Rockford

I've decided on a colour scheme for the truck. It's going to have a Post Office Red chassis with white cab and I've drawn a stripe set up for it. I took a picture of the truck as side-on as I could and opened it in Paint®. I could then draw the stripes on the profile of the truck and have a fairly certain idea that they will fit ok. Once I've got the basic shape I can fill the colours in and then erase the truck from around them. I lengthened the narrow ones to accommodate the curve of the sleeper front corner (I might print spare sections to use on the air filter housings), and then just copied and flipped the design for the other side. I'll have to do a few test prints on plain paper to determine the right size of print. Actually applying them is many moons away but the Pepsi® trailer has given me confidence.

The 1/32 AMT Snap-Fit kits have few highlights but one of them is the Holland fifth wheel which, with some careful attention, can be excellent. I've only got two, both used, so I thought I'd try making one of my own to use on this KW. I used the one off the W900 as a pattern and used masking tape to trace the shape and the details. Then I transferred that to card stock and got a basic shape. I carefully cut out the well in the middle of the plate and put another layer underneath shaped the same. I've practiced scribing the grease channels in the plate, will try that tomorrow.

I'm getting near to paint but I the weather is far too damp and I can't think of a paint scheme. In the meantime, I wondered if I could use the quarter fenders that come with the kit. For me they're far too big and crude looking, so I trimmed a piece off the bottom of the fender and the top flap. Then I filed away the three vertical braces and replaced them with 0.8mm aluminium wire, squashed flat at each end with pliers. Added a temporary mudflap on the top edge. Fairly happy with the result but as I've already drilled the chassis for the previous set of fenders they sit a little low. I'll have to see what I can do about that.

Insanity is one of my better qualities Lee! Thanks for your kind words everyone.

Looks great, interesting subject. I like the fifth wheel, looks very realistic.

Like this, you mean? I don't know, I was going to use one of my owner operators as traction providers. I don't know whether they'd like being tied in. I'll have a think about it. Thanks for the comments gents. I had to do a liveried box eventually.

I built this trailer when UK was in full lockdown, circa April 2020, the shops were all shut and I had to use what I had to hand which, after a gap of 12 years, wasn't much. I had some silver paint and BMF, so I did my best. Chassis all silver, anything white left unpainted, suspension height adjusted by leaving the slide rails out. At the time I was quite pleased but as I got back into the hobby and gained some experience with these kits, I realised it wasn't up to scratch. I decided to paint the wheels and ended up doing the whole running gear. Reworked the mudflaps to be more accurate, also converted the landing legs so that they were operable. Added BMF to the front bulkhead. Altered the reefer from the aero to the old metal cabinet type and added tell tale lights and pipework. Then I saw this, the 1/43 AMT kit and decided I would use the decals from the ESCI 20ft container kit and make myself a Pepsi trailer! Red and blue banners are decals drawn up on Paint®.

Well done. Good looking trailer.

Thanks gents, my stuff is tame in comparison to some of the jobs I see on here, wish I could build to their standard but I'm fairly happy with my work so far. Next step is the dreaded paint. I'm looking at so many pictures of W900s looking for something I like.

This is really impressive stuff, miniature engineering.

Excellent engineering!

The KW hood from AMT in 1/32 and 1/25 is great on the outside where it matters, but is missing the inner mudguard which leaves the engine compartment exposed under the fender. It's not an extension of the hood sides, it's moulded into the arch itself and has a zig-zag shape to accommodate the front wheels steering I assume. I looked for something close to the radius of the arch and found a roll of tape close so used that to get my arc, then added a piece at front for the headlamp housing. Used this as a template. Also cut a rubber flap from electrical tape, I'll glue it on later. Cut a couple of 2.5mm strips and formed the brace across the rear of the hood. Ran a bead of cement around the joins to mimic the pieces being moulded in fibreglass. Adds a little detail...

Good looking vehicle!

Some very nice touches on this job, I particularly like the door jamb sections in aluminium, there could be a risk with black of it becoming featureless. Well done sir.

Incredible level of detail. Excellent stuff.

That is really impressive, so clean and straight, looks so real. Clever shots outside the town hall too, the vinyl roof looks like tarmac!

Looking good! Stance is just right. Once it's dressed it will be spot on.

One of my main worries with this kit has been the mirrors. The kit pieces bear no resemblance to the real thing, just a single arm that connects to the door like a K100, obviously due to its Snap fit design. I wanted to have something as close to the real thing as possible but it just seemed too difficult. I tried paperclips - too strong, copper wire was not much better. I had resigned myself to using the T600 Snaptite ones but they would be a pig to secure and would be too fragile. I saw some 0.8mm aluminium craft jewellery wire on eBay, only a couple of pounds for a roll so I thought I'd give that a go. It's soft and workable and doesn't need painting. I made a little jig to bend the two arms the same. Then drilled and cut mirror brackets from C-section channel, halved them and slid them on the arms. Using pliers I formed the braces etc... and flattened each end into a tab where they connected, just like the real thing, then superglued them together. I drilled holes in the cab for the arms themselves and each of the braces. Then attached a mirror head to the two plastic brackets. They're quite sturdy with the bracing in place, possibly a little too long but they'll do for me. The interior is getting very little attention on this truck as no one will see much. I think I'm at the paint stage almost now. Weather is far too damp to paint just now though, and I can't think of a colour scheme. I've enough to get on with though, as you can see in the background.

Looks great in the photos but usual AMT woes!

I'll get my coat...

It would be great to see the malaise era in kit form. The Monte can be made to look excellent as a shelf model but it would be better with a proper chassis and drivetrain. Then let's see the rest...

That's a good decal sheet, I wish stuff wasn't so costly to get over here.

Nice looking box van, I especially like the hub odometer on the rear axle. Well done.

Paint stripes or decals? That does look a top grade finish there mate.

That does look a great finish, well done.