KJ790

Here are some pictures that I have saved from the internet.

Here is a scratch built 40ft Timpte reefer trailer that I have been working on. I got a little cross-eyed gluing all of the ribs on the side walls, but it worked out in the end.

I tried to send him an email, but it got kicked back saying that it could not be delivered because that email address was not found.

Italeri's 1/24 scale rims are slightly out of scale and actually measure out to about 23.5" when scaled up in 1/24 scale. If you convert that to 1/25 scale they are close to 24.5" rims. I have seen it done a few times and it looks fine on a 1/25 scale truck.

Thanks! I do not have any engine shots at the moment, I will try to get some later. I used the AMT kit grille and radiator, I just cut the center out of the kit grille and glued in 3 vertical bars. I did a slight black wash on the radiator to make the louvers stand out.

I think this is close enough to finished. AMT California hauler and AMT Fruehauf trailer with a few modifications.

I am going to have to pick up a few of these when they come out. These kits build a nice trailer right out of the box, and an even nicer one with a few mods. Here is the one I just built using a previous issue of this kit with a few mods.

Thanks guys! I used o-rings with an 8mm ID and a 2mm cross section. I ordered a pack from McMaster-Carr so I would have plenty to use on future Peterbilt models as well.

I am still waiting for the truck door decals to arrive, but I couldn't pass up the photo opportunity of the pair almost completed.

For the trailer, I used an old glue bomb AMT fruehauf. I cut the bottom rails off of the sides and made new rails to represent a mid-60's model. The ribs on the front bulkhead were sanded off to give a smooth look and vent doors were added to the front corners. A side door was added along with a resin reefer unit. The landing gear was scratch built to be functional.

Next the cab and hood were painted. The grille was cut out to give it an older "late 60's" look. Mufflers were made from styrene tube with aluminum tubing as the top pipes. The exhaust heat shields were photo-etch from CTM.

This was a quick build for the most part, so not too many in progress photos. I tried to keep this build as box stock as I can, the only major changes that I made were wheels and tires and scratch built exhaust and visor. I replaced the kit suspension air bags with some rubber o-rings, and the kit roof lights with some parts box lights, as the mold flash on these kit parts were terrible. I cut the kit grille out to reveal the louvered radiator. I started with the kit chassis, but added a steerable front axle. I used some AMT front rims and reshaped the rim to make it more accurate. I cut down a resin trailer hubs to make hubs for center point steering. The rear rims were drawn in 3D cad, then 3D printed, then cast in resin just for this model. A set of quarter fenders were scratch built out of some flat stock and styrene tube.

It's been a while since I have gotten to work on this. This weekend I found myself with some time and made a lot of progress. I had to scratch build a lot of the interior since the kit tub was not being used. I managed to make it all fit together (and even added some bird poop inside...). Just a few more details to finish up.

Moluminum.com carries a lot of CTM's stuff.

All of the Kenworth emblems were gold on the '73 model. Kenworth debuted the 60" VIT sleeper in 1974. For the show Movin' on, they used two 1974 models and then they came across a 1973 leftover at a dealer that was spec'd the same except with a 36" sleeper. The studio swapped out the 36" sleeper for a 60" sleeper and painted it to match the other two. This is why some times the emblems are gold and sometimes they are silver depending on the scene in the show. As for Snowman's truck, I have a feeling a similar situation happened. In this picture you can see the gold emblem on the side of the hood, but the bottom of the emblem is also painted (most likely a quick movie studio paint job). The front grille emblem on a '73 model should be red and gold, but in some scenes of the movie it appears to be black and gold, so who knows if it is really a '73 badge or if it is a painted one. The marker light on the side of the hood was typical of a 1969-1970 model. I have a feeling these trucks were thrown together. The cab doors have the slower paddle style door handles, so the cab would be a '72 and up. If you just want something that will look good on a shelf, you could just get the AMT W925 kit and make a few tweaks to it. This kit really is a 1969-1971 model, but it would be pretty close. You can change the door handles, up-size the exhaust pipes to 5" pipes, and add a battery box to the passenger's side.

Making the rounded front would probably be difficult to do and make it match the kit sides. You can still make it look period correct without even making the rounded front. I think a lot of the period look comes from the accessories used with the box, such as the landing gear, and style of spare tire rack. These look to be 35 footers, but I do not know what brand they are.

Yeah it could definitely be used as a good starting point. If I were building it I would shorten it to either 32 or 35 feet in length, as those were the common lengths in the 50's. I would make a rounded front, and I would get rid of the sliding tandem and mount it solid to the trailer floor. If you really want to get fancy you could add the rounded wheel cut-outs that were common back then. I wish I had a better shot of it, but this was a 1953 Fruehauf. I think the kit would be a good starting point.

Worked on this a little more this morning. Managed to get the fuel tanks, grille, and headlights on.

Thanks guys! I managed to get a little paint on the cab this weekend. I used table salt to simulate chips on the front and "sunburned paint" on the roof. I did a thin white wash to fade it slightly and added a few rust streaks.

Inspiration seems come from odd things for me. Lately I have been itching to attempt some heavy weathering. I was inspired by an old Kenworth that my grandfather had bought brand new. After a few owners it wound up in the hands of a family friend who had bought it just to use as a parts truck. It has been sitting in a field for many years. My plan is to do a "now and then" build with two versions of the same truck, but I figured I would start with the "now" version. I started with an AMT K123 kit. I swapped the rear suspension for an air-ride suspension from a Papa truck kit. I always hated the AMT K123 kit cab hinges, so I scratch built some hinges that are more like the real truck. This truck originally came with cab mounted exhaust and intake, but at some point it was converted to a home-made chassis mounted setup. To mimic this I used some styrene I-beam and shaved the flanges off of one side to create a piece of channel. I cut the power divider off of the front drive axle and drilled some mounting holes around the perimeter. This gives the "parts stolen" look. One air tank was placed across the frame rails behind the rear cab support as well. Next came the chassis weathering. I first painted the whole chassis with rust tones. Next I hand painted all of the aluminum parts. Then I sprayed everything with matte clear followed by a coat of hair spray. Next a coat of red paint was sprayed over the chassis, then chipped away with a toothpick and a wet brush to reveal the aluminum and rust beneath. After some hoses were added a light coat of "dust" was sprayed over everything. I am not sure if I am liking the dust coat, I probably should have left it off, but there is no going back now. A set of resin wheels were added. Miss-matched tires from the parts box were used. The bottom of each tire was shaved flat to give the appearance of under-inflated tires. Before I put the air cleaner halves together I used a dremel to grind through from the inside of one half to create some "rust holes". This is the final effect. I think that is enough work for one weekend. More to come soon.

Thank you guys! It was great to catch up with everyone today and see a bunch of great builds!

Thanks everyone! I finished this up this morning and posted some pictures in the "Under Glass" section.

Well I am calling this one done, just in time for the Fulton model show tomorrow. I was able to snap a couple pics before the rain came in.

I managed to get the wheels done and a little bit of weathering. Just a few more details and it will be done.

Thanks guys! I got some paint on the tanker yesterday and some decals tonight.