Rockford

Welcome Teddy. I came back to the hobby after some time and you soon start getting back into the swing of things, I'm sure you'll soon be building kits like you never could before!

I recently used the Ultra Bright BMF and it was pretty awful. Nothing like the older ordinary stuff. Terrible adhesion and really brittle. That car is beautiful though! Great job ?

Great execution of a very good kit!

I feel I've achieved the look I wanted. The Fruehauf is looking good. So pleased with the paint finish using a Hycote rattle can. With such a big flat surface ang blemishes would stand out but all turned out excellent! I used the extra bright Bare Metal Foil on the upper and lower rails. That stuff is a pig to work with, brittle, doesn't stretch like the ordinary foils, doesn't adhere as well either. I took ages with a cocktail stick working it into all the rivets etc... but I got there. Used ordinary foil on the bulkhead at the front. On the Trailmobile In experimenting with my mudflaps using electrical tape I've realised I can change the colour as it suits me, so I've gone to black. Looks ok. I still need to finish the pipe work and few other things I can't remember. The two are looking good together. Still want to work out a way to replicate the airlines between the tractor and the trailer.

For me, this is the perfect stance for the American truck, and that is what I am trying to achieve with my trailers. The bridge law gave American trucks a look that no other country had, with the duals spread as far apart as possible.

You certainly have! You'll have to give us a step by step on one someday.

Floorpan looks great, love the blending. Grille looks brill too!

Impressive work there sir! Looks great.

I always have something on so that I'm immersed in the past. Spotify quite often but also old TV on YouTube like Movin' on (I'm waiting for the day when Will and Sonny just deliver a load and get paid), BJ and the Bear. Also listen to Overdrive Radio. I have played Twinsticks Garage's restoration of his Peterbilt now and again.

Good change of tack there mate, looks great in the emergency colours and that huge gumball machine on the top really closes the look! I agree on the import charges. I used to buy a lot from the States but not now, our government rips us off as soon as it lands in GB.

Thanks everyone, very kind comments. Funnily enough I did scuff the treads with a sanding stick but obviously not too well ?. I'm thinking of adding a BMF strip along the lower side rail, just as a highlight, but I'm not entirely sure. Sometimes less is more and I like the plain Jane workaday look. Fruehauf is still to come. It's looking good but when I photograph it all you can see is a white box! Update on that next.

Had a spell of decent weather last week, though still cold of a night, daytime temperatures were about 12C and humidity not too bad so decided to paint my trailers. Using Hycote rattle cans I primed both, then masked the roof off on each and will leave them grey primer. The Trailmobile is looking good, the slider still works but I do like the tandems all the way back. just been experimenting with my mudflaps out of electrical insulation tape, the curvature depends on how you tension the tape as you put them together. Need to look for some marker lights and reflectors to finish up, but looks good.

I've not done anything for a week or so because I finally got my cataract surgery!!!! They had to use ultrasound to shatter it because it had got too big. Anyway, after a week and a bit I decided to try doing some work and the difference is unbelievable, I've got my depth back, when I use a blade or a drill I know exactly where to place it instead of chancing things. I decided try my new eyes out by doing some drilling because they say to avoid dust, so no filing/sanding. I first drilled all the location holes in the slide rails of the tandems. I used a template for the Trailmobile because the rails were just plain. The Fruehauf had dimples in the rails which I used to locate the drill bit. I then added the airlines for the sliding bogie. I had to deal with the fact that the Trailmobile axles were too wide and stuck out past the trailer sidewalls. The outer wheel wouldn't sit all the way on the stub axle and the inner wheel was too fat to allow that. I trimmed both accordingly and the tyres now sit snugly under the van sides. Looks much better. I know it would have been easier to do all this before I fitted the slide rails and built the rear bogie but I seem to be working backwards all the time on these two vans. The end result is ok I think.

Maybe because it's such an iconic car we expect the kit to equal our admiration for the actual vehicle? It's been my first love for decades. I've only ever built the Revell snapper '57 although I've got about six Tri Chevy kits including the 1/12 Revell Bel Air.

They look better than any kit mudflaps because they're self coloured, not painted so they have a more realistic appearance. The tape is 19mm wide which is just right for 1/32 scale, I don't know if wider types are available for you 1/25 lads.

Looking at the AMT Trailmobile, the mudflaps are sooooo thick. They measure 1.5mm which at full size would be 2 scale inches thick! I pondered what I could do. I thought plastic card, at least that would be thinner, but then I hit upon an idea. Electrician's insulation tape. I bought a pack of 5 small rolls for less than £2. I want to use white mudflaps on this trailer but I conducted my experiment with the black. I removed the AMT slab, then cut two pieces of tape, placed them sticky-side together and left a tab of sticky bit hanging over to affix it to the bracket. Once mounted I trimmed to size. Now I have flexible, rubber-like mudflaps, in-scale, that can take a bit of contact without snapping off (I've already snapped one off the Fruehauf). They've even got the little curl the real ones get through sailing in the wind! Don't know why I didn't think of it before, I might have to retrofit some vehicles.

Now the Trailmobile landing gear. This is pretty poorly moulded so lots of cleaning up Himalayan scale separation lines. The crank handle needed major filing to give it some shape rather than the blob it comes as. The triangular shaped braces were just solid pieces and looked a bit characterless in place so I drilled some lightening holes, working up from 0.5mm up to 3.2 to keep them tidy, then a little chamfer on each one. The end result looks much better I think. I like giving these trailers a bit of self respect.

Focusing on the Fruehauf, the most obvious fault is the landing gear. You can have it up or down by snapping the relevant lower sections on but they look terrible. The bottom half is too narrow and there's a huge gap at the top. This should be one solid square steel tube. I cemented them in place. Then added plastic card either side to bring the width up. Then rubbed them down to size. A quick skim of putty. Then wet sand, and ready for paint. I also drilled the mounting tube for the sandshoes, these were just held on with a huge cotter pin at either end. Then a black line around the lower section to replicate the splurge of grease that would creep out through the legs being wound up and down..

Thanks all for your kind comments. I know they're not a match for their 1/24 big brothers with all the detail you can add, but they take up less space and with a little work, can be quite presentable. I'd love engines to detail etc... but how often would I see the finished product? I'll be doing a few other things to improve the look, like improving the appearance of the landing gear, a bit of plumbing, tidying up the rear view of the AMT Trailmobile and realigning its atrocious tandems subframe. I forgot just how bad an AMT kit can be in terms of fit and alignment. Looks like it's been cast in a plasticene mold. The AMT is is below, just looks awful. Mansfield bar doesn't match the rails, the rail ends are so tatty and you can just see that the axles aren't level (nothing's level!!!!). I'm thinking of just using a closing panel across the end of the slide rails.

Thanks Gator. You're too kind.

Thank you sir, very kind. I have to say, I am fairly pleased with it myself.

I can only concur with all of the above.

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Nice combination. Definitely stands out from the crowd.

Looks great. Like it!