olsbooks

Seems like I know someone who has a thing for orange and just finished a Prostar with a black/orange fade paint job... Of course you are in Texas and this thing was at Whattaburger? There ya go. A Whattaburger rig. A big "W" on the doors and mud flaps. And that tank could be for french fry oil.

Love it

Neat memory. Thanks for sharing.

Sean, you were not alone. Age/interests and getting OO magazine. Miss it. Thanks for the trip down amnesia lane.

I want to hire that guy in white that works on your stuff! I got KW w900 with a leaking forward rear differential that needs needs to be worked on. SURELY that will get him dirty. Great stuff. Enjoy your posts.

Lots of work ahead! Just an observation on your IH 9670 kit. I was just looking at a Diamond Reo COE project on the workbench. The shape of that cab, especially the windshield area and sides of both are very similar and might not be that hard to convert from one to the other. For whatever that is worth.... just thinking out loud for future projects and ideas. Look forward to your starting on the Corbitt. Have fun!

Nice. I like the guy you are putting in the pix. Busy fellow with a lot of work to do. Clever. Will be interesting to see how this one comes out.

Simply beautiful workmanship! And thank you for all the detailed photos and descriptions. Yes, those are Mack axles but sweat not. Between the abuse/wrecks of these things I am sure that more than once a wrecked Mack gave up its axles for something else and vice versa. You set a high standard for many of us. Keep it up!

This is cool. Gives me inspiration for doing an old 50's style teardrop.

Those are some great works and your photography is great too. Thanks for sharing.

Always liked those. Nice.

Very nice job JT! Think this is one of your best! Happy new year!

Looking nice. Not much fun having to do set up/tear down all the time....I can relate. Welcome to the group. Keep us posted!

A great and cheap way to experiment with plastic is just to buy a plastic "Garage Sale" type sign for $1. It is a great way to mess around cheap. And if you have a heat gun or strong hair dryer, you can mess around with putting curves in it. I like to "roll" the softened plastic over small glass jars and what not for fenders Pill bottles work great too. Just look for anything that is smooth, thin plastic and just work with it. "JT" frequently puts his works on this site and does some incredible things with PVC. Yes, the Evergreen and Plastruct is great stuff but if you dont do online or have a hard core model/train store, can be hard to find and it is expensive. Great stuff...but pricey if this is your first crack at it. Good luck and stick with it.

Scratchbuilders dream or a one way ticket to the funny farm. Good luck and look forward to watching.

Nice job JT

This is going to be cool.

Wow! Most impressive!

VERY sharp and clean. Really like how you did the interior finishes and the weathering is spot really nice.

This is not specific to the Astro but pretty much anything out there from the beginning of time until electronics started taking over. There is a "crossover" line typically. It normally hangs pretty low between the tanks but is protected by a C channel or similar. There were many ways of doing this when the truck was spec'd out. Typically the lines were a "T" type affair. Shut offs were options. One common shut off or one or on each tank. On Detroit engines, fuel would go to a fuel strainer (not the fuel filters) mounted somewhere on the frame then to the gear driven pump, then the fuel filters and then the injectors. Detroits have unitized injectors meaning each injector has the high pressure pump contained within the injector body so there are no high pressure fuel lines like Cat and Cummins. Steel piping (other than under the valve cover) on Detroits is very rare as pressure was always less 100 psi. No need for it. Cat and Cummins must be steel after the injection pump as you are dealing with potentially thousands of psi. Don't forget there is always a return fuel line from the fuel filters on Detroits back to the tank or tanks..again options.... . Cat and Cummins return systems typically returned straight from the injection pump back to the tank(s)...but variations exist. Fuel preheaters, if equipped should be before the fuel strainer. But to your question specifically WHERE they routed these lines? I can tell you that basically every one SEEMS different. Frame length, tanks, frame mounted accessories, engines, transmissions, etc all played parts. Rule of thumb....route it away from road debris and heat and in such a way it does not rub or limit access to another component. Lastly make a feeble attempt to make the connections and components in the system halfway accessible...though that was always seemed to come last on the priority list. Good luck

I always like the "novice" perspective on assembly. Perhaps an invitation to criticism but I have seldom seen it on this sight. And sometimes the "newbies" throw ideas and techniques out there that are definately outside the norm. Making it all about me, I have never messed with one of these kits so you got at least one watching. Good luck.

Santa is bringing you an airbrush huh? Cool. I will just get bills and a lump of coal. About what I deserve though. It is a learned art for sure. Be patient with it. So many quit and get frustrated trying to make some complex masterpiece their first time.. Going back to the garage sale signs, that is a great (and cheap) way to practice. And just use cheap paints to practice with. It is all about learning the technique. There are lots of great tips online including many youtubes specifically for model builders. Just little things like using fine mesh netting as an overlay while spraying to create patterns. Go nuts man! It is far more fun.

Looking good. Yes, heck of an idea using decals for the blanket/bedspread.

Veerrrrrryyyyy interesting!

While I dont have any pix, just an FYI. Western Star used this exact sleeper so maybe that will make it easier to find. It may have been made by Bentz Corp but am not sure of that. It is a smooth, 1 piece fiberglass piece. Good luck. This was always a sharp looking rig.