Rockford

Very nicely done mate. Keep up the good work!

Really impressive that mate.

Excellent building there sir, like the canvas, very realistic.

Nice rendition of a nice truck.

That's a real chunky monkey, well done!

I got so frustrated with my little 1/32 snappers only having a sump, and seeing you 1/25 guys building your engines, that I decided to build an engine for myself. I have a great fondness for the old Cummins 855 (or 14litre) series, so I wanted one of them. It's going in my W900 Aerodyne and it's in the WIP for that truck, but I just thought it's taken about three weeks of consistent effort and I'm so, so pleased with the end result that I think it deserves an Under Glass of its own. Except for the sump and a 1/25 AN fitting at the end of the oil pick-up pipe, everything is hand formed from plastic card, sprue or tube and wire. The belts are elastic thread and electrical tape. The main dimensions were taken from the AMT W900 engine block. I created a spreadsheet that took the 1/25 measurements and converted them to 1/32. I suppose I could have just bought one from a 3D printist but I'm too cheap for that and I do like a challenge.

I always intended this to be my first two tone paint scheme that would require a masking job. I masked it up and followed a suggestion from one of you gents on the site to shoot one coat of the base colour first, then your second colour. That way any bleed under the tape is the same colour as the base, in this case: brown. Seemed to work a treat, giving me a nice crisp line all around. It's not the gold I really wanted, bit too brassy, I'd have liked something more like Rockford's Firebird but it's ok. I might finish it off with a white pinstripe along the top edge.

Well I couldn't believe we had a good painting day again yesterday and I had a tin of Tamiya Light Sand left over from another job. Three coats and it looks very Cumminsy. Bit of detail painting, belts back on and done.

That's really nice, you must be so proud of that. I can just imagine it with a aluminium, round-nosed van trailer, but on its own it is still a winner. Love it!

You're very kind gents. I'm waiting for the right conditions for painting, when I'll just blast it beige as they did in the factory, hoses and all. All they left off were the belts. It's 14 Centigrade today but the humidity is nearly 80%, can't risk another job being ruined by paint blooming.

I'll bet when your in-laws were talking all you were thinking about was the next stage in your Pete ?As ever, a work of art, with materials from various sources from what I can see.

Just beautiful mate, well done.

I'm pleased to hear it. You've done your homework.

You often see the chassis rendered in black on models of this truck, but I perceive that it was the same green as the bodywork. What are you doing with your rendition?

Thanks guys. We'll, it's done. Added the turbo oil feed & drain, spin-on oil filter under the oil cooler, front pulley and alternator belt, water pump inlet pipe bent up from sprue, the coolant lines for the intercooler and compressor. I'm amazed that I managed to do this, but a logical approach, building in layers made it quite straightforward really. It's not perfect by any means but when I look at it I see a Cummins! All that remains now is the paint and how on earth I fit it!

Had some time to work on the Cummins today. Fitted the sump which came from the T600 Kenworth kit. Added the pickup pipe to the oil pump, the fuel lines to the head, coolant line from the aftercooler, the charge air pipe, fan pulley and belts, flywheel housing, starter, dipstick and breather. It'll be finished soon and then I have to figure out how to fit it to my chassis.

Super clean work, really impressive.

That is something else!

I have had this poor truck sat on a shelf since November last year, waiting for a decent painting day and today, nearly the end APRIL!!!! it finally arrived. 13°C, sunny with 44% humidity, I couldn't waste the chance. If you recall, it bloomed badly last time. I had rubbed it down in November and I am so pleased that I've managed to rectify the situation. I ran out of the Ford™ Aztec Gold though, so I decided to paint the air filter and luberfiner the brown of the cab. I'll consider whether to get more gold and do the two tone on the cab. I'm pleased with the rear bulkhead that I built. This Bison lumbers onward!

Good idea on the tanks. The convex end plates are definite KW trait.

Thanks mate. I've pondered why I'm doing this pointless pursuit already. Thinking further about it, I think I'm a little envious of the 1/25 guys who have engines to detail in their kits where I only ever get an oil pan! I wanted an engine. So I'm building one. I could have bought a 3D printing but that costs too much with shipping etc... and I'm enjoying this. Surprised myself really.

The battery box is often under the cab door because it makes a better step than a fuel tank. Even in the old days there was a little consideration given to the poor driver. ?

I try to do a WIP on all my builds for a few reasons. Firstly, who else can I talk to about them? While my wife likes to see me enjoying my hobby, my enthusing about a nicely done interior or chassis is usually met with a blank stare and a "that's nice". As for my mates, they'd look at me like I had two heads (I haven't, honestly). It also gives me an incentive to get things finished. I'm a miserable beggar and would soon drop the ball on projects because I deem them rubbish, but the positive comments from forum members inspires me to soldier on. I can tap into the experience of the other forum members. I've seen some great ideas on here and received some valuable guidance on my builds. There's my two pennies.

This is a whole new world with its own vocabulary isn't it? Absorbing.

I notice you asked why the layout of the fuel tanks etc... aren't symmetrical on the chassis. There's more experienced people than me on this forum but I'll try to explain. There's a few factors involved. Trucks aren't like cars, they're working vehicles so appearance isn't everything, it's function that counts; symmetry isn't really a consideration. Weight is a factor, any extra unladen weight eats into payload so you only build what you need. Cost too, to an extent. The balance isn't really a consideration. I've seen some trucks with a load bias to one side that carried an extra spring leaf on that side but they're a rarity. You then have to think about the 2nd and 3rd owners etc... who make their own changes to the truck (sometimes on a shoestring) and you can see some fascinating combinations. I suppose that's why we like building them. The possibilities are endless.