Scott Eriksen Posted January 11 Posted January 11 Looks like the AMT is a few bucks more than the Italeri for whatever reason 1
BK9300 Posted January 11 Author Posted January 11 (edited) 10 hours ago, Scott Eriksen said: I just checked on Scalemates the AMT kit is the Italeri kit ,,,or started out as,,,, 1st time boxed as an AMT was in 2023 Found Scalemates a few months ago - great site for kit release history and copies of instruction sheets Edited January 11 by BK9300 1
BK9300 Posted January 13 Author Posted January 13 (edited) Progress seems to come in small batches these days, but that's ok, its not a race! A little bit for the front plow and some work on the hood underway. Needed to make two, lift chain brackets to add to the clevis on the front plow's lift arm After the chain brackets are painted, I will need to cut the top through, on an angle, slip them onto the clevis, glue the cuts and repair the paint. Can't separate the clevis like I did earlier for the clevises on the push frame, so this is the only way I know to get the brackets onto/into the clevis. Ready to cut the brackets and put on the lift arm clevis Have sanded away the raised rib on top of the fenders as well as the decorative feature on the side panels Filler pieces glued and clamped in position - will still need to redo a cutout on the driver's side, but for now, I needed the extra material because of how the back edge of the hood will change when I make the cuts to widen it. All will be trimmed and squared up once the final front to back measurement on the hood has been set. Once the filler pieces are well set and sanded smooth, then I can make the cuts along the fender/side panels and on the top of the hood. Tomorrow, might be able to temporarily hook up the lift chains to the clevis brackets to see how it looks. Thanks for dropping by! Edited January 13 by BK9300 3
Force Posted January 13 Posted January 13 On 1/11/2025 at 8:53 AM, BK9300 said: Found Scalemates a few months ago - great site for kit release history and copies of instruction sheets Unfortunately all information on there are not entirely correct all the time, and some info is missing sometimes, I mean some models that share tooling should be on the same timeline...but they are not all the time so it can be hard to find the correct information there. Great progress anyway and I look forward to see the result.
Pete68 Posted January 13 Posted January 13 2 hours ago, BK9300 said: Thanks, Lee - appreciate you having a look! Your welcome Brian
BK9300 Posted January 13 Author Posted January 13 3 hours ago, Force said: Unfortunately all information on there are not entirely correct all the time, and some info is missing sometimes, I mean some models that share tooling should be on the same timeline...but they are not all the time so it can be hard to find the correct information there. Great progress anyway and I look forward to see the result. Thanks, Håkan - it’s getting much closer to being finished.
AmericanMuscleFan Posted January 14 Posted January 14 Brian, Brian, Brian, It's 18 pages of pure joy and pure passion to look at! It's been a long time since I took the time to come and see the projects in this category and you prove to me how passionate you guys are about trucks. It's so nice to see an artist with all the talent you have use it to create such jewelry! I am so impressed by the quantity and quality of work done in such a short period of time, it's beyond me! I take my hat off to you! 🎩 1
BK9300 Posted January 14 Author Posted January 14 13 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said: Brian, Brian, Brian, It's 18 pages of pure joy and pure passion to look at! It's been a long time since I took the time to come and see the projects in this category and you prove to me how passionate you guys are about trucks. It's so nice to see an artist with all the talent you have use it to create such jewelry! I am so impressed by the quantity and quality of work done in such a short period of time, it's beyond me! I take my hat off to you! 🎩 Francis, thanks for your very kind words - 18 pages, so far, is a lot to endure in one sitting! To be fair, work on this truck had been going on for about a year and a half before I started posting, so I’m much less quick than it would seem. And about ‘jewelry’, I would refer everyone to your machined parts in your Demon and Dodge D100 builds! Thanks again. 2
AmericanMuscleFan Posted January 14 Posted January 14 35 minutes ago, BK9300 said: Francis, thanks for your very kind words - 18 pages, so far, is a lot to endure in one sitting! To be fair, work on this truck had been going on for about a year and a half before I started posting, so I’m much less quick than it would seem. And about ‘jewelry’, I would refer everyone to your machined parts in your Demon and Dodge D100 builds! Thanks again. You are just too kind and modest Brian, what I can then add is that we have a mutual admiration for this hobby even if we do not play in the same class! I persist and sign, you have a crazy talent and I will come to fill up on motivation on your thread and the subsequent ones I hope! Trust me, I won't wait another 18 pages before showing up! 😉 1
BK9300 Posted January 14 Author Posted January 14 Have some of the modifications to the cab roughed in and initial shaping done - more to do along bottom aprons of cab, to tie into the added styrene. Also managed to finish off the lift arm's chain brackets and added lengths of chain to the push frame clevises that will be hooked into those brackets. Redefined area to be cut out, with painter's tape Initial cuts made on both sides Styrene filler pieces glued in and rough shaped - now I have a definite side to side width to work to when widening the back end of the hood. More styrene strips to add along bottom edge of cab, to tie into these styrene modifications Chain lengths added to clevises - was a chore to close the connecting links once they were slipped onto the clevises! Couple mock up pics of lift chains temporarily in place and connected to lift arm - will do a final length adjustment once plow is in place permanently Going to carry on with the cab modifications and hopefully, make some cuts on the hood today as well - thanks! 2
BK9300 Posted January 15 Author Posted January 15 Finished making the cuts on the hood and gently bent the hood halves apart, and taped them down fairly close to their final position. A few repeat looking pics, but after all the cutting. Cuts made where fenders meet side panels, a wedge cut out of top and a relief line cut across top, front edge Fenders separated and taped down to desired width. The entire back edge of the hood will need to be cut approximately along the line defined by the blue tape Very close, not perfect, to the look/width of this year of 4900FA. It remains for me to do a decent job of gluing it all back together strong enough to put up with the puttying and sanding that will be needed to finish it off properly You can see better in this pic the need for the relief line across the top, front of the hood, to allow for the front edge of the hood halves to pull away when the back edge was spread apart. Happy with where the hood is at for now - still have to work on keeping the slight curvature of the back edge of the hood. May need to make a little styrene jig, with the needed curve, to set the hood on while filler styrene is glued in place. Hopefully, I can get this looking pretty good in the next few days. Take care! 3
Biggu Posted January 15 Posted January 15 fabulous engineering and design work................. you got this for sure
BK9300 Posted January 15 Author Posted January 15 3 minutes ago, Biggu said: fabulous engineering and design work................. you got this for sure Thanks, Jeff - coming along but it’s nerve wracking while sawing away on a good hood!
AmericanMuscleFan Posted January 15 Posted January 15 Great job on the cab modifications Brian. 👍 It's crazy how accurate and believable your handcrafted pieces are, I have to check the photos more than once to convince myself that these are scale pieces. That reminds me, you must have a huge inventory of Styrene, that's not a subcompact you're making?
BK9300 Posted January 15 Author Posted January 15 (edited) 56 minutes ago, AmericanMuscleFan said: Great job on the cab modifications Brian. 👍 It's crazy how accurate and believable your handcrafted pieces are, I have to check the photos more than once to convince myself that these are scale pieces. That reminds me, you must have a huge inventory of Styrene, that's not a subcompact you're making? Thanks, Francis, I appreciate it! Have been able to use paper templates made from my 3D model to make parts for most of the scratch built items - sure helped with keeping everything in proportion.. And yes, lots of styrene, with a well stocked hobby store about half an hour away if I run low! Edited January 15 by BK9300
AmericanMuscleFan Posted January 15 Posted January 15 18 minutes ago, BK9300 said: And yes, lots of styrene, with a well stocked hobby store about half an hour away if I run low! I am jealous and envious! Very few have survived around here, so I have to rely on the postal system to replenish my inventory. 😭
Pete68 Posted January 15 Posted January 15 On 1/13/2025 at 7:39 AM, BK9300 said: Thanks, Lee - appreciate you having a look! Your welcome Brian and your updates look great.
BK9300 Posted January 16 Author Posted January 16 (edited) Progress being made on the hood - thankfully, things are going back together without too much of a struggle, but a good bit to go yet. Side panels have been glued back in their new position on the fenders - started to mark out the cut line at the back edge of the hood. I also have a 2mm thick profile piece temporarily glued in place to help keep the fenders lined up while the glue sets. Thankfully, there won't be too much putty work need on the fenders - not the same for the top of the hood! Similar to previous pic, but this angle shows better an unexpected benefit from doing the widening at the back of the hood - it will allow for an inner fender very similar to a real WS hood Used hood - may have a go at the inner support brace as well Will carry on with putting the top of hood back together tomorrow! Edited January 16 by BK9300 2
Biggu Posted January 16 Posted January 16 Excellent update. You’re making this look easy, which I know certainly isn’t. The mark of a true craftsman.
BK9300 Posted January 16 Author Posted January 16 8 hours ago, Gary Chastain said: Outstanding fab work Thanks for the compliment, Gary! Hopefully, not too much more to do, but still some! 1
BK9300 Posted January 16 Author Posted January 16 5 hours ago, Biggu said: Excellent update. You’re making this look easy, which I know certainly isn’t. The mark of a true craftsman. It may look 'easy' but like I said, there was lots of 'sweating bullets' while cutting apart the hood - I don't have any more left if I screw it up again! Thanks for the kind words, Jeff.
BK9300 Posted January 16 Author Posted January 16 (edited) Pressing on with the hood, managed to get the hood back in one piece again - just need to let the styrene glue set up overnight before starting on some cleanup sanding prior to more work on the hood. Then, I created another problem for myself. . . Yesterday, I started this particular round of work by adding in the two, triangle pieces at front edge of hood. Was able to use these pieces as wedges to bring the front edge of the grill opening back to true. I also temporarily glued in another profile piece in the middle span of the hood, so the filler pieces would better follow the slight curve in the hood, front to back The original hood plastic is 1.5mm thick - I didn't think I could get a filler piece that thick to lay along the hood curve I needed, so I used two layers of 0.75mm thick styrene, cut to shape. The lower portions glued in first and the upper sections glued down after, allowed both layers to better conform to the profile pieces and the back edge of the front grill. Glued and clamped in place, the filler pieces are, thankfully, following the line of the hood, front to back. I taped the hood down to this box so all four corners were on the same level as the filler pieces are setting up. Side shot shows how the two, 0.75 mm filler pieces had laid in nicely and are following the curve by sitting on top of the profile pieces I added. Once all this has set up overnight, I will prep and finish the top of the hood for the addition of the raised, center portion characteristic of this year's 4900FA hood. So, as mentioned earlier, this is my problem - more work maybe needed on the back, side and top, edges of the hood. If I had paid better attention to my pictures of the real truck, the 2010 hood flares up slightly at the cab, has a curved side to side profile and had indentations at the rear corners to clear part of the cab's body work. This is the top profile of the hood like the one from the real truck Also, the Constellation model's cab has a firewall that is extended further away from the cab than the truck I am modeling - I looked again at my temporarily assembled dash and cab floor pan and, given how the Constellation kit goes together, the only way I could modify the exterior cab's firewall position would require that I cut back on 'cavity' between the dashboard and the inner cab wall against the firewall, and move the doghouse inward a bit as well - Not sure I'm up for all that extra work at this point in the build. Need to think about it for the next couple days, to see if there is an acceptable way to do a reasonable job of that. Lots to think about, but need to keep moving forward - will let you know in a few days! Thanks for having a look and always appreciate your comments. Edited January 16 by BK9300 2
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