Military Wheels Lublin-51 - painting the cab, decals and glazing.

Sometimes I do things in the wrong order...

I primed the cab with Vallejo grey surface primer, but not before I removed the raised circle on the drivers (left hand) side of the cab, and drilled a hole for and fitted the petrol filler. Then the cab could be sprayed with Vallejo 890 Refractive Green. This was followed by a coat of Vallejo gloss varnish along with the load bed sides and rear, ready for the decals to be applied. I had a few problems with the decals, probably my own fault, luckily only the large rear decal shows slight damage. That one, along with the drivers cab side and the front numberplate came apart when being slid off the backing sheet, but with patience and prodding I managed to align the separated parts. Another coat of gloss sealed them in place, and helped to hide the carrier film although it can be seen on the load bed where the decals haven't settled into the planking. I used Carrs Decalfix, but I think that I shall invest in a better setting solution.

Driver's side, this decal gave me trouble;

As did the numberplate, which separated into about five pieces, the smallest piece being less than a millimetre long;

The load bed rear, note the damage to the 'U' and how the decal sits on rather than in the gaps in the planks;

Luckily the decals on the passenger door and bed sides slid into place without issue;

After giving the cab and load bed a couple of coats of Vallejo matt varnish I turned my attention to the glazing. This is a job that I dislike, so I usually put it off until after painting. This was a mistake.

I used the front windscreen that came with the kit, but rather than fitting it from the inside as intended I filed down the outer lip so that it could be fitted flush into the cab, improving the fit and look of the windscreen. The side and rear windows weren't used as they were a poor fit, instead I made up 5 new panels from 1mm acrylic(?) sheet. This meant that I could make the glazing flush fitting like the windscreen. To reduce the 'prismatic' effect that you get when using quite thick glazing material the edges were painted body colour before fitting, and the windscreen surround was painted black. All that fitting meant that the cab needed a lot of handling, which despite careful handling wore away the paint in several places, most noticeably on the rear of the cab roof;

So I had to carefully mask off the cab door decals and touch up those areas that needed it, a perfect job for my Aerograph, which was also used for varnishing. In future I must remember to sort out the glazing before painting the cab, even if it is to be fitted afterwards.

With the glazing fitted;

The windscreen fit isn't brilliant, but it will do. The 'screens fold outwards on the prototype.

A drop of Johnson's Kleer sealed the glazing in place.

And another page from the manual;

Just so you know where everything sits...

The next jobs will be making a new gear lever to replace the one that I lost, glueing in the dashboard and steering wheel, then assembling the cab.

Paul.