Old field Kenworth

[KJ790]

Inspiration seems come from odd things for me. Lately I have been itching to attempt some heavy weathering. I was inspired by an old Kenworth that my grandfather had bought brand new. After a few owners it wound up in the hands of a family friend who had bought it just to use as a parts truck. It has been sitting in a field for many years. My plan is to do a "now and then" build with two versions of the same truck, but I figured I would start with the "now" version.

 

 

I started with an AMT K123 kit. I swapped the rear suspension for an air-ride suspension from a Papa truck kit. I always hated the AMT K123 kit cab hinges, so I scratch built some hinges that are more like the real truck. This truck originally came with cab mounted exhaust and intake, but at some point it was converted to a home-made chassis mounted setup.

 

 

To mimic this I used some styrene I-beam and shaved the flanges off of one side to create a piece of channel. I cut the power divider off of the front drive axle and drilled some mounting holes around the perimeter. This gives the "parts stolen" look. One air tank was placed across the frame rails behind the rear cab support as well.

 

Next came the chassis weathering. I first painted the whole chassis with rust tones. Next I hand painted all of the aluminum parts. Then I sprayed everything with matte clear followed by a coat of hair spray. Next a coat of red paint was sprayed over the chassis, then chipped away with a toothpick and a wet brush to reveal the aluminum and rust beneath. After some hoses were added a light coat of "dust" was sprayed over everything. I am not sure if I am liking the dust coat, I probably should have left it off, but there is no going back now.

A set of resin wheels were added. Miss-matched tires from the parts box were used. The bottom of each tire was shaved flat to give the appearance of under-inflated tires.

 

 

 

 

Before I put the air cleaner halves together I used a dremel to grind through from the inside of one half to create some "rust holes". This is the final effect.

 

 

I think that is enough work for one weekend. More to come soon.

Edited December 11, 2017 by KJ790

[DRIPTROIT 71]

Very cool looking project! Great work as usual! I like the idea of a junk truck. The opened up differential looks good! Looking forward to seeing more of this one!

[disabled modeler]

I like it....not all great builds have to be shinny looking.

[Jim B]

That's looking awesome, KJ.  Looking forward to seeing it.

[truckabilly]

It looks like a very interesting project. It´s a great start. I like the rusty rim combined with the shiny hub cover on the rear axle.

[DrKerry]

Liking the work so far!!!!!!!!! Can't wait for more!!!!!!!!

[extmcdriver]

I always love your projects, this will be outstanding, as usual!

[thejunkman]

Honestly these are the builds I like the most.  Art imitating life.  Junked, or heavily used trucks add some dimension and interest.  They are like telling a story with no words.  It makes me want to get motivated to build a Ford two story falcon that we used on the farm before the W900.  It is sitting in similar condition out in the pasture.

[gatorincebu]

 

 looks like two cool projects Kurt .

 

 

  Be Well

   Gator

[KJ790]

Thanks guys! I managed to get a little paint on the cab this weekend. I used table salt to simulate chips on the front and "sunburned paint" on the roof. I did a thin white wash to fade it slightly and added a few rust streaks.

 

 

 

 

[redneckrigger]

That is stunning work, KJ, great subject matter, of course, and tremendous weathering work. Can''t wait to see more!

[DRIPTROIT 71]

KJ, you are most definitely the resident cabover KW expert. You certainly have a way of bring them to life. I've been admiring this one. It looks AWESOME!!! The weathering is spot on!!! Excellent Work!!

[truckabilly]

Wow, just a floor, dog house and interior and you have a perfect wreck resting some place. Cool!

[gotnitro?]

Awesome work 

[KJ790]

Worked on this a little more this morning. Managed to get the fuel tanks, grille, and headlights on.

 

 

 

 

[DRIPTROIT 71]

Very Nice Work!! Looks Great!!!

[gotnitro?]

Love how ya mismatch the tires ! It's gonna be another great kw for your fleet 

[Force]

Coming along nicely.

[DrKerry]

Lookin good!!!!!

[thejunkman]

I like the missing headlight bezel and broken headlights.  Really adds to the authenticity to the project.  I like extreme weathered builds like this.

[gatorincebu]

 

   Kurt,

          You are nailing it.  looking real good from over here !

 

 

   be Well

     Gator

[Cien1986]

Looking great....

Keep it coming

[KJ790]

It's been a while since I have gotten to work on this. This weekend I found myself with some time and made a lot of progress. I had to scratch build a lot of the interior since the kit tub was not being used. I managed to make it all fit together (and even added some bird poop inside...). Just a few more details to finish up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[towman1271]

That's some impressive scratch building K.J.   Love it

[Chuck Most]

I love it already.