15 replies to this topic

[olsbooks]

Completing the Reo last month after 30 years away from the hobby, it definitely got the bug restarted.  So, the Freightliner COE is underway. Other than a hobby kife, cheap masking tape, cheap paint, and toothpicks, my tool assortment is minimal.  I say that not to brag by any means.  Far from it; but to encourage others out there that you CAN make something decent without an armada of tools and big budget.  For those who have all the resources and the master creations you pull off, my hat is off to you!  Maybe one day....

 

Below is the paint scheme I am going after but with black metallic, bright metallic green, and gold.  Man, is trying to get those cab pieces together seamless a challenge!

 

I picked up some cheap thin "foil" at Hobby Lobby and want to try to get the polished aluminum finish on the tanks.  Any suggestions on how to get it to lay smooth going over the ends? Ditto for the sun visor.

 

 

Attached Files

•  freightliner2 001.jpg   56.98K   79 downloads
•  freightliner2 005.jpg   81.63K   110 downloads
•  freightliner2 008.jpg   79.59K   120 downloads
•  5493983733_f91ac21bd4.jpg   73.21K   101 downloads

[Doobie]

Thats starting to look realy good . Ive always wanted to do the that kit keep at it

[BigBad]

Off to a good start I see. The paint laid down pretty nicely and that paint scheme is hot. Bare Metal foil is a little tricky on curved surfaces but conforms nicely with some patience.

I did this on my Peterbilt last summer with pretty good results. I did it in 3 sections, the tank ends first, then the "main" body, (that's the easier part). You might want to make more sections as the tank supports on your model are molded as part of the tank. before doing the foil, you'll want to sand the tank seams down because these are going to show through the foil if you don't. 

First, cut a piece a little larger than the tank end, doesn't matter the shape you give it, you're only going to trim it once it's stuck in place. Stick the foil from the center working your way outwards, burnish it from the center outwards too, the material will conform to the contours. Cut the excess material when you are happy with the tank end. You can overlap the foil slightly on the cylindrical portion of the tank body.

Cut the excess material all around the tank body. It doesn't matter if you leave some foil overlapping, when you burnish it, it is going to flatten out. Then on to the main tank body. Make straight foil strips slightly larger than the sections you want to cover. You'll want to cover the overlap at the tank end joint and not cut over that, so stick it perpendicular to the tank axis straight from the start and start covering from the back of the tank going around it to make the overlaping joint where you started. It's more complex to write it down than to actually make...

For the visor, After doing the tanks... It's going to be "Mickey Mouse easy" to apply, the thing is pretty flat, I did it on my own Freightliner and looks like the real thing. Key here is to take your time and also have a new knife edge to cut the foil, otherwise you'll rip it.  you're going to have pretty convincing results with foil, the best looking polished aluminum finish comes from Alclad chrome, but I you'll be satisfied with the finish the foil makes, in some ways the foil looks better because it IS metal. Practice really does makes it better. Keep us posted!

Edited by BigBad, 09 February 2013 - 06:31 AM.

[mackinac359]

When I foil visors and other flexible pieces, I attatch them to the cab/body and apply the foil after attaching - that way they won't flex as much and keep any stretching and thus wrinkling of the foil down to a minium.

 

Tim

[olsbooks]

Thank you guys so much for the encouragement and the advise on the foil..  Those are "keeper" suggestions.  I am very thankful to have found this site and you guys.

[jekylljr]

lookin good so far! cant wait to see it finished

[olsbooks]

Using foil IS definitely a matter of practice on tanks.  I am not there yet as you will see, but trying. Thanks for the guidance!  Also, finished up the majority of the passenger side paint and just have to go back in and put the narrow black divider stripe between the gold and green.  I am going to using tape and a black ballpoint pen on this and see if it will work. 

 

 

Attached Files

•  freightliner3 015.jpg   111.85K   52 downloads
•  freightliner3 016.jpg   200.37K   51 downloads

[kilrathy10]

Great job on the striping....I was never any good at applying foil...I've all but abandoned the practice....I've found that Krylon's Premium Original Chrome looks pretty good for that look....I use it on just about everything....They sell it at Hobby Lobby and I don't usually buy it without a 40% off coupon....After that, it's about $3.50 a can....This isn't the best pic of what this stuff can do...It's just the only one I had of the can...The top of the trailer shows the mirror finish you can get with it....Works great when you're on a budget and don't have a lot of time...It dries pretty fast, too...

Edited by kilrathy10, 09 February 2013 - 06:29 PM.

[BigBad]

Using foil IS definitely a matter of practice on tanks.  I am not there yet as you will see, but trying. Thanks for the guidance!  Also, finished up the majority of the passenger side paint and just have to go back in and put the narrow black divider stripe between the gold and green.  I am going to using tape and a black ballpoint pen on this and see if it will work. 

 

 

 

You could burnish the edges a little more with a cylindrical plastic rod, one of the kit's sprues or something relatively hard and smooth, probably even a rounded toothpick. But a compound curve edge is always going to be difficult to cover with whatever film or foil you use.

[BigBad]

This is an example of a fuel tank covered with Bare-metal foil. You really have to burnish the foil as flat as you can. It's a lot of work, but it does give pretty good results. And besides, from a hotel room, this is the best option for polished metal finish!

 

Your cab stripes are looking mighty good, by the way...

 

You will see it's not perfect, like I said, it's difficult to work with compound curves...

 

Showing the tank end:

 

 

Showing more of the body, notice the "grain" of the foil going around the tank, giving it a machined look. I kept the kit chrome for the straps.

 

Edited by BigBad, 10 February 2013 - 07:26 AM.

[olsbooks]

Thanks for the suggestions and I will give them a try.  Meanwhile, I got the interior done and finished up the passenger side paint.  It is not perfect by any means but it will suffice.  The "glass" has not been installed yet.  I recall years ago I would get "slide glass" used on old school microscopes.  They looked great on flat surfaces.  The ballpoint pen worked well on seperating the colors in the stripes.  It wont survive a microscope test but will suffice when on a budget.  I used a cheap "economy set" of water soluable paints from Hobby Lobby.  It was about $5 for the whole assortment and worked really well.  Anyway, here is a trial fit.  

Attached Files

•  freightliner5 004.jpg   75.45K   41 downloads
•  freightliner5 006.jpg   88.56K   62 downloads
•  freightliner5 012.jpg   164.3K   51 downloads

[Scalper]

Looking nice... love the cab overs.

[BigBad]

I'd say it's going well!

[Johnny]

Looking good!

 

I tried building when I was out over the road but it never seemed to work out for me.

Of course I wasn't staying in motels much so all the work was done in the cab or just out the door or in the empty trailer sometimes on a nice evening!

[Hary Bare]

Nice!

[b_lever1]

Looks good it does show what people can do on small budget and thinking