Hi Russell, thanks -

Michael M, you and I were in the same boat, trying to figure out to make believable and sturdy control arm connections. What you see above are from Prime Miniatures - very nice, small parts of all kinds. It took forever to find them as a source!!

I've tried several alts to their brass parts - making my own tiny eye bolts from wire, various mods to styrene, cutting and drilling my own from sheet and solid aluminum rods, and even brass sheet and bars. The results have ranged from good to bad, but in either case, it's not easy to make many of them that look the same.

Michael K, funny you'd say that, I've often wondered how people make the master for a vacuuform project?

OK, on to today's updates.

Minor, or maybe major victory #2. In this process, I was able to get the cab to tilt, and then swing back to where it is supposed to be seated! Maybe not a big deal for many of you, but this never works for me - be it a Tamiya, Fujimi, or MFH kit - usually very close and usually not precisely right. For the Pete, it works:





I took a lot of time to look at how the real hinges work and how they are mounted. The lower arms come from the junk box, really just a lucky find. The uppers are made using aluminum sheet - drilled out to receive a pin, then filed as needed to allow rotation, then bent to 90 degrees. Realizing how often I knock parts like these off, I drilled holes for mounting pins into the aluminum brackets and the bottom of the hood, then inserted and glued metal pins.





Along the way I began scratch building tanks and the battery box. This is mostly just styrene, but also includes various odds and ends. In addition to trying to estimate sizes etc, these parts need to be mounted "off" the chassis to allow space for the cab's air ride cushions. So, they are off-set.







I just had to try - this required a variety of subtle but important modifications to firewall to get my scratchbuilt hood to seat correctly. I also added internal bracing to hood to keep it square. This allows the engine to be seen, and invites mods to the firewall. Those of you interested will see I fixed the appearance of the u-joint on the steering column - no longer just pinned in place.

Finally, back to the fuel tank:



While not perfect, I like it!

Ok gents, stay well and happy model building

Nick

Nick

I'm sure very few would go the trouble of making forms for Vac-Forming. Besides even I don't have the equipment for such work. However I see vac-forming as very much the model equivalent to large piece fiberglass spray up molding in the real world.

I though my comment might inspire you to try and cut a tapered cone shaped "C" out of thin plastic sheet to form that very tapered fender shape. I don't think I could have pulled that off but I consider you to be a far more accomplished modeler than I.

(p.s. These comments are totally intended as a compliment not as any form of a vailed criticism.)

Best Regards
Mike


p.p.s. The new step tanks are beautifully done!

Hi Michael,

Don't worry, no offense taken at all. I know you're always looking for creative ways to solve problems, so I enjoy the conversation! I don't know anything about the vacuform process - though I've seen parts made this way, mostly windshields and headlight covers. It seems like a tough "art" to master - lol

Glad you like the boxes and tanks! they were fun to build!

As a guy once again has time on his hands, the workbench has been kept occupied.

First up, to Michael M's comments about eyebolts - I found some examples of what I did before finding the cast brass versions:



The top version is a piece of solid aluminum rod. I filed the end flat and drilled a hole. Works pretty well for tight applications.

Middle, bent wire - these are hard to make and keep uniform - and while you can't tell in the photo, the holes are actually very small diameter (you'll see below, used to brace the radiator). I use hard wire, which makes it more difficult but the don't warp or snap when you're making them.

The bottom "eye" is a flat piece of aluminum sheet drilled and filed into an eye bolt, then slid into a 1/16" dia aluminum tube. These work fine, but are hard to make and duplicate. They also require a fairly large mounting location, as try as I might, I just can't figure out how to keep filing/cutting without destroying it.

OK, on to the truck and some updates - the tanks, drive line, firewall details and radiator brackets are on:

ok - server troubles, we we'll wait! and keep talking - added lots more wires and bolt heads, chassis stiffeners etc. As we wait...the rear drive shaft looks steep, but what you can't see is the u-joint, which matches the angle.













Sorry about the speed post - better do it while the server is being friendly!

Like it or not, next up will likely be adding bolts to the chassis - figuring out what to do about brakes - and so on. The rear end looks a bit naked! In addition to "hard" parts, the rear diff needs wires for sensors, and I'm still wrestling with how to make a sway bar -

OK - stay well, and happy model building

Cheers
Nick

Thanks for the insight on the eyebolts and your versions of them. I did something similar to number one for the throttle linkage on the Porsche but used brass rod rather than aluminium. It was very hard to drill through, 0.5mm thru 0.8mm, especially without the proper tools, hence the earlier request.
The truck is looking fantastic. The work on the engine and bay in general in amazing. The explanatory details for how you built various sub-assemblies is also great. Keep it up!

cheers
Michael

Hi Michael,

If you figure out another way to make small eye bolts, please post your results. I've tried with brass wire too - you need a lot of patience! and a willingness to snap a few drill bits! haha - oh well, adds to the fun of trying something more than a curbside build.

OK a few updates on the 348. A few details added to the chassis, and the service body is coming along. Here we go:

well, not just yet, seems the server is struggling again - well...ok. Once you see the pics, you'll see some headway has been made. Next on the bench will be crane. It's got two hydraulic rams and an extendable doom. It also rotates. This construction will be like the ripper on the D7R - essentially the outer shapes in styrene, sandwiched over metal parts representing hydraulics.

Once that is done, add door handles to the service body,some diamond sheets on the deck - and some 3d resin parts. A few months ago I ordered a few bits from Matt L (long time kitmaker member) - unlike the other guy (the one who didn't deliver on a few D7R parts), Matt's parts got here as promised in no time at all!

well...server still stalling...ok - it's up:



















And there they are, another speed post. Getting there.

Stay well gents.

Nick

Nick - I'm lost for words again!
Just caught up with this build and - man o man - you have me laughing at myself again recalling my disastrous only attempt to scratch a leaf spring out of styrene. Yet "this guy" scratches a whole truck, nuts and all, all by himself. I quit!
Fantastic, inspirational, total awesomeness!

Gabriel

hi Gabriel,

Nice to see you posting and glad you're back. Yes, this has turned out to be quite a project. I've found the same with building leaf springs as you - first few tries with styrene were not great, now a few builds later, getting better.

Ok - on with some updates on the service body. You'll see some parts are done and others still underway. The fire extinguisher, bench vice, and welder are 3d printed by Matt L - and are nice!

The less, uhh, "refined" parts are scratch built, and well, you can see the difference! lol. The crane is almost there, now need to add hydraulics and some wire, compressor needs hoses attached to the tanks, and need to add door latches and grab rails - probably other stuff too, but I can't think of right now.

The service body has two, instead of the typical 1 step in the rear because the large diameter tires and off road suspension make the bed pretty high, and it would be useless for a guy if the vice was at chest height!

Ok -here we go:















Maybe stating the obvious here, but this is getting big and heavy. It's set up so the bed is removable, but the rear steps are attached directly to the chassis. The plan is to be able to paint the cab, body, and chassis separately, then go back and paint the details, like painting armor. A guy recently picked up a new Badger Krome, so we'll find out if certain parts can be airbrushed in place.

Happy trails and stay well -

Nick

I'm just going to put a few more exclamation points on Gabriels sentiments - !!!!!!!!!!!!

There you go.

That body work is pushing me to get back to my Opel Blitz project, outstanding work all round my friend!

Cheers, D

Nick,
Great work on the service body. It does look like it is a beast to handle. I will interested in seeing how you approach the painting.

cheers
Michael

great work Nick

Hey guys,

Glad you're liking the progress so far. Sort of an odd subject I guess, but it does allow for all sorts of interesting mini-builds along the way!

Yes D, get back to your auto hauler! The service body on this is a combination of .20 and .30 evergreen sheet. The .30 is thick enough that it can be scribed for doors etc and strong enough to support weight/size without warping or beding (too much!). The .20 is easier to cut and good for all the fill that's required.

I used a little compass like cutter for the wheel wells - I think I remember seeing you using one of these (it's yellow, with a bar, with a fixed pin on one end, and knife on the other) for something or other - and it worked fine for cutting them.

Michael, yes, I'm going with a painting approach similar to what's commonly done with armor - paint it all, then go back and detail it up. I decided on this approach because many parts are both unique features and integral to some larger element - like the engine, which is firmly part of the chassis, glued and pinned in place!

Thinking about this, I looked up some images of these trucks in use. They are seen fairly commonly in agricultural areas where field repairs are the only practical option. They are rolling shops, with welders, air systems, cranes, and of course, a work bench.

First up some pictures of the cranes in use - they seem to be remarkably versatile in the right hands:



Above, holding up a flywheel on a split tractor



Above, holding up a boom on a backhoe



Supporting a tensioner on a dozer -

Then, the work bench:





Above, you can see the bench, and the welder, air hose, vise, fire extinguisher etc on the back of the service body





And Michael, funny enough, I came across this, the mechanic working on a hydraulic ram!

So, for the model, I'm hoping for a nice and shiny cab and service body, with a heavily weathered work bench!

OK gents, take care and stay well!

Nick

Nick,

As Usual... simply outstanding!!! I do recognize some of the bits as mine!!

Matt

Hello gents,

Matt, yes, indeed, you should recognize those parts!! you printed them! All ok except, with primer, the welder looks a bit grainy - maybe I'll sand it down a bit? or not -

OK - as Harry Nilsson sang, and as is relevant when scratch building, time to "Jump into the fire!!" lol - where mixing and matching meets primer, and well, gaps and failure jump right out of the fire! lol (sorry, quite an opportunity for a rock-n-roll model building pun!) haha -

Before the fire:



ok - sorry, another: "After the fire"!, Mr Roger Daltrey!



OK, first one is sort of cheating, you really can't see much - now, the close ups:





OK - nowhere near the quality uhh, Joel, Damian, Gabriel...get...,but considering both fenders were torn apart three times, and the hood, was essentially a guess, I can say so far so good.

I might try and take out some of the lumpiness of the edges, but might not - I don't want to ruin it in the process of "fixing" it - experience suggests that a guy leave it alone. The top of each fender well is .10 evergreen, which is very susceptible to denting and warping.

Whatever I do or don't do, the hood and cab will next receive a layer of pink primer as the cab they will eventually be painted red. The radiator will stay primed in grey, as it will be either polished aluminum or chrome - not sure just yet.

next up, the rest:







At first glance looks pretty good to me. The whole service body area will be a bright white, rattle can - but, Testors, not Tamiya - this is not ideal, but the LHS was out, so, I'll do what I can. I don't have a particular reason to be anxious over the Testors other than I've never used it before.

The chassis et al will be a Vallejo gloss black via airbrush, with polished aluminum on the tanks, and the engine, transmission and transfer case hand painted.

Thanks for checking it out

stay well gents

Nick

Understatement of the year right there! I think it looks sensational Nick, a few rough spots that a swipe with the rough stuff will sort out quickly, but every build has that.

Can't wait to see this with some colour on it, it's coming together beautifully!

Cheers, D

I completely agree with Damian here! The "dryness" on the primer surface is easy to turn into smooth satin by wet sanding with 2000 grit.
In all honesty, I won't use a spray can inside the rear of the truck - outside maybe. The turbulences will make one million "paint devils". If you have the possibility to decant the spray and airbrush it - it's the safest bet.

Besides that, the build looks phenomenal. Reading your blogs I feel like the Village's Idiot strolling through Versailles, mouth agape: - that just cannot be true!

Gabriel

Hey guys,

Thanks, I appreciate the comments, as, well, your paint work speaks for itself! While I feel pretty good about the construction of these, a guy can quickly screw it up with not great paint work, and I generally do "just OK" paintwork haha

So, to Gabriel's point, lightly sanding the primer coat is a good idea, not only to remove obvious "nuggets", but the surface primer (Tamiya) is actually a bit coarse, that can be polished down pretty easily. Vallejo primer does not have this coarse surface, but, sanding off little nuggets etc can cause some headaches - like creating little divots where bumps etc once were. So, for body work, I usually stick with the Tamiya.

As to painting the inside of the service body, Gabriel provides another helpful point - spraying in there could create a vortex of bad paint work!! not sure about how to address that...??

OK, on we go - first up, the subtle elegance of 1/24 1/25 diesel truck models:



Uhhh?? what the heck is going on here?? Those giant holes are mounting points for running lights and horns....yeah, for what scale?? I suppose if this were a 1/16" kit they'd be fine - for this, not. Adding to the excitement, these mounting holes don't match the pin location on the (poorly) chromed kit parts....nice.

Sort of ironic one could suppose, the only parts from a donor kit are so chunky - oh well.

You can also see the visor. Thoughtfully, no mounting points, pins, notches etc are provided - another nice touch. This could be OK and just inconvenient if a guy just glued the visor in place and painted over it, but in this case, it's going to look like chrome. This would mean, painting both parts, then adding some CA and hoping to the modeling gods that a guy could "just" drop the visor in the right location the first time, without making a mess of the paint - hahha!

I've never had luck with that sort of wizardry. So, back to the tried and true use of really small brass rivets, glued into the visor, and able to pin into the cab once both are finished. As simple as this might seem, it sure took a while to figure out.



Back to the hood - I fooled around with this a bit, some fill, light sanding, but some of the more obvious problems won't be resolved without lots of work, so this is staying the way it is.



Back to painting. Many of these parts came chrome plated in the donor kit. The plating was generally fine, but the connecting points to the sprue were multiple and huge - so, stripped, primed and painted black, before chrome paint.



Just like the small bits above, big aluminum or chrome parts were painted like the rest - primer, gloss black, and above in polished aluminum, airbrushed in place - you can see there's lots of Tamiya yellow tape in pace, attempting to isolate the aluminum parts (over spray) from the others.





This worked pretty well - some clean up and detail needed, but for the most part fine.

On another post, someone asked a general question about painting chrome etc, and I suggested looking into Vallejo Metal Color (D tipped us off to this months ago, thanks!!). I don't think the guy replied to the suggestion - to each his own, but I still advocate the product:



As you can see, even in the hands of a guy who's clearly not a painting master, it looks pretty good. In this case, the chrome is painted before the hood supporting it -

I remembered a problem D recently had with some candy red paint peeling off after taping - this won't be candy, but it will be red, and I'd rather repaint the radiator than the hood in the event of such as disaster. So I'm doing the opposite, will tape over the chrome, and hope for the best.

A couple more:



The little bump on the right of the visor is the rivet, now also chrome plated!

and finally, the front bumper:



Interestingly, the minor, horizontal scoring was in the plastruc original. Well, it is what is it - could have added some putty, as the bumper is two channels glued together, cut/drilled etc, hence, two sets of score lines, but nah - the bolts, light covers, and hitch look good to me - Not changing it now -

OK gents, stay well -

Cheers
Nick

Paint work looks pretty good to me. It is an interesting, to me, to fully assemble, then mask and paint. I guess I am more of paint every little piece then assemble that's cos I often seem to suffer the masking tape gremlins.
Only suggestion I would have is to have drilled out the air horn in the second last picture. It looks flat, but that may be the angle of the photo.

cheers
Michael

Paint looks good and metallics aren't easy. Is any of the metallic paints you use buffable? I just found out recently that Alclad it is also buffable when wrongly (too thick) applied. If buffed with a cotton swab, the metallic particle grind each other to a shine

Myself I never tried it, because I never apply Alclad in excess - my first bottle of chrome it is still with me, with a 1/8" paint left in it - and that it was precisely bought at the end of the Hemi versus Chevy Campaign!

I don't know about the Vallejo you mentioned, but I grant that Vallejo Air Silver it is the best silver for hand brushing available (for small parts that is - on larger surfaces is as bad as any acrylic )

Gabriel

Howdy gents,

Still pushing along with paint -

Hi Michael, yes, this painting approach is not typical for autos, but is fairly typical for armor. All of the chassis/engine etc was painted black, and the hood/cab primer grey, with details taped and isolated. So far so good, and good eye on the horns - shoot - now, I'm not too excited about fixing them!

Hi Gabriel, well, I tend to use acrylics for builds. This project differs a bit with the body parts painted with rattle cans, with whatever they spray!

The acrylics have worked pretty well with armor, and has been a good challenge for automotive builds. I'm feeling better about it with each build. The Vallejo Metal color is also an acrylic, applied with an airbrush. As you note, to need to be a bit careful, as the consistency is almost like water! yes, it's very thin! ad sort-of buff-able.

So, on to the update - the chassis painted with Vallejo acrylic over Tamiya grey base primer - and here are the pre-weather images:







The detail painting is done using Vallejo model air paint, with a hand brush. I had to include this one, I liked the pattern:



For above, the box is the airbrushed aluminum, then hand painted silver for the latch and wire brackets.



A variety of colors were mixed for the engine, and yes, some touch up still needed.

On to some more glorious colors:



The hood is Tamiya Italian Red via rattle can, while the radiator is Vallejo Metal color chrome. Next up, sand, and layers of clear coat.

Ok gents, thanks for having a look -

Stay well,

Cheers
Nic

Hello gents -

Below are a few updates showing some paint finished and parts dry fit:







The headlights are from remnants of a nascar decal sheet that's been sitting on my workbench a long, long time. Each decal was cut in half, with opposite halves shared with on anther (ie Rt out with/lt in, and Lt out with/rt in) then reoriented to better match the contour of the fenders. I basically lucked out, as while the decals broke several times, and refused to stick, they never fractured, and eventually set up (tried solvaset and microsol - patience eventually won out).



And then some dry fitting:







As always, Aqua Gloss II clearcoat, with the chassis, engine and metal are vallejo, and the red cab is Tamiya over tamiya pink primer.

I got into a bit of a mess with the first clear coat, as it was really pebbly - why?! well, keep the tips of your airbrush pin cone (? whatever they're called) clean - figured out a guy was getting about 75% of the opening, shooting to the right...perfect. The other 25%, of course, filled with old, dry, Aqua Gloss - lol! So, out came some sanding film and ever so slowly went about knocking back the pebbles and orange peel, then, fix the cone! good times. Keep your cones clean!

I'll finish and mount the cab and hood today, then get on the service bed this weekend. I'm not sure about weathering or not - looks pretty nice as is.

Cheers
Nick

I don't know what to say Nick, your mistakes look better than my best attempts.

Awesome job so far.

This is looking awesome Nick, from concept to planning to execution you have stayed the course so far. I love it!

Cheers, D

Love the silver work. The mismatch has really made it standout. Despite your aggravation with the headlights they look pretty good in the photos. The overall appearance is great. Weathering is clearly a personal choice but maybe the tires could do with some softening.

cheers
Michael

This is an "I GOTTA FOLLOW THIS BUILD" This is a great build,needs to be in a diorama. You need a backhoe having some work done on it. Fantastic so far.

Hey guys,

Thanks for dropping by -

Ha! David, I've seen your builds! They are usually pretty strong! Thanks

Hi D, this has been a good challenge, trying to keep it reasonably close to the real thing, so far so good - thanks!

Michael, hi. I really lucked out with the decals - they were very close to going the wrong way a couple of times. As for weathering, well, I might not weather the body - I just can't believe the finish so far, and think it might be a shame to cover it up.

That said, there's nothing against a scenario where maybe this just came from a decent (but not thorough) washing, and the chassis and engine were a bit overlooked - making them susceptible to some amount of dust and grime! which, they will receive - I enjoy weathering engines.

Hi Darrell, well thanks! glad you're liking what you're seeing. I thought about a dio when I started this except, this thing is huge as is - you did make me consider scratch building a Case Construction King to go with it tho....maybe missing a hydraulic cylinder or two....? that said, I firmly attached the crane - no longer operable, same for the service bed doors etc - too late to make them operable, as I painted it this morning.

On to a brief update. As noted, I painted the service body, using Testors rattle can white. In general, all went fine, but the smell of that stuff, brought me back to being a kid, painting my kid models and the never looked very good when finish!

Spraying the testors is not like spraying tamiya. The paint has the consistency of spray glue! Very chunky, but to my surprise, it looks pretty good. I haven't looked at it too carefully yet, as the finish is still a bit tacky - but, so far, aside from a few little dust nuggets etc - and more surprisingly, very little orange peel etc! Sprayed it in several layers, dusting right up to actual dense color coats. Sprayed it outside under bright sunlight and very little wind. I'll get into it more tomorrow and see how it really looks.

Michael, back to weathering and your good eye for the silver variations. Unless the part is specifically made of one material, I usually add a variety of shades of silver to reflect (sorry, bad pun) the various types of materials, and to punch out details, like straps and bolt heads.

Thinking about this, and your observation about the tires and wheels, I went back to touch up the studs and nuts on the rims - studs in gunmetal, nuts in a blend of gunmetal and silver, and add a thin black wash to both. Strapped on the optivisor and went at it and saw this:





And can you believe it??!! The studs are threaded! Wow! KFS (kit form services) clearly makes a high quality product! again, wow -

I think the tires will get a dust wash just to knock the black back some - but, they can't be too dirty, as I want the body nice and shiny, so they will get a very faint wash and that's it.

Ok, take care and stay well gents -

Cheers
Nick