The hub of the matter!

After yesterdays moan about the slow progress and problems with the Italeri DAF 95 Canvas Truck kit it has been a more positive day.

To get to the hub of the matter, the after-market resin hubs have now been fitted. The front ones were straight forward enough and just slid over the kit axle with the hub cover being glued on to trap the hub on to the axle. The rear ones were slightly more complex. Firstly they needed drilling out so that they could fit over the kit rear axles.

Finding a drill of the right diameter was for once easy enough. Generally my supply of drill bits contains everything apart from the one I need - but not this tine! Knowing things could go drastically wrong in a traditionally Woody way I was wise enough to realise if I drilled too far into the hub I could drill right through it destroying the outer part of the hub. Therefore a piece of masking tape was wound on the drill bit to indicate the maximum depth I should drill to without resorting to a very large sware jar contribution. The resin from which theses after-market parts are manufactured is not the best to inhale into the body so drilling was slow which avoided spraying dust about as well as avoiding heating up the resin and melting it! After drilling the debris were vacuumed up and I washed my hands. Working smarter and safer not harder as I get older!

Despite drilling as far as I could safely do into the resin hub I did have to shorten the kit axles to get the hubs flush with the backplate. As a note I am not sure if you really need the kit backplate or not but it is glued in place and I am not going to try to move it!

With the hubs in place I loosely placed the resin wheels in place. The mudguards are also not yet glued in place. However even with these parts not fixed the kit takes on a whole new look.

Temporarily putting the cab and body in place adds even more to that new look.

I do like those wheels and hubs!