Return to the BUILD
“Fit the roof and front windshield to the main body shell, then install the front radiator grille and mesh from Phase 01.”
Contents
Parts
- 56A – Main Body Shell
- 6x CM screws (+2 spare)
- 2x GP screws (+1 spare)
- 2x PM screws (+1 spare)
Materials: This Main Body Shell is metal.
Build
The Main Body Shell
This Main Body Shell is big, heavy, pre-painted, and beautiful!
Step 01
Retrieve your Roof assembly from the previous phase. Fit the Roof Assembly up through the Main Body Shell, aligning the corresponding screw holes.
I found this easier to do with the Main Body Shell upside down on a towel:
Ensure the lower edge of the Rear Window fits snugly against the Main Body Shell.
I changed the order of the assembly instructions here and started with the rear section first. I passed the Rear Window over the outside the Main Body Shell, so these two plastic tabs fit into their matching slots. It took a bit of tweaking to get the Roof to fit snugly into the body, but it finally settled in:
Next, I started to secure the rear roof section to the body with four (4) CM screws, two on each side. However, I did not tighten these all the way just yet. This is also your friendly reminder to try using 3-in-One Oil on all screws going into metal:
Retrieve your Front Windshield from Phase 53. Fit the nine (9) tabs around the Front Windshield into the four matching slots at the top and five matching slots at the bottom of the windshield opening of the Roof assembly.
In this image below, I marked the tabs that need to fit into these slots. Two of the bottom tabs are hidden behind the screw holes. This step took a lot of squeezing and bending that I was not very comfortable with. I thought I might snap the windshield, but everything went OK:
Step 02
With the windshield correctly seated all around, secure the Roof assembly to the Main Body Shell with six (6) CM screws.
At this point, I just needed to secure the front edge of the roof with the two (2) CM screws (seen below), and then, tighten up the four (4) rear CM screws I already installed earlier:
This is what we have built so far:
Step 03
Retrieve your Radiator Grille assembly from Phase 01. Fit this into the front opening of the Main Body Shell, as shown:
Secure the Radiator Grille assembly into place from behind with two (2) GP screws.
I had some problems with metal ‘flashing’ blocking various holes in the Main Body Shell, such one of the holes we need here. You can also see other openings that also needed to have flashing removed. These were easily opened up by poking/twisting at them with my screwdriver:
Then, I could install the screws and secure the Radiator Grille assembly into place:
Step 04
Retrieve your Front Bumper assembly from Phase 05. Slide the two black Bumper Supports through the matching square openings at the lower front of the Main Body Shell.
Make sure this Front Bumper assembly is installed right side up, as shown:
Secure the Bumper Supports to the Main Body Shell from above with two (2) PM screws:
Thoughts
After some time away, this phase was a fantastic experience! With the Main Body Shell arriving, we get a real idea of how big this model will actually be. We also were able to use some parts that we have been storing for a long time, which is always a bonus!
Next Up
Phase 57 – Body: Left Door