47 replies to this topic

[Maindrian Pace]

I've posted several of my builds here, but they have been from 20 years ago or longer. To mark a return from a long absence in the hobby, I decided to build something that I never did before, and to use kits and many aftermarket parts that I've had collecting dust for about as long. I've always built cars, almost never trucks, and I had these two Fords in the stash that I bought new, when they came out.



Both the AMT F-150 and the Monogram F-350 dually are very nice kits that represent the real trucks well, but neither are really that interesting in box stock form. The '92-'96 is my favorite Ford truck body style ever, I like duallies, and the old standby Modelhaus service body is still available, so...



Try to come up with something similar to that. One of those vehicles that you see 20 of every day, but never notice. Not a model of a particular truck, details and company logos to be determined later. I'll choose a company that I like.

The first thing to do is make the fancy Lariat trim AMT cab into a plain-jane base model work truck. Shave and block sand the side trim off:



Shave the bumper smooth and remove the air dam from it:



And fill the bed slots on the back of the cab. This will be invisible, but I was on a roll.



Since I build real cars too, this will be painted almost entirely with automotive paints that I've come to like using on my 1:1 projects. Next step: Monogram suspension, rear end, and drive train into the AMT chassis.

-MJS

[RodneyBad]

The '92-'96 is my favorite Ford truck body style ever,

Mine too and I like Dodges, go figure..
I do Notice those trucks all the time..

Ya got a great build going on,,
I'll surely be watching as ya go..

[Haubenschild]

Yes! , another dually , this will be awesome!

[henry57]

What automotive paint do you use?

[mrmike]

This should be an interesting build when you consider that both kits are different scales. Are you going to modify the dually suspension since it would push the rear wheels and tires well outside the fender line?

[Maindrian Pace]

What automotive paint do you use?

Mainly Plasticote and Duplicolor sprays, but also body shop leftovers shot with an air brush. Get friendly with the body shop painter, and you can get all sorts of small quantities of paint to experiment with.

This should be an interesting build when you consider that both kits are different scales. Are you going to modify the dually suspension since it would push the rear wheels and tires well outside the fender line?

The scale differences will come into play in a few areas for sure, but I'm not worried about the rear axle width because the Modelhaus bed is closer to 1:24 scale. It's a substantial brick of resin.

-MJS

[01blueedge]

this should be good cant wait to see more

[Ben]

Lookin great so far! The steel, four hole wheels in the F350 kit will be perfect for this project and will look great if you fix that horrific blob of plastic that is supposed to represent the the drive hub on the rear wheels. Monogram did a good job on those wheels, other than that. I haven't seen anyone correct them yet.

[Danno]

Interesting, Mike. Looking forward to seeing it develop.

[Maindrian Pace]

A crummy day here in Phoenix. Gray, rainy, dark, cold, (by our standards at least) and a perfect day for model building.

Removed the console from the seat, and sanded off the corduroy looking upholstery texture.



The interiors of these are very plain, no need for flocking with the color keyed vinyl floor mat instead of carpeting.



I was running into a styrene wall trying to fit the humongous 1:24 460/E4OD in place of the little 1:25 351W/AOD combo:



Until I got an idea: swap the deeper Monogram cross member on the AMT frame, thus allowing the engine to sit deeper and the suspension to sit higher at the same time. I love two-fers.



That's looking more manageable.



The duallie rear end and leaf springs were a near perfect fit to the AMT chassis, I made styrene tabs to mount the springs and lift blocks to get the rear end up. All pretty basic so far.

-MJS

[crazyjim]

Very interesting build.

[Mr. Moparman]

Nice!

[promo55]

I have been planning a truck like this for years. I am basing mine on an old promo that has no bed. I will use the promo chassis, I do not care what the bottom looks like. I was thinking of building the bed out of styrene plastic sheets but since Don Holthaus offers a utility body, that may be the best way to go. I will be followinhg this buildup very closely! What you have done so far is excellent!

[Maindrian Pace]

I have been planning a truck like this for years. I am basing mine on an old promo that has no bed. I will use the promo chassis, I do not care what the bottom looks like. I was thinking of building the bed out of styrene plastic sheets but since Don Holthaus offers a utility body, that may be the best way to go. I will be following this buildup very closely! What you have done so far is excellent!

Ronnie, Sounds like a great idea. But the thing you may find with the promo chassis is that you won't be able to get the ride height up far enough, because of the rigid axles through the one piece chassis. It already looks like a lowered F-150, too low for an F-350.





If it doesn't bother you, you could make tabs to mount the axles below the suspension/rear end, which wouldn't break the unwritten curbside rules as far as I know.

-MJS

[Casey429]

This is looking really nice. The crossmember swap is a good move, since the one for a 460 powered truck is unique to the big block. One other suggestion would be to reshape the headrests to match the non-adjustable ones on the XL seat. I'll be watching this one for sure.

[plowboy]

Looks like you have a good start on this one Mike. '92-'96s are my favorite body style also. I still own a '95 4x4. One thing I can warn you about this kit is that the firewall sets way too far forward. Half of the engine is covered by the firewall if you build it out of the box. Someday I want to build a replica of my 4x4. I just have to scratchbuild a 4.9 and come up with the front axle,driveshaft and transfer case.

[Maindrian Pace]

This is looking really nice. The crossmember swap is a good move, since the one for a 460 powered truck is unique to the big block. One other suggestion would be to reshape the headrests to match the non-adjustable ones on the XL seat. I'll be watching this one for sure.

Casey, from what I can tell by looking at local trucks, the '92-'93s had the adjustable headrests on the XL, and the '95-'96 and '97 heavy duty had the non-adjustable. Don't know about the '94s. I thought about changing the upholstery pattern to the plain pleated, but I may not go that far on the interior.

Looks like you have a good start on this one Mike. '92-'96s are my favorite body style also. I still own a '95 4x4. One thing I can warn you about this kit is that the firewall sets way too far forward. Half of the engine is covered by the firewall if you build it out of the box. Someday I want to build a replica of my 4x4. I just have to scratchbuild a 4.9 and come up with the front axle,driveshaft and transfer case.

Roger, the 460 has been mocked up a few times, and it will sit a little bit forward of where the 351 sits. Fan clearance is going to be sketchy, I may have to get creative there. I have an AMT short box F-150 kit, and I want to build it as a hunter green 4x4 with a set of big Satco tires, or stock tires with black steelies. I wonder which old Bronco kit has the best 4x4 parts for the conversion? Probably the MPC unless the Monogram 1:24 can be used.

-MJS

[JamesW]

For added detail you should shave the door handles off the AMT cab and use the seperate handles from the F-350.

[plowboy]

Casey, from what I can tell by looking at local trucks, the '92-'93s had the adjustable headrests on the XL, and the '95-'96 and '97 heavy duty had the non-adjustable. Don't know about the '94s. I thought about changing the upholstery pattern to the plain pleated, but I may not go that far on the interior.



Roger, the 460 has been mocked up a few times, and it will sit a little bit forward of where the 351 sits. Fan clearance is going to be sketchy, I may have to get creative there. I have an AMT short box F-150 kit, and I want to build it as a hunter green 4x4 with a set of big Satco tires, or stock tires with black steelies. I wonder which old Bronco kit has the best 4x4 parts for the conversion? Probably the MPC unless the Monogram 1:24 can be used.

-MJS

You're right Mike. My '95 F150 XL that I bought new had adjustable head rests. My current '95 F150 XL has non adjustable head rests. Obviously,there was no one type of seat only for the XL. As for the 4x4 conversion,I plan on using the MPC/AMT Bronco for those parts. If I'm not mistaken,the MPC/AMT kit has leaf springs on the front which would have to be replaced with coils to make it correct. The Monogram Bronco's front suspension doesn't compare in detail and is too wide for the AMT pickup.

[Duntov]

This is looking good.... keep up the good work and let us know how it turns out when finished!!

Regards
Bill (Duntov)