Wolf

Unfreakinbelievable! Nuf said…….. Cheers, Wolf

A small update…. I wasn’t sure if I was going to post this. I’ve had to stay away from the workbench for a couple of days while I struggled with extreme fatigue. Today was the first time I felt like sitting down and doing something so I figured I might as well show something for it. I managed to get the front wheels done along with some radiator work. The outer rim parts had been stripped of their chrome a week or so ago and 3 days ago I sprayed them with Tamiya’s gloss black lacquer. Today I sprayed them with Alclad II Polished Aluminum. I also did the same for the inner halves of the rims. The rim halves were then glued together and mated with the tires. I think they look much better now than they did in chrome. The central hub was painted semi-gloss black and the red center (wheel bearing cap?) was done with red decal material that I’d punched out with a punch and die set. I test fit the two upper radiator hoses to make sure they fit easily into the radiator top tank. The fit wasn’t great and it looked like it might be possible to see that there was no bottom to the top tank so I made a filler plate to close it up. I also scratch built a radiator cap as the one moulded on to the top tank was so thin it was almost nonexistent. Cheers, Wolf

Thanks Gary, I may very well take you up on your offer. Cheers, Wolf

Wow Gary, Another incredible build on this forum. I’ve had to take a few days off my build so I figured, given I’m such a newby to this genre of modelling, I could use some inspiration and I could learn a thing or two at the same time by reading some of the build threads here. Boy am I impressed with the quality of workmanship! Your truck and trailer are a perfect example. I just love what you’re doing and your scratch build work on the trailer frame is pure awesomeness. I also like to see what folks have on their benches for tools. I love tools. Good quality tools make such a big difference. I’m looking’ forward to seeing more of this project. Cheers, Wolf

Brian, I’ve had a chance to read through your entire build thread. What a magnificent build and show of scratch building skills. Most impressive indeed Sir! Cheers, Wolf

Thank-you Ed! The article on detailing the engine has some great information. Thanks so much for providing the link. I couldn’t help but notice the date on the article. Boy, I’d never have found that no matter how much time I spent online, so again thank-you so much! Cheers, Wolf

It’s been said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Thanks to the link Brian sent I was able to figure out what some of the moulded detail on the kit engine are. The rubber couplings and clamps for the water pipes were quite evident so I went and added them as best I could. The rubber couplings were painted Tamiya’s Rubber Black and the clamps are very thin strips of foil. I’m waiting for some fittings that will allow me to add a bit of plumbing to the engine but until they arrive I’ll work on other parts of the build. Cheers, Wolf

Thank-you Steve. It needs a few more things before any screaming can start, LOL! Brian, thank-you for the photo link. Much appreciated. Lots of interesting details. I won’t be adding much more to the engine but there are definitely some details I can enhance on the kit engine based on those photos.

Thanks Jeff. I’m a little out of my element with this build as I have very limited knowledge of this kind of truck. I’ll use what I can find in photos to add detail the most obvious (to me anyways) parts. It’s refreshing to work on something new. Thank-you Juergen. I’m afraid you may have something of a wait to see it all come together. Great patience will be necessary, LOL! Hello Dan, thanks for commenting. This certainly looks to be a nice kit but I admit to being rather spoiled. I’ve been building Tamiya kits for many years so this one requires a bit more work. That’s okay though. I’m still havin’ fun! Thanks Gary. I’m trying……

The Detroit Diesel is more or less done. I was hoping to add plumbing detail but wasn’t able to find any clear photos online that could guide me. If someone here has information that I could use it would be greatly appreciated. I can still add stuff before the engine is permanently installed within the frame rails. I modified the fan belt and alternator belts as they had an odd configuration that I’m guessing is supposed to represent dual belts. Hopefully the accompanying photo will clarify what I did. I’m happy with the result. I replaced the alternator adjustment bracket as the kit moulding was far too heavy. Along with that I added a bunch of fasteners to enhance detail for the alternator mounting. I punched out a small styrene disc to represent the alternator pulley face and gave it a washer/nut and stud. The radiator fan blades were thinned to give them a more scale appearance. The engine was painted with Tamiya’s Italian Red mixed with Tamiya’s Maroon to give me a somewhat darker red. It was given a thin wash and then painted with a coat of semi-gloss clear to blend everything in. I’ve been working on the exhaust manifolds which have some pretty aggressive mould seams so lots of filing, sanding, and scribing is necessary.

Thank- you Jurgen. My head is held high. It needs to be, right? I hope you’ll like the build as it progresses. Cheers, Wolf

Hi Jeff, great to make contact again. It’s been a while since I’ve visited LSP. Health issues and a lack of motivation for building things with wings have kept me away. I’ll try and do the Transtar justice but it likely won’t evolve into an intense build like I’ve done in the past. I just look forward to building something different but I will add details along the way to enhance detail where I feel it’s needed. No, the Mossie didn’t get finished. That’s a project I keep looking at but there’s so many builds to get distracted by so it’s on the back burner for now. Joe, thanks for the best wishes for the build and treatments. I’ll get ‘em both done and God has already truly blessed me in so many ways. Steve, thanks for the compliment. The ultimate goal is to have the treatments do exactly what they’re supposed to. I’m hoping the side effects will be minimal but I’ll take then as they come. I may not like ‘em but that’s life, eh?

Gary, Brian, Jim, Thanks for looking in and for the kind comments regarding the build and my chemo treatments. I’ll get through the build and the treatments one day at a time. Especially the treatments as if I have a choice, right? We do what we have to and take it as it comes. Cheers, Wolf

…..and so it begins. To be honest this is the first big rig model I’ve started to build in almost 40 years. I’ve been primarily a WWI and WWII aircraft modeler but I’ve also dabbled with a few Tamiya 1/12th motorcycles. I’ve wanted the AMT Transtar kit for a while now as one of my sons actually works for an International dealership selling these large trucks. To enhance the build I’ve also purchased a couple of CMT detail items such as replacement taillights and photo-etch set specifically for this model. I’ve started assembling many of the different subassemblies but none of them have been permanently glued to the frame rails. I’m at the point where painting needs to commence so I can start to move forward. I’m hoping that I can work relatively steadily on this project but today is my first day of chemo treatments so it’ll all depend on what kind of side effects I have to endure. Wish me luck and any helpful comments or critiques are welcome. Cheers, Wolf

Mike, Bob, thanks for taking the time to have a look and for leaving your kind comments. They’re much appreciated. Cheers, Wolf