mackinac359

Welcome aboard! Break out the glue and some plastic. Tim

The PacLease is on the north American decal sheet with several company names, hood trim decals, chassis details.

I started this in mid January and finished a day or two ago. That's a long time for me. I started with an Italeri Peterbilt 378, a resin daycab wall from GW Trucks and cut down the frame for a short wheelbase single drive tractor. The idea is a California ag/farm truck. I used resin low-profile tires - I can't remember the resin caster I bought them from. They fit the PB wheels nicely and give a nice lowered look. I also removed 1/8th inch in height from the springs to further lower the chassis. Additional views and in-progress views are on my On The Workbench page on my site. Thanks for looking! Tim

Nice ! Tim

When I made the tarp for my grain trailer years ago I used gift wrap type tissue paper draped over a form that matched the shape of the trailer, then soaked the tissue paper with a mixture of Elmer's White Glue and water. I let it cure, then cut it to the final shape and painted it. That was almost 10 years ago and it has held its shape. Tim

Dick The photo in Truckers Corner was the model. The lighting, backdrop, camera angle all came together for a nice photo. Tim

Back in early 2006 I built this diorama. I didn't really like how it looked, so a while late I redid it. I still didn't like it as it just wasn't big enough(I was always breaking off an exhaust when removing a model after photographing it). It also just didn't look proportional. So I decided to redo it yet again. I bought $20 worth of foam core board and went to town. Note: Above, I fixed the corner seam that drove me nuts Here's the inspiration I have plenty of detail yet to add. This one is larger, more cumbersome to move, but it allows for more camera angles and better lighting. More pics onMy Workbench page. Thanks for looking! Tim

Paint the entire hood the green, let it cure. Then mask off the hood sides for the fender color. To achieve the subtle curve of the fenders you can use Tamiya masking tape and carefully stretch it in place. Your first coat of paint on the fenders should be a light coat of the original green, then the black. This way if you get any bleed-under the green bleeds and not the black. Tim

That looks great! Tim

As long as the diecast has been substantially modified I don't see a problem. Tim

Nicely weathered. Tim

Real engines right click and view image to see larger versions of the pics. Tim

Charles Yes, both are Revell AG 359's with parts from the Monogram/RevellUSA 359 and some AMT and Italeri in there too. The lights, I think are from the KFS Peterbilt etched metal.. or was that from Model Car Garage? I can't remember, I've had the fret for a long time and only a couple of the lights and nameplate surrounds were left. Tim

Nice work. Tim

You can use a sharp blade or a scribe tool to lightly carve in the woodgrain, or use the drybrush method to paint the woodgrain. Tim

Cool! Excellent use of a left over fuel tank. Tim

Looks like a wild paint scheme in the works! Tim

These were supposed to be the last for 2009 but I ran out of time. Both started as Revell of Germany Peterbilt 359's. Up First is "The Last 359." In 1987 Peterbilt built the last model 359. The Real Truck My Version I used a resin hood that was available from Griffen 6 or 7 years ago. The sleeper is from the Revell USA snap kit as are the air cleaner caps. Fuel tanks come from an Italeri Peterbilt. The tires and wheels are from an Italeri kit. I was going to use resin cast wheels that Ben Wicker cast but decided they need to be on another project. Next up, a 359 standard hood tractor, inspired by a photo found on the web The inspiration My Version Note on both 359 models that I moved the location of the rear-of-fender step. AMT, Ertl, Monogram and Revell all got the location wrong on their 359's. The step is not at the bottom of the fender but up several inches. This always has caught me eye and I usually try to correct the location by slicing the step off, sanding the former location smooth and attaching the step higher up. I made the tool cabinet/headache rack deeper and covered in in Bare Metal Foil. The stepboard skirt (lower cab panel) is from a junked Can-Do wrecker. The chicken lights are etched metal from KFS. I used AMT Goodyear tires inplace of the weird Revell tires. More pics are on my site at www.timstrucks.com Thanks for looking! Tim

Nice color.. Tim

Beautiful. The tandem drive makes it look beefy. Tim

Most impressive! Nice largecar. Tim

Looks good. Nice detail touches. Tim

On my instrument panels I use everything from brush paint to a tooth pick to add some detail. I've even used Bare Metal Foil for the dials. Here are some dashes I've done I used a "drybrush" method to highlight the molded in detail. Drybrush=dip a brush in paint (silver in this case), wipe off most of the paint so the brush is almost dry and then gently brush over the raised detail. On the dash below, I used Bare Metal Foil for the dials, then painted the detail. Future Floor Finish is great to make the glass face of the dials. Fill the dial with Future and let it cure, then repeat until you get a nice domed effect. Here's an AMT Autocar (or White Road Boss or White-Western Star interior) Here's a Hayes Clipper interior (okay, AMT Peterbilt 352 Pacemaker). I drybrushed over the upholstery to highlight the detail. And here's a Ford LNT interior. Toothpicks, thin plastic or metal can all be used to dab a tiny amount of color onto a raised detail to highlight it. Tim

For some reason Italeri makes almost all their hubs too big, except for the Western Star Constellation. I have been grinding the too-large-of-hub out, then placing a "baby moon" hub cover on, or if you have lots of junk/left over wheels you can cut the hub cover from those and then install it on the ground-down hub. The hubs here have the covers from a junked set of wheels. The hubs here have metal "button covers" from the craft store. Tim

Nicely done! The addition of the 2 hole wheels makes a big difference. Tim