Old Albion

Mark, Looks great so far. I like your scratch building skills. The day cab and suspension adds a more interest to the subject. Keep us posted with progress. Dave

Mike, The molded pulleys and belts on some kits are not so good. On others they are OK considering the small scale. I have seen some people manufacture pulleys in the lathe and then use a small elastic band or something like that with good effect. For me I tend to make do with what's in the kit and then try and disguise any imperfections. One of the irritations with the molded belts is the position of the pulleys in relation to the items they are supposed to be driving. Some pulleys are no where near any items so why are they there. What I tend to do is to research the engine to find out what should be where and what auxillary devices were available. When I built my 1/16 scale Detroit I carried out a lot of research on the particular engine to be sure I got the right number of belts, pulleys, auxillary equipment and made sure the auxillaries where in the right place. I use small strips of plastic and fabricate the pulleys and then just glue them together and sand them to suit. Hope this helps Dave

Dennis, Many Thanks for the tip. I have sent Eric an E-mail. Thanks Again Dave

I am planning a build of a 1971 little window Peterbilt 359. It has an extended hood and a clatterpillar 1693TA. My question is does anyone manufacture a good quality extended hood with the underhood details. I have a resin extended hood which seems more like a generic one. I was after something more accurate from around 1971? As for the engine I have to have athink about that. But may scratch build one if I can get enough details. Many Thanks in advance Dave

Scott, Many Thanks for sharing your collection of great trucks with us. They are superb. I especially like the 65 Pete is it a 351 or a 281? That paint scheme looks great and really suits the trucks. My other favourite is the 352. Dave

Ryan, I love the weathering detail, it looks real. Increadible skills and ability. Dave

Randy, Very Nice! I like the colour scheme it suits the truck. Dave

Jim, This is an increadible project. I don't think I have seen so much work go into a single aspect of a build before. Dave

Tim, Another great looking truck. I had a look through the build photo's on your web site and thought the photo's through the windscreen were great. On the full size truck would the three pusher axles steer?? Dave

Scott, I think it looks great with the yellow and black paint. That Cummins sure takes up some space under the hood. Guess I'm used to seeing the little V8 there. Dave

Very Impressive indeed!! These are great, a lot of time and effort has gone into them. Dave

Jim, Very Nice Indeed! I like it. Dave

Another great model engineering project. Very Impressive. Dave

This is a great looking project. I don't think I've seen an H61 Mack as a model before. Great Work! Dave

Thanks for the comments folks. Tony, Yes I will be building a trailer for it. Very possibly a Rogers Low Boy. Codie, Yes the base kit is the AMT White Freightliner with suitable modifications. I found some great single round head lights and some great little round spot mirrors for the truck. A while ago when I was planning the build I stumbled upon the Tamiya Mini Cooper kit in 1/24 scale. I bought a kit and found that the lights and mirrors were just what I wanted. The only problem that I have now is the quality of the Tamiya kits is excellent and I'm not to keen on taking parts from the kit. So what I might do is make a drawing of the headlights in the kit and get some turned on the lathe. Dave

What a superb looking scratch built truck. When I first started to read the comments I thought it would be the Illini aftermarket conversion. But to scratch build it takes some doing and shows great skill and perseverance. Dave

Jim, Thanks! Yes it is blue and orange. They seem to work together well. Dave

I made some more progress on the truck. All parts are now painted ready for assembly. I am quite pleased with the outcome. Especially since the paint is from rattle cans. The first time I have attempted to paint a model with them. http://public.fotki.com/oldalbion/white-freightliner-/cab-and-engine-pain.html Thanks for looking Dave

I have a detail sheet from the GMC Astro. I can't remember where I got it from though. But it clearly shows the V903 in dark grey and the Cummins in beige. Dave

Jim, Great progress so far. Very Impressive! Exhaust and air intake systems can be a bit tricky to make. If you have a pipe bender with the correct formers and bend radii then yes you can use aluminum tube. Unless your a master craftsman in metal working stay clear of trying to form the bends by hand. For me there are two options. The first do as you have done buy the elbows. Or secondly take a length of tube. Cut off small pieces a sutable angles to suit the bend radi. Glue these pieces together to form the redquired bend radius and pipe profile. Once the glue has set sand the bend to suit. You may need to use some filler to get the right shape. This is the method that I used to produce all the pipes on my Autocar. On my currect build I will use a combination of both methods. It will be the first time that I have used the bends. Dave

This was the thread that Aaron started reference Engine colours: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2453&hl=engine colours&st=0 Tim any chance we could have this pinned at the top? Dave

Scott, The trailer looks great. The weathering is very convincing and adds to the interest. I liked the missing rivet and the rust around the hole in the first pictures. It looks like it has been sitting idle in some yard for a long time. I like it. Dave

Jim, That is an increadible amount of work that you are putting into that sleeper. The results of all that hard work are starting to show. It really does look good with the truck cab. Great work! Dave

I like it, very impressive! The colour looks well and suits the Chevy. Nice idea with the load. I agree a load really enhances a model. The only problem being the load can cost a lot of money, unless of course you are prepared to wait a long time. Great work! Dave

Dave, Thanks for the update on this. The detail in this kit looks superb. Its just been added to my wish list. Best Wishes Dave