PHPaul

In this post, I asked some questions about building a service truck. I ordered the AMT Paystar 5000 Dump Truck kit and in my usual impatient fashion, I have started on what was supposed to be a Winter project. . In order to design the service body, I had to build the basic frame and mock up the cab to see what I have to work with. I'm a very visually-oriented person. Fairly often, I have a mental picture of what I think I want, but when I actually build it, I find several things I'd do differently. That's particularly true in this case as the entire focus of the project is the service body. Build, re-think, rebuild is the path to satisfactory results, but that gets expensive in styrene, so I did a couple of mockups out of poster board. As is often the case, Plan A was unsatisfactory. Plan B is much closer to what I want, and with a little tweaking will likely be the way I go. I dropped it down over the frame, and made it longer. The extra length will require a frame extension and the drop will require removing the second fuel tank or moving it to the other side. I'm thinking it's too tall as a 6 foot man standing on the ground wouldn't be able to reach anything in the top of the side boxes. I'll probably shorten it to at least the top of the cab. The next step will be to fab up the inside partitions and wheel well (also out of poster board) and make some final decisions on design before hacking up some styrene. Comments/suggestions/criticisms welcome.

Oh, thanks very little! I really shouldn't spend more money on models if for no other reason than that I don't have a place to put them, but I grabbed the Galaxie/Falcon combo anyway.

That seems like a good idea, David. I'll give that a shot. Thanks!

Exterior of the shop pretty much done (still need to add the external part of the furnace chimney) and placed on the diorama. Just need to "landscape" around the foundation. Took a little head-scratching to find a reasonably logical place to put it. Inside details are largely done tho things may occur to me later on. Printing hand tools at 1:64 is pretty sketchy. I used to be able to find photo etched stuff online but can't remember the search phrase that brought them up.

Looking specifically for hand tools to detail my shop on my 1:64 diorama. I know I found some a couple of years ago, but I can't remember where.

Thanks, David. Still working on the interior. My 3D printer is getting a workout!

Thanks, David. The building is my 1:1 repair and fabrication shop. My modeling space is a corner of the basement.

Fall is in the air, and the diorama is calling to me... I decided to replicate another 1:1 building on my place. I built this 20x24 building originally as a tool shed to store lawn tractors and ATV's and such. Several years later, after simplifying life by giving up farm animals and selling little-used toys, I decided to convert it to a heated shop. I ran power to it, insulated the dickens out of it and finished the interior. It's been MUCH more useful as a year-around shop. I built the model with a removeable roof and am detailing the interior as closely to the 1:1 as patience and skill will allow. There are a few more things to add, both scratch built and 3D printed. This WAS supposed to be a Winter project but once I get into something, I tend to work on it until it's done.

The third shot is particularly convincing. Nice work!

This will be a Winter project. I'll start a build thread when I start the build. I'm just laying in supplies and gathering ideas at the moment.

I'm thinking large construction equipment - excavators, bulldozers, haul trucks, etc. As @Warren D mentioned, any significant quantity of the basic fluids - fuel, hydraulic oil, DEF - will add up quickly, weight-wise. A 10 wheeler is starting to make a lot of sense. I just hope I'm up to the challenge.

Lots of good stuff there, Thanks!

That's almost EXACTLY what I have in mind. Thanks!

I can certainly use the pictures for detailing the Paystar, thanks! I'm planning a service body with a welder, air compressor, generator, fuel tank and crane among other things.

I'm planning to build a heavy service truck. I got the AMT International Paystar 5000 dump truck as a basis because I like the no-nonsense, brawny look of that style of truck. I'll scratch-build a service body. The question is, would a 10 wheel service truck be realistic? I don't recall ever seeing one, but I've led a sheltered life... The alternative would be to build the Paystar as a 6 wheeler and modify/shorten the frame accordingly. Does that seem reasonable?

Thanks for all the leads, folks! I did find a few very nice .STL files on Thingiverse that I'm printing now. Will need some hand tools to populate the compartments tho.

Gathering supplies for a planned service truck build and would like find things like an air compressor, welder, oxy/acetylene tanks, tool boxes and other things of that nature to load the service body with. I did a search and did find a couple of kits but $30 to $70 for a kit I can use 2 or 3 items from is a non-starter. Most of the service truck-related posts are are 4+ years old so links are dead. I could design and 3D print some of the stuff, but I'd like to have the option of just ordering it. Any leads appreciated, thanks.

Pretty much everything listed above to one degree or another, with some additions: 1. Long, cold Winters in Maine, keeps me from going shack-whacky. 2. I built models as a pre-teen/teenager and had pretty definite visons which I did not have the resources or skills to achieve. Now that I'm retired, I have better (tho not unlimited) resources and am developing some of the skills. 3. While models of cars and trucks provide some outlet, what REALLY gets my creative juices flowing is dioramas. I absolutely LOVE starting with nothing more than an idea and creating things for which no kit is available and, often, never existed anywhere but in my imagination.

The shots with the camera at "ground level" are quite convincing. Looks like "depth of field" might be an issue. There are camera settings that will help with that but my manual camera days are long past and I don't remember the details.

You'd be surprised how easy it can be. Entry level 3D printers are very affordable, and the design (TinkerCAD) and slicing (Cura) software are free. I picked up the basic functions of TinkerCAD in 2 or 3 sessions. If I get stuck on how to do something, there are a multitude of YouTube tutorials.

I 3D printed a set for a 1:16 metal toy I was fixing. Not the same level of detail, but WAY better than the rubber strips normally used.

Liking the re-do David! Mr. Hitchcock looks pleased...

In my opinion, the "score" depends. Is it scratch built or assembled from a kit? If built from scratch, added points for a very nicely done job. If assembled from a kit, neatly done but much less effort/originality required, so fewer points. Again, my opinion, as shown it's a "model" not a diorama. A diorama would include weathering and added features such as landscaping, people, vehicles or other things to make it "come alive". Either way, it's nicely done.

Excellent weathering!

Barn pretty much finished, need to do a little dressing up around the edges with ground cover and some detailing inside - tools and fence remnants and scrap lumber and such.