Old Albion

Tim, How do you fit the bare metal foil to the door sills and other tricky areas. I,ve never used it before but might do so on a future truck. Is there any particular type of foil more suited to this intricate type of detail work? Best Wishes Dave Bates PS. Like the Pete!

Hello Folks, Haven't done too much this last week, been one of them kind of busy weeks. Still made a start on the generator load. I got the idea for this from the Cummins Web site. There is still a lot of work to do but its starting to take shape. The photo shows a mock up with the wheels. I'm still waiting for the front sub shafts and all the wheel hubs. The machine shop has been busy this week. I'll post more photos and details as I go. Thanks for looking Best Wishes Dave Bates http://public.fotki.com/oldalbion/6-x-6-oshkosh/page3.html

Hello Casey, The DM800 is a good truck to build, I built my first one about 25 years ago. I remembered the difficulties in assembling some of the parts. One thing that irritated me was the front wheels stick out from the fenders by about 1/8" on both sides. The truck didn't look right. So when I got back into building model trucks a couple of years ago I decided to have a go at another DM800 and to modify the front axle so that the wheels sat under the fenders. The result was much more pleasing. I removed most of the chrome to. Interestingly I bought another DM800 kit from eBay not so long ago. I'm thinking about building a heavy hauler with a 500Hp mack Engine from Auslowe. The truck will have bigger wheels than standard and will be in the same livery as the Oshkosh. Good Luck with the build and keep us posted on progress. Best Wishes Dave Bates.

John, He loved it really. Moaning about it was his cunning plan so he didn't have to pay for it. The world is full of these kind of people.:roll: Next time tell him to pay for it at a professional painters. Best Wishes Dave Bates

Thanks John, Whilst I'm waiting for the wheel hubs and front axle stub shafts I have made a start on the load. A diesel generator set from Cummins. There web site is very informative and they have an excellent range of generator products. Unfortunately not many drawings or photographs so I will require a bit of artistic license. I have a spare Cummins N14 525HP resin engine which I will use, the other items will be scratch built. The generator sets come in an interesting shade of green a bit like the Detroit Alpine Green. I'm considering having a go at a diarama for showing the trucks. Hmm! We'll see. With regards to weathering. Its some thing that I hadn't tried before. on my last few trucks I have added bits of weathering to tyres, wheels fenders etc. But stopped at that. This time I thought I would go much further. One thing to remember is that dirt will be found more in certain areas than others and there are differant types of dirt to. A good example of this can be seen in Tim's "Used but Dirty" Pete 359 (The Brown one with bird Poo and bugs) The wind shield is superb very convincing. (Tim's Iron Pete is probably my favourite of all Tim's trucks. The weathering is superb. The oil slick a great little touch) The weathering on Casey Estok's Ford engine is great and is what persuaded me to have a go at weathering. Why not have a go you might be surprised at the results. Best Wishes Dave Bates

Tim, The Pete looks good so far. Will you be buiding a matching tractor unit as in the photo? Dave Bates

Aaron, The kit has proved very good. Details especially the dash are excellent. The resin is quite thin but strong. There have been no real problems to comment on. I,m not very good at painting so when it came to the grill I decided to cut the holes out in the grill itself rather than try to paint them in. The result is very pleasing and adds a little more authenticity to the model. The flat cab sides, front and back allow for easy glazing. ( No fancy shaped pieces of glass to manufacture) If you build the Oshkosh watch out for the engine sump interfering with the front differential. Also the position of the front fenders and bumper in relatation to the front wheels is critical. Thanks Dave Bates

Thanks for the kind words guys. Casey you're quite right the Detroit is green. I think a read some where that it was Alpine Green, but not sure. My intentions were to paint the engine green but when i went to the model shop the choice of green paint was limited but wanted to pushon with the project so blue it was. I should have mixed my own green, but never mind, I found the weathering brought out some interesting details that could not easily be seen when painted in the show room condition. The detail in the AMT kits is really very good. It never ceases to amaze me the time and effort that goes into the design and manufacture of the molds. The costs attributed to this is probably one big reason why we don't see to many new Product Releases. With regards to the Hiab self loading crane I will probably be using the Italeri conversions kit. Although I may have a go at scratch building a heavy duty version. I have saved the Hiab Web site as a favourite. It list all the latest model cranes with good detail photos. We'll see!! My next build is either a heavy duty MACK DM 800, a twin steer Autocar dumper or a 351 Pete (Based on a truck Brad Wyke had on his Web site some time ago. This truck was red with black frame had an 8V Detroit, the whole truck requiring restoration). Over the next week or so I will post updates for the Oshkosh and my other truck builds Thanks Dave Bates

My appologies! I have removed the password. Still getting used to the system. Any more problems let me know. Thanks Dave Bates :oops:

Hello Folks, I've just become a member of Fotki so I can now show some phots of my project trucks. My latest one is a 6 x 6 Oshkosh. The cab and hood is a griffin conversion from STS. The engine is a detroit 8V 71 290 HP diesel from a wrecked Pete California Hauler as is the radiator with some modifications. The rear suspension and axles are from KFS. I drilled through the centre of the axle and installed a 4mm dia steel axle in both. The front suspension and battery box step is from a wrecked Kenworth Conventional. The front axle is a KFS. I fitted a piece of key steel through the centre of the axle. You will see from the photos that the truck has no wheels. I am waiting for the front stub shafts and the six wheel hubs to be manufactured in the machine shop. All wheels will rotate and the front axle will steer. The frame, transfer gearbox and flat bed are scratch built. This truck will have a Hiab self loading crane on the rear of the frame. I decided to have a go at weathering the truck. It has been working on installing stand by generators in remote locations. Hence the dirt. The truck is well looked after but works for its living! Inspiration for the truck came from an Oshkosh for sale on Truckpaper.com, Casey Estok's (Casey 429) Ford C600 for details and weathering ideas and Dan's (Southgate) Paystar 6 x 6 for all wheel drive truck. Great builds!! This has proved a very interesting project with still a great deal of work to do. I will update with new photos as and when progress is made. Dave Bates http://public.fotki.com/oldalbion/6-x-6-oshkosh

Scott, Is that a pressure gauge I see on the hydraulic manifold? Standards and details superb. Can't wait to see the photos of the Pete finished. Great work keep it up!! Best Wishes Dave Bates PS will the Pete be weathered or straight out of the paint shop?

Tim, The 2007 Peterbilt long hood (131") 389 looks an impressive truck. The rounded grill puts me in mind of the old Pete 350 radiator guard. Think it would look better with the round headlights though. Either way great truck, great pedigree, I'd have one if I had the money. Probably half the price that a truck would cost in the UK. Dave Bates

Rick, This is a great build. Another of those trucks you feel you could just jump in and do a days work!!! Liked the operating suspension. I think this is a great feature. On the Ertl International kits I found that the front drive axle does not sit down properly. Building the suspension as a "working" system certaily gets around the problem. Did you encounter any problems when you built it or was it straight forward? Great Truck!! Regards Dave Bates

Tim, Thanks for the information regarding the differant models that Peterbilt produce. I checked on their web site. Very impressesd I love the traditional shape of the 379 conventional tractor. There's something in it that really appeals to me. Of all the trucks the 359 and 351 are my favourites. I know these are getting on abit now but they look everypart the proffessional drivers truck. Whilst looking at the Peterbilt web site I was impressed with the 384 what a superb looking truck. I presume the cab will be the same generation as the 388? The hood looks a little tricky but worth a go. Do any of the Aftermarket parts manufacturers have plans for any conversions for the new generation of trucks? I would love to build a 384 as a heavy hauler to accompany my 380 with winch, snow chains the lot!! What a great looking truck!! Dave Bates

Excellent update Tim, The trucks just keep getting better. Great work everyone. I didnt build anything intime for this update but hopefully I will have something for September. In need of inspiration , my latest truck is an Oshkosh with 6 wheel drive, the weather is just too hot to do anything in my little workshop just yet. But hopefully things will get better soon. Is anyone else building an Oshkosh? Dave Bates

Tim, Thanks for the information. You certainly know your subject! Dave

Hello Aaron, Its difficult for us here in Britain to go and look at a US truck. For ideas and detailing I like to keep an eye on Ebay for the semi trucks for sale in the US and the truck paper (www.truckpaper.com) These are great sources of information. Sometimes you will have to wait a while but then a real gem turns up with everything you need. Hope this helps Best Wishes Dave Bates

Hello Dan, You might try Howard at Kit Form services. He has some great items for detailing, bolt heads, air valves etc. (www.kitformservices.com) Best Wishes Dave Bates

Yet another great truck, well done Tim! One thing that intrigues me is where does the truck model identification number come from ie 359, 357, 362 etc? There must be some logic when Peterbilt designated their model codes? Best Wishes Dave Bates

Tim, Enjoyed looking at your work stained Pete. there is something about a work stained piece of machinery that appeals to me. I don't know what its like in the US but here in the UK there are not many trucks that stay show room condition for long. It is great to see machinery restored to better than original, but for me I love to see things doing what they were designed to do!! ie work for their living. The grim is all part of it. Great work Keep it up. Dave Bates

Aaron, This seams to be a good idea. I wonder if it could be expanded to include aftermarket parts suppliers? Could the data base also include not just engines but transmissions, auxillary transmissions, rear axles, suspensions etc . It would be a big help to be able to look at the data base to see if a combination of components are available and where they are available from before a project is started. This would help costing the project and planning. If you planned on building a custom spec truck and you were after an N14 Cummins where do you get it from and is it available. Have I got to spend my budget on buying a truck from E-bay to get the one component or does an aftermarket supplier have one? If there was a section in the data base for folks to add components which are not available. If modellers then ticked that component as "desired" when they were looking for it, this would help the after market parts suppliers determine if it was worth while manufacturing the parts. Best Wishes Dave Bates

Hi Folks, Just found this Forum when I was looking through Tim's Web site. Very impressed. Full of very use full and interesting discussion and most of all people want to try and help each other. The models look great, superb. Well done guys keep it up. I have sent a few pictures of some of my latest projects to Tim at Plastic Cowboy who very kindly added them to the updates. My work is no where near the standards of the models I have seen on the forum but I enjoyed building them. When I have found out how to send photos I will send some pictures of my trucks. Best Wishes Dave Bates