truckabilly

Very nice. Great work on the tiny details. And weathering is excellent.

I prefer "paint first then assemble" method because I am scared to fit the different color in the right spot afterwards. My hands don´t shake too much but I am getting nervous anyway. And yes, I have to scrape the color off the spots where a glue is supposed to go. Some guys apply a piece of adhesive tape to the joint areas prior painting. After the color has dried they strip the tape off and they have clean spot for applying the glue. I have never done that but I should try some day. By the way, great build, JT. I like that. Your initials and mine are sort of the same. So, there goes a greeting from JT to JT. Jarda Tulacek

I reworked the piping in the cab to a smaller size. I think it fits better even though the details don´t stand out that much. The following picture shows both attempts on the plumbing. This is the the smaller one I´ll get the hand wheels from another modeller in a short time.

The last few days I occupied myself working on the pipes and valves in the cab. I used K&S aluminium tubes which are awesome to work with. The valves and hexagonal fittings are made of plastic channels. With a photo of the real thing I tried to copy every possible detail but kinda lost the track of proportions. Too late I realised that the plumbing is more of 1/16 scale than anything else. Here is some pics. I put pretty great amount of work in this thing and it took me four afternoons to make it. I am quite disappointed with the size I ended up with. Like it or not, I launched another try. I hope it will look better. Perhaps like this... In this picture I see three valves but I wonder if there is the fourth one also hidden behind the hand wheel. I suppose that the yellow lever is of the main shut off valve while the other two (or three?) control the amount of water running to the wheels. Is there someone who can explain how this thing works? Thanks, Jarda

Terrific job on this one. The rivets turned out great. This will be my text book if I ever come to build something like this.

Nice job on the frame and front axle.

I owe you some answeres. To Petertrucker07: - The dark wash is a common technique used especially by 1:35 scale modelers. I am sure you can find a lot of "How To" articles on forums like this, that will explain the technique a lot better than me. I used AK Interactive streaking grime but there is more colors for wash on the market. You can also mix your own desired shade. I usually mix a very dark shade of brown - black spectrum. If you use enamels, you need to seal the surface by an acrylic lacquer. Only then you can use oil paints for wash safely. You can dilute the oil paints by turpentine, white spirit, Zippo lighter fluid.... Apply this mix with the tip of the brush to the raised details or grooves. The color will collect in the grooves or around the raised details. If it´s too intens, add the clean thinner. Remove the excessive color by cotton swabs. That´s real quick explanation. If you´ve never done it, try it off model first. To Gotnitro?: - I didn´t seal this color as it is automotive type. I suppose it´s acrylic but I am not sure about that. So far there´s no problem with the AK Interactive wash. To Txdieseldog: - No problem, Barry. I understand it must have been confusing for you, especially if you have the actual Peerless logging trailer with no water cooling system for brakes. Thanx for kind words on my model. To Jacobus: - I am sorry for misplacing the museum location. The guys that went to On The Road contest in Jabbeke, Belgium and took the pictures of the 351, said that the museum was on the way. I didn´t realise that the museum could be elswhere than Belgium. Thanks for correcting me and also for the story of the old Pete. I said it looks like a circus wagon... Well, it´s really not my taste but now I know the reason for that paint job. And you´re right. It´s an impressive old truck. Thank you all for your comments and explanations. I have installed the engine to the frame. I also put the radiator in its place but it was after I took these pictures. I had some problems with the cab´s interior. First, I found the resin dasboard to be vertical while it´s slightly angled upwards in the real truck. Like this. I found the problem too late. The dash was cemented in cab already. But I couldn´t let it go. I ripped off the part and glued it back after correction. But it´s still not okay as all the other angles changed too. Plus, it brought another problem. I couldn´t get the steering column in the right position. I had to relocate the hole in the floor and move the driver´s seat backwards to get so -so position at least. I added some tangled wires under the dash. I also added some under floor details. The other side of the pedals is usually omited in the model trucks. It won´t be much visible through the hood side but again, I couldn´t let go. Till next time...

Okay, my version of logging truck has water cooled brakes with a tank behind cab, the jet nozzels on wheels and water lines. I assume that the trailer is equipped with the water cooled brakes too. If there´s glad hands for air brakes and electric socket for lights than there should be some kind of water line connection too. That´s what I am talking about. First thing, my assumption may be wrong. Maybe there´s no such thing on Peerless logging trailer and the pics I saw were of different manufacturer. In fact, I haven´t seen a pic of 351 Peterbilt with the water tank behind the cab either. Those were the 350 models. I just want to build a logging truck with water cooled brakes and I´ve chosen the 351 because I had the cab and some other stuff for it. AMT Peerless logging trailer is the only kit available in 125 scale. Therefore the combination. It may be all wrong but I am on the path already. And I saw a model made by Muleskinner who did the same thing with Peerless trailer. That´s probably how the idea came across my mind.

Wow, thanks a lot Dennis. This is exactly what I have been looking for. It looks like there´s four tubes going through the floor. I wonder where they go underneath the cab. I cannot find any diagram or scheme. Also the water line connection between the tractor and dolly would be neat. Anyway, thanks again for the pic. It´s really helpful.

Some more pics... All for now. Thanks for watching.

Time to get back to this old logger. It needs some weathering. I dark-washed the frame and all the mechnical parts. The scratches are painted with dark - brown humbrol by a brush and sponge. A well diluted light-brown humbrol was used to get a dusty look. I also used oil stains by AK Interactive. It´s not finished yet. Also the wires and hoses are not complete. Still a lot of work to do .

Agreed. Looks pretty good.

I am sorry to disappoint you Jairus, but I won´t let no people get in this bus. I am not into painting figures and this would be a tough job for me. And I also won´t keep the bus as clean anymore. Everything you said is true. But I have done too many wrongdoings to the paint job and I have to mask it somehow. A model can be painted either to reflect the real thing as truly as possible... in this case clean and shiny. Or to overdo some things a bit to get a look of a..... the model. These are two different things. And I am kinda forced to go the latter way. I have to add a few details like the mud flaps, the windshield wiper and improve the bonnet alignment. And then it´ll be complete, I think. Someone said it looks like a tough kit to build. It´s not. All the troubles I got into were caused by the lack of my model building skills. To Volvoman: I very much like your build. I just wasn´t able to keep it as clean as you were. I wish I could take pictures of my bus in British enviroment. But there´s nothing like that around here. I have to find some big poster of Big Ben or something like that.

It´s only a 6 kilometer long stretch where this thing is being tested. It may work well under the testing conditions but in the real traffic and world-wide? Oh, come on! In order to be really driverless the truck would need army laser scanners and some other devices. They are so expensive that the truck wouldn´t be competetive in any way. And completely new infrastructure would probbaly be necessary. 800 people dying on German autobahns each year is just statistics. Nothing to write home about. But imagine one single person to be killed by a robot´s missjudgement. Quite a different story, don´t you think? Stay calm, good people. New world or not, nobody´s chasing drivers out of the cab.

Amazing build. Really one of the highlights of this forum.

The trailer looks very good behind old Bill Sign´s. Congrats to your classy job!

That´s crazy but I love it.

Very impressive. The crane is awesome. I like the colors too.

Thank you all very much for your comments. I was satisfied with the way the outter parts of the body fit and match their counterparts. But, there was a gap between two panels in the back. I tried to pretend it is not there but you know how that usually ends. The gap seemed to be wider and wider each time it cought my eye. So, I took a scrap plastic, the putty and fixed the son of a BEEP. The white line is a polishing compound residue. It´s all gone at the moment. The repair is not perfect but I hope the weathering will help some.

Very nice and very realistic. I like the tear in the tread.

Nice aging. But why the greased fifth wheel on a yard dog? Should be scratchy, rusty and dusty. A lot of guys make freshly greased fifth wheels on well used if not abused trucks. Can´t understand that.

With the front upper part having the PE grille I had to paint the area behind it black real quick. The commercials on the sides was another challenge. First I wanted to cut the decals to smaller pieces and apply them one by one. But then I changed my mind and placed them as a whole. The crackers worked pretty well but the museum gave some hard times. The decal was slightly bigger then the area it was supposed to squeeze in. There were too many air bubbles trapped in. So I took a needle and jabbed the air pockets one by one to release the air and then I brushed the whole decal with hypersol which is one of the magic liquids to help set the decal and copy all the surface details like panel joints, grooves, rivets and such. The roof is just resting on top. I have to make up my mind if I should cement it and strengthen the body or just snap it in.

Thanks for your tips. I stripped off the yellow stripes and replaced them by decals. The edges are straight now but the decals do not cover the mess I left underneath them. I added yet another layer to make it look a little better. I hope it´ll be okay after weathering. I attached the body panels to the skeleton and it finally starts looking like a bus. I replaced the kit grab handles on both decks by pieces of stainless wire cut to length. My alclad chrome just didn´t look too well. Here is the upper deck with the original handles cut off. A peep look to the lower deck. I´ll be back in a minute...

Thank you all very much. My initial plan was to put the yellow one to KW, possibly a polished restored truck. And the white one to a hard working Pete. Assuming that both would go back in the snap kits. Or I may swap at least one oh the engines with Cummins from RoG kit. Everything is open at the moment. In any case, thank you for your tips and comments.

Looking pretty cool to me. Very nice job.