BigBad

12V71instead of the Cummins... Me likey!

Me three!

Lookin' good, Keep it up! What are the long rods in front of the front shocks for? Radiator side supports?

It's a good excuse to get some! Some of them are so-so, but most are a lot better than the kit issues. And besides, you get the styles you want. KFS has many models, have a look at those at http://kitformservices.com/.

Thanks for the compliments guys! I'm currently working on the decals. That is a lot of planning, believe it or not! lots of measurements and scaling to do. The stripes are done, I'm happy to report they match and align pretty nicely with the truck. The stripes are stick on automotive type from Pactra. I'm using Testors film decals, transparent and white for the rest of the graphics. This is going to look pretty good if everything goes as planned. It's going to take a least 4 decal sheets to get everything on! I need 5.5 x 8.51 sheet for the 2 big (6"x2.75") "R" logos on the sides... Stay tuned. I should be finished by next week-end, I need to get some more decal sheets first. And yes there will be pictures!

Nice build! good match with the tanker, had me fooled for a second or two!

This trailer is exactly 24 inches long. Which makes it 48 foot long for 1:24 scale and 50 foot for 1:25 scale. You lenghtened it too? You have more will power than I do! But the results are there, your rig looks great Gordon! I'm about to finish mine on the weekend, most details have been taken care of, I need to concentrate on the decals now. Jake, there you go, for a 1:25 scale trailer, the Italeri kit would do a reasonable job but don't expect too much from it, especially in the suspension department, it's not very good. It's a good place to practice your modeling skills...

You could get the cab kit from AITM, they have it as code CK-72 resin kit to fit on a Kenworth or Peterbilt frame. You'll have to check pictures on the net for reference about the rest of it.

This is one beautiful truck Leo!! Looks good with the flat top, love the stripes, nice rims too, do they fit AMT tires? These are the ones I got from KFS, the hubs are not removeable though, so if you want to see the stock hubs, no luck here. But they are really nice, the machining and finish on them is top notch. the tires are the regular issue Italeri items that are included with these wheels. So they are 1:24th scale. I photographed one front and one of the back wheels reversed to show what they look like from the back. Will need a little imagination for rotating wheels but I think I have an idea for that already. Lotsa bolts to install too... Don't know which lucky truck is going to get them just yet... Here showing the back sides:

Wow! i just had a look at a couple of your models... I'm simply blown away! Your Step Van is SOOO bang on! I'm amazed at the details that are in there! And that's not mentioning the other ones... That is one incredible collection you made for yourself. Priceless! now to find one... Evilbay, here we come.

When I was a kid in the late 70's, i saw a lot of these Ford Louisville's. My dad bought a house and had to spread a lot of landfill to make the yard level. When he ordered earth or gravel, the guy who delivered had LTS 8000 dump trucks with Cat 3208's. He had 3 or 4 trucks and the engines in these trucks were Cat yellow. At the time, the trucks were fairly new too, so I don't think they had been overhauled. Anyways, I built the AMT Ford last year, the engine is definitely a Cat 3208. And yes, there were Ford blue engines too.

Where did you get that '73 Chevelle Laguna body??? I'd like to build one of those!

This is an awesome build! You scratch builders push this hobby to an art form. Got to have respect for this! This is great inspiration for us. Go Dave!

These trucks look great in front of a lowboy. I like the paint with the factory stripes on yours. Like the painted rims too, make it look business-like.

Nice rig, I like it! I like the fact that both trailer and truck are well assorted and look like they are owned by the same company. Clean build!

That should look pretty good... Now finish that frame boy!

The frame looks a lot like it came off the Dual drive White Freightliner, the front wheels, the battery box and the exhaust stacks and brackets tell me so. And the Cummins 250 also comes from there... Those Mack were beautiful trucks!

Holy Cow! Is that a GMC step van I see there? I drove one with a 454 when I was a young guy delivering soft drinks in the mid 80's, it was a 14 foot body with high roof just like that one! Nice stuff you have there, a GMC front drive motorhome, Dodge motorhome, a schoolbus? A C-series garbage truck... That is not a common collection you have there Tom! But it's really nice!

Have a look at the CLYDES II topic lower in this forum. It seems to be a V8 Cat 3408. I haven't seen a 3408 in 1:25 scale kit form except for the ones already in Revell's Kenworth W900 or Australian T900. May be if you ask nicely somebody around might step up for an offer...

Have a look at Tim's trucks... Lots of reference for anything Peterbilt. www.timstrucks.com

Hi Steve, thanks for the compliments! Still thinking about those wheels. There are no special programs for decals really. I take pictures of what I want from trucks then download the pictures on the computer. I use the "Paint" program to correct colors, missing lines, correct contours and correct general stuff. Then I save it. Then, I open a document with Microsoft "Word" and insert the image in that document to scale the decals and make the design fit on 1/2 a 8.5X11 sheet (decal stock size). Then I test the design for size and color on a regular sheet, see if it fits properly and then cut the designs to see if they are the right size or scale. When everything's good, print a decal sheet. Remember for pale or white you need a white background. If you print dark colors and need to have body color, print you design on clear stock. Once printed on decal stock, you HAVE to shoot clearcoat (like Testors decal clearcoat)over the design so the ink doesn't come off the decal sheet when put in water. Don't cut too close to the design so the water doesn't seep to the colors. then put them on the model. Does a great job and it's pretty easy. All you need to do is some planning. Have fun!

Gordon and Tim: Men of few words! I think they mean much. Keep it up man, this is a unique subject that anyone can relate to. This one is detailed so much it would win a show, hands down. Don't let a winner go unfinished. Way too much work in it to let go.

There were a lot of these trucks in the construction business, tons of dump trucks, tractors pulling lowboys, delivery trucks, flatbeds, short haul tractors... You name it, they were all over the place in the 80's and 90's. Nowadays, they've been replaced by other models such as the Workstar.

Nice match to the Titan! Looks great. The chrome wheel rings must be from another kit though...

Very nice! That is one nice trailer you built there, I'm still wondering why it's still not a kit. With all the race fans out there... Your rig looks super nice in white, the Lonestar really stands out. No kidding, it looks NICE! There's still hoping. One of these Featherlites, a nice modern detachable gooseneck lowboy, pneumatic bulk transport trailer... Food grade tanker, asphalt tanker, you name it... Maybe someday we'll get a hold of one of these.