Gluhead

Pretty cool. Always like seeing these done outside the box.

Nice upgrade!

Nice!

That's very cool.

This. is. rad. What's the Miller shell from?

This being a phantom AND one that was supposedly dragged out from hiding and rebuilt by a hot rodder, I could have used just about any rear end in this thing that I wanted. But I figure, I've scratchbuilt the frame and springs, and I'll be scratchbuilding pretty much the whole front end...I may as well keep in theme and scratchbuild the rear end, too. I love 1/8" thick sheet stock. It's a bear on the Dremel, but it's such a good blank canvas. Leaving a "handle" on it to make it easy to work with. More 1/8" stock, turned down to a "button" (the stalk was just there to mount it in the Dremel). Mounted that to a piece of thin sheet and shaped it down to form a lip. Scraping the tubes into shape. I'll have the housing all finished up yet here in a bit, and hopefully be able to whittle out a 3rd member tonight.

You can even paint it any colour you like.

I mock mine all the time, too. Not very fulfilling, though...plastic tends to lack the capacity for witty retort. Nice truck, btw.

Yep, what he said. I've come to use putty only as an absolute last resort. Plastic makes a much better filler.

Nice scratchin'.

Lucas, it'll have a scratched racer wedge on the back when all is said and done.

Thanks, guys. G, thanks again for the windshield. Without it, this one would still be sitting in the box, half done! Johann - I think it's similar to those, but with the directional shift instead of the magnification. I tried to capture the effect in a movie file, but this camera's video isn't quite clear enough to get it. In person, it's definitely a bit of a trip. lol. I actually started this build in 2002...not sure if Dr. Cranky was around the hobby then. I've always been weird enough on my own. Randy - Thanks. Yeah, I've grown real fond of mixing in Tamiya's aircraft colors on my builds. They've got a great sheen and compliment the Testors synth laq colors real nice.

Good stuff.

Coming together nicely, Michael.

Thanks guys, it's much appreciated. Carter, I use for sale signs for my styrene stock unless I need some real thickness. I'm not positive, but I'd say this particular sheet is probably about .020...could be .015. Whichever it is, it's hard to beat 97 cents a sheet.

Cool project.

I figured the printing plate would be too thin to use for the whole spring pack, but I do prove myself wrong often so I gave it a whirl. Yep, too thin. So I went back to plan A. The ride height is a little too high so I'll see if I can worm the spring hanger off the frame and move it up a bit to compensate. If it gets ugly I'll just have to make a new one (no big deal).

Very cool.

Brad (gasser59) turned me on to using printing plate. I gotta say, I think I'm hooked. It's got a great balance between workability and durability. Thanks Brad! I think this is going to end up pulling another stalled project or two down from the shelves. For now, I'm using it to get the rear suspension started. This stuff rolls so nicely that the spring eyes were a breeze.

Cab is really starting to get "the look." I <3 this kit. I need to get the 2n1 for those sweet Ardun heads.

Yepper, there ya go. Another point worth mentioning about the running boards is their termination; they end a tad after the door rather than at the back of the cab. A lot of folks seem to just lop them off at the back of the cab and neglect to round off the outer corner, etc. The little extra attention it takes to get this part right makes a big difference in capturing the look...kind of a make it/break it point.

If I remember right, the only height difference in the fenders is from the rear bottom part, lengthened a bit to match up with the running boards which are mounted a little lower in comparison to the cab (the apron between the cab and running board being taller). Chuck, does that truck wear the 19.5 inch wheels?

Nice.

That looks great, Chuck...and nice review. I love these annuals. I wish I had a lot more than the couple in my stash. Long live one-piece chassis and metal axles!

Thanks, guys. Nick, I'm cheating big time with the rolling stock on this one. They're just the excellent slots from the later Revell Maz Willys, wrapped with the Goodyear AirWheel tires from the stock '41 Chevy pickup kit. I'm going to dress them down a bit...either dullcoat or stripped and painted white. I'd like to catch the hot rod attitude, but just hints of it.