89AKurt

For cutting corners

This morning I reworked the taillights that came off a junkyard GMC General truck. Brackets made from newspaper printing plate; guitar string will be bent during final assembly, to be the wiring in conduit. Solder wire used for seat piping. Took a break, learned how to drive a Model T. Now for the big job with the interior, made a cardboard pattern of the door. Cut .03" styrene with the hot-wire, then scribed the door lines, very easy because they are straight. The upper door panel was cut from .015" styrene with a knife; drilled holes in the corners then cut out the center, drilled shallow holes where screws are. The top is .02" styrene. Where the latch handle and window crank are, there is a shallow cone, wasn't sure how to make that. Tried a kit light bucket, chucked in the cordless drill, roughed with the Dremel, then sanding sticks. Cut the circle using the steel circle template, sanded the back down until it was good enough. Hope I can blend in with judicious sanding. Not doing the recess below, won't see it. Arm rest should be easy enough. Making the levers will be fun, might just cut my toenails. ? That's when I will cut off the outside door handles.

wreckage scattered over

Got the other side of the bed detail done. Duplicating exactly is an impossible task for me. This picture shows the recess that the 2 MM wide aluminum strip is glued into. Turned aluminum rod gas cap, Tamiya putty where it's needed. Tailgate hinge is done. Guitar string wire, which will be trimmed during final assembly. Stake pockets, used a new tool to carve the square holes. This shows how the roll bar is mounted, and the gas tank with filler neck made from kit exhaust pipe. Started on the interior, the steering column is plastic tubing over a brass rod, then aluminum tube that has a shirt pin for the shift lever, and wire for the turn signal. I'm sure the seat will be narrowed more.

Thanks for checking in. Think I'm getting close to transitioning to the interior, running out of exterior details. ? Turned an aluminum gas cap, for one thing. Since the giant spare tire dominates the bed, added a mount that works! The grey disk is from the scrap box VW Bus parts, aluminum tube fits inside the styrene tube, brass rod twist handle. I was going to use the Fireball Modelworks farm jack on another project. Aluminum rod used for the roll bar. Made proper mounts on the frame, with aluminum tube so I can adjust the height. Made a wood form to bend the curve correctly. Used a kit accessory light to have a backup/cargo light, bent a thick aluminum C mount. The hoop will be a little higher than this picture shows. Punched a steel disk that is glued at the bottom of the big tube. A magnet is inside a small PVC tube that is inside the aluminum tube. I'm better at taking pictures, than doing video. This shows how it works.

Posting a link to my GMC / Studebaker WIP for the record.

I vote for 2, without seeing if the tire tread is better. I've used nail 'polish' many times, that's a nice color.

Get a quality tool to begin with. Tamiya with the green tip is my weapon of choice. Use a steel ruler for straight lines, if the groove isn't very deep. Be patient on curved lines.

I know something about slump bustering. I got the yellow version of this kit with some other kits from someone, sold at the last swap meet. Still have the Cameo kit, looked at the leaf springs, they look good, so no excuse to drag this one out! If I ever got another 1:1 classic pickup (I don't think my '68 counts because I'm older than it), the Task Force Chevy would be a top choice.

Heck of an incentive to geterdone. I'm surprised this has the emblems molded on, there are twice as many taillight parts as needed (granted same mold, different color clear plastic).

Love the subject, you did it justice.

with ripe bananas

I've been tempted to get that kit, and do something along the lines you are doing. Looking good so far! And I totally understand about showing a WIP, I have at least three that are in the dustbin on this forum, one is a Mercedes.

Thanks David! Last night I fine tuned some of the things I made, not worth taking pictures or describing. Started on detailing the tailgate area. Used the Dremel to create a recess for the newspaper printing plate, then a file. But first a thicker aluminum part was glued into a saw cut groove, that the chain will connect to. Then one of the latch plates made from plastic because it's easier to make an elongated hole. Then glued on a strip of aluminum, filled the seam with superglue and baking soda. Sanded down the inside of the tailgate to reduce the thickness, then glued on the brass rod for the rolled top edge, the gap filled with superglue and baking soda. Then sanded the ends down the thickness of the plastic edge which has the other half of the latch plate. I was planning to paint a tan color, but the more I refer to this real pickup, the more I want to paint turquoise.

in the ozone

Used the woodshop to cut Corian® for the gas tank. Most cuts were done with the table saw, then the crosscut saw. Final surfacing was done with the bench disk sander, this step was to get the thinner slab to size (anything more than 1/2" needs another slab glued on). Glued Top Studio photo-etch weld beads on the corners that were beveled. Mount tabs, and filler neck made from kit exhaust pipe finished this part. I'm thinking of making a turned aluminum gas cap, that will be on the fender. Hood hinge, the real thing is levers that rotate the hood when opening. I don't have watch maker skills, but I used a 100 year old fusee chain. Getting a locator block on the curved hood was a challenge, which has a groove where the chain was glued on, then an aluminum plate angle over that to make a secure attachment. Holes are drilled in the firewall, where the chain will be glued into for final assembly. I will make a wire prop rod.

Drifting around Walmart

Thank you. Before my hike, got the exhaust tips on. Needed to wrap aluminum tape around the solder to make a tight fit. Also added screws to hold the interior tub in place without having to glue and break apart. Front anti-sway bar, the kit part was not going to cut it. I thought it was odd how it was off center too. Used the ditched spring perch blocks for the mounts. Figured out the bends by test fitting. Smashed the ends with the pliers. Glued blocks on the spring bolt plate, I figured that would be a good place to weld connection points. Not drilling for bolts, I'll never get done if I go overboard. Couldn't leave the rear shocks alone, since the front ones have the steel wire shaft. They were too long anyway, need to have room for the gas tank. Found springs that fit, other than cutting shorter. Punched disks for the spring supports.

Thank you. I like to be different. Chrome tree has the smaller wheels, but no tires to match. Added brakes. I had this set of photo-etch disks, which were used on other project, they must have been one of the first such products for models. First step was to put in a scavenged electronic part that serves as an arbor, to give the worn look. The next thing was to grind the center hole bigger. It was more work than expected, these are really thick for p-e. Next was making the calipers. Since nothing is an accurate replica, they are just simple shapes. The disks turn with the wheels, calipers stay in place. Front are glued to the axle, rear are glued to the retainer. The real truck has what amounts to running boards, that are inside the door. Hot-wire cut out, used the pieces for the sides. Diamond plate for the floor. Steering shaft wire cut to length, VW Bus steering wheel is very close to the Studebaker. I couldn't handle the wrong wheelbase, disassembled the rear axle, and corrected it. Exhaust had much to be desired. There is a choice of headers or stock manifold, I went for the hot rod part. The pipes are a joke, the same part number for obviously different parts, and no sense to the bends. It would take some work to fix, and I didn't feel like fixing something else! Started by cutting the mufflers off the pipes, and mounting at a cross member. Used solder (copper wire is an alternative). Routed to the sides. I will put on steel tube tips. Opened up the front wheel arches a little. Added an angle mount to the brush guards. Found GM taillights in the parts stash.

base with Sally

Thanks for the support! Model club meeting Saturday, want to have the chassis somewhat done. I'm trying to use kit parts much as possible, shocks are super lame and simple, but thrown into what's looking like spaghetti will pass. The front didn't look right, the body in the center? Chucked into the cordless drill to sand them. Used aluminum tube for making the rear driveshaft longer. I think this kit must have a 2WD option, there is a set of shorter shocks, used one for a stabilizer. Make a simplified steering box, with thick aluminum lever arm, and another aluminum arm on my simple steering knuckle. Brass rod with smashed ends makes the steering system complete. Added brass rod for the rolled edge on the bed, and started the spare tire mount.

Protestors lined up.

Of course I love this!

Have a before - after mockup.

Nothing scientific here, just observations. I live in AZ which is normally low humidity, it's a dry heat. I think some plastic is more prone to static charge, don't know why. The clothes you wear, 100% cotton = no plastic fibers, polyester sweat pants create a static charge better than cotton underwear (Bleachbit for sale). Shoes vs. bare feet. Linoleum vs. carpet. Wood chair vs. steel & plastic. Nothing like applying superglue and watch a strand lay down on a shiny paint finish, so I have my other hand finger close to the site being worked on, which has seemed to reduce that phenomena.