The thanks of a grateful Lurkdom? 
1 Like
Hmm… have to think about that… 
Take your time mate I’m in no hurry 
…well actually not true, Nick/Stickframe just asked me about that in his new (“A one time frequent customer etc”) thread:
“Tim, ha, yes, the dio world is fun, and when you least expect it, a source of inspiration rears its head. I guess I could ask you the same? Is there an end in sight for your master build??”
Well, unexpected scratch-work sure screws up any project’s timetable & the current Merc-to-Tatra van conversion proposition is a perfect example. I started Anthropoid in March 2018 with an intended completion date well in advance of the 80th anniversary of the event in late May 2022, imagining at least a year in reserve after completing all elements for some experimentation with scale-detonations & photographing the narrative. Right now that schedule’s certainly slipped but I should still have at least 6 months remaining for (outdoor) shooting starting ideally in the (southern hemisphere) Spring weather around October 2021.
I hadn’t counted on bird-life either but I just winged it…
…and at least the railings don’t get tonally lost against the background now. A Happier New Year to all 
12 Likes
More Tatra vans :
Some specs :
Restoration of a 1947 station wagon :
https://francmotorkar.webgarden.cz/rubriky/moji-veterani/tatra-57-b-kombi-1947
H.P.
2 Likes
Your flying rats really add to the poo, I mean atmosphere. Together with the new herb-trees, this part looks finished to me…
1 Like
You’re moving fast now, woof!
The pigeons really make that scene. 
Yep,birds are a great touch,
J
Hi Tim,
Always knew you could pull the birds, 
, The pigeons really do give a great sense of motion to the scene, a very nice touch, 
.
Cheers, 
,
G
See Tim? Do you see what happens when you begin assuming you can scratch build anything??? You feel compelled to at least try it! and never, ever, let the project end!! 
This is remarkable work - wow - The home made etch is something else. I admire your patience for not letting it go, and getting great results! I sure hope you’re working in a well ventilated place!! Heck I only use acrylics for fear of stinking up the place!
Ok, so the schedule is to get this wrapped up mid 2023? lol -
Cheers
Nick
Thanks guys the pigeons were placed there just for demonstration purposes and to show off the re-greened trees as Erwin noted - all of the flappers will be erupting into the air as the grenade explodes, I have a cunning plan. Nick - yes the PE processes were performed outdoors (still with mask/goggles/gloves) except spraying the photo-sensitive lacquer for obvious reasons, that had to be done in a ventilated bathroom in dull light. As for the overall schedule hah well I guess the fall-back position is always the centenary.
So here we are again back in the scratch-shop mutilating a perfectly good kit, this time the victim is MiniArt’s Lieferwagen 170v. Thanks again H.P. for the bonus images & link, the latter was pure gold & much better than a FB blog I’d found. Comparing specs of the donor Merc with the Tatra I couldn’t find a wheelbase for the latter but estimating from the photos it’s around 68% of its length of 380 cms which is 258 cms. Scaling up the Merc kit’s wheelbase of 8.2 cms x 35 that’s 287cms, so will the extra 29cms (8mm @ 1:35 scale) matter? Well, the Tatra wheelbase figure is an estimate, the diff might be even less and I doubt legions of pre-war Czech commercial vehicle aficionados will troll me, so I don’t think shifting axles is necessary. Talking of which…
I know, why bother when it’ll never be seen and it’s not even a Tatra engine…standard answer applies. MiniArt’s Merc chassis goes together reasonably well although some tiny bits of PE are too fragile and/or pointless. But they saw me coming & supplied a sedan (bottom) as well as the van (top) body to play with…
Wheels & t*res are only dry-fitted as the hubs need some mods but hey it’s a flying start because all four touch the ground at once, rare for me anyway. Now that I can see the existing attachment points etc. for the new body it’s a matter of making some drawings & nutting out a frame and panel-fits. I should be able to adjust a couple of millimetres at each end of the body shell & between the wheel arches to marry the body to chassis without it being obvious. The Heydrich narrative requires both doors and the rear door to open, revealing a full interior so there’s no escape from detailing 
5 Likes
Hi Tim
According to this article (and a few other sources) https://www.automobilrevue.cz/rubriky/clanky/historie/tatra-57-a-57-a-1-dil-hadimrska_46404.html the 57A has a 2550 mm wheelbase.
H.P.
Wow H.P. you never fail to take my breath away with your amazing mastery of the Dark Art of internet searches, thank you yet again. You know you’ve already got my equivalent of the Legion d’Honneur for research contributions to this project right? Well now you’re in line for a bar to it! So I was just 2 centimetres out (that linked Czech article says 2560mm) at 1:1 scale eh?
Well, in defence of my equally amazing powers of visual estimation that linked article also says that wheelbase was on the car, which had an overall length of 3500mm. But as we know courtesy of your previous post the van’s length was 3800mm, with an increased load capacity on the back axle. I snooped around (doubtless ineffectually as per my prior track record) and couldn’t find any positive evidence they extended the wheelbase by a few cms. to allow for a commercial load, but I’d like to think it’s a possibility. When I saw you’d replied to my update I was already reaching for my scalpel to slice a chunk out of the Merc’s central chassis, but on reflection would you agree it’s safe enough as is?
1 Like
Thanks for the kind words Tim (and for the virtual “rosette” ) . I wonder if the 3800 mm length includes the spare wheel ?
Here’s a side view of a 1/43th scale diecast that may help wth proportions (providing it’s accurate…) :
H.P.
2 Likes
You’re most welcome H.P. - hmm well IF, and only if, the length included the spare wheel (attached to the back on both wagon and van) the van’s still 30cms longer…however it would put a dent in my amazing powers of visual estimation. Subtracting say 15 cms for the wheel my earlier calculation becomes 68% of 365 cms which is 248cms, 39cms shorter than the Merc i.e. 11mm at 1:35 scale…
Well, I’m still going with a longer van needed a longer wheelbase because…er…you could get so much more furniture polish in one van-load and…er…petrol was rationed! Me, desperate? On that 1:43 diecast the percentage is nearly 66% including the spare, giving a wheelbase of 251cms so yeah going in the right direction! 
2 Likes
Just came across a Tatra 57A fitted with a commercial body made by a Czech coachbuilder named Uhlik :
H.P.
Well, Tim, what can I say…
Did you really have to build and paint the engine on that Tatra mash-up? Is it going to have a breakdown on the way to the hospital? Or could you just not help yourself?!
The pigeons are lovely by the way. I almost ordered that set one night whilst I was a little tipsy. No idea why I wanted it - let alone what I would do with the birds once I had ‘built’ them. I just thought ‘why not?’ It seems you must ask yourself the same question on a regular basis…
Keep up the wonderful crazy work!
PS - thanks for the ‘young’ Forster remark…
The official Modeling Masochist Mandate requires that all engines be built and painted… Why?.. Just because.
Haha!
—mike
Thanks H.P. I did see that one, I think it popped up in the bowels of one of your previous links when I was looking for how many vans or wagons didn’t have the spare on the back - that Uhlik custom body was one of only two, all others I saw did have it. I guess it doesn’t resolve the wheelbase question, and neither incidentally did that diecast - including the spare the wheelbase calculates to 251cms, without the spare it’s 261cms…the actual spec for a car/wagon was 256cms so maybe that model manufacturer had the same uncertainty as me and hedged their bets?
Thanks Tim, well the “standard answer” I referred to above (to the question of why I built the engine/transmission) is whatever comes to mind. Mike’s MMM is certainly applicable as is the IKIT protocol, but the truth is I couldn’t be bothered to fabricate the brake lines & I couldn’t find a parking brake, so the only way the van won’t roll away downhill is if it’s left in opposing gear… 
Yeah I think I must have been a lot tipsy when I ordered the pigeons – price varies no doubt but for me it worked out to around 30p each including wait for it air-mail. 12 variants x 3 sprues & you have to stick their legs on. I binned maybe 10 pairs because the flash on them was way too finnicky to handle (and even I wasn’t crazy enough to photo-etch replacements) so the legless birds all look like they’re a-layin’ 
2 Likes
Note to self - never, EVER try converting a Merc van to a Tatra van again. I’ve edited out the chewed furniture & fist-shaped dents in the walls. Step 1: establish what’s salvage-able from the Merc kit and differentiate the Tatra’s estimated dimensions…
As we know the Tatra was a bit shorter overall, but the wheelbase isn’t worth changing & the front half of the Merc including the windscreen doesn’t need much structural amendment either. I swapped the Merc’s bench for the spare front seats provided in the kit for the sedan version, but the Tatra’s were more basic. They look like a female canine to scratch-build so the solution is that the owner customised his ride with comfier Merc ones from the breakers yard. The line drawn on the rear mudguard flags the surgery required at the rear & no it was not easy to cut…symmetrically…
Strengthening & re-defining the new rear…
Visual sit-rep – at top I’d tortured the chassis so much measuring heights with the body shell resting on it that the left front axle finally failed…numerous ever-tweaking card templates…modified dashboard pending…roof awaiting shortening…cargo floor planking pending…and two strong frame supports in place…
Test-fitting side panels…
The main problem is so many non-horizontal, non-vertical & non-perpendicular lines on this vehicle. The body & roof slightly taper rear-to-front, the side panels & rear panel all lean in, and there are some subtle curves too. Hard to accurately measure anything when those measurements are mostly visual estimations, and then juggle dry-fitted parts because I dare not glue anything unless given no choice. For every hour spent actually constructing something I take two hours to decide which component to do next, way too many chicken & egg issues. And the best is yet to come, workable hinges on all three doors. Ain’t scratch-building fun?
Another drag has been a growing sinking feeling as I deal with the cargo floor. The (Pannewitz) narrative says the wounded Heydrich got out of the cab and lay down on his stomach in the back amongst the crates of furniture polish. Well, that space is around 1.2 x 1.4 metres…but he was at least 1.8 metres tall. So either the “Tatra van” identification is yet another myth after all, or just maybe Heydrich achieved that prostrate position by keeping his feet crossed in mid-air…anyone know of an SS officer figure manufactured in that pose, or a kneeling one I could flip forward?
11 Likes