Rockford

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!

Very nice Pete indeed

Nice work

That is some truck! It doesn't have a Salem paintjob it has a Saaaaaaaalem paint job.

i added airlines to the rear of the cab too, Euro Suzie type rather than the straight hoses still in use in USA. Sadly, this is my last Monogram 1/32 Snap kit tractor but I have two trailers still to build.

Can't say this is one of my favourite subjects. It's the beginning of the end of the trucks I fell in love with all those years ago. The chrome and steel of the old trucks is hidden behind the sterile aero kit and it does have exhaust stacks but they're relegated to behind the cab. Peterbilt 359 or KW 925, even LTL9000 it's not! However, it turned out ok. I added brake chambers, top and bottom flanges on the chassis, brake lines, converted the 10 hole alloys to 2 hole Budds on the rear, filled the empty rear axles and fabricated hubs on the rear axles. Tried adding white stripes but the decals turned to jelly when I used setting solution. Looks good with a van trailer but you see how all the aero kit comes to nothing in front of a tank or container trailer.

I added the finishing touches to this kit and posted it in the "Under Glass" section.

Well done Steve, your cars deserve the spotlight! The effort and research you put in is amazing. I think I'm doing ok if I get all four wheels to touch the floor!

Looking excellent. I have one in my stash. The moulding in mine looks pretty poor, in silver styrene. That's the Ford Pinto engine. I think it was bored to 2.3 litre in USA but in Europe we got a 1.6 and a 2.0 in the Cortina then later on a 1.8 in the Sierra. It was a great engine, loved to rev but they were worn out by 100,000 miles. Probably why the Americans didn't like them. I like these Tbirds. For an 80's car they've stood the test of time well. Shame they never made it to Ford Europe showrooms.

Looks like you're altering the steps to the later type...? Any other mods you plan? I know some people move the headlights but if you haven't it's too late, mind you, I've never really seen that they were THAT wrong.

Thanks for the kind comments lads. I'm quite happy with it. The chassis colour didn't need any polishing at all. I'm looking at finishing it this weekend. Was watching the Kenworth W900 and the Freightliner cabover on eBay this week but the prices were too much for me. They were original issues but built and still went to ridiculous (in my eyes) prices. I have my two dry vans to finish after this.

To mix species, your Bulldog is a real chunky monkey, looks great. On a shelf, in your collection that will look as good as anything else. I bought the 1/32 Monogram trucks because I had them when I was a kid and was sorry I ever got rid of them. I find them quite enjoyable and deliver a decent result with a bit of effort. You can't go nuts on detailing because it's not there! I like that you can mock them up without gluing anything so you can finish your day's work and sit looking at it. The size difference makes a difference too. Lot to be said for them.

Like the finish. You must have ironed out all of the flaws in this kit by now. It's years since I touched one of these but I recall the finished result was worth the trauma. You'll boss it mate.

I successfully used methylated spirit yesterday. Took Tamiya acrylic off easily without any plastic damage.

Gents Thank you one and all for your input and suggestions. I use automotive rattle cans and so always use a primer out of fear of a reaction because the solvents are too "hot". I would also be terrified of the paint peeling with the use of masking tape to apply the primer without some form of rubbing down. So, taking all your suggestions into account I shall use the wire wool method, then primer and topcoat. Thanks again everyone, you guys are so very helpful.

I'm doing this AMT Trailmobile van and in want to spray it using rattle cans. My issue is that the usual method of using 800 grit wet and dry paper will seriously damage the mass of rivet detail on the skin of the van. How do I establish a key for paint? I'm thinking of a toothbrush and some sort of water-based abrasive paste but can't think what. What do the aero builders use?

Having quite a Snaptite fleet now, I needed some trailers to go with them. Got the AMT Trailmobile van and the Monogram van for decent prices on eBay and was desperate to get them done. I love plain white or silver boxes. I've got one white already, the fridge van, so I might do the Fruehauf white and the Trailmobile silver. Both kits are a mixed bag but the Monogram Fruehauf is decidedly better engineered than the AMT. A drawback that they both have is ride height. Because they both have the sliding duals setup the rails stack up to make them sit too high. I've cured it before by just fixing the duals and deleting the slide rails but I was wondering if I could retain the slide feature and still lower the ride to a more realistic level. The rails sit on top of the ribs across the floor of the van. I eventually decided on channeling the ribs and dropping the slide rails into them up to the van floor. This allowed the slide rails to sit further in. Though the difference is marginal, the visual effect is far from it. Both trailers now look great sitting behind my GMC. On the Fruehauf I also used the two hole Budds I made for my Aeromax, they look fantastic, I wish they were easier to do because I'd make a few more!!