redneckrigger Posted March 2, 2017 Share Posted March 2, 2017 Super work so far! I am watching closely to see how you do the emblems..............sounds like it MAY be something that I might try, as long as the magnification is high enough to see it! This build is very instructional in the ways that you get a piece made with ZERO kit parts available.Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatorincebu Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 Looks like you are well on your way> Too nailing this one. Looks good ! Be Well Gator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olsbooks Posted March 12, 2017 Author Share Posted March 12, 2017 (edited) Thank you all for your very kind and encouraging remarks. They mean a great deal. First attempt on the side emblems are underway. I stumbled across what can only be called metal duct tape. It has a near chrome like appearance and is quite thick. An HVAC installer gave me a left over on a roll and is good stuff. It is almost like heavy duty aluminum foil with a VERY sticky back. It is made by 3M and might be in hardware stores though I have not looked. It is being used for intake and exhaust clamps. Anyway, like tin foil, it can be easily made to have some texture with a toothpick or a mechanical pencil. In experimenting I stuck some on a strip of very thin plastic and free handed it. Once reasonably close, I then went over the low spots with black paint and allowed it to dry. A dental pick afterwards easily scratches off any excess. Trying to replicate ANY font style will take many many attempts to get right and one “goof” on the impression stage means scrapping it and starting all over. You will get an idea of the process with the grossly over-sized first attempt at a bison in the pix. This technique was used on the hood ornament and suffices. While FAR from perfect, it has the desired effect, passes the arms length rule, and cost virtually nothing other than a bit of time. The solder blob idea for the side bisons is yet to be tried. If this does not pan out, I will go that route and post the results. Headlamps have been applied. The only power source laying around was a weak 9V battery so they are dim. If anyone has a little HO scale train set transformer laying around, feel free to send it my way!. These bulbs are rated for 12v and want at least 10V and plenty of milliamps going through them to look right. The roof marker lamps and tail lamps are 1.5V. Plans are to hooked them in series so a common power source and just 2 wires can be used for everything. The uprights in the grille still need to be blacked out which will help “Chevyfy” it. While the grille remains stationary when the hood is tilted in the real world, that was going to introduce far too many assembly and alignment problems. Since there is no PTO or other junk up front to worry about, a bit of liberty was taken. Turn signals will be underway as soon as some deep orange transparent plastic or perhaps glass is found at the grocery store, Dollar General or ????. The steering wheel is nearly finished with a CD drive doo dad mentioned earlier as the spokes and baling wire wrapped around a paint bottle for the rim having good potential. Peace. PS - still welcoming (low cost) suggestions for OEM style muffler shields and seats. Any ideas anyone? Edited December 8, 2018 by olsbooks typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRIPTROIT 71 Posted March 15, 2017 Share Posted March 15, 2017 Looking great!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olsbooks Posted April 20, 2017 Author Share Posted April 20, 2017 (edited) Apologies for the dust and horrible photographs but just wanted to do a brief update. Steering wheel is done and is next to go in. I might try whiddling seats out of balsa or ????? though matching two exactly will not be easy. The cab and hood are still "loose" but mounts have been put in place and the hood hinges applied with room for some final adjustment. If you look closely you will see a chunk of coat hanger running visible through the access holes in the bumper. The hood is easy to apply and remove. It results in a bit more gap between the fenders and bumper than desired but is durable and adjustable. The drop on the KW frame rails has made this little part far more of a challenge than anticipated. The front bumper is a bit large and lower than the real thing. At some point it will be redone as I have lost the ability to install a set of Perlux fog lights due to the hood hinge. I will take the blame for the oversize due tor bad measuring and put the remainder once again on KW's frame rails with the "drop" in them though in truth it is my "oops" for not calculating for this a year ago. Now it is coming back to bite me. Oh well. Rome was not built in a day and "rework" on some things was necessary. Hopefully the next post will have the cab roof, wipers, luberfiner, hood side emblems and turn signals applied. It will definitely be dusted off and photographed outside if nothing else. Peace. Edited May 9, 2018 by olsbooks space Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatorincebu Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 That is looking pretty good from where I sit ! great job on it thus far ! Be Well Gator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olsbooks Posted May 11, 2017 Author Share Posted May 11, 2017 (edited) Getting closer. It is still a loose fit at this point but the sleeper is roughed in. The CD cases worked well for the front and back walls. The luggage compartment will hold the batteries and (hopefully) a sound chip. Plans are for the speaker to go on the underside of the cab floor, The search is still on for a smoke generator that (hopefully) will also fit under the cab floor. It will be a "single stacker" not only for fuel tank/battery box configuration I chose early on but in an effort to only need one smoke generator. Maybe the next post will have it "done" but it is going to take time as all these little bits and pieces seem to take the greatest amount of time. The single biggest and most visible OOPS remains the mismeasure due to the front frame drop early on. As a result the front bumper winds up sitting about 6" too low but there is no way to really "fix" it now. I might go and "shave" a few scale inches off the bottom of it but that is a battle for another day. Peace. Edited December 8, 2018 by olsbooks space Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mopar - D Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Coming along nice JC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRIPTROIT 71 Posted May 12, 2017 Share Posted May 12, 2017 Looking Great!! It looks like the real thing outside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olsbooks Posted May 9, 2018 Author Share Posted May 9, 2018 (edited) Back from the dead. Sleeper had to get a whole "redo". What's the saying "measure twice/cut once?" Well, I was way off. Anyway, here is the new one. I still botched it as it is about 1/4 inch too tall but it will do. Looks better and doors came out a lot cleaner. In keeping with penny budget, the interior is the epitome of sleep cheap. The mattress is the dense foam used to stuff flowers into a vase. It makes a nice texture and is easy to shape. Upholstery otherwise is painted sandpaper, painted duct tape and painted used plastic plates. Prime, then black, then red (thin). I apply awash with highly diluted black watercolor. It gives it a nice "sheen" but not too much, pulls out some detail, and has that "oxblood leather" type appearance common in the day. Detail doesn't show good in pix but it is all ribbed and actually not bad. The pillow is one of those tiny bags of absorbent found inside aspirin bottles. The front wall of the sleeper interior is still to do, trim on luggage door to finish and still have to go back and paint the "vent" but using a piece of long stiff wire as a single hinge pin, can easily apply/remove doors. Trying to fabricate seats is going to be tricky but the sandpaper and duct tape might work if I can get it to stick to the flower foam. We shall see. Otherwise, grille surround, grille, bumper, and hood have been redone/repainted in hopes some Molotowe chrome one day. Darn black paint and flash....dust. The paint job is clean. Peace Edited December 8, 2018 by olsbooks typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRIPTROIT 71 Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 Glad to see this one back on the work bench! Looking great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olsbooks Posted May 22, 2018 Author Share Posted May 22, 2018 (edited) While everything is just resting in place or taped in, its enough to provide an overall view. Lots still to do but its getting there. Grille was redone (about the 10th time) and finally satisfied with it. It will remain stationary with the radiator when the hood tilts. I knew that drop frame from the KW was going to bite me and did all I could to raise the bumper and have it and the grille sized right. The grill is still too tall and bumper too low but attacking that was beyond my pay grade. Ah, the cost of compromise! Tanks look way too big without the steps (and are) but are just hanging on by the straps over the frame rails. The search goes on for lug nut covers one size smaller. Peace Edited November 16, 2018 by olsbooks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilrathy10 Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 Man....This bad boy is coming along, for sure....Amazing work....I haven't been looking much, these days....Awesome to find you still hard at work on this and crushing it...Great work.... Keep it going, Bro.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olsbooks Posted June 28, 2018 Author Share Posted June 28, 2018 (edited) Found some slightly smaller chrome lug nut covers (33mm) so the fuel tanks have been redone. Much better in my opinion. New steps as well. The greatest "discovery" however was splurging into a Molotow chrome pen. They are expensive so consider yourself warned and Hobby Lobby stocks only the smaller diameters. Anyway, after a bit of playing, I cut the back off the pen and dumped the contents into a small plastic container (those used at Wendy's to hold ketchup are great) and brushed it on. Whoah! This stuff WORKS!. It doesn't show well in the pix but here to say it is by far the best and easiest thing around! There is a Molotow "refill" available online and says it can be airbrushed though I don't know what they thinned it with, pressure, etc. Sorry Alclad and BMF, you just lost me. Drawbacks? VERY slow drying time and on the thick side - about like Testors paint. 2 days is recommended for drying but (so far) seems to flow out minor brush marks. The quarter fenders, mirrors, air cleaner cap, and bumper are all done with this mess slopped on and allowed to flow and dry. The grill surround and grille have been done also I but did not want to risk bumping them around for pix. Tanks straps and steps are NOT done with this stuff. They are just bare aluminum. Incredible stuff! No "perfect" surface required like Alclad or BMF but like I said, kind of thick so it will fill fine details :-( and also imperfections :-) . Spend $10 a buy one to try. You owe it to yourself. Just have everything you want to chrome ready so you can do it in one shot if you bust into the pen like I did and opt for the brush. I literally poured a couple of drops on the bumper, evened it out with a few quick strokes and walked away. Use no more brush strokes than absolutely necessary if you go this route. I was having trouble with the supplied pen tip grabbing the Alclad and softening up the Wicked Colors black paint. One website recommended NOT using tape on it saying it will tear once dry. Given as thick as I laid it on, I'm sure that would be true in my case. I, therefore, had little choice but to free-hand the hood chrome and will have to go back and work on the black but have (hopefully) an ace in the hole on that one. Gloss black decal paper. I may wind up doing a whole new hood before its all said and done. This stuff makes it worth it. Wish I'd known about this stuff about 2 years ago. Like I say, the picture don't do this stuff justice at all for some reason. I set the quarter fenders by the fuel tanks and cannot tell the difference. You can easily and clearly make out the letters on a coin in its reflection. I've never been able to get that much out of Alcad and BMF and I don't play well together on complex shapes. Peace. Edited December 8, 2018 by olsbooks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRIPTROIT 71 Posted June 29, 2018 Share Posted June 29, 2018 I'll have to try one of those pens myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olsbooks Posted June 30, 2018 Author Share Posted June 30, 2018 Brian, it's is the greatest thing I've run across in years. I'll post some better pix in a few days once some things are cleaned up/assembled. I expected this stuff to be a huge disappointment or turn to BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH after a few days. NOT SO! I'm looking at the bumper and quarter fenders right next to the fuel tanks/chrome lug nut covers and struggle to see much difference. It's as good as any chrome that comes in a kit IMO. Just give it lots of time to dry. It took me two $10 pens to get every bit of external chrome. One might have done it but I clunked around and experimented first. One pen should easily handle everything on a "typical" 1/25 scale semi if well thought out and you are "ready to go". If anyone has airbrushed this stuff, it would be nice to know their results. Unrelated: I'm bombing out on making the driver and passenger seats from scratch. If anyone has (2) 1/16 KW or Pete seats available (perhaps high back buckets from car?) or any other idea's, it would be much appreciated. Peace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike77 Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 Great build and interesting subject matter! You've gotten me curious about the Molotow pen, I might have to give it a try. Short of sending parts off to Chrome Tech I've never found anything that even comes close to chrome. Alclad, Spaz Stix, chrome paints, etc. just end up being "shiny silver" which is fine for an aluminum look, but the real chrome look seems to only be achievable with kit chrome parts or using a chroming service, with BMF being a cheaper alternative on certain parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olsbooks Posted July 1, 2018 Author Share Posted July 1, 2018 (edited) Mike, consider me ever the skeptic yet I'm willing to scream this one from the rooftops as loud as I can. Alclad, Spaz, and BMF have got to be shaking in their boots. If not, they should be. It's absolutely the best find and money spent for model building I can think of in 40 plus years! I tried for years to come up with my own formula using all sorts of toxic nasties, electrical charges and so forth hoping to make millions. Regardless, whatever this stuff is, they did, they nailed it. Get good with it and one could start a small business doing everything from real auto trim, antique touch up, crazy fingernail paintings, etc etc etc and do very well. It has some durability to it too but I have not pushed it. I'm still just drooling over the results (as you can tell) and this was my first attempt. If Mr. Murphy and his law are going to sneak in like usual, he'd better do it soon. About the only problems left (in my case due to thickness) are cracking or yellowing over time. And if I can do this good with it on a hack job, what the experts with budget, tools and good eye/hand coordination will pull off boggles my mind. In a word....revolutionary. Forget the model as nothing is cleaned up/all just hanging in place. Look at the results! Bumper, grille area, muffler and quarter fender. The pix still don't do it justice and blame the flash. The tanks were chrome plated plastic from lug nut covers. The stack is a true chromed copper water supply line Peace Edited November 16, 2018 by olsbooks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRIPTROIT 71 Posted July 2, 2018 Share Posted July 2, 2018 Wow! Gonna have to try those! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike77 Posted July 2, 2018 Share Posted July 2, 2018 For the minimal cost it's definitely worth giving it a go. Work is nutso-crazy right now so my building time is limited but I'll be hitting Hobby Lobby sometime in the next couple of weeks to grab some. I'm also hoping they've gotten rid of their seemingly endless supply of the Freightliner DD reissues from years ago and made room for some of the new reissues coming out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olsbooks Posted July 2, 2018 Author Share Posted July 2, 2018 (edited) If you opt to "bust" into one of things, go into the back side...not the point and do so before ever using it as designed. The applicator absorbs lots of the "paint" before it gets going. A cut off tool swipe across on the non point end (me thinks) would would be my next attempt. It's thick so a tiny drilled hole wont do. All the rattle balls and complex parts are down the point end extending midway up the pen. Suffice to say a mess resulted discovering all this and major reason for the hasty brush job. On bare plastic, enamel paints, or probably anything other than Alclad/soft paints, the point on the pen point is very good and precise. Edited July 2, 2018 by olsbooks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatorincebu Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 JC, Your project is looking great. I totally agree with you on the Molotov pens. I picked up a couple last year when I visited the States. And really like them for fine detailing and smaller areas. haven't yet tried them on a large area like a bumper or tank straps yet. Be Well Gator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disabled modeler Posted July 4, 2018 Share Posted July 4, 2018 Very cool...! I have been itching to do something like this in very large scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olsbooks Posted July 5, 2018 Author Share Posted July 5, 2018 Molotowe update. While I'm still sold on this stuff, a word of warning. Don't let any liquid, paste, or anything other than water come into contact with this stuff. I was polishing out some of the black paint on the hood with a very mild auto polish (not a cleaner) and some came into contact with the "chrome". Well, of course, it killed every bit of reflection deciding to turn battleship gray as its means of expressing annoyance to my innocent mistake. While still the cat's meow in terms of reflection, ease, and ability to withstand fumbling by the meathooks, like a cat, this stuff has no sense of humor when given a bath if using soap or shampoo. Ah....the joys of learning things the hard way. Peace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpreadAxle Posted July 5, 2018 Share Posted July 5, 2018 Wow. This is really coming along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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