Freightliner FLB 1/25 AMT conversion

[gotnitro?]

Fantastic work   ! Really like those colors together 

[Force]

I really like this.

[Hermann Kersten]

Thank you for liking the colors guys!

 

Today more colors and a start of the many small details on this FLB.

The weather is still awesome, so i could finish the paint job of the chassis.

Before we take a look on that, first some small details like the small doorwindow frames.

The CTM set contains these frames, but with the FLA and FLB, the lower edges are straight and not rounded.

In this case i had to made them by myself, and file the rounded edges in these polystyrene frames.

Later they will be glued on the outer side of the windows and then you have these frames inside the main window frame.

This is what I'm talking about.

 

 

A lamp in the back of the cabin, of which the housing is made of an aluminum tube, and in which a transparent glass is placed.

 

 

The next job was to remove the toy looking chrome from several parts like the baby moon covers and some light housings, which later will be attached on the outside of the side deflectors.

 

 

And the first baby moon covers on the modified rear hubs and the rims from Scenes Unlimited which are equipped with the tires of the AMT Papa Truck.

 

 

Then the side deflectors self, on the inside i made the mounting brackets, and on the outside the last rivets which are glued at the height of these mounting brackets.

If you look good, you can see a small 0,5mm hole in the upper part, after the final paint job the work lights will be attached in these holes.

 

 

I made also a start with the wiring, fisrt I attached these wires on the inside of the chassis before I placed the engine, because these areas are difficult to access when the engine is installed.

 

 

Then the stack with cover and some weathering on the top of this stack....

 

 

The first headlights in the corners of the housings, these headlights are also from a CTM set.

 

 

And the top- or roof lights which are from the FLD kit.

 

 

And finally, everything so far together.....

 

 

Yeah guys, it's getting somewhere, still a lot work to do before this one is completed.

The decals have already been shipped from the USA, I am really excited to receive and view them ...... and to use them of course.

See you next time!

 

Hermann.

 

[72 Charger]

Fantastic as usual Hermann I really like the rain cap on the stack. Did you make it or was it from a PE kit

[Hermann Kersten]

8 hours ago, 72 Charger said:

Fantastic as usual Hermann I really like the rain cap on the stack. Did you make it or was it from a PE kit

The cap is coming from the big CTM Freightliner detail set, there are 2 rain caps in the set for a double stack.

Even for a FLA or a FLB the set contains enough parts which are useful for these models.

 

Yes guys, the wiring is done now and the moon covers are all attached to the rims.

The last wiring will be the trailer wires which i will attach when the cab is attached on the chassis.

As most of you know, i get my most info from purplewave.com and the following photo was largely my reference point.

Source: purplewave.com

 

And the progress so far with the wiring.....

 

 

The rear lights are also from a CTM set.

 

 

And the air line  from the compressor to the chassis.

This line is made of brass rod, bent it in the right shape, painted in a silver color, and to soften the metallic of the silver, I dry- rubbed it with chrome powder from Ushi vdr Rosten and a cotton swab to give the pipe a really smooth metal look.

 

 

And the last one is a picture of the baby moon covers which I treated with a Molotow chrome marker.

 

 

Now I continue with the cabin, which I still have enough work to do.

That's it for today and see you next round!

 

Hermann.

 

 

[72 Charger]

Im liking it a lot . The wires really bring it to life

[DRIPTROIT 71]

Amazing! I can almost here it run. Excellent work!!

[Hermann Kersten]

Dave and Brian, thanks for your enthusiasm!

 

Yeah, at the moment  I have the time by my side,  but I guess I 'm not the only one , today some progress of small details.

I started with the straps of the fuel tank, for this job I use real Car pin-striping.

I bought this a while ago in an auto parts store, because these are nice vinyl stripes for tank rubbers.

 

In this case I used the widest stripe and put it on a 4mm styreen strip, then cut it with a sharp knife.

 

 

On a spare diesel tank with a bracket which is glued with wood glue, cut the tape with the connector to the right length.

 

 

In the meantime I had made the connectors of the straps at the upper side and put the tape around this connectors and taped it to the fuel tank.

 

 

And the last step, glue the CTM  metal tank straps on to the vinyl straps, which is glued with ordinary hobby glue.

 

 

Then some extra detailing of the fifth wheel with a tie rod, which is made of a brass rod.

 

 

The last wiring for the brake lines.....

 

 

And the tires treated with ash, to give them a used look.

 

And the progress so far.....

 

 

Yes guys, that's it for today!

 

Hermann.

[72 Charger]

Sweet ! I have used ash for tires before and I thought it was a very convincing look. Those tank straps are da bomb! I am definately going to get some of those CMT parts

[Hermann Kersten]

16 hours ago, 72 Charger said:

Sweet ! I have used ash for tires before and I thought it was a very convincing look. Those tank straps are da bomb! I am definately going to get some of those CMT parts

Yes Dave, I did this more times with other models, because I find the result very convincing.
On the other hand, I use black shoe polish for the rubber after market tires that are a bit grayish, this also gives a perfect result, I did this on the lowliner tires of the Actros Lowliners.

 

And today the cab has his face.

The headlight units and the headlights are now in it.
For this work I had to remove the paint for a good adhesive surface.
With a rotating blade and a tartar hook that dentists use, I carefully removed the paint.

 

 

And the result after holding your breath for a while.

 

 

Then the first deflector with spotlight.....

 

 

And a few fun photos.

 

 

Now prepare the other side and the rest of the cabin.
For the time being I am quite happy with the result so far.

See you next round.

 

Hermann.

[tbill]

Beautiful work on this, it does look as though it would run and drive. 

[72 Charger]

Nice the head lights came out looking very realistic

[Hermann Kersten]

On 4/18/2020 at 10:31 PM, tbill said:

Beautiful work on this, it does look as though it would run and drive. 

Thank you for the nice compliment  Tom!

 

19 hours ago, 72 Charger said:

Nice the head lights came out looking very realistic

Yes Dave, these headlights are from the CTM set, CTM 24115 US front lights - oblong 1/25

They give the truck a really realistic look.

 

Hermann.

[gotnitro?]

Love watching your builds, your very good at explaining every detail and how it's made from common stuff to help other modeler succeed! 

Keep up the amazing work

[Hermann Kersten]

Hello everyone,

 

On 4/20/2020 at 2:43 PM, gotnitro? said:

Love watching your builds, your very good at explaining every detail and how it's made from common stuff to help other modeler succeed! 

Keep up the amazing work

Thank you Jeff and yeah, you can do a lot with common stuff, it's usually around you and you can use different materials in different ways.
My motto ..... if it doesn't work out the way you want, you can always buy

 

Today some small details that took a lot of time.
First I made the curtains in the cabin out of paper and kept them open in the middle.

It is hardly to see, but it is just fun to know it is.

 

 

Then glue the door panels inside the cab, and on the outside window the small window frames, which were already made and sprayed, neatly glued on with Clear Weld, what is a transparent glue.

This glue is widely used by aircraft builders to glue transparent parts, what looks like wood glue, and dries transparent.

 

 

The small window in the door is a 1mm thick transparent part what is clamped in the window frame.

The front shield is a 0,4mm thick transparent part what i cut in half and glued to the center post for the correct angle of the front shield.
At the corners of the windows again a bit of Clear Weld, and the windscreen sits well and tight in the window frame.

And as last, a strip of 1mm hemisphere in the center of the windshield for the finishing touch.

 

 

With the FLA set back I had used the transparent part of the kit, but in this way I find it more convincing and just a bit nicer, yeah.....it's learning all the time.

Now i can continue with the rest of the last details for this cab.

I am also awaiting Jerry's decals, I hope to receive them soon.

 

 

That's it for today and see you next round!

 

Hermann.

[72 Charger]

Looking better and better

[chuckyr]

Your model is just about perfect.  Too bad you didn't use a more interesting livery scheme.

 

 

[am73grand]

I cannot get over the detail on this truck. Absolutely stunning.

[Hermann Kersten]

Thank you guys!

 

On 5/26/2020 at 5:43 PM, chuckyr said:

Your model is just about perfect.  Too bad you didn't use a more interesting livery scheme.

 

 

Well chucky, at the moment I waiting for the cab decals from Jerry, and for this cab i wanted to have a common "American" color from that period of time, and have some freedom with colors and not pin myself to corporate colors.

 

Hermann.

[Bronzekeg]

superb the way it is, love the paint work.

[chuckyr]

50 minutes ago, Hermann Kersten said:

Thank you guys!

 

Well chucky, at the moment I waiting for the cab decals from Jerry, and for this cab i wanted to have a common "American" color from that period of time, and have some freedom with colors and not pin myself to corporate colors.

 

Hermann.

Nothing more "common" than an American trucking fleet livery!

Edited May 28, 2020 by chuckyr

[Bills72sj]

Very nice work so far. Way above my skillset.

[DRIPTROIT 71]

Simply Beautiful!!

[Dutzie]

I’m in total awe! Great work. 

[Hermann Kersten]

Thank you for all your nice comments guys!

 

Hermann.