Rockford

Really crisp work there, I'm sure this will look great. I'd love to do a Navajo truck one day. I loved the droms they ran.

That is fantastic! You're really pushing yourself there. Looks great.

Well, great minds think alike Charlie, I fitted a couple of bosses through the side rail, cut the crossbar and inserted the brackets and it looks ok. The bosses will blend in better when everything is green. Looks much more like the real thing. In the photo of the real thing they've moved the deckplate to behind the 5th wheel for a stunt where Sonny unhitched a drawbar trailer from the pintle hook fitted to the rear cross member. The deckplate was only held by rubber straps.

Fascinating stuff, looks like a municipal chassis, garbage truck etc... Are you using an Autocar chassis? I don't suppose it matters really does it?

Good suggestion sir! That's the sort thing I'm mulling over. Really not sure how to balance accuracy, robustness and the need to assemble cleanly once painted.

All excellent stuff! The sky's the limit now for you Jürgen. The Diamond Reo looks rather beefy and the finished Marmon looks brilliant. Lee up the good work! Looking forward to seeing more of your builds.

I'd done my usual and covered the crossbar for the mudflaps with a closing panel but it isn't accurate. I needed to open up the rear of the chassis and that will require a new way of hanging the mudflaps. I shimmed the old holes with plastic tube and rebuilt the rear ears of the chassis. I hung two prototype mudflaps over a straightened paperclip using electrical tape. Also added top and bottom flanges to the chassis rails. I'm considering how to do this for the finished product. I'd like to eliminate the crossbar but the flaps have to be fairly robust still. At worst I'll use one bar right across and mount the light bracket below it to confuse the eye. The crossbar there now is temporary.

You've done an amazing job there, I thought they'd done a chrome sided version!

Did my second quarter fender. Treated the back of each with superglue then trimmed the tail ends of the wires. Look ok to me, good to have the separate braces as in the real thing and I love that I can see the wire going through the tube and into the fender. They're strong too. Just got to add the flap to the top edge but I'll leave that until after paint.

Jurgen, good to see you back! Really clever stuff printing your own cab. Are you self taught? How long did all that take? Well done on your Marmon. Looks great. Did you do the instrument panel too? Very nice work.

Very nice fleet. Great Great Dane! Looks good with mudflaps fixed to the rear-end so they don't move with the tandems.

You're more than welcome mate. They'd be much easier to do in 1/25th too, bigger pieces to work with.

Did my usual filling of the rear diff with plastic offcuts, scratch built some rear shock absorbers, brake chambers and airhoses etc ... Added the mounting plates for the 5th wheel slider. Drilled them and added 0.8mm ali wire to simulate the substantial bolts there. Looks good to me. Whilst doing this I snapped a quarter fender (should have took them off I know), they're very fragile though and I've repaired it but I'm dreading the terrible fender droop you see on some finished kits. So, I decided to try something I've been thinking about for some time. I took another pair of fenders that were already broken and drilled six holes where the moulded braces start and finish. Then I filed all the detail off. I drilled three corresponding holes in a piece of 2mm ali tube and then wired the two together with 0.8mm ali wire. Flattened the ends with pliers and it looks ok for a first shot. I'll rewire it and keep it straight next time, the braces got a bit mauled on installation. Bit messy at the back but who will see that? Will certainly be sturdy!

Interesting subject well executed. Not sure I'd want to spend a night in one though!

I don't know how I missed this, unbelievable detail. Fantastic stuff.

Great looking rig, kind of unsung hero I like. Plain and simple, built for work.

Bent up my exhaust pipes from sprue, added two hangers to go to the chassis. Cut a Monogram T600 windshield piece into 2 and filed them down to fit the openings in the cab. Finished the visor off. Made some indicators for the hood using my clear sprue and wire method.

Made some progress on the truck. Reshaped the top of the windshield and added the screen rubber. You know a W900 looks right when it has the appearance of a surprised beagle. Built a visor, just needs final trimming, refitted my fuel tanks in the correct position. I'm going to have to lose the licence plates from the front bumper. I'm hopeful it's going to look the part.

Glad to see it back on the bench!

Added the airtanks hanging from the chassis. Fitted the quarter fenders I shaped when I was building the Aerodyne. Added rear mudflaps, they're just temporary, the real things were black. Biggest job has been stripping the paint from the cab. Soaking in methylated spirit softened the paint and then I set about it with a grey Scotchbrite and cocktail sticks. Only paint left is in the Kenworth insignia, I'm going to use a magnifying glass and a straight pin on them tomorrow.

Absolutely brilliant! Even down to the heat resistant lagging on the doghouse and the wiring to the headlight buckets! Utter perfection.

Wow! I'm off to Under Glass to have a look.

The AMT kit would actually be ok for the pilot but such a poor effort for the series. Your build captures it well.

Excellent job on this project. Looks the business.

There's not much about the KW torsion bar suspension on the web but I gathered what I could and set about it. I used the perches for the Hendrickson rubber suspension from the kit as the brackets for the torsion bar mounts with some hollow tube. Some ali tube slides right through as the torsion bars themselves. Only the front axle bellcranks are visible, the rears being tucked inside the chassis so I can hide them with the fifth wheel plate. Fashioned the bell cranks and the links out of plastic tube and card. Added the adjusters to the rear end of the bar and it doesn't look too bad all said and done. I wouldn't want to work on the real thing though, all bushes and bearings that wear out.