truckabilly

Awesome conversion. It´s a pleasure to watch something like this.

Thank you Tim. My logger build is here. Hope it works:

Wonderful! What else to say?

Mine is this one made by a local producer 3D Detail. I bought it years ago on a model show and I don´t remember the price. It wasn´t cheap, that´s true. The milimeter range is in the photo.

No, it´s not salami sliced hex rod. I prefer punch and die instead. I never achieved even cuts slicing the hex rod. Working with punch and die is slower but the nuts are one like the other.. I also use cast nuts and bolts by Plus Model. They offer a few sizes and a variation of nuts and bolt heads like with or without washers. I painted the exhaust manifold with enamel colors by Revell or Humbrol. I use thick color straigh from the can and stipple it with brush to get a bit rough surface. Starting with dark shade as a base I dry-brush lighter shades of brown to orcher later. You can try oil colors as well for dry-brushing, but that would probably require a layer of acrylic clear to keep the enamel undamaged. I usually add some pigment powder later on to get a dry look. In my case just grated chalk. But that´s not in the photos yet. Thanks for your interest.

Wow, that´s somethin´ else! Go on with it, I´m curious.

This build is nice and clean. I believe it must have taken a lot of work to make it look like this. Very nice color combo with flawless execution. I am impressed a great deal though I am not a fan of single axle tractors. This one is sure worth attention.

That´s one master piece engine. Incredible work and nice result. Awesome!

Thank you all very much for your comments. Let me go on a bit further with the drive axles. I took them from Revell AG 359 kit, deprived them of the molded on air suspension elements and added the ones that I needed for a rubber block / walking beam suspension. Also added are the air system valves located on the axles. Again, the photos of the real thing were taken by Jeff Lakaszcyck. There are no rubber blocks yet in the suspension. I have to install the front axle first to get the height of the frame. Meanwhile, there are pieces of tack-it gum holding the axles to the frame. I added some details to the middle part like air tanks, air dryer and battery box. Two air tanks come from the Revell kit, the third one is scratchbuilt as well as the air dryer and battery box. Right now I am working on the front walk-on fenders and that´s where I really struggle. I don´t seem to get the height into the right proportion somehow. I ripped them off four times and I still ain´t satisfied. That doesn´t stop me but it ... you know what it does. I´ll be back when I solve it.

Incredibly realistic. Awesome work.

That looks cool. Nice old work horse. Chains and ties would make it look even more realistic.

Thanks for this "behind the scenes" report. Interesting vehicles and equipment.

Nice pics and awesome models. Thanks for sharing.

I think round tanks do look better on Peterbilt. If you strip the chrome off just make sure to check alignment of the two halves. Sometimes the locking pins do quite the opposite and it´s better to cu them off. I hope you know what I mean. My English is funny sometimes.

Terrific work on this. I like the hinges very much and I´m sure going to try this technique too. Nice looking dumper.

I just have a basic TV offer with a few terrestrial channels and they don´t include Discovery. Never mind. Here goes the frame. I made my own "C" channels for rails and used Revell rear cross members. They consist of two halves and there is a big wide groove between them. To save me the work with putty and sand paper I masked the groove with thin Evergreen stripes. The color coding is: green for 1 mm scrap plastic sheet, grey for Revell parts and white for Evergreen stock. Part of the KFS driven front axle is the auxilary transmission. I thought I would use it as a transfer case but then I got photos of the real one and that looks quite different. So, to the parts box it went I made a new transfer case. I only used KFS flanges for it. The middle part of the frame is reinforced with "U" cross members. I made mine by cutting square tube lengthwise in half. Notice the bolts at joints. Thanks for looking.

If the engines are side by side then each powers one side of the truck, right? No need for diffs. Or is it more complicated?

Spectacular pics and realistic model. Awesome!

I am watching this progress with great pleasure. It is a nice truck and you really added some value to it.

Nice grimy engine.

Thanks Sean, but the video does not show. I get a message "User who uploaded this video has made it unavailable for your country". That´s why I´ve never seen this episode of American Trucker. Nor any other. This show was never aired here and if I found it on the net, I got the message ... unavailable for your country. I must be living in a horrible country... LoL

That looks pretty good. Nice work horse.

Very nice build. Great interior.

This is very realistic build. The level of detailing is incredible. I like it a lot.

Looking good so far, Gator. I like the idea of removing the battery box tab. Most of people just don´t care but the tab really spoils the look of the kit. I will do the same when I build mine.