ShakyCraftsman

Hey guys I've been working on the Cat 3406 V8 for the Kenworth. I had two engines, the one from the Peterbilt and the one from the Kenworth. I cut out the cast on oil filters and starter from both engines. I shaved them down the middle, sanded them smooth then glued them together. This gave me a complete oil filter system and a starter. I also cut out the other side of the block and used this peice to fill in the hole from were I cut out he oil filter and starter. this view shows the new oil filter and starter attached to the engine block. You can see the area where I repaired the engine block behind the filters and starter. this view shows the other side of the engine block. Lots of clean up on these parts to get rid of parting lines. this view shows how I modified the intake so I can add the intercooler pipes to the radiator intercooler. this view shows how the new oil filter and starter look like from the bottom. I still have to fill in those two depressions in the oil pan. how about these for a hood ornament.. The guy who printed these (3D printed) there supposed to be 1/24 scale he is doing me a set at about 75% this size, because I think these are a bit to big. He printed me some batteries but mistakenly did them at 1/24 scale, so he's redoing them for me for free. I'll post pictures when they get here. Ron G

There are a few available on Ebay, not cheap but still there. Ron G

Hey Fantom There from micromark, it was one long strip, I believe 15" long. Under micro hinges. I cut them to the length I needed. Ron G

Hey guys The headache rack is going to be painted to match the truck, although I my do the doors in polished aluminum. Ok I got some more work done on the big KW. I made a new fifth wheel mounting plate with scratch built gear racks (real pain in the posterior!) and lowboy trailer neck ramps. this view shows the rear of the truck with the scratch built lowboy neck ramps, movable fifth wheel and custom mounting plate and gear rack. view looking down on the fifth wheel setup. this view shows how the fifth wheel fits to the neck ramps. side view of the whole rig. view looking down on the big KW. Well that's it for now be back soon. Ron G

Hey all I have the headache rack done. I just need to go over it with some filler and do some sanding. this view shows the rear of the headache rack. The doors are diamond plate with custom door handles and hinges. side view of the headache rack. It's a scale 12" deep. this view shows the front of the headache rack and the mounting brackets. top view of the headache rack. side view of the truck with the headache rack in place. another view of the headache rack on the truck. view looking forward of the headache rack and truck. Well that's it for now be back with more updates soon. Ron G

Hey all Ok, I have the lift axle done, except for some final details to the mounting brackets. this view shows the lift axle and the drives. this view shows the lift axle with the brake drums attached. I need to add some rib detail to the mounting brackets. view of the lift axle from the bottom. this view shows that the lift axle clears the drive shaft. view of the lift axle from the other side. this view shows the air bags from the 1/24 Italeri Western Star kit that I used for the axle air lift bags. view of the lift air bags from the front. this view shows the air bags that I added to the front suspension. closer view of the front air bags. view of the front axle from the bottom. this view shows what the big KW will look like. view from the top, the lead holders are there to represent the headache rack position. I have scale rolled aluminum fenders for the drives and the lift axle, also a drop visor and Texas bumper in aluminum coming in the mail. Well that's it for now be back with more updates soon. Ron G

Hey all I have the lift axle fabricated. I still need to fab up the mounting brackets and lift air bags, brakes, etc. I didn't get any pictures today, but I'll take some tomorrow. Ron G

Hey all Well I have the 36" sleeper done. I cut 2 scale feet out of the kit sleeper to create this. This view shows the 36" sleeper in place on the frame. I have to cut off the rear sleeper mounts from the frame and move them forward to fit the new 36" sleeper. another view of the sleeper. You can see the fender rubber lips that I added to the front fenders after grinding the opening bigger to fit the large front floats. Well that's it for now be back soon. Ron G

Hey all Got some more work done on the frame. this view shows the drivers side battery box. this view shows the frame and rear wheels/tires. this view shows the drivers side battery box with the cover off. The wooden block is representing one of the (4) batteries that will be in here, the other sides box will house one of the air tanks. this view shows the truck partially assembled for pictures. The sleeper floor will be shortened to a 36" sleeper and a headache rack will be added. another view of the KW 900L heavy haul tractor. Ron G

Thanks MD Ron G

Hey all Small update, I've got the frame stretched and assembled. Took a couple of pictures while the glue dries. the axles are only there for pictures. view of the bottom of the frame. Ron G

Sounds like you got a few projects to do. Ron G

Hey guys Yeah I know another one...it's a disease...please I need help...lol? Ok now that thats over. I'm starting a build thread on a 1/16 scale Monogram Kenworth W900 Conventional kit. I plan on doing it as a tri-axle heavy haul, with custom made headache rack, custom made air lift axle, decals from Jerry at modeltruckin.com. I'm using the kit Caterpillar 3408 V8 engine, but I'm fully plumbing it with custom Cat oil and fuel filter decals. It's going to have aftermarket 385/65R 24.5 front floats, 385/55R 22.5 super singles for the lift axle and 12.00R 24.5 drive tires. I'm using the kit wheels, but I had to customize them to fit the front floats and the super single tires. I've started in on the frame construction. This kit had a flaw when I got it, the passenger side frame rail was a short shot . I was devastated because these kits are scarce as hens teeth, or OH MY GOD! expensive on Ebay. So, I found a guy on YouTube that was making a custom stretched KW and I asked him if he had any left over parts and viola! He came through, he sent me a bunch of parts both rear frame rail sections, extra cross members and extra air bags. Here are some pictures to look at. this is the kit I'm using for this build. this view shows what I'm trying to accomplish. this view shows the front float tires and wheels this view shows the super singles for the lift axle. this view shows the drive tires this is another view of the drive tires and wheels. this view shows the new, but not out yet, (it's coming around Christmas time) Diecast Masters XL120 Specialized lowboy trailer in 1/16 scale. It's going to be for their 1/16 RC Freightliner Cascadia (the blue truck in the photo). If this is anywhere near as good as their 1/50 scale diecast one, I'll be using it for the Big KW's trailer, along with a Bruder Cat 336 excavator for the load. Yeah this is going to be HUGE! front view of the trailer. rear view of the trailer. Well that's it for now be back soon with more updates Ron G

This is it.

Hey guys Short update. this view shows the drivers side door mounted to the sleeper. this view shows the drivers side door opened. I still have to do the other side and add the trim lips, like the ones I did on the cab. Ron G

Yeah tgere rc stuff is so so. I have there 1/24 scale RC Cat 336 excavator, it's all plastic gear drive, so so it was $99.95 #25001. The biggest thing is it's not 1/24 its more like 1/20:1. They actually came out with another one in 1/24 scale thats closer to 1/28:1 scale it's cheeper around $60.00 #25005. The trailer should be ok depending on what it costs. Ron G

Look for Neurumberg toy fair 2020- part 4 diecast masters by cranes etc. tv couldn't find a actual link comes in about the 12.54 time point. Ron G

The YouTube video doesn't show much, its more for the Diecast Masters 1/16 scale RC Freightliner Cascadia, and no it's not the Tamiya one. They also make a 1/16 scale RC Western Star dump truck, you csn find them at various places on the internet. Ron G

They haven't released any pricing yet, probably will find out around the pre order time. When they let me know I'll post it here. If it's the same quality as their 1/50 scale trailer it should be realky sweet! Ron G

Hey guys I have the doors mounted to the cab with there miniature piano hinges. This was a difficult, if not scary process. I had to grind down the surface on the inner side of tge cab and doors, both sides in order to fit the hinges. I did this with my trusty Foredom tool and various milling bits. I almost ground through the drivers side of the cab and had to do some repair, luckily all turned out good. this view shows the passenger side door mounted. this view shows the passenger side door opened. this view shows the 0.015" thk plastic I added to the inside of the cab for the door to close on. view from the front of the passenger side door opened. this view shows the drivers side door mounted. You can see at the top of the hinge where I almost went through the cab. this view shows the drivers side door opened. You can see the plastic trim lip that I added around the door openings. view of the drives side door with opening trim. this view shows both doors opened. this view shows the drivers door and trim. Also the floor, roof panel with CB and sde peices, back wall and side peices. I'm planning on painting this in tan and brown to complement the exterior colors. view from the rear of the interior. view of the interior from the passenger side. view of the interior from the drivers side. I have gauge decals for the instrument panel. Well that's it for now be back with more updates soon. Ron G

Hey all I found this on YouTube. It's a 1/16 scale XL Specialized XL120 drop nose lowboy trailer from Diecast Masters. They are making it for there 1/16 scale RC Freightliner Cascadia truck. I've contacted them via email and they said it is definitely coming out. It will be available in China in October and probably available for pre-order for Christmas 2021. I plan on using this for my 1/16 Monogram Peterbilt 359 and my 1/16 Monogram Kenworth W900L 4 axle Heavy haul (this will be my next build after the Pete) this view is pulled from YouTube of the prototype of the trailer, that's their 1/16 scale blue RC Freightliner Cascadia in the upper right. this view shows the front of the trailer. this view shows the rear of the trailer. this view shows their 1/50 scale XL120 diecast trailer. This is what they used for up scaling to 1/16. I'm not sure if this is going to be metal or some sort of plastic, but I'm assuming it will be plastic, as thats what they make their RC models from. I have a Bruder 1/16 scale Cat 336 excavator to put on it for a load. this is the Kenworth W900L model I will be modifying with a stretched frame, 12R/24.5 drive tires, 385R55/22.5 supersingles for the lift axle and 385R65/24.5 front floats. I'll be using the Cat 3408 V8 engine from the kit fully plumbed. Not sure how far I will be going on this, I'll see after I get the Peterbilt done. I will be doing a build thread on this. Ron G

Hey all I've been working on the big Pete. I cut the doors out of the cab. They were a real pain in the buttocks!...lol. The plastic is a 1/16" plus thick and was very difficult to cut. I started by scribing it with a needle in a pin vise followed by a sharp scalpel, it was so tuff it broke the needle!, but I finally made it through. this view shows the door in the opening held on with tape. this view shows the door in the open position. this view shows the cab with drivers door in place and the passenger door with one of the hinges I'm using for the doors. this view shows the interior temporarily assembled for pictures. You can just see the CB radio hanging from the roof. this view shows the clutch pedal, brake pedal and gas/fuel pedal. this view shows the interior roof panel and rear panel. I made these from 1/4" square evergreen plastic tile sheet stock. side view of the CB radio and scratch built mick cord. this view shows the CB radio from the rear. I still have alot of work to do on the interior, but I think it's coming along pretty good. Well that's it for now be back with more updates soon. Ron G

Hey guys Another small update. I have the two air cleaners done and primed. first primer coat on. I removed the printed in screens and added some stainless steel mesh ones. I added interior parts to them also. I know have to sand them and probably add some filler then paint them chrome. Well that's it for now be back soon. Ron G

Hey all Thanks guys Not much of an update, just a couple of pictures showing the frame decals. this view shows the rear frame decals. this view shows the front frame decal. These are from Jerry at Model trucking. Ron G

Hey guys Did some more work on the big Pete. I have the fuel tanks done. I'm making the tank mounts now. I mounted the shocks. The next thing to mount is the engine, radiator and hoses. this view shows the passenger side fuel tank temporarily mounted to the frame. The Tamiya tape will be replaced with black electrical tape and chrome custom made straps. Still undecided on how to paint them. this view shows the tank and tool box cover. I did the covers and deck plate with Vallejo dull aluminum metal paint. this view shows the truck temporarily assembled for pictures. another view of the truck. this view shows the motor. I added some tube clamps to the orange turbo tube and the radiator hoses. I added Cummins filter decals to all the filters, there from Jerry at model trucking. view showing the front shock. this view shows the rear shocks installed. Well that's it for now be back with more soon. Ron G