Semi Trailer Mechanic

What's goin' on... I've managed to get a little work done to the T600 Kenworth (AMT). Here's the link to the W.I.P. pics. http://flickr.com/photos/9495602@N02/sets/72157603827432233/

What's goin' on... Here's what I've got done so far... The bunk has been cut down and the roof from the R/G W900 has been used. As seen here. Inside the cab has been flocked two tone gray. I scratchbuilt the bunk out of styrene. The drawer is all balsa. The drawer front's been stained and has a coat of polyurathane. Inside the drawer wasn't stained but got two coats of poly as well. The pillow was cut from the bed from the T600 kit. Thanks for looking ...

What's goin' on... Try cutting down a spray paint (can) cap. Like a wheel tub only cut the height/depth to fit and coutour the edge to the inside of the quarter panel until it fits uniform. I haven't tried this but I've heard of it being done.

What's goin' on... Jeff I took these at work a while back w/ the intension to scratch build a car hauler. Believe it or not I started measuring and drawing every brace bracket and cyliner until I started doing "HEAVY" over time for several months and then I just never got a chance to finish. http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex...31196998&f=

What's goin' on... Having been FED UP w/ trying to repair past projects here's a new one! This is the AMT T600 kit. The chassis has been lengthened by using the rear portion of a K100 (a past aborted project). Not only will this give abetter w.b. but it's replacing the walking beam suspension w/ an 8 bag air ride. (details below the pic links) Thanks for looking!!! So far the fifth wheel and fifth wheel sliding assembly has been modified. The molded in flanges on the plate were removed and replaced w/ angle styrene w/ .030 rivets to look like huck bolts. An air cylinder and release linkage were scratchbuilt (used to slide the fifth wheel) The T600's fifth wheel's been replaced w/ the one found in the Revell 359 (snap tite) . On that jaws were added,an adjuster bolt (made from Plastruct hex rod),and the release handle. I was going detail the under side identical to a real 1:1 but as is works for me. Also the fifth wheel mounts and plate have been drilled out and pins will be scratchbuilt like those found on a 1:1 assembly.

What's goin' on... Buiscuitbuilder is correct. Grant Line Scale Products for model railroad details has them in various sizes. The bolts are molded w/ fine shanks below the hex . Using a pin vice drill ... drill out the bolt pattern in the rim. The bit size is determined by the diameter of the shank on the scale bolt. Cut the bolt from the spur leaving the shank intact and insert it thru the hole in the rim. On the back side of the rim apply a small amount of glue to the shank and allow it to dry. Then cut off excess then install the rim.

What's goin' on... Robert Here's a few more pictures. I was going to build one of those trailers a few years back as well. http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex...1171012&f=0

What's goin' on... Ya ever have one of those nights were ya might have been better off just watching T.V. or surfing the net instead or attepting to work on a project.... WELL...... I did and managed to DESTROY two 359 Peterbilts. Give ya a hint here they were both "black". So anyone got any 359 kits for sale? D'OH!!!

What's goin' on... Here's what I worked on in 07. http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex...32628166&f=

What's goin' on... Here's a few more ideas to detail the 359 interior. http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?...&p=73989139 http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?...&p=74368900 http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?...&p=75976022

What's goin' on... Jim Yeah that's it. Take a look at the picture of the cab on it's side. I left the center portion of the tiles/interior unglued so the rear glass can be slid between that and the cab eliminating the need to attatch the glass to the back of the cab and glue bleed thru. Also when I go to paint the cab I'll slide some paper in there so no over spray goes into the cab. Tim actually gave me this idea several months ago! I'm surprised you didn't catch the map lights above the doors.

What's goin' on... The paneling is Evergreen Scale "tiles" and the wood is 1/32 thick balsa. I used Minwax light oak stain marker.

What's goin' on... I'm currently rebuilding an AMT 359 I put togather a few years ago. Instead of using AMT's cab I'm modifing the Revell 359 (snap-tite) cab. On this I am omitting the interior tub as well. Here's the floor so far. I'll follow up later on for now I'll post a couple pictures. Here's the interior

What's goin' on... Here's what I drive nearly 95% of the time. (Literally) It's a 97 Ford E350 351 (5.4) w/ a Surpreme Corp. body. Yes, It is a company truck. My truck is a 1995 Dodge Ram w/ the 360 (5.9). Because of the high fuel prices I don't drive it much anymore. When I'm not in the sevrice truck I ride w/ my girlfrined in her 05 Dodge Stratous in the background of the first picture. In the background is my RAM

What's goin' on... Not bad . The excessive convex bead shows an amature stick welder whose travel is too slow allowing the weld to build up.

What's goin' on... Robert Here's a trick I like to use. To weather the area I'll spray lusterless flat clear to the area to be weathered only. Right away I'll take a die-grinder w/ a sandpaper roll and grind it. The key is to hold everything at the right angle so that the chaulk being ground is thrown onto the surface that you just clear coated. On this engine here instead of clearcoat I used RUST-ALL and an earth tone color chaulk to weather it. http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?...&p=74385419 Here's another example only to create frost on the windsheild I painted the area w/ TENX. http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?...&p=73182362

What's goin' on... I have yet to see steps like these on a 1:1 359's bunk but that's not saying they weren't there. The steps in the AMT/ERTL 359 are close. The steps in the R/G 359 kit are much more accurate. Good Luck

What's goin' on... A majority of this trailer can be built using Evergreen Scale and Plastruct styrene building materials. The front,passenger side, and the rear of the containers looks very simple to build. Are those containers removeable or does the drivers side of those flip open and the sugar cane is unloaded. If these are removeable are there bolster locks like those found on an intermodal container/chassis trailer. What are those chains used for? From the looks of the slack they don't serve as restraints/ tie-downs. Also the holsters on the side what are those used for? I'm intersted because I may just build a trailer like this!

What's goin' on... Before you start let me ask you a couple things. What kind of trailer is it? Lowboy,Flatbed,tanker,bull wagon,van,dump,logger/pole,auto hauler,tipper/walking floor, container/intermodal,and so on. Around what time of the year are you trying to weather it to? Winter,Spring,Summer,Fall and so on.... How old is the trailer? What enviorment is the trailer exposed to 80% of the time while in transit? Let me know the above questions then I'll throw a few ideas your way. I've been a semi trailer mechanic nearly 17 years now I've seen just about all of them all year around. Also I have three seperate photo on line albums full photos I've taken while at work or just when I was out and about.

What's goin' on... What you probably got was called Series 60 Blue. A few years ago I did the same thing as you by going to a Detroit warrenty/dealer shop. I've heard that NAPA Auto Parts has the light green paint (Alpine Green) you're looking for.

What's goin' on... Brian Looks like you've put some effort into this but it's not my style. This is my opinion and we all know what's said about opinions. I think that it being painted all one color gives the truck a toy like appearance. Maybe if you detailed the interior a different color and paint the chassis black leaving the full fenders the same color of the cab might change this effect.

What's goin' on... Here's my rebuilt Peterbilt. I built this a few years back. A few months ago it was damaged. Instead of it being thrown out I decided to rebuilt it. All that remains original is the cab/color. I was going to repaint it but I couldn't find that color. I made the decals after a rel trucking outfit. Inside the interior I added arm rests to the drivers seat. Plastruct tiles to simulate Peterbilts upholstry for the headliner. A dome light was scratchbuilt and the dash was detailed. The bulky glass was thrown out and clear styrene was used in place. The chassis is 90% new a few old parts were reused. The transmission was detailed/plumbed. The engine was detailed from Pictures of 3 different Big Cam Cummins engines. The fifth wheel was weathered and the linkage for relaeasing/locking the sliding assy was scratchbuilt and the release handle. Battery boxes from the Snap tite 359 were used and installed under the cab. Also the air tanks were detailed by adding find black wire around them to look like the u-bolts that mount the tanks. I repainted the wet/dry vac (Roper Industries) pump and modified the driveshaft for it and relocated the fuel tanks to the center of the truck. There's only two defects. I made the mistake of using super glue to mount the horns and lights and a little haze is around where the lights/horns are mounted. Also the hood hinges were broken. So as is the hood is set on there.At least it's a snug fit so maybe one day I'nn scratchbuilt of bash another set of hinges. A tire rack was scratchbuilt and a spare tire was added. Thanks for looking!!! http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2339/208972...2e7591275_b.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2028/209050...14f28ca69_b.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2275/209050...fe11528b1_b.jpg

What's goin' on... Well done! I'm going to keep an eye out for that color paint. I'm guessing you picked it up at Auto Zone or Advanced Auto Parts?

What's goin' on... This being your first crack at building trucks not too bad. From what I see there's two things that stand out the most. First,there's too much of the same color giving a toy-like appearance. Emphasize other details like under the hood and interior. Second the added details such as the stacks look out of scale. I was taught when working w/ 25th scale use regular ruler w/ metric measurement. Every milli-meter on that ruler is the equiallant to 1 inch in 25th scale. So 10 mm on that ruler would be 10 scale inches in 25th scale. For your marker lights there are several aftermarket companies out there that speciallizes in truck models or kit bash other kits. If I read your post correctly you want to detail the snow plow on the day cab w/ chicken lights? Try this. AMT truck kits have amber colored stop,tail,turn light lens' in different sizes. Choose which one you like best. Get a drill w/ a bit slightly smaller than the diameter of the light lens. Strip off that Bare Metal Foil and mark your bumper where you want the lights to go. My favorite tool of the trade when it comes to scratch building is a mechanical pencil. Draw a straight line across the bumper and then intersect that line w/ small marks where you want the lights to go. Use the drill and drill those out. Cut a lens off the spur and test fit it. If you did it right the lens should be a press fit. Once you got it remove that light and finish drilling out the other holes. Go ahead and reapply Bare Metal Foil then when your getting all the air and wrinkles out of the foil work it into those holes for your lights. Now install those lights pushing them thru the foil into the bumper eliminating the need for glue. On the back of the bumper foil that too and cover the back of those holes. IF the lights prutrude thru the back lightly sand them down flush then foil it. I've done this before. As a matter of fact I used mirror finish Plastruct sheet styrene for a bumper one one of my trucks. I used this very method on a 359 I'm working on now. Take a look under the doors on the cab. I drilled the holes applied the foil then pressed in the lights as seen here http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?...&p=75989303 I did that to another model only I used gold metal foil on the back side of the lights as an attempt to brighten the light lens then painted over the foil so it wasn't conspicuous if looked at from an angle where it would be exposed. Shown in this link as well. http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?...&p=74128382 GOOD LUCK.

What's goin' on... Here's a 359 that I put togather about 2-3 years ago. Pictured here. http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?...&p=66655042 This was damaged when I moved. So I decided to rebuild it opposed to opening up a new kit. Here's a collection of in progress pictures. It's not done yet but it's close. http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex...32604598&f= Thanks for looking!!!