. As always the camera is unforgiving.
Building a Hitachi Zaxis 135US Excavator - Part 1
Blog Catch Up: This really happened in Septemeber 2018, although the wording of the text is as if it happened today.
This is a kind of experiment. I have not built a plastic kit in, I guess, 45 years! And I have always dreaded taking on air brushing. But now I have decided that it is time for some changes in both these departments. So I have started to build a Hitachi Zaxis 135US Excavator. A 1:35 scale kit by Hasegawa. No, I'm not into construction or civil engineering and thus do not know more than any ordinary citizen about excavators. So why an excavator? I assume I just found this modell to be cool.
As I already said, airbrushing has not been a favourite of mine. Throughout the years I have made some attempts but only ended up with clogging and every other possible mishap. This time however, I have decided to make a more serious attempt. So far I have at least learned to not be outright scared by the airbrush😀
Regarding the kit at hand, I have put together the major sub-assemblies and given them a coat of primer. Like this:
Yes I know, the primer is a little thin on the orange parts. But this
will have to do. There will be other layers of paint on top.
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