purepmd

That is some nice work, Tiger. Slow good work will always beat fast shoddy work. Like that old saying goes, "Haste makes waste". That is what I really like about military builders: details, details, details... Well done, looking forward to more.

Great idea Vinnie, as you wish. The cabs are really simple in principle: just slabs of .060 sheet, with the front and rear angles cut. I sandwiched 6 sheets together, for 3 cabs, when forming the sides. All 3 should, in theory, be the same. Evergreen tube, various diameters, is split, length-wise, into 4 sections, to make the quarter round cab corners. A corner jig, and miniature carpenter's square, help keep panels aligned during the sand, fit, sand, fit, sand, and so on assembly. Here are some pictures, with notations, about the, more involved hood construction.

As a time and effort saver, I started multiple White High Cab scratch builds. I started with the same basic side panels, albeit a little shorter, as the Western Star cabover, and narrowed front and rear panels, and got the basic cab she'll set up in order to start cutting up a AMT Road Boss hood. It had to be widened, shortened a bit, made taller, and set the rear curvature to matche the front of the cab. I added .060 to each fender, on the overall width as well as to the width of the head light area to accommodate the quad rectangular head lights. Still have a lot of work before primer, and will post some more pics then.

Finally got some pictures to post. Have the first Western Star cab roughed in. Haven't even done the first overall sanding. Still need to add the grab handle recesses, sleeper vents, door handle recesses, etc... Added a little graphite to the initial door seems for the contrast in the pics. Also will post the Road Boss 2 Integral pics in a new thread about that build.

Now that is Just AWESOME scratch building. The engine is fantastic. Well worth the time invested!

Pavel, another work of art. Beautiful job! This model holds more interest, for me, than the real truck! Outstanding work!

Having owned a '70, i would really like to see a corrected kit. If the bug ever bites hard enough, I just have to have one, based on the F&F car, I will figure out how to fix the tail lights. Doesn't look that hard, (famous last words).

Very nice conversion.

Another knockout. JT. In it's own right, as cool as the first. Just a quick aside about the Italeri chassis. I have got mine all cut up, the sleeper, cab, hood, and bumper separated, and the 377 frame looks very close. Once you cut out the screw stanchions, from under the hood, it can be hinged pretty easily. A firewall can be fabbed with a little sheet stock, and TA-DA. You really did start a sales boom for New Ray with these.

"Detoyed" is right! Major difference! So glad i got one. I would have let this opportunity go by, if it were not for this model. Awesome eye for potential you have there.

now that is one slick custom! Great color combination, super clean assembly, and a whole lot of COOL mixed in. Very well done!

What a really tough looking truck! Really like the twin steer setup, takes the cool factor to a whole new level. Very Well Done!

What a crazy, cool, cornbinder. Which ever way you go, tribute, or restored. It is going to be a real gem. Cant wait.

This is going to be very cool! Very unusual combination. Very nice work so far.

Now that is a cool combination. Great color and use of the decals. Even the spokes look great, and I am an Alcoa nut. A beauty for sure.

Tanner, in 44 years of modeling, I can't recall seeing something out-of-the-box that is close enough. I am assuming you are building the Monogram 1/24th kit. I think your best bet, would be to find 1/24th Big Block Chevy covers, (they have the slightly domed top, and the same, 3 on one side, and 4 on the other indention pattern), and enlarge the bolt reliefs a little, reshape the ends, and then make a corrected gasket flange out of some .010 or .015 sheet. Just an idea. Good luck.

STUNNING, SIMPLY STUNNING!

Nice save, Jacobus! Over here, a lot of over the road trucks, when they are traded in, or sold by the original owner, get turned into daycabs. A used daycab tractor is worth more than a used road tractor. If the fenders and skirts, over the boxes, were black, your model would look almost exactly like the truck I drove for a sand and gravel company, years ago. Pulled a dark blue, three axle, belly dump with it. Looks awfully familiar. Well done!

Just doing the first monthly update, 02/03/17. Actually have made progress. All the flat panels for the front, rear, and sides, for all 3 cabs are cut out and shaped. 1 Western Star cab is almost assembled. Got the after-cooler built, along with new pulleys, for the Cat 3406. It is painted, plumbed, and has the individual belts, a power steering pump, and air conditioning compressor on it. The transmission has a detailed shift tower, and air splitter plumbing, to help it out. By the way, if you want a cheap, readily available, more than acceptable Cat yellow, check out Krylon Bauhaus Gold. Picked up a can at Wally World, and was very pleasantly surprised. Less than 1/3 of the price of a can at the Cat dealer. I will have pictures before any primer goes on the cabs, that is the plan, as of now. Thank you all for the kind words, and views.

JT, this is all your fault! lol. Yet again, one of your ideas became so infectious, I was forced to take action. First, I had to use orange and black on my needle nose Pete, and now I had to get on ebay and acquire one of these toys, so that it can be made into a model. I knew I was bitten right after I found the picture of the black truck I added last night. I am not a big fan of the aerodynamic rigs manufactured this century, I know I am a dinosaur, (cabovers still the favorite, always will be), but after seeing your side by side shots, and your eagerness to tear into this and make it the basis for a model, it dawned on me, that this is really not that different then getting a molded cab and sleeper in a kit. Not to mention, the 579 is a great looking truck. I have an Italeri 377 chassis left over, a resin, Cummins, Signature 600, that, with the addition of all the emission junk, and a black valve cover, will more than pass for the ISX available in the 579. A set of Jamie's resin Peterbilt wheels, and a raiding of the scrapbox, and we're in business. Like I said, JT, it is all your fault, and I THANK YOU, my friend, for the inspiration.

Dramatically better! That is about the only real drawback to the 3406 in these kits, pretty easy fix though, looks a lot better. Really like the Bicentennial direction for the build, too.

You are welcome! I knew you would like it, even made me a little orange crazy.

Or you can really go off the deep end, ORANGE, of course!