purepmd

Hey Michael, When I first started driving, Over 20 years ago now, it was explained to me in these very words: "The clutch is for starting and stopping, ONLY." Spend any amount of time with the same truck, and you learn its peticular traits. You learn how to shift to neutral just by lifting your foot off the throttle. Then, hopefully, you learn how to shift it into the next gear, up or down, just by engine RPM only. Down shift and you raise the engine speed with the throttle, up shift and you wait for the engine speed falls to the normal gear step. The gear step being the difference in engine speed, at the same road speed, (MPH). For example, if at 50 MPH, in 12th gear, and the tach says 1100, drop to 11th gear and the tach would read 1600 RPM. This varies with every different transmission. An 18 speed may only have a 250 step when you split each gear, 1-2, 3-4, etc. While a 9 speed will drop, say 500 RPM, having only half the available forward gears. A car, with a manual transmission does the same thing, just with a bigger swing of the tach needle. Floating the gears, basically, is shifting, up or down using only your right arm and right foot. No clutch. With practice, the shift lever, almost 'floats' into the desired position. No grinding, nashing, or missed gears. It will literally shift with surprising little effort. The alternative, is 'Jamming' it into gear. Yes, the term Gear Jammer, long before my time, was a derogatory term. Clear as mud? Mark.

Angel, if you have an air brush, I have the exact colors, mixed by Scale Finishes. A 2 oz bottle of Kenworth Ivy Bronze, metallic, and 1 oz bottles of Kenworth Lime and White. I was going to build a 1/16th VIT, but it is so far down the list of projects, I would let them go, if you what them. All 3 are premixed, brand new, and unopened. P.M. Me if you are interested. Reasonably priced as well.

Hey Sam, They pretty much are. All have the extended hood, and 3408 Cat in them. About the only real difference is the color they are moulded in.

KJ, beautiful, beautiful work! You can almost see the grain dust flying off the auger now. Truely inspirational.

You say 'liberties', I say enhancements! Far outshines the box art while retaining all of the appeal, Outstanding work.

JT, imagination and execution perfectly paired. Really liking the KW / Ford combination, very original. Landon, your all black Pete istantly made me think of that show truck, Project 350, nice work. The black, white and red Pete stopped me in my tracks, great color choice.

Hey Mark, thanks for the kind words. They are decals, my hands are not that steady anymore, They were the ones that fit the best off of the Can-Do wrecker decal sheet. One of the ones I have yellowed, badly, completely unsuitable for most colors. I figured, some real close trimming, and over black, they might work.

Richard, I don't think Anthony is nit picking, at least I hope not. I think he was expanding on another aspect of the trucking industry, as awhole. Air ride is, probably, the single, biggest game-changer to come along. So much so, Freightliner had to buy it's way into that game. I did not get into that because I was aware of how long winded I can get when hisory and trivia start rolling, and that is reall long post already. You do make a valid point. Let's just enjoy the hobby we have managed to bring with us to this point. I just hope nobody decides not to participate based on their peticular likes and dislikes. I may be wrong, and Clayton, please put me in my place if I am, but when I read "show trucks" and "no weathering", I took that to mean, if it is old, make your build look like a restoration, not like it was rode hard and put up wet, or, if you like low pros, full fenders, and wild paint, go to it. Personally, the variety would be welcome. Use your skills to build the best representation of what floats your boat, then show it off to the rest of us. Just my perspective. M.

Clayton, thank you very much. Dennis, I could very well say the same for yours. They have 'Heavy Duty' written allover them. Well Done. Terry, Anthony is quite correct, that trailer is way to cool not to be completed. The Pete makes for a very cool combo.

Gentlemen, I would like to take a moment to address the concerns Sam and Anthony posed. Personal preferences should figure into this type of situation. You also have to take into consideration that even geographical differences factor into preferences. West of the Mississippi, especially out here on the high plains, dominant makes, on the east coast, like Mack, Brockway, and Autocar were just words and pictures in Overdrive magazine. The local Freightliner dealer had sales locked up in parts of 5 states. Only a stray bull hauler from Montana ever drove a Pete. I grew up in the '70s, around a group of Owner / Operators in a small fleet for a grocery wholesaler. Except for 1 Diamond Reo, everylast one drove Freightliner cabovers. To this day, the FLA is still my favorite truck. They were a competitive bunch, who ran the most miles, who's truck is the cleanest, who had the most bling on their new truck, and so on. What they found out, along the way, was that, things like aluminum wheels, tanks, and battery / storage boxes, replacing the heavy, steel components and spoke or steel disc wheels put more money in their pockets over the life of the truck. This fundamentally changed, especially for O/Os, what was acceptable regarding appearance. Reliable functionality was no longer enough. Think about it, it is almost human nature to like bling. I mean, everyone has a ...ooooo sshhhiiiiinnnnyyy.... Moment from time to time. All that being said, I would like you to take a look at KJ Humphrey's last couple of builds. They wear spokes, and are GORGEOUS. Ultimately, I think the voters would see that all the bling in the world can't save a model with horrible build quality. I say that, just because you march to the beat of a different drummer, does not mean you cannot be an important part of the parade. Personally, I do like fancy, working trucks, not show only, never hooked to a trailer, always sit on carpet trucks. That does not stop me from respecting the work that got it there. I will build what I like, and let the votes fall were they may. I hope you do the same. I think this endeavor would be the better for it. Respectfully, Mark Botzki.

Hey Clayton, your 359 is very sharp. The W900, chrome tanker combo is eye candy. This is the only 'snapper' I have ever done.

Clayton, I like the way you think. Some of us build much slower than others, the realities of life demands time away from the work bench, as we all know. As far as finished builds, there are two schools of thought. First, bring it on. Competition is always good. This could turn into a popularity contest of previous posts, however. Second, specifically for this contest gets more new builds posted keeps models that may have competed other places out of the running. It makes everyone have to do the same work. Basic assembly, paint and bodywork, detailing and final assembly. You could stipulate under construction as of your first post and set the deadline when ever. I personally like The end of September. Even that late, I will be hard pressed to make it, even as bad as I want to be in this. Not that I need motivation to build, but this could be the fire lit in the right place to keep me dedicated. You could limit the voters to non-contestants voting only. Straight up vote getting is a great idea. No categories to worry about, most votes wins. Make the post the ballot box itself, 1 post / vote per member, easy to track. I got to quit typing and start sanding, darnit. Even without the calendar carrot dangling, which is a very cool, by the way, just the idea of this, has me chomping at the bit. Just my 2 cents, Thanks, Mark.

Hey Christopher, If the Euro trucks are similar to U.S. trucks, 1, the largest, is from the tank to the filter, or filters, then to the pump. Then one is the return line from the pump back to the tank. The injector pump operates at a pressure and volume level that the engine cannot use it all, so the extra fuel has to be returned to the tank(s). The last one could be representing the shielded section of the wiring harness for the sending unit to the fuel gauge. Without seeing this peticular set-up, hard to say for sure. Mark.

You're welcome. 1 last thing I should mention, if it is over-thinned, it will pull away from edges. Just make it a little thicker. Works like a charm. Oh ya, you can use it to seal hard to mask areas on bodies and cabs where tape does not want to conform, rivets, drip rails and such. Cuts with an xacto very well for crisp edges too.

Hey Jim, The method I found to work very well is brush on mask. You can buy the bottle of MicroMask, or, go to the Dollar store nod get a bottle of Elmer's Glue. Thin the Elmer's with water or Windex until it is like enamel ready to brush paint. Then cover the painted spokes with the mask. Let dry thoroughly, and paint the rim. When the paint is dry enough to handle, just peel the mask off the spokes. If any mask is left, it comes off with just water and a stiff bristled paint brush. I have used this very method to protect molded in Peterbilt emblems on the Revell and AMT hoods so the will foil up with greater detail. To make the mask easier to peel, put on 2 or 3 coats. The thicker it is, the easier it will pull out of the nooks and crannies of the spokes and lug detail. It is super easy, cheap and quick. It works for enamel, acrylic, and lacquer paints. Protects chrome on grilles, small details on dashes, all kinds of things. I think you will like this method as much as I do. Mark.

Since we are all wishing out loud, here is my wish list... 1. White Freightliner wheels, hub covers, hubs and brake drums, and tires, (throw in a chrome tank, battery box, and quarter fender upgrade while you're at it). 2. Autocar 5 hole aluminum front wheels, (with matching rears, it is a wish list after all). 3. Dimple free Ertl 10 hole Alcoas to upgrade the Transtar II. 4. The steerable front axle and rear 4270 air ride suspension. (throw in the exhaust from it too). 5. The DD v12 from the Bandag Bandit. 6. The Mack v8 from the DM 800. 7. The K100 wheels, tires and 8 bag rear suspension. 8. The Thermo King unit and tank from the Ertl Great Dane. 9. A dual exhaust upgrade set for the Western Star, Road Boss, and Diamond Reo, (White Freightliner mufflers as the basis?). 10. The lift gate out of the Short Hauler kit, (roll up door too). I guess that will do for now. 11.

Hey KJ, I, for one, would love to see a modern cattle trailer. As to the question of length, if you look closely at, for instance, a Merritt Cattle Drive, the trailer is made up of small, punched panels. There are short ones over the tractor and trailer axles, and longer ones in the center section, along with the side access doors. You could make the kit out of the small, individual panels, and let the kit be tailored to the order. X number of panels for a 48', Y number of panels for a 52' triaxle, spread axle, etc... The big concern with this method would be if it would become to labor intensive to maintain a level of affordability. The modern, squared off front panel, and rear door and panel could be the same. The roof and floor could be sheet styrene. I think, judging from the high level of skills of the truck builders on this forum, we could build the frame work for the panels, upper and lower deck, and attach your panels. I am assuming you are talking about resin castings, and if so, would the smaller panels be easier than 1 long side? I ask because my experience in casting is rather limited. Just throwing out my 2 cents worth. Thanks for your efforts making this hobby more enjoyable, Mark.

Insanely cool hot rod!

So cool on so many levels...subject, color choice, build quality...excellent work.

There are some great looking builds in this post already. Fine work guys. Here are acouple of my Petes; The firstis a Revell snap turned into a custom 358, and the second is a Frankenstiened together rescue of 2 RaG 359s built back in 1998 and still lives.

Ken, as always, great builds. Terry, awesome Autocars. The red on the first tractor is intense, love it. Here is my WWS.

Just got a set of the Bridgestone drives, and all I can say Is "WOW". They are awesome. THANK YOU KJ!

As much as I hate to quote Paris Hilton, "Thats Hot" seems appropriate.

As I said, Ken, your use of color is on a whole other level. Awesome 'Star.

Hey Guys, got a few cabovers to add to the mix. I really like the diverse responses. A lot of great models. Ken, I have viewed your photo stream, I am inspired by your color choices! Great work!