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“You’ll need the dashboard and the central body assemblies for this stage. After fitting the dashboard in place, you’ll fix the circuit board for the model’s electronics. You’ll then attach the front frame and body together. The upper tie rods supplied with this stage can be stored away for now until they are needed later in this Pack.”
Contents
Parts
Materials: The Steering Joint is metal and the Upper Tie Rods are plastic.
Build
Fitting the Dashboard and Front Frame into the Body and Installing the Circuit Board
Step 1
Retrieve your Central Bodywork assembly we last worked on in Stage 55 and place it upside down on a soft cloth. Make note of these two forward mounting posts:
Retrieve your Dashboard assembly we last worked on in Stage 48. Note the two matching mounting tabs on this assembly:
Fit the Dashboard assembly into the Central Bodywork as shown, aligning the mounting tabs to the mounting posts.
You may need to slightly spread the sides of the Central Bodywork to drop this Dashboard down into place:
Step 2
Secure the Dashboard to the Central Bodywork with two (2) Type A screws, one on each side.
This is your friendly reminder to try using 3-in-One Oil on all screws going into metal:
Check that your Dashboard is fitting flush across the bottom of the Windshield opening, as shown:
Step 3
Retrieve your Front Frame assembly from the previous stage and turn it upside down. Slide the Circuit Board inside the Front Frame and align it to the four matching mounting posts of the Front Frame Cover. Make sure the sockets of the Circuit Board marked 5, 6, 7, and 8 (circled below) are facing the rear of the Front Frame, as shown.
I recommend handling any printed circuit boards (PCB), like this one, by their edges to protect the delicate components. Also, I chose to leave all of the protective socket caps in place on my Circuit Board – I did not want to risk bending any of the socket pins until we actually start connecting the wires:
Secure the Circuit Board to the Front Frame Cover with four (4) Type B screws.
Take care not to over-tighten these screws as you may risk damaging the Circuit Board – nice and snug is just fine:
Step 4
Note these two mounting points on each side of at the rear of the Front Frame assembly:
Fit these mounting points into the front of the Central Bodywork, aligning the screw holes as shown.
This took a bit of work as I needed to make sure the Front Frame was fully seated into the Bodywork:
Unfortunately, on my model, these rounded tabs did not easily want to fit down into the Bodywork and I could not align the screw holes:
To fix this, I used a flat needle file to remove the paint from outer surfaces of these rounded tabs on each side:
Afterwards, my Front Frame was able to slide down into place on the mounting posts aligning the side holes perfectly:
Step 5
Make sure the Central Bodywork is flush to the Front Frame (dashed line below), then begin securing these assemblies together from the outside with one (1) Type A screw as shown:
Secure the rounded tab on the other side with one (1) more Type A screw, again checking the Bodywork is flush to the Front Frame:
Finish securing the Central Bodywork to the Front Frame from the inside with two (2) more Type A screws.
Unfortunately, I was unable to salvage a usable picture of these screws installed. However for reference, the inner mounting tabs of the Front Frame fit on top of, and are secured to, these posts of the Central Bodywork:
Step 6
With the Front Frame now connected to the Central Bodywork, make sure both Front Wheel Hubs and the Steering Wheel are centered.
Then, connect the two Steering Columns sections together by inserting one of the pins of the small universal joint into the hole at the end of the column of the Steering Wheel.
This may take a bit of time, but be patient and it will fit together, as shown:
Fit the Steering Joint over the junction of these Steering Columns, onto the pin of the forward Column, and align the screw hole as shown:
Secure this Steering Joint into place with one (1) Type Q screw:
Once this screw is installed, you should be able to turn the front wheels using the Steering Wheel. If not, you may need to adjust the tightness of the two screws holding the Steering Rack in place (picture here from Stage 58 – Step 2):
Thoughts
I think any stage where large sections of the model come together are special, like this one! We have finally attached the Front Frame to the chassis and will soon attach the Rear Frame. We did not use the Upper Tie Rods in this stage, but keep them nearby for use in Stage 78.
Next Up
Stage 77 – Bonnet Inner Bulkhead/Crossbars