Warren D

It's coming along nicely.

The interior is done: As is the sleeper: I'm happy with the color, under very bright light it has just a hint of dark red which is exactly what the black cherry looked liked.

IIRC, Micro Mark sells the Bare Metal Foil decal paper in single or three packs.

Here you go! Not powered, and not as detailed. Amazingly smaller than a SD40! Shapeways: https://www.shapeways.com/shops/belpaire

Looks good so far!

It's all about profits. The average visitor doesn't care, in fact, they prefer the cleanliness of the bio's. With the electric switches and diesels, they can get more people up the mountain in a shorter time. Last season, they set a record for number of passengers carried. There have been plans for a few years now to add a second steam trip and it appears that this year it will happen. The daily morning steam is almost always sold out so that says something in spite of the premium fare.

I finished up my second O scale Cog Loco. I went all out with this one, super detailing and weathering. It started as a Shapeways 3D print by Roger Hahn, printed in FUD. Details added include oil lube lines, control linkage, firebox door, whistle, brake linkage, etc. Thin rope sticking out from the right side is connected to the coach as a way for the crew to signal the brakeman.

That's one mean looking truck!

I've been using Testor's Aztek acrylic thinner. Works great with Pollyscale and Aztek. I use Tamiya thinner for that brand.

Very well done!

The drum stretch looks better, proportions look better to the eye and as you said, it's a beast of a truck so load 'er up!

I like the change to the fuel tank, the first one looked too small. As long as you are asking, I'd move the mixer body backwards a good amount. Get the rear support almost to the back crossmember of the frame. That way, the CG (center of gravity) for the mixer will be closer to the rears. Imagine where the load would sit in the mixer, most of the weight is toward the front of the drum. As in the KW mixer, the drum sits back on the frame. Just s thought.

Great start. I do like that wrecker.....

Great job, it looks fantastic!

The wonderful MTBE additive. I recall getting a letter from a State official (I wish I had saved it) that said it would cost too much to remove the additive from the gasoline. Typical politician, just stop adding it in the future!

I would hope so!

Well, the bugger is only right about 40% of the time and has been said earlier, there is always 6 weeks of winter from Feb 2 till the spring equinox. I had a to laugh a few years ago, I was watching the TV and they had a low camera angle looking upward. You could clearly see the sky above and it was solid overcast. They yank the whistle pig out of the hole and proclaim it saw it's shadow. I guess it did but it wasn't from the sun; it was from all the lights for the TV cameras!!! LOL!

My oldest project is a 1/48 scale Gulfcraft 95x24. Started it a good 14 years ago, almost totally scratch built. I have the hull about done, stalled on the superstructure.

I'm trying to cut back, anyone know of a twelve step program for this affliction?

I think it was. I can see your point, all the intake and exhaust piping, the steering shaft, etc.

I got the conversion hood and springs on friday and spent a good part of the weekend figuring out how to get everything to fit. I think I'm close. The photo is a progress shot as I was trying to plan how to get the desired look. I've made mistakes along the way, the first was that I started assembly before I had the hood. In the end, I had to relocate the rear cab mount which I had previously glued in. Not a disaster, but would have been simpler if I hadn't. So, with that in mind, here's my description of the conversion. Gary supplied a few hand drawn details with the hood and a couple of suggestions, but you may find this more detailed. The first thing to do is assemble the cab shell and sleeper shell. Interior parts can be added later. You'll also need the cab floor but it doesn't need to be glued in. If you wanted, you could glue it in temporarily with white glue and a water soak later would free it up. Next, assemble the frame per kit instructions, but don't glue in the rear cab cross member or the front springs. If you are using Gary's 379 front springs, you'll need to remove the kit front springs from the two front brackets. A single cut thru the front shackle should do it. Install the front crossmembers per kit. Do not install kit front cab mounts. Remove the kit hood pivots per Gary's instructions. Front spring install is a little tricky as the resin front springs are a little different length and the replacement rear shackles have a different angle to them. They will work with some adjustments, being sure the front axle is level and square to the chassis. I think it helps to have the rear suspension installed and the wheels/tires completed so you can be sure that all ten wheels will be sitting on the ground. Fit the grill to the hood and tape in place. You should have cleaned all the resin parts first, if not, the tape won't stick to the mold release! Now fit the hood to the cab, I had to make some adjustments to get a good fit including removing the lip along the top of the firewall. Tape the grill/hood to the cab and tape the sleeper to the cab so you have one unit. It doesn't have to look good, just be sure everything is aligned. Now is decision time. The instructions say to start alignment at the front and work back. A build I saw here said he extended the frame. I decided to move the cab/sleeper back as I really don't want to get into chopping the frame. My reference photo looks like I won't have to move the battery boxes or tanks so it's just moving the cab/sleeper to the rear and down. I figure about 8mm (0.30") to the rear is close while about 3mm lower is good. You will probably have to remove the angled protrusion from the back of the sleeper box to allow it to sit down. I took 4mm off of the rear cab support and ended up shimming some back, so I'll say 3mm and a little shim to taste will be about right. Temporarily tape the front bumper on and locate the front of the grille about even with the back of the bumper. This will set the location of the rear cab support crossmember, which can now be glued in. I glued a 0.032" brass wire across the front of the frame as a support and this was just a tad high but allowed me to install Gary's front cab supports a little low. I removed the wire and added a couple of the supplied shims and got the proper grill height. You can then install the supplied hinges. That's the way I did it, and it seemed to work out ok in the end. I won't know for sure until final assembly but things look good so far.

Very well done!

That's gonna be sweet!

Reminds me of the Camaro on a Chevy K-5 Blazer chassis that Gas Monkey re-did!

Here's one for you, rather rare, only a few hundred built. It appeared at a few truck shows in the northeast last year.