Cheers, Mike - I always try to do as much as I can with the usual basic modelling tools; hopefully anyone reading my posts thinking 'maybe I could try that too...' doesn't immediately feel '...but I can't, because I don't have access to such-and-such equipment'. Yes, I have my small mini-lathe available, but I wouldn't say that I would be lost without it...especially not when I can still make my tyres on a cheap £ 35 bench drill, and can make wheels using a knife, saw and compass-cutter!
So, what have I been doing this week? Firstly, I tried using the brush-on greenstuff to add the welding on the trailing arms:
As you can see, the one on the right has had the liquid greenstuff applied, the one on the left has conventional two-part greenstuff. Hmmm...for this job I felt the liquid wasn't quite what I wanted - it's too thin to build up into a welded seam. Yes, it fills holes and cracks and could be useful in creating a rough textured surface (engine / gearbox parts perhaps?), and it dries quickly, so I'm sure it will come in useful.
Next I set about checking the suspension geometry. The trailing arms at the back are effectively fixed, but the front end was 'variable'! I spent some time adjusting the length of the main wishbone sections in order to get the camber about right, then checked the connecting links . The problem here was that the original links allowed the wishbone to flex, rather than moving in an arc. The solution was to pin the connecting link straight into the wishbone:
Throughout all of this the time-consuming part was constantly checking and re-checking the measurements, rather than actually making the parts! With the wishbone lengths fixed I can start making plans for the outer bodywork knowing that the wheels aren't going to start moving around...
So, that's about it for tonight. I've a little more greenstuff to add to the trailing arms, and I'm finishing the 'bolts' which will connect the bottom end of the rear dampers. I'm not planning on getting much more done - it's Le Mans next weekend, so there's other things to get ready rather than modelling!
All the best,
SB