Screaminhelo

I haven't forgotten about this one. I would post progress, if I had any to show. We ended up filling Independence Day weekend to the gills and the following weekend was spent ensuring the sovereignty of Atropia. My modeling over the last two weeks has all been in my head. I got a bit ahead of my self assembling the frame. I still want to add something that reminds me of air lines, so I will need to coax the axels off for some of that. I have some nickel wire that may be a bit small, but I'm not going to make the final decision until I have one mocked up and checked with the Mk1 Eyeball. I can report that the initial results of sprue goo on the cab seams look promising. I haven't used it for anything as detailed as this seam and dealing with the strings and slop has been a little bit of a challenge but I think that the end result will be a strong joint and minimal interference with the cab interior. Bill M.

It really hasn't been all that bad. The instructions have been the biggest challenge but I am getting more accustomed to identifying to proper parts. The actual kit is far from the worst that I have dealt with. The leaf springs have required the most cleanup. I imagine that as I become more familiar with what right looks like, that may change. So far, I have not encountered anything that requires anything more than what I consider basic modeling skills, exercising these skills to this degree adds a little more satisfaction to the final product. I am actually looking forward to tackling the cab seam. It looks like it may be a good opportunity to fully commit to sprue goo. I want to ensure that I have a solid connection but I have seem where others have encountered interference issues using reinforcing strips. It will be a fun challenge. Bill M.

Oh the joy of jumping in with both feet not knowing what you don't know! When I got the wild hair to try my hand at trucks, I really just picked the first thing that was available that tickled my fancy and didn't require conversion. I opened the box, marveled at the mountain of plastic and dove in with the confidence of a 5 year old wearing a Superman cape. It has been a long time since I have dealt with a kit from the early 70's but it has been an enjoyable process so far. I have been surprised by how good the moldings are for their time, it really was a state of the art kit for its time. The frame was a bit challenging. Even though I have no experience with this type of equipment, having spent a little time wrenching on my own vehicles and having built models off and on since I was a kid got me through. I still want to add some air lines and spruce up the air tanks though. I now know that the lines that I added to the powerplant are not accurate, I got some references mixed up, misinterpreted a couple of things, and generally just wanted to keep the project rolling. I decided that I would just leave them as is, call it creative gizmology and leave the cab down on this one. I have seen people comment on the cab and I definitely see why this one is a bit of a love hate relationship with some. After the flash was cleaned off and the mating surfaces were trued up it went together pretty well. I glued it up and ended my modeling session to be sure that I wasn't tempted to fiddle with it and split the seam. I'll get back to it this weekend and see what I can do to make the seam disappear and see about reinforcing the joint to be sure that it doesn't split on me down the road. That's it for now. I'll post after the weekend after I have either figured out how I am going to deal with the cab seam or completely wrecked it.

That is the kind of knowledge that I want to begin building. I appreciate the brief history lesson! V/r, Bill

That is kind of what I was thinking when I saw the specs for the KTA compared to how I understand the use of the truck but I figured I would roll with that. Once I started down the KTA rabbit hole, I started to doubt my conclusions.

I really appreciate the help. I have a lot to learn about these trucks. Now, I can see that I was searching some of the wrong terms, I was looking for FLT trucks which is how I settled on the KTA motor. The air brake thread is perfect! As I learn more, this will provide much of what I need to do it right but right now, there is plenty of information for a little creative gizmology to create the illusion of a proper brake system. V/r, Bill

I am building the AMT Freightliner as my first big rig. As a long time aircraft modeler, I know where to find all kinds of obscure aircraft references, but I am finding it a bit more challenging to find useful references for subjects that aren't as commonly preserved for history. When I look for a Cummins KTA, I mostly find what I believe are generator powerplants or marine motors. When it comes to frame details, I have not found anything that I recognize as useful. I figure that it is time to reach out to the experts because I am at the point where I keep finding the same stuff over and over. Right now, I just want to touch up simple engine details, do some basic plumbing (fuel, oil and water lines) and add basic chassis details like brake lines. I'll save interior detailing for later. In the mean time, I'll continue digging. V/r, Bill

You know that I will be following this one. Diesel Creek is what got me interested in expanding into the big rig world so I could do a very similar build to yours. Bill M

Since my experience is almost exclusively with aircraft, mine will be more of a build inspired by Matt. I figure that the bumper and winch won't be too hard to approximate with a bit of creative gizmology. My main goal with this will be to begin building reference resources while doing this. I can come up with some obscure details of some unusual aircraft but finding basic details for a truck frame still eludes me. Unfortunately, my interest lies mostly in trucks that I remember seeing growing up in the 70's and 80's. I can already see that I will have to do some kitbashing with some aftermarket bits to build things like the Dodge Bighorns and heavyhaul Autocars that I really loved seeing as a kid. I will certainly be needing the collective knowledge on the boards here to get this new adventure started. Bill M

I used to be big into model rockets and used a lot of Duplicolor products. I found that I could use this if I started out by building up mist coats to the point where they created a base for a thin wet coat. Once the wet coat was fully cured, I could spray it a little heavier and get a finish that didn't need nearly as much finish work. I really only used this for bigger projects because of this. Once I the process figured out, it made for some beautiful finishes but it just never worked out as well for anything that I would compare with the size of a typical scale model. Maybe, if you are working in 1/12, it could be worth it but I think that you may end up with a heavy enough clear coat that it may obscure some detail, didn't really have to worry about that with three fins and a nosecone.

I am a fan of Diesel Creek, which probably lead me to diving into the world of truck modeling, and I would like to build his 1980 Autocar Construcktor. I am a long time aircraft modeler and have the basic skills to pull this off, but I lack the knowledge to be sure what to start with. I am eyeing the AMT Autocar 9964 dump truck. It seems to have the basic elements needed for the project. With this as my starting point, it seems like the biggest hurdle will be scratchbuilding the front bumper. I have been poking around in the aftermarket thread and it looks like I can source most of the details from places like Sour Krauts. I have the White Freightliner Cabover to get my feet wet in the truck world. I figure that will allow me time to hash out the details of my Construcktor project.

I am a long time aircraft modeler who has built the odd car here and there but I suddenly got the itch to build trucks. Most of what I have seen available are trucks that I saw on the road as a kid and it has become a fun bit of nostalgia to look through the available kits. As an old, gray haired modeler, I very much prefer forums like this where it is easy to dig into the back catalogue to find that old post that i saw 3 months ago that has an obscure bit of detail that makes all the difference in the build that I want to do. I am looking forward to learning more about the automotive modeling world from everyone on the boards here.