Casey429 Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 (edited) I felt that this truck deserved its own "build" thread separate from the random projects one I have elsewhere. This 4070A was originally built by my father, probably back when the kit was new. Typical of his style (I have several survivors for those that don't know) very little was ever painted, and it was built straight from the box...I'm guessing. I say guessing because the last 40 years weren't easy on it. Many parts were missing or broken, but I wouldn't ever think of letting it go. It's just been hanging out in a drawer, filthy, just begging me to do something with it. And the answer came in the form of another Transtar builtup I found. Not to worry, the donor will be restored too. I just wanted my original to have all original parts, the donor will eventually be rebuilt with a little more creative freedom. Basically I will be reassembling it as it was out of the box, warts and all. I'll be removing as much dirt and glue smears and stuff as I can while trying to preserve as much of its character as possible. Should be fun! Here's what I started with, one big pile of Transtar parts. The only thing not pictured is the original engine. It was already in the purple pond. It had been repainted Detroit green probably 10 years ago. Just part of the abuse this thing suffered. After stripping, I reinstalled the original 8V-71, now back to the red plastic it was molded in. An interesting thing I noticed, the inner halves of the front springs were never installed, along with the engine crossmember. I have new, never used parts that came in a pile of stuff I got that might be from the Ertl F-4270. They're exactly the same as the 4070A parts, and this seems an appropriate use of them. A couple other neat things. I don't know where the black pinstripes and permit numbers and flags came from, but they work! Any ideas what kit(s) they might be from originally? I have an original 4070A decal sheet, and it's definitely not that. And finally, the donor for the restoration. I'll be using all of the chrome and any other parts that are missing from my Transtar. This one, while cool, doesn't have the sentimental value that my original Transtar does. The build isn't terrible, but the paint is about an inch thick and most of the glue joints are already failing. With the rarity of these kits, this one will also live another day. Check out the green interior! That's all for now. Thanks! Edited February 23, 2018 by Casey429 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bennyg Posted February 9, 2018 Share Posted February 9, 2018 Very nice. I've always wanted one of these. I'm hoping round 2 will rerelease the transtar 2 at least. Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRIPTROIT 71 Posted February 10, 2018 Share Posted February 10, 2018 Very nice project! Great story! The Transtars are a couple of my favorite kits. I have a new A model Transtar that I hope to build one day as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truck parts Posted February 11, 2018 Share Posted February 11, 2018 Great job on the restore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
am73grand Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 Love seeing restorations like this. Nice work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatorincebu Posted February 15, 2018 Share Posted February 15, 2018 Glad to see that you are going to rebuild both trucks ! Be Well Gator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey429 Posted February 23, 2018 Author Share Posted February 23, 2018 Just a little update. Been tinkering with this some more, and it's really coming together. An easy thing to do when there's almost no paint involved. The engine and all its assorted bits are in, with the missing bits taken from the donor truck. I washed and polished the shine to bring out the shine, without going overboard. I wetsanded it with 2000 and 4000 grit paper. Then hit it with Meguiar's Ultimate Compound, followed by Meguiar's Ultimate Polish. I might hit it with a quick coat of wax too. I used some new never used parts from the 4270 parts kit to put the front end back together, along with the 10 tires that were still in the original bag. Just like a real restoration, nothing beats NOS parts! The black around the headlights was redone with good old Testors square bottle enamel. I didn't want to deal with masking and getting potential overspray where it shouldn't be. Thanks again for looking, look for some Under Glass photos with the next update! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatorincebu Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 This project is looking real good from here ! be Well Gator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRIPTROIT 71 Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 21 hours ago, gatorincebu said: This project is looking real good from here ! be Well Gator x2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PettyKW43 Posted March 3, 2018 Share Posted March 3, 2018 Great job on the restoration process! I have only a couple of my builds from the mid to late 70’s, they haven’t faired too well but after seeing what you are doing I think I need to save them instead of redoing them or using them for parts! I did the Convoy MACK Rubber Duck( before the awful ERTL kit , saw the movie 8 times to build it)using the AMT R 600 converting it to the RL 700 . I did buy the Duck kit for the front crash guard and decals, and hood ornament but that was it. Going to restore it along the same lines as you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towman1271 Posted March 4, 2018 Share Posted March 4, 2018 Looking good so far, keep on restoring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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