Toby Denham's Motorized Cat Trac Part 4 - Final Assembly

Modified Cat Trac Assembly

This is the final phase of constructing the remote control Cat Trac. The photo above shows the styrene plastic chassis attached to the Cat Trac body.

The chassis was glued to the Cat Trac body using a good quality epoxy. After the epoxy is mixed, it is very carefully applied around the bottom edge of the body where the chassis "floor" makes contact. Using rubber bands and clothes pins, the two parts are securely held together. If all of the prep work was done properly, there should not be any spaces or "cracks" visible where the the body and chassis come together.

After the epoxy sets, the rubber bands and clothes pins are removed. The only step left to do is to carefully sand the side edges of the Cat Trac body. These edges are where the old tracks were cut away. The chassis floor sides now come out flush with this edge. If the sanding of these edges is done with care and patience, the seam where the body and chassis meet will virtually disappear. This is best achieved by using a sheet of 220 grit "wet or dry" sandpaper placed on the edge of a flat surface and moving the body back and forth on the sandpaper. Hold the body with the bottom side perpendicular to the sandpaper. With a somewhat light touch, sand the sides using a back to front motion. Great care must be given this operation for it to turn out correctly. Use very fine sandpaper such as 600 grit to add that finishing touch. With all of the pieces fitting properly and the sanding completed successfully, the finished product should have the look of a single molded unit.

The only thing left to do is fasten the body to the motor / track unit and glue on the skid plate.

Body Attached Side View

Here it is guys, the body attached to the motor unit. I thought I would show a side view. It has a neat look. The proportions are just right, but the vehicle looks quite different from the original ... looks better!

There is one more thing to do before it can be considered finished ... glue on the skid plate.

Toby

Continue to Part 5

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