45' Stainless Steel Great Dane Reefer

[KJ790]

As if I don't already have enough projects going on, I decided to start yet another. This has been a project that I have been thinking about for a long time. My plan is to build a 45' Great Dane stainless steel reefer that would be typical of what was common in the early 1970's. I will be mostly scratchbuilding it with a few kit pieces here and there. Looking through old pictures it did not seem uncommon for trucks to be dirty in this time era, so it seems like a good project to practice some weathering techniques and push my limits.

 

I have been preparing for this build for a long time. First I made a Thermo King reefer unit and cast it in resin.

 

 

Next I made some trailer spoke wheels with split-ring rims. I figured it would be easier to paint everything if they were all separate pieces. Then I made a variety of tires that would be typical in that time period. Since I want this trailer to be well used, I am using a mixture of tires and making each rim have its own degree of rust and dirt. This way it will appear as though some wheels were changed more recently than others. I put the rustiest rims on the set of old school drive tires, since wheels like that would have likely already spent some time as drive tires on a truck before being retired to trailer duty.

 

Here I have put the wheels completely together and mocked them up on a junkyard tandem that I had.

 

 

For the weathering I used a combination of brushing on water color paints and airbrushing a light coat of gray over everything.

Edited May 29, 2016 by KJ790

[gatorincebu]

Kurt,

     Cool project ! I like the miss matched tires. My question is ( cause I don't really remember ) When did they first start using the 48 foot trailers?

Yes it seemed that a lot of the trucks and trailers were much dirtier back then. But I also remember some rigs that were really sharp. Greenstien  trucking

out of Pompano beach Florida , comes to mind . Most of the rigs were leased to Greenstien colors were green and white. A lot of sharp looking rigs.

 

 

   Be Well

    Gator

[KJ790]

Kurt,

     Cool project ! I like the miss matched tires. My question is ( cause I don't really remember ) When did they first start using the 48 foot trailers?

Yes it seemed that a lot of the trucks and trailers were much dirtier back then. But I also remember some rigs that were really sharp. Greenstien  trucking

out of Pompano beach Florida , comes to mind . Most of the rigs were leased to Greenstien colors were green and white. A lot of sharp looking rigs.

 

 

   Be Well

    Gator

I'm not sure when 48' trailers officially started being used, but I know that my family's company ran 40 footers through the 60's and 45 footers through the 70's and into the 80's. We didn't start buying any 48 footers until the mid 80's, though I am sure they existed before then.

 

There definitely were many good looking rigs back then, but even the good looking ones could often be found with a layer of road grime on them, especially in the north during the winter time. It seems like roads back then had a lot more dirt on them. Here are some examples of the look I am after with this build.

 

 

[Mopar - D]

Kurt nice start on your project your rims and tires have the look of being well used. 

[gino]

looks great !    can't wait to see more !

[10thumbs]

Kurt I think this look great.  Without knowing anything about trucks, even then I remember seeing the deal about the mismatched tires, and rims with different degree of wear on them.  Very realistic.

[Badluck 13]

The tandems look great,mismatched tires,used look etc. looking forward to more.

[kilrathy10]

Man, that's some good weathering.....Your stuff always looks so cool.....Can't wait to see more....

[KJ790]

Made some progress on the sides. I used some corrugated styrene sheet for the ribbed siding. Then I added the lower support rails and a side door on the passenger side. Been working on rivet detail all afternoon.

 

[KJ790]

Started on the rear doors. I think I am going to call it a night for now. I am very happy with my progress today.

 

[Superpeterbilt]

Very cool project. The mismatched tires are a great detail. The Themo King unit is very nice.

[DRIPTROIT 71]

WOW!!! I've wanted to build a stainless Great Dane. The only problem that I see, is that I need some of those wheels and tires. Looking great!! True Craftsmanship.

[Tesla]

This is looking good and I like your ideas for this project. Casting the wheels and rims separately makes painting much easier! Great weathering!

[redneckrigger]

Nice weathering! Sure would be nice to see a tutorial on your techniques..............looks so VERY real! Love the two piece wheels.....................are these going to be available on your site?

[extmcdriver]

Outstanding work as usual KJ!!!

[GearUpJammer]

Great job,looks the part!

[KJ790]

Thanks guys!

 

Tom, I can make a tutorial of how I weathered the wheels when I weather the spare tires that will hang under the trailer. I will eventually have these spoke wheels for sale, I need to get around to making new molds. I made a bunch of spoke wheels for trucks and trailers and sold them all at NNL East. All I have left are blemish parts, which is all that I use on my personal builds.

[KJ790]

I started on the front of the trailer. I cut some acrylic 3/4" tubing for the rounded corners and added styrene for the front wall. Still lots of filling and sanding to do before I add any details.

 

[gotnitro?]

Wow this is looking great so far!! 

[Mopar - D]

This is some great scratch building. 

[gatorincebu]

I started on the front of the trailer. I cut some acrylic 3/4" tubing for the rounded corners and added styrene for the front wall. Still lots of filling and sanding to do before I add any details.

 

              Kurt, nice job on the bulkhead. I like looks good thus far.

 

 

            Be Well

              Gator

                  

Edited June 6, 2016 by gatorincebu

[Force]

Are you going to offer the Thermo King reefer unit KJ?
It would look nice on any 70's trailer...and you have corrected the fault ERTL did on their reefer from the Great Dane trailer and put the gauge panel on the drivers side as it should be.

[KJ790]

Are you going to offer the Thermo King reefer unit KJ?
It would look nice on any 70's trailer...and you have corrected the fault ERTL did on their reefer from the Great Dane trailer and put the gauge panel on the drivers side as it should be.

Yup, these units are available already. Here is the link: http://kdhumphr.wix.com/double-take-replicas#!vintage-reefer-unit/a8vy4

[DRIPTROIT 71]

I wish that I had your skills!! Looking Great!!

[Truck parts]

That is a great start, What did you use for the side ,and front of the trailer?