Rockford

It'll be worth the effort!

Cut the back wall of the cab open, I'll use real aluminium screen in the hole. Fabbed some brackets for the stacks in a similar setup to the AMT 1/25 kit. Relocated the battery boxes to the inside of the exhaust frame. Things are beginning to take shape.

Really clean, tidy job, well done.

Looks suitably busy and lived in, some great little details.

Great job, really impressive. Some great scratch building on this truck.

What a great looking combo. Like the cut-off bumper and the lack of the visor. Great company truck.

Shortened the chassis by cutting out the battery boxes. I'll remount them between the stacks on top of the chassis. Cut the tank mounts off too, I'll make something more in keeping with a Freightliner. One of these days I'll make a long framed cabover, but not this time.

Just put it next to a K100 and you're right, it is narrower by the same width as the rubber arch-trims, so maybe that's what caused the problem with mould limits. I've considered sectioning the cab and adding a strip each side but I'd only destroy it in the process and that would probably reveal other dimensional issues that the shrinking has caused. I'll just have try and maintain the illusion and keep it away from the other cabovers, like Smokey Yunick with his 7/8 Chevelle. You may have to avert your eyes for a while...?

I've dropped the cab slightly and it definitely looks more like a Freightliner, moved it back a fraction too. Narrowed the track on the front axle a little and added the newer style front wheels. Used the bosses that I cut off the rear wheels to make hubs on the Daytons. Opened up the cab steps and boxed them in, then added 2.5mm strip behind the kit moulding as in the real thing. Looks ok.

Just perfect!

Built a Holland fifth wheel from two layers of plastic sheet and a load of 1mm square rod. Used a set of dividers to scribe the grease grooves into the plate, all looks period correct. Also assembled a slide frame. Trimmed the rear of the chassis frame, installed a rear crossmember and added top and bottom flanges to the chassis. It's definitely too long in the chassis, I'm going to have to lose about 15-20mm. I'm not sure if I'm fitting quarter fenders.

You're right on the axle, forgot to mention that. I'll have to look at a load of reference photos for the headlamp situation.

After finishing so many projects I was in a quandary as to my next move, I have nothing half finished really. Ford LTL? 359 Pete? Then I saw my Freightshaker cabover that's been sitting patiently in the dark for about four years. Bought built off eBay, the stacks and mirrors are in a bag for safety. Someone has swapped the rear wheels for Daytons from the Fruehauf trailer and I think I'll keep them, but have started doing my adjustment to inset the spiders (passenger side done in these photos, compare them to the driver's side, much better). Will be shortening the chassis, relocating the batteries and properly mounting the stacks. I think the cab needs lowering too. Here we go again!!

I have thought about a big Chevy bowtie but it would have to be on white decal paper. The headache rack did come to mind because I've got about four from GMC General kits, but it's not bothering me as much now, I'm seeing the good bits rather than the issue. Let's see how it goes, if it ends up hurting my eyes like a left hand thread then I'll do something.

Finally finished my second of the two Bisons. The other was the daycab that donated its sleeper to this one. As usual, lots of scratch building involved in making the basic 1/32 Snap Tite kit look presentable but then stretched the chassis, added scratchbuilt fuel tanks, air tanks, half fenders, visor, stacks, pogo stick, sleeper steps, sliding fifth wheel, marker lights on the fenders, drew a stripe package on Paint®. I'm happy with it, considering it was a sad, grotty little build I bought off eBay for a few quid. I've saved it from the bin. I could scream at the stripes across the back wall of the sleeper. I carried the side stripes on too far across the rear wall so that I ended up with a slight misalignment. I did one side and left it to dry so that I could turn it over to do the other side, so too late by the time I'd realised. In future, I'd trim the side so that it just wrapped around the corner, then any misalignment wouldn't have the chance to build up across the back. We live and learn.

Lovely piece of machinery.

Finished! Fitted my front bumper, used straight pins to simulate the dome headed bolts in the bumper. Added homemade license plates. Fitted the air cleaner and Luberfiner, sleeper steps made from big paperclips and scratchbuilt mirrors. Very pleased with the result, will post in Under Glass tomorrow.

So glad to see this back on the bench. Your attention to detail is impressive. I know what you mean about the plumbing, you begin to feel sorry that you started! It looks great though.

On the final stretch with this I think. Decals I printed went on so smoothly I couldn't believe it, the struggles I have had with my own decals sets. I think the clear I use to seal them makes a difference. I used Humbrol Acrylic Varnish this time, no bleed through, sat down nicely etc... Just need to trim around some features once they're fully set. Very happy with the BISON script and the little critter I drew freehand next to it. My old art teacher told us to draw what the eye sees, not what you know is there.

Great job on this. Great colour and finish, love the roof.

Your usual excellent work!

All the hard work comes together with the paint, it starts to look like a whole unit rather than all the little bits you've done and the overall result is impressive. Looks fantastic. A proper worker!

The fifth wheel setup on this truck started to bug me soon after completion, and the irritation grew day by day until I could stand it no longer. I cut the pivots off, filed off what was left of the kit slide rails, added some length to the slide plate and built a sliding frame. Then to paint. The original colour was a Ford shade over white primer but the can was dead. I took a risk with Tamiya Mica Red over grey primer and the match is almost perfect. Careful masking and wrapping the truck in tinfoil worked a treat, no overspray. Now I can call it finished!!!!!

I'm so sorry to hear the issues you're having because you did such a brilliant job on everything. I hope you manage to save it because it's one impressive looking build.

I would find it impossible to follow!