Rockford

Now that the topcoat has cured it's time to start on the cab. I painted the lower half of the skirts in semi gloss black. Foiled the steps, turn signals, wipers and doorhandles. This is the first time I've foiled the emblems before painting, then rubbed them back afterwards. They've turned out ok. Used a black marker to colour the window rubbers etc... Then the millionth mockup. Nearly there. Just realized, I haven't made a window for the hole I cut in the rear wall. I could just put a piece of acetate across it but I'm going to see if I can find a flat piece of kit glass to file down to size.

Did a little work over the weekend. Turned my attention to the usual very basic interior. The Kenworth classic flat dash is there but precious little else. I decided to cover the whole dash in bare metal foil, painted it with Humbrol flat brown to mimic the plastic wood veneer, then picked out the dials and vents with a black marker. After that I rubbed a flat pencil eraser across it to bring the chrome out on the high spots of the dash like the dial surrounds and the switches etc... looks ok.

Well you wasted no timon this one Aerodyne! Rapid progress indeed and looking good! Well done on the scratch building.

You bet Aerodyne!

F7, the forgotten Volvo, F10 got all the attention! We had F7 six wheelers tanks in Tate & Lyle and they were very civilised. Those days there so many good trucks, DAF, Volvo, Mercs, Scania, ERF, Seddon Atkinson, even Leyland T45 Roadtrains weren't that bad. Now everything is a Scania.

Scary moment! Painted the cab. Was dreading it going pear shaped like the chassis but it turned out fantastic straight out of the can. Just got to wait for it to fully harden up now. While I wait for that to happen I did little work on the chassis. I added air lines and draped them over the pogo stick. Can't find anything to replicate glad hand couplings so for now I've just painted the ends of the hoses silver. I'll keep on the lookout. I also wound some single core, red insulated wire around a drill to form an electrical cable which I left lying across the tread plate.

GeeBee - thanks for the information, I'll feel more comfortable using the Hycote now, and yes, it was £2 cheaper per can. Aerodyne - That shopkeeper likes you a lot! The fire truck is everywhere but that's an early Monogram version so it will be well moulded, the newer versions are a little tired. And the Mack tractor and tanker is a great kit that is going for incredible prices on the web. I've seen the trailer alone going for $120! However, it's not how much they're worth in my view, kits are to be built.

Crusader I usually use Halfords' rattle cans and I've found them to be so easy to use with an almost guaranteed finish. I've had some fantastic results with them and never had a reaction. I often use Tamiya fine surface primer with Halfords topcoat. It was their plastic primer that let me down this time - a disappointing first for me. Because of the lockdown I ended up in a shop that stocks Hycote so I tried their stuff. I think Halfords was shut at the time. F7s and F10s, used to work on them! You might have passed me on your way in from the M57!

? I'll have to TREAD carefully there!

Another mock up with the quarter fenders added and the pogo stick painted.

In this shot you can see the shocks, the top of the rear diff (which was from a Camaro) and the rear crossmember I added. In the other you can see the brake chambers.

Scary part! Painting can ruin loads of hard work. Primed the wheels and finished in Hycote Aluminium. Don't know whether it's supposed to be dull but it siuts the application here. I was going to do the chassis in another system of rattle can. Shot the primer and something was wrong with the tin so it seemed to load very heavily. Swapped to Hycote primer and used their Gloss Black but the combination of the poor primer and the black blooming resulted in a mediocre gloss. I'm not too bothered because I used to work in a truck paint shop and the chassis wasn't really ever a pristine finish, you just wanted it one colour! Primed the cab and will topcoat that once it's had a chance to cure and then rubbed lightly with some 1200 grit wet and dry. The new rear wall to the cab doesn't look too bad. A quick run of stopper, rub down and reprime should be enough. As I've said before, I know my stuff is tame in comparison to other stuff on this site but it keeps me going. Thanks for looking.

Yuri I thought the first picture was a real truck you were using as a pattern! That is just beautiful. Perfectly executed. The Astro would still look good today, its design was so modern and forward thinking, I love it as a truck and as a model. Well done.

The thing is, you can always change trailers!

Aerodyne I GB I'm not sure if its 13.5 metres overall. Not sure what happened with my post this morning it seemed to go about six times! I've deleted the text.

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Aerodyne This is why I bought the 20ft container trailer. Remember me saying "less is more"? I love the fact that the tractor in this shot is longer than the trailer! In Liverpool there used to be thousands of these little trailers picking up containers from the docks, but they've all gone, replaced with extendable tri-axles. I used to work on these little 20 footers, they were great going forwards because there was no cut in but backing up with them was a nightmare because they'd be round on you in no time and you would be looking at it through your side window, not your mirrors!

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Aerodyne Look what I have waiting to be built! I've built the tractor. The KW would look good on the business end of the tank.

Aerodyne, I see this tractor mating with something like this.... though modified a little to make it more American. The box trailer will probably be plain aluminium as so many were in daily use.

Gerber Thanks for the advice and the kind words,that's a nice Petebilt! Can I ask how long you recommend soaking the bits and do you use it neat? I'm scared of finding melted blob!

Just scored this off Ebay for £10! Checked and all is there except the decals [which I'd never have used anyway]. Three appeared on the same day, one for £25 another for £35 and this for £9.99. Nobody bid for about six days so with 2 minutes remaining I added a penny and it's mine!

Added detail to the exposed chassis. Using plastic card I made some fillets for the crossmembers. Using square plastic rod I fabricated the crossmember for the rear cab mounting and a smaller one for the pogo stick just in front of the tread plate. With the majority of the work done it's time for a quick mock up and looks ok. I know when I prime the cab the joint of the new rear wall will stand out like a sore thumb no matter how much I have rubbed and filled, so I'm braced for that. Anyway, they reckon filler works better over primer.