Scratch-bashed 1/64th scale milk hauler

[PHPaul]

I'm working on my 1/64th scale farm diorama and needed a milk hauler to pose next to the barn.

I started with this Ertl tractor:

After removing the 5th wheel, I cut a tank out of some 1/2" PVC pipe.

Then added some domes from my junk box

and some skirting from sheet plastic, blended with a bit of glazing putty and hit it with some metallic silver.

The final touch was some MMPA (Michigan Milk Producer's Association) decals on the tank.

I see I need to put another coat of paint over the original IH decals on the doors.

[cobraman]

Nice work.

[PHPaul]

The longer I looked at the first version, the more the problems stood out. 

The metalflake paint was inappropriate for a working truck and (as is often the case) the flakes were way out of scale anyway.

Also, there were bodywork problems on the tank, mostly a "glue burn" on the side skirt and I didn't like the domes.

So, I built a new body, left off the domes and used thicker material for the skirts.  My first attempt at paint was okay-ish until I tried to buff it.  Not sure exactly what happened but even using a VERY light touch with a soft, dry cloth it rubbed right through the paint.  I used buffable metalizer over a coat of gloss black.  Might have been the enamel base coat vs. the acrylic top coat.

So, stripped it, re-glazed the seams, wet-sanded and did the gloss black again, this time with a chrome acrylic vs. buffable.  Then decals and a coat of acrylic clear gloss.

Still can't hold a candle to the paint jobs I see here, but significantly better than the original.  And that's my goal:  Each build is an improvement in some way over the last one.

Edit:  Once again, pictures highlight areas that could use improvement.  I faired the joint between the skirts and the tank too much.  Should have left a shadow line I think.

 

Edited March 8, 2020 by PHPaul