X-Mas truck by Camille Morrin

[sparrowhawk]

First thing first: I love the english language, but I am german, no native speaker. Learned it in school and deepened my knowledge during a voluntary social year in the UK. So, please forgive me any verbal clumsiness. Always open for corrections.
There are no pictures attached to this building report. Please to refer to my german building report at Kartonist.de | Abgeschlossene Bauberichte - Fahrzeuge | Fertig: Pickup von Camille Morin, 1:24
I guess this make more sense. If not, please tell me.

O.K., now for the kit:
Got this one from Chris Gutzmer´s ecardmodels.com, together with some more. This kit is a freebie, but you only get it when ordering more kits you pay for.
To make it short, building is pure pleasure, parts fit is excellent. I printed this kit on the laser printer in the office, using semi-gloss cardboard of 160 gramm / square meter. There are some finely curved separations with this kit to imitate those compound curves that are everywhere on old cars. To keep them in shape I glued thin strips of coloured paper to their insides. Otherwise, some unsightly gaps may develop.

Basis of the whole is a sturdy ladder frame, just as with the rear thing. I had some troubles with it until I got the knack of scoring the bend lines just the slightest bit on the inside. Otherwise the outside of the frame will bulge out.
Next thing, I built the rear mudguards. I added a layer of stronger cardboard on the inside former and glued the glueing tabs in the inner most side, this made for a good basis. I love those tweezers that can be used like a vise to secure parts whilst the glue dries.
Next thing, the cargo area: The posts on all four corners need some intricate and thoughtful folding, so please be certain you fully understood the way to do this. Some minutes of thought can be very helpful. On the rear board, I got 2 slight gaps, maybe my cardboard stock was a tad too thick. If you want to avoid trouble, paint the respective area on the outside of the rear panel in a dark brown or similar, so it looks like a shadow gap.

Cheers, Martin

[sparrowhawk]

Next thing, the driver´s cabin:
Now the fun really begins: Bright, warm clours, lots of chromium, intricate curves. Lovely!
In disregard to Camille´s building instructions, I did not follow the number´s sequence in building. I first built the windscreen and the side parts, then the roof, then the rear.
The black box on the pictures is an old electronic Korg guitar tuner that had just the right dimensions to support the cab for taking pictures: I am addicted to my classical guitar since more than 30 years.
The engine hood: See pictures. The rear ends of the parts alongside the engine hood taper out finely. Make sure they don´t warp!
Front wings: Quite similar to the rear ones, but no inner "bulkheads". From similar, previous experiences I reinforced the rear side of the front lights with discs of stronger cardboard, diameter 10 millimeters. Not the worst idea, it seems.
Take your time to dry fit the wings to the hood until every thing looks right. Again, I used tweezers for fixing parts until the glue dried, slowly working my way from rear to front.
I recommend to cut out the radiator grille ("Million Dollar Grin") already now so you get the right measures for the front.
The front bumper is an intricate combination of folding areas inwards and outwards, reminded me strongly of some origami techniques or the bumpers of the lovely Citroen DS by japanese designer Ichiyama.

[sparrowhawk]

The wheels: Camille has taken great care to make them as realistic as possible, even if this truck does not have a real prototype. It´s worthwhile.
I had some trouble on their insides: These are made up from 2 concentric parts that are a bit difficult to align perfectly. I would recommend to make 4 markings at 90 degrees to align them perfectly, similar to the "creep marks" found on old aircraft.
Camille has given the kit spacers between the inside and the outside of the wheels, made from rolled strips of cardboard. These are necessary to avoid crushing the finely sculpted outsides when pushing the wheels onto the axles.
Also, there are spacers between the wheels and the chassis.
Lastly, the final assembly of the whole thing. Nothing to really talk about. Parts fit perfectly.
So, if you ever order from Chris, get this charming little kit, very relaxing to build. It is a real eye-catcher and a welcome addition to every collection of vintage cars.

Cheers, Martin

[Vermin_King]

That was a very nice build thread. Thanks for sharing

[Seascape]

Hi Martin,

Did not realize you are also on the Forum here. Glad to see you.

Regards,
Fred

[Cami]

Thanks for sharing the pictures Martin. Nice build!

Cami

[Leif Ohlsson]

Hello Martin, and welcome here (again, right?). I for one could not spot any images in your posts here (very nice ones at the original source). If you need help on how to do it, PN or email me.

Warm regards, Leif

[sparrowhawk]

Hi Fred,
yes, writing fairly seldom, but reading a lot.

Hi Cami,
glad you liked it. Keep up your good work, you really got a "knack" for vintage cars!

Hi Leif,
"welcome again": True. I am a fairly rare visitor here, due to real life commitments that don´t leave too much time for my hobbies. More via PN.
As this building report - my 1st here - is more something of a summarizing translation I thought it more sensible to refer to the pix of the original report.
Next report will be better.

Cheers, Martin