Thunderbirds 1/72 Mole

I finished making another crawler track as my original plan was to make one and mould it in resin however it is highly unlikely I will build another Mole so it was easier just to make one. Woth that I fitted both tracks to the Mole body and closed it up;

Next to build was the hull and again it is very basic as the axles are just metal bars. The front axle is moveable so that you can tighten the tracks up after fitting and to help I glued part C30 to the axle, also the holes on wheels A2 and A3 were drilled out as they don’t fit the axles.

The hull was then put together;

Before gluing the top in place (part E42) I’ll spray the inside of the hull black.

The framework that supports the Mole body is pretty basic and has a few toy-like features such as the anchor point for the central elevation cylinder;

These were removed both sides along with the anchor points for the springs that hold the body in place (parts A12) as these are ‘working’ features so that you can play with your Mole in the garden. Removing these required a razor saw as the plastic used in this kit is very hard and tough to cut. To hide the sink mark on one side and what was left of the hole on the other side, I covered them with a strip of 0.10thou plastic strip;

When they have set I’ll trim them down a bit. Another thing about these side frames is that they have what looks to be rocket bodies moulded each side, unfortunately the insides have nothing to match them so I’ll have a look in the spares box for rocket or drop tanks of similar diameter to build them up;

Also, looking at studio models of the Mole, the outlets/ exhausts/ whatever they are 8need hollowing out too;

That’s as far as I have got but hopefully I’ll be able to get more work done over the weekend. This kit is IS very basic and not a quick build and reminds me of kits from the 70’s that were motorized due to the metal rods used for axles and the track tensioning adjusted with a self-tapping screw. I can’t say I’m that impressed with the kit considering what I paid for it but it should look decent enough when painted.