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 the 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

Thank-you John. Cheers, Wolf

Nicely done Kaci. The pannier luggage set was definitely worth adding. Cheers, Wolf

Gentlemen, Thank-you for all your kind responses. They’re much appreciated! That’s a great question Brian. I don’t know. I’ve been dealing with cancer since the end of last December. After chemo, radiation, and two surgeries, I’ll be starting my second round of chemo at the end of this month. I have no idea how I’ll react to the chemo and what side effects I may have to deal with. At this stage of the game I’m just hoping to make it to the show. 😬

Phenomenal piece of work. Amazing really! Cheers, Wolf

I just recently finished building Tamiya’s 1/12th Yamaha XV1600 Road Star Custom. I used some of the Hobby Design detail set specifically for this kit and added aftermarket fasteners from various different sources throughout the build. I also replaced all the moulded rivet detail for the seats, backrest, and saddlebags by drilling holes and installing Tameo’s 0.9mm rivets purchased from Spot Models. The paint scheme was done using Tamiya’s spray can lacquers Pearl White and Pure Metallic Red decanted and shot through the airbrush. I used the kit provided decals and masks. To give the model a little more bling I masked off and sprayed the retro white walls on the tires with Tamiya’s Fine White Primer after I had installed the spoked wheels as I didn’t want to flex the tires over the rims and risk cracking the white walls. Tamiya’s bike kits are a real joy to build and I highly recommend them to anyone wanting to build a bike. Cheers, Wolf

Derek, I’m not sure if you’re still looking for the etch parts for the Galaxie ‘47 Chevrolet Fleetmaster Aerosedan but Spotlight Hobbies has it available. It’s priced at $6.95 plus shipping. https://www.spotlighthobbies.com/all-products/decals/9131/galaxie-limited-chevy-fastback-sedan-delivery-photo-etched-stainless-steel-metal-transfers/ Hope this helps. Cheers, Wolf

Thanks Geoff, I love that era as well. I just wish the kit had a lot more injection moulded styrene. Much easier to work with and a lot lighter. For a 1/12th scale kit it weighs 7.4 oz and was difficult to handle at the end. Cheers, Wolf

Thank-you Chris. Much appreciated and I’m glad you like it. Cheers, Wolf

Thank-you Larry. I appreciate your comment. Cheers, Wolf

Just completed this build. Certainly not the easiest build as the kit is 90% white metal with the remaining parts in styrene (fuel tank, seat, and front fender) and photo etch. Lots of metal rods and wire for the spokes as well. Many parts were modified to enhance their detail and lots of scratch building details was necessary to build an accurate representation. For example the carbs were heavily reworked and the intake trumpets were scratch built to replace the horrible kit items. Top Studio detail parts were used throughout as well. Thinking far ahead in the instructions is mandatory as all parts had to be dry fitted well in advance to ensure they’d fit when the time came to add them to the assemblies. The #7 decals came from the spares box as no decals come with the kit. In the end I’m happy with the results but I think I’m getting too old to have to deal with all the wailing and knashing of teeth so the next bike will be another Tamiya offering. The last photo shows my previous Honda bike build alongside the Clubman as a size comparison. Cheers, Wolf

Congratulations on two beautiful builds! I agree with you that Gunze’s Hi-Tech kits are not the easiest to build as I just finished their 1/12th Honda CB72 Clubman kit that I received last Christmas. Lots of work involved in cleaning up the white metal parts and some were replaced with scratch built alternatives as their castings were quite rough. Nice models when finished if you can persevere through to the finish. Cheers, Wolf (who’ll likely stick to Tamiya’s 1/12th bike kits)

Thanks Chris! Cheers, Wolf

Very cool indeed! I wish I had one of those. I have a neighbour that could use a good stun from time to time. Cheers, Wolf

Thanks Warren. Yeah, the made a number of models of these old pumps. Lots of different logos too like Texaco, Phillips 66, and more. You could even wire ‘em up so the globe on top could illuminate. Thank-you Jim. Like I said, I wish I had bought more of these. It’ll look good with a couple of my Johan ‘32 Cadillacs sitting beside it. I imagine those ol’ V-16s were a bit thirsty.

Thanks Jay. The color is Tamiya’s spray lacquer Pure Metallic Red.

Something a little different. This is R&D Unique’s 1930s Shell gas pump. You used the handle on the side of the pump to pump gas up into the glass cylinder which showed how much fuel you were going to purchase. Gravity did the rest when you pulled the handle on the nozzle at the end of the hose. The silver conduits from the pump body to the top contained the wiring to illuminate the globe. I really wish I had bought more of these multi media kits.