The squirrels chased this CAT home!!!

[Dutzie]

Outstanding work Jeff. Thanks for the tips too. 

[gotnitro?]

Playing around w interior details the last few days. The stock parts only arrive w dash and side panels for doors. I sourced seats from a snap kw. ,and steering wheel from parts box. I decided the drivers would appreciate arm rests on their seats during shifts, so I fabbled some up.sorry the photos are dark, we'd lost power that day and was working under natural light.

A peek into the cab..

I did end up removing the door side rests,  Tbill suggested they'd likely only have the rests on doors.

Another detail I wanted to steer on the mixer,  was the proper shaped steering wheel.  I bummed a wheel from bin, then hacked the spokes away. This left me w a suitable wheel to start the conversion. 

After 2 attemps, I have this roughed in wheel. Its still needs some tweaking,  but proud of the overall look. I thought theres was openings on the wheel, ended up sanding the shapes into mine..but they're not openings..oh well I'm leaving them

Thanks for following along 

[DrKerry]

Looking great Jeff!! Love the fuel tanks!!

[gotnitro?]

On 6/3/2022 at 1:14 PM, DrKerry said:

Looking great Jeff!! Love the fuel tanks!!

Thanks Doc ! Part of the hobby i enjoy is figuring out what random stuff can be used for model parts lol..sad part is I absolutely hate clutter 

[Mopar - D]

Awesome details Jeff. I like your seats ? and steering wheel ?. 

[DrKerry]

On 6/5/2022 at 6:13 AM, gotnitro? said:

Thanks Doc ! Part of the hobby i enjoy is figuring out what random stuff can be used for model parts lol..sad part is I absolutely hate clutter 

I hear ya there, same way on this side

[gotnitro?]

I puttered w  the Cat last night , deciding to fab up the windshield visor. Digging thru my supplies yielded a small section of k&s tin, perfect for the visor. Theres still minor shaping left and pinning the attachment points above the doors..but its looking decent. Small marker lights will attach across the top once its permanently attached.

Needed just a slight more angle, grind away a few more thou

Much better ..

I'm getting much closer to primer now, just laid out the new clean out cover on the drum using the curved end of sanding stick..

hoping napa will have dupli color primer today, I've had poor results w rusto

[Mopar - D]

Nice progress Jeff. I’ve also had problems with the rusto primer I’ve gone back to Tamiya primer when I can find it lol. 

[gotnitro?]

Thanks @Mopar - D- local napa still stocks dp primer , just waiting for rain to stop. Ill probably need a sealer coat after using bondo to blend the drum seam

[wayne00]

You might check O’Reillys, the one here has a great Duplicolor rack.

   Rog?

[gotnitro?]

On 6/10/2022 at 1:18 PM, wayne00 said:

You might check O’Reillys, the one here has a great Duplicolor rack.

   Rog?

Thanks Roger I'll swing by O'Reilly. Gotta find the blue shade anyway

[cargostar]

Looking good!!

[gotnitro?]

On 6/13/2022 at 1:08 AM, cargostar said:

Looking good!!

Thanks Dave ! 

[gotnitro?]

I've been puttering slowly w the Cat, ironing out details that caught my eye..

Modern trucks should have an air dryer, so a buddy donated one for my build. I bashed a mount from spare etch from an armor update set..never throw anything away lol. 

The rear mixer pedestal looked bare, so I checked auction sites for ideas. One photo showed some interesting bracing, thin strip and angle was called into service. 

A small hydraulic filter was attached to the drive pedestal along w an oil cooler,  just for eye candy 

Finally the paint started flying !!! I had used a sharpie ( don't ever do this !!!) on the barrel for cutting length down. This kept bleeding thru my primer coats. I remembered a tip from a fellow member here about using silver paint for sealer. Thanks for the trick, it worked fantastic!!!

Then krylon gloss white was sprayed on the drum.  The ends will have a turquoise color like the cab/ hood..then figure out scaling down logos for my decals 

Edited June 15, 2022 by gotnitro?
Spell check sucks

[Mopar - D]

Jeff all your little details are fantastic and will look awesome when you have everything together. The paint on the drum looks good with no bleed through. I could of used that tip with the silver paint when I was building my lowboys. 

[gotnitro?]

Thanks Dan ! I gotta keep working on this or it'll bog down lol 

Painting white over anything usually causes stress. I dusted 2 coats..difficult w this flea bomb..then one coverage coat then walked away. The frame was sprayed last night too. After a few days cure i can add the running gear, tanks, steps and other large parts.

Thanks for following the progress 

[gotnitro?]

I'm gonna drop this here..krylon beach glass 

cant wait to spray those huge fenders black 

gotta chat w vinyl shop about the grill badges 

[Mopar - D]

Nice paint progress Jeff. Yea the black fenders will look good. 

[gotnitro?]

On 6/15/2022 at 8:58 PM, Mopar - D said:

Nice paint progress Jeff. Yea the black fenders will look good. 

Funny you mention those...

Masked w this strips of tamiya tape made it ultra simple. The small recess was dusted w flat black also, later a cat decal will live there .

Now hows all these painted parts gonna look all together? I chose a steel color for the steering wheels then white on the drives . A few more details on the mixer frame then its ready for final install

[Mopar - D]

Jeff there’s no pressure or anything on this awesome build of yours but now seeing how it’s been published and now you will have all the readers checking out what you are building on pages 10&11. Lol. Congratulations on getting your awesome build in issue #214 of Model Cars. 
The mock up looks great I like the colors. 

Edited June 22, 2022 by Mopar - D

[gotnitro?]

Really??? I'll have to check out the magazine,  haven't found it available locally thanks 

[gotnitro?]

Reached the 2nd most exciting part of a build, final assembly  !! Getting the headlight covers and projector lights looking right was a pain. I used small bits off clear sprue for the lights , and bubble package plastic for the covers. 

I sprayed the mixer frame w gloss white,  then printed patterns for decals. I'm waiting for actual decal paper to print the final set 

Close up of the air dryer, and the driver left the water tank nearly full ! Stretched clear sprue then a quick wipe w a blue sharpie made a suitable water line. I still  plan to add a few water hoses and air lines  to tie the build together.

Thanks for following 

Edited June 26, 2022 by gotnitro?

[DrKerry]

Another thing that works well is small LED lights.. Could even wire them up.. lol

[gotnitro?]

1 hour ago, DrKerry said:

Another thing that works well is small LED lights.. Could even wire them up.. lol

Good idea on the LED lights , these barely show . Lol probably won't wire this build ..but ya never know what ll happen

[Mopar - D]

Jeff your continuing with awesome progress. Your getting close to finishing this one up. Do you have another build lined up yet?  My new build is a Rx-7 like the one I had back in 83.