Ritchey P20, this is going to take a while...

[LumPi Panda]

A short section of 1mm square styrene strip fits into each slot...


...then the treads slide onto the rod. Using square rod helps to keep all of the treads lined up nicely.
Once the big bit is stuck on, the two tiny little triangles can be superglued onto the other tyre half to complete the classic Z-Max Z


The central row of Z treads is made of 416 individual bits, plus countless others that end up flying out of the tweezers into oblivion
I think they used a similar exercise in Guantanamo bay.

 

[27motorhead]

To the mods...

 

[27motorhead]

Glued (literally!) to this thread already. Crazy amount of work that only a sick & twisted model maker could endure. Thanks for the great pictures as appreciate doing this mid process is always a pain in the arse!

 

[LumPi Panda]

Now we start working our way around with filler to build up the sides of the blocks. The exposed slots left in the carcass will have another row of treads in eventually, but it's easier fill these ones before the next row get in the way.



Once the previous batch of filler has cured it is cut back square and then any missed bits can be touched in with more filler.

For the really sad individuals amongst us, this filler is an air curing one rather than a two-part. This means less urgency in getting the filler in before it sets but longer to wait before it can be shaped.

This will be repeated.

A lot.



This part of the build joined me on a recent trip to the Isle of Skye where it made ideal rainy day fun.

 

[LumPi Panda]

While we're on the subject of Skye, a seriously massive thank you must go to @crazybiker247 who very kindly answered my plea and has lent me a pair of old Rock Shox SID forks for the price of postage. I got shot of my old 1" steerer SIDs from the P20 years ago and regretted it ever since.

Thanks to crazybiker247 I was able to get the measuring tape and crayons out while I was away and make a start on replicating them at 1:4 scale.

​

Thanks must also go to Dean at SRAM customer support who has agreed to help with various other details.