Kfz. 31 Steyr Ambulance

The Steyr is looking fab Matt and you have done a great job of going outside the norm with the grey. Its very true what you said, the tri colour or fancy cam’s seem to be what people go for now, and I’m guilty of that as well - so its very refreshing to see a single colour come through on a finished kit, really looking forward to seeing it done.
The various builds and assemblies look great, I especially like the box body, you have done some great work there. The home made windscreen is very well done, a lot of effort, but thats the sort of scratch building that saves a kit. Well done.

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Well, I learned quite a few things yesterday.
Apparently, Evergreen .005 clear stock is not styrene. It must be acetate.
PVA glue does not stick to it. When I removed the clamps, the windshield fell out. The glue stuck to the resin just fine.
Tamiya cement (white cap) sticks to the clear stock, but not the resin. Extra Thin is just useless in this situation.
CA sticks to both, but fogs the clear stock in 5mm circles no matter how little you use.
Gorilla glue clear stuck to both, tenaciously. As long as no pressure was put on the acetate, it held.
That’s when I found out that there was no way in my lifetime I was going to get two separate windshields to mate on that center pillar. I was going to have to cut one piece of acetate to fit across the entire, curving dashboard. Windshield #12 came out and went in the bin.
After careful cutting, fitting, and sanding of windshields # 13 - 22, my mood was dark, so I decided to turn back to the box body. I airbrushed it gloss clear (Future) and applied the decals as indicated in my reference photos.


The conversion comes without the decals. I had to find them online, which took a while! I Googled “German Red Cross Decals” and it gave me millions of hits for Balkenkreuz decals! Finally after the good part of an afternoon spent, I found a sheet of Allied and Axis Red Crosses from Accurate Armor. I ordered 2. At least that part came out right!

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Coat the acetate in future first then CA won’t fog the plastic.

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Really? Damn, I never knew that! Thanks man! Major problem solved! :beer: :beer: :beer:

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That’s what the aircraft guys do. At this point, what’s the worst that can happen, #23 goes in the bin?

Shame about that setback with the windscreen, looks like you may have the answer now though. Box body looks great now with some colour and the decals on. Great effort :+1:

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Seriously. I was beginning to think I was caught in a time loop. Thanks for the advice.

Glad the medical crosses worked out. Archer has a set for German and American.

Forgot to added early, I like how your build is turning out.

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Thanks for the pep talk John, just a minor glitch. Happens to all of us.

No problem, your post did read like horror version of Groundhog Day. I would have stopped way short of 22, cause the kit probably would have taken flight if I had not.

I would recommend the Revell Contacta Clear, it’s specially made for clear poly lenses. I bought some because I have the Ryefield Panther G with Interior and clear hull and turret. The guy in the shop said I’d need it. Not built the kit yet but tried it on a truck windows. It goes on kind of milky but dries clear, works and doesn’t fog the lenses.

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Windshield #24. I thought this was the Holy Grail, but inspection showed a fingerprint that would not come off with a Q-Tip and Windex. Out it came to be copied with gloves on. Progress!

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The other thought, is to use future to hold in place. Might not work if you need to mask later. Just some grey matter moving around.

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My hats off to you as I would not deal with this glass business.

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Progress and your details look nice.

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Yeah, i would have stopped after the 3rd one and the kit would sit for months or years .

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Yes this windshield situation is unusual for me, too. I normally wouldn’t put up with something this outrageous but I deal with resin kits so seldom. This is a unique and special kit so I’m giving it that extra effort. Remember - 4 daughters - I can take this windshield thing in stride. Kind of.

Beautiful work Matt and kudos for dealing with the window sitch !!

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Thanks Glenn, the windshield has been the only kink in the kit. I’m beginning to think it’s me, it shouldn’t be this hard to fit a piece of acetate.

LOL. I have one daughter and the stress from raising one was quite enough for me. My hat’s off to you sir. :tophat:
On the subject at hand, I’ve had success with Kristal Kleer by Micro. Never tried it on a vehicle but I’ve used it on acetate windows affixed to resin window frames on dioramas.

Cheers,
C.

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