truckabilly

Thank you, guys. I played a bit more with the floor and added tinny mats as seen here These are just trial photos. It takes a bit more work to get more realistic look. Also working on the pedals, shifters and heater.

Wonderful job so far. You´ve made nice changes to the kit. The engine looks far better now.

Thanks guys. Here is a story of the floor. It´s about how a nice snow white plastic sheet changed into this ugly, neglected and dirty floor... The engraved wood pattern probably didn´t work as much as I thought it would. But another effect took action instead and by mistake actually. The first layer of color was matt Revell 89 I believe. I turned it into gloss by a layer of Sidolux (something like Future). Not only it made a glossy surface but it also protects the Revell enamel from destroying by a subsequent oil color. I dipped a tip of sponge into burned umbra, spent most of it on a paper and then "painted" the floor with what remained on or in the sponge. This made a fine wood-like pattern. I left it drying for a day which wasn´t enough, I think. I sprayed a dull coat of GSI clear to get a dry look of the floor. But something went wrong and the paint cracked in lines across the width of the floor. But... you wouldn´t believe it but it looked good. Just like old dry wood. So, I used some dry brushing and chalk powder to make the stains. Does it look good or is it too much?

On the front part I had to rework the fenders as I used a sheet much too thin and it broke. Here are the fenders after repair. The sub assembly of the air filter and exhaust piping gave me some hard times as it barely squeezes into the space provided. Something must be wrong but it´s no wonder since all dimensions are just estimated. The passenger won´be able to open the door to the full swing and the exhaust pipes will be in close contact with the fender and air filter elbow. I wish I had a clearer picture of that part on the 351 L. I hope I can make everything fit okay.

Thank you for your answer and comments. I completed the suspension and tested its off road abilities. It was fun with wheels yet not glued. I am amazed by the range the axles can move up and down. The shaft isn´t there yet. But it´s no limiting factor as I found later. These pictures show the axles in "X" position. And here it´s even better with one axle completely up and the other completely down... Later I added the shaft between the rear drives. If I wanted to keep the the axles moving I needed to make some modifications to the joints so that they could move too. The shaft itself is telescopic. It doesn´t make any obstacle for the axles moves.

It´s really awesome build. I like it very much. Also can´t judge on the roller but it looks okay to me. I wish I understood these trucks a bit more as I plan to build a gin pole truck on Peterbilt chassis some day. Will be watching the progress closely and learn as much as I can. It´s good you´re back and in shape for building again. Greetings to South Louisiana...

Oops... I´ve seen so many pictures of Peterbilt 351 with turboed Cummins under the hood that it came natural to think of the 351 logger as the truck with a turbo equipped engine. If I took the liberty to keep the air ride seat in the cab, then the turbo may be another item installed later in the truck´s life. I found a little problem when I put the frame on all wheels. The chassis leans a bit forwards as there is a difference in height between front and rear part. The rear part is 4 mm higher. It´s not quite clear from the picture but I spotted the difference at first glance. There´s more ways to fix it. The easiest one for me was to insert pieces of plastic between the axles and walking beams. This compensateted only 2 mm. I am excpecting a delivery of new set of wheels. They´re supposed to be a little bigger. If this doesn´t solve the problem, then I will cut off the front axle and insert another 2 mm of material. I corrected the brake chamber brackets. They were supposed to be mounted onto the axles which is not right. They are attached to the brake shields. The upper pair is in its original state, the lower is modified. Now I have a question. What is the purpose of the tank behind the cab in this picture? Is it just another fuel tank or water tank for brake cooling system? If it´s a water tank, were the trailer brakes also water cooled? Then there must be some hose connection between tractor and trailer. I wish I knew how it looked like.

Nice work, buddy. I like the plumbing and weathering.

One of a kind. Cool load, terrific colors, junk in the cab.... I think it really stands out. Congratulations!

Welcome to the forum. It´s a wise decision, I think, to make the kit what it is instead of heavy modification to represent the "movie star". It wouldn´t be bad either, if you felt up to. Anyway, good luck with your restart in model building.

The rear axles are probably Mack type, not so sure about that. Even though I have a suspension, probably AMT parts, I do not like it so much. It´s hollow inside and it´s not exactly the type I want for my model. First I thought I would modifiy these parts but then I decided to make a brand new suspension. I started out with walking beams. They are already equipped with the axle joints. I made the springs, the pins and everything that´s needed for this sub assembly. Including the bolts by Plusmodel. The axles are identical. I don´t know if it´s okay for this set up. Maybe there are some minor differencies between the front and rear drives that I don´t know about. But, unless someone tells me better, I will carry on with what I´ve got. Merry Christmas everyone!

The past few weeks I worked on some other parts for this old Pete. I modified the exhaust pipe, the muffler and air cleaner. I don´t how to call the wall that holds all of this together on the fender. Anyway, I made that thing out of plastic sheet. The bumper is also brand new together with the grille bars. The grille frame is bended above the candle flame. Everything is made out of Evergreen stuff.

You really hit the nail... awesome build!

Lookin really good in that color combo. Cool!

Looks pretty sharp in the sun. Nice semi.

Wow, that´s something else. Sure a lot closer to 353 look than the box edition. Nice work on the drom and bumper. The fenders shape is a lot better. True beast, I like it.

Very nice rig. I like the color choice. Lookin real sharp.

Try this and ask the guys if there´s still something available. czechtruckmodel@gmail.com

Nice recovery. I like the colors too.

Fenders may get in collision with air filters when tilting the hood. Making the holes in hood hinges a little bigger may solve the problem but watch out for not making it too big because the hood could slip too much forward and open a gap between the hood and cab. Also the bumper´s top edge may cause a little problem when opening the hood.

No name on tires? Does that mean that "GT RADIAL" ain´t there anymore? Thank God.......

Very interesting camo and pipes. What is that sticker on the wheel? Alcoa logo? Where could I get them?

That´s real beauty! Great model, great pics, cool truck. Wonderful!

A very nice outlaw. Cool looks. Great in everything.

Looks very nice.