TrucksMT Posted January 27 Posted January 27 1 hour ago, vincen47 said: Great updates on your progress, Brian. Nice work on the hood. I’ll have to remember that “caulk” technique. Me too...thats a great tip
BK9300 Posted January 27 Author Posted January 27 On 1/26/2025 at 11:21 AM, cifenet said: What an amazing WIP so far, covers incredible progress and I really enjoy seeing details getting implemented! Thanks very much, Steve - I know there's lots going on but thanks for having a look! 6 hours ago, vincen47 said: Great updates on your progress, Brian. Nice work on the hood. I’ll have to remember that “caulk” technique. I appreciate that, Victor - so far, so good with the body work - a coat of primer will tell all! 4 hours ago, TrucksMT said: Me too...thats a great tip Yes, it works well - who knew the counter top guy would end up helping with my model! 1
BK9300 Posted January 28 Author Posted January 28 (edited) Slow progress with the body work, but it’s coming along! In the meantime. . . Many years ago, a video was made by Rob Bryce, showcasing the work of some of the road crews of YRB as well as those of the City of Prince George. All the solid yellow trucks belong to YRB while the white cab/yellow dump body trucks, and other equipment, were the City of PG. Now, the music for the video is not everyone’s cup of tea, but Rob sure got some great Go-Pro and drone action shots of the plow trucks, like the one I’m modelling. He dedicated the video to these road maintenance workers - a fitting tribute to an often thankless job! Edited January 28 by BK9300 3
BK9300 Posted January 28 Author Posted January 28 Some progress on the hood has been happening; have done an initial sanding on first go round of putty (needs a bit more). Been doing some test fittings of cab/hood together to see about any height adjustments that may be needed - back on page 1, I made a rear cab air bag/shock suspension and I can still set the cab forward or backward as needed to make the front of the hood locate properly. I will need to make a slight height adjustment to the cab suspension as I finalize where I need to attach front hood hinges. The front cab support will need work as well. Lots of going back and forth from the model, to pictures I took today, to get it straight in my head about what's needed next! Hood sanded after first bit of puttying When I test fit the hood to cab again, thought I better check some alignment, front of hood to door line on cab. Cab positioned so door line vertically correct, but.. front of hood needs to drop down slightly - will have to do that by shaving a wedge off of the back edge of hood. With the hood alignment corrected I set cab/hood on frame to check for height and to also start the determination of where the WS style hood hinges need to mount. The blue arrow indicates the hood hinge point provided by the kit, but its too low for the hood to tilt properly - I need to fashion hood hinges that mount to the frame, approximately, where red arrow is pointing. I have a couple of rod ends from RB Motion that I hope to make work, that will connect the bottom of the grill surround with the hinge support. Hood/cab will need to come up about 1.5 mm to allow hood to hinge properly using the new hinges. Rear cab support will also need a 1.5mm shim added on top of it - bottom of cab will still be at a height above the frame rails similar to that in my pics of real truck While cab/hood were roughly in place, I needed to check out the clearance for the inner fender and rubber flap that are on real truck - that flap was riveted to the inner fender molding, and extended just slightly below the top of the frame rail I was worried about interference with the flap, by power steering hoses and brake pot air line - the photo is kind of grainy, but, given that the flap only extends downwards to just below top of frame rail, it shouldn't interfere with any hoses. While taking the fender clearance photos, it became clear that the modifications to move the firewall back made problems for me with the front cab mount. This mount was made a long time ago, not knowing about any future work to cab/hood I might do. So, now I need to shim the support piece because it sits right at the junction where the footwell starts to slope up. Seems like I keep creating more work for myself! But, I really think that, once the hinge problem is solved, the rest of this is going to go reasonably quickly. Going out to the shed to apply a bit more putty to hood. In a few days, after the inner fenders are shaped and in place, and the hood re-sanded, should be able to give it a shot of primer and see what that reveals for any more work! As always, take care, and I welcome your questions and comments! 4
Scott Eriksen Posted January 29 Posted January 29 23 hours ago, BK9300 said: Slow progress with the body work, but it’s coming along! In the meantime. . . Many years ago, a video was made by Rob Bryce, showcasing the work of some of the road crews of YRB as well as those of the City of Prince George. All the solid yellow trucks belong to YRB while the white cab/yellow dump body trucks, and other equipment, were the City of PG. Now, the music for the video is not everyone’s cup of tea, but Rob sure got some great Go-Pro and drone action shots of the plow trucks, like the one I’m modelling. He dedicated the video to these road maintenance workers - a fitting tribute to an often thankless job! I guess when you gotta break out the D9 the snow is pretty deep ,,,lol ! 2
Scott Eriksen Posted January 29 Posted January 29 1 hour ago, BK9300 said: Some progress on the hood has been happening; have done an initial sanding on first go round of putty (needs a bit more). Been doing some test fittings of cab/hood together to see about any height adjustments that may be needed - back on page 1, I made a rear cab air bag/shock suspension and I can still set the cab forward or backward as needed to make the front of the hood locate properly. I will need to make a slight height adjustment to the cab suspension as I finalize where I need to attach front hood hinges. The front cab support will need work as well. Lots of going back and forth from the model, to pictures I took today, to get it straight in my head about what's needed next! Hood sanded after first bit of puttying When I test fit the hood to cab again, thought I better check some alignment, front of hood to door line on cab. Cab positioned so door line vertically correct, but.. front of hood needs to drop down slightly - will have to do that by shaving a wedge off of the back edge of hood. With the hood alignment corrected I set cab/hood on frame to check for height and to also start the determination of where the WS style hood hinges need to mount. The blue arrow indicates the hood hinge point provided by the kit, but its too low for the hood to tilt properly - I need to fashion hood hinges that mount to the frame, approximately, where red arrow is pointing. I have a couple of rod ends from RB Motion that I hope to make work, that will connect the bottom of the grill surround with the hinge support. Hood/cab will need to come up about 1.5 mm to allow hood to hinge properly using the new hinges. Rear cab support will also need a 1.5mm shim added on top of it - bottom of cab will still be at a height above the frame rails similar to that in my pics of real truck While cab/hood were roughly in place, I needed to check out the clearance for the inner fender and rubber flap that are on real truck - that flap was riveted to the inner fender molding, and extended just slightly below the top of the frame rail I was worried about interference with the flap, by power steering hoses and brake pot air line - the photo is kind of grainy, but, given that the flap only extends downwards to just below top of frame rail, it shouldn't interfere with any hoses. While taking the fender clearance photos, it became clear that the modifications to move the firewall back made problems for me with the front cab mount. This mount was made a long time ago, not knowing about any future work to cab/hood I might do. So, now I need to shim the support piece because it sits right at the junction where the footwell starts to slope up. Seems like I keep creating more work for myself! But, I really think that, once the hinge problem is solved, the rest of this is going to go reasonably quickly. Going out to the shed to apply a bit more putty to hood. In a few days, after the inner fenders are shaped and in place, and the hood re-sanded, should be able to give it a shot of primer and see what that reveals for any more work! As always, take care, and I welcome your questions and comments! I got a miniature machine screw assortment on Amazon that has assorted flat washers,,they are perfect for "dialing in" cab mounts-height
AmericanMuscleFan Posted January 29 Posted January 29 1 hour ago, BK9300 said: Seems like I keep creating more work for myself! This is the story of my life Brian but that's how it is when you invest in this kind of modification. My little finger tells me that you will find a solution! 😁 I never tire of seeing the quality and your attention to every little detail, needless to say you know your stuff! 👍 1
BK9300 Posted January 29 Author Posted January 29 16 hours ago, Scott Eriksen said: I got a miniature machine screw assortment on Amazon that has assorted flat washers,,they are perfect for "dialing in" cab mounts-height Do you have a link to that set of machine screws on Amazon? Not sure my searches showed what you are talking about… That’s quite a garage full of new plow trucks! I wish there was a 1/24, WS 4700 cab/hood out there - good looking truck. The truck in the foreground must be for freeway - two wings! And, looks like it might have two tag axles? Must be quite the dump box on there - big load for fewer trips back to re-load!
BK9300 Posted January 29 Author Posted January 29 16 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said: This is the story of my life Brian but that's how it is when you invest in this kind of modification. My little finger tells me that you will find a solution! 😁 I never tire of seeing the quality and your attention to every little detail, needless to say you know your stuff! 👍 Thanks, Francis! Sometimes it feels like the model is dictating what to do, rather than me!
Scott Eriksen Posted January 29 Posted January 29 53 minutes ago, BK9300 said: Do you have a link to that set of machine screws on Amazon? Not sure my searches showed what you are talking about… That’s quite a garage full of new plow trucks! I wish there was a 1/24, WS 4700 cab/hood out there - good looking truck. The truck in the foreground must be for freeway - two wings! And, looks like it might have two tag axles? Must be quite the dump box on there - big load for fewer trips back to re-load! I have a couple ,,,I use an eyeglass repair kit ,,I used those screws for my mirror brackets > Amazon.com: Upgrade Version Magnetic Eye Glass Repairing Kit, Eyeglass Repair Tool Kit with Compact Screw Box Include Nose Pads, Precision Screwdriver Set, Screws, Tweezer for Eyeglass, Sunglass, Spectacles Watch : Health & Household / Another kit that I've used for many things > Amazon.com: 600pcs Screws and Nuts, Stainless Steel Nut and Bolt Assortment Kit M1 M1.2 M1.4 M1.6 for Watches Glassess : Industrial & Scientific / A miniature spring kit > Dianrui 300PCS Compression Springs Assortment Kit 23 Different Sizes Mini Spring Stainless Steel Mechanical Small Springs for DIY Repair Project: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific / And this kit which I use the most and has the flat washers > HELIFOUNER 420 Pieces M2 x 6mm /8mm /10mm /12mm /16mm /20mm, Phillips Pan Head Machine Screws, Metric Screws Bolts Washers Nuts Kit, 304 Stainless Steel: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific 1
BK9300 Posted January 31 Author Posted January 31 (edited) Continued on with the hood today; did final sanding before priming, then started work on the inner fender panels. Not quite ready for first primer coat - central raised section on hood needs to be fashioned and inner fender work completed Made more templates from existing inner fender edge - first go at template taped down to sheet to hold it in place for cutting. Needed to cut templated inner panel into sections because real WS 4900 panels step inwards in two places Remainder of templated panel, with holes pre-drilled for bolts to hold rubber flap in place once hood is painted Final templated panels in place Some tidying up to do, once glue sets; am also going to try and make the inner hood brace - see next pic This pic shows a real hood's inner brace - will have to test fit hood/cab on frame again, to determine if there is enough clearance, between the top of the engine's valve cover and the bottom of a brace, for the air intake plenum to cross over to the turbo Will carry on again tomorrow - will check clearance in the morning and see if a version of a brace is possible. Thanks! Edited January 31 by BK9300 typo 3
Biggu Posted January 31 Posted January 31 Brian, your fabrication work is outstanding. This is well in hand. It is coming together masterfully. Can’t wait for your next update
Bronzekeg Posted January 31 Posted January 31 3 hours ago, Biggu said: Brian, your fabrication work is outstanding. This is well in hand. It is coming together masterfully. Can’t wait for your next update x2....... great job!! 1
BK9300 Posted February 1 Author Posted February 1 23 hours ago, Biggu said: Brian, your fabrication work is outstanding. This is well in hand. It is coming together masterfully. Can’t wait for your next update Thank, Jeff - always seems to be more clean up needed than I think is going to be the case! The photos always show more rough edges than my eyes can see. 1
BK9300 Posted February 1 Author Posted February 1 19 hours ago, Bronzekeg said: x2....... great job!! Thanks a lot, Ken!
BK9300 Posted February 1 Author Posted February 1 Some days, lots to show for my efforts, but today was not one of those days - a couple of do-overs held up starting the inner brace. Did get the inner fenders finished off, though, so that's a bonus. Had to retest the fit of the cab/hood with them both being raised by 2mm. Measurements from the desk top to the top of the hood, show I should be able to do the inner hood brace and not have a conflict with the air intake plenum. It was also gratifying to see the driver side row of bolt holes (for the inner fender rubber flap) are close to parallel with the frame rail In order to finish off the inner fenders, I had wanted to add something resembling the reinforcement structure that is part of the fiberglass molded inner fenders on the real truck. This inner most layer of ribbing shown here should actually have been depressions, instead of being raised. Again, not paying close enough attention to pics of real hood, I made a mistake in the layer below, so this is the result I will need to live with. Enough do overs done today on the ribbing as it was! So, guess I'll have to wait till later this weekend to see about that inner brace. Hope you all have a good weekend and thanks again for the generous comments along the way! 5
AmericanMuscleFan Posted February 2 Posted February 2 Excellent work (as usual) on the inner fenders Brian, the reinforcements seem perfectly credible, I really like them! 👌 1
BK9300 Posted February 2 Author Posted February 2 On 2/1/2025 at 4:02 AM, Force said: Very nice. Thanks for checking it out, Håkan - I appreciate it.
BK9300 Posted February 2 Author Posted February 2 4 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said: Excellent work (as usual) on the inner fenders Brian, the reinforcements seem perfectly credible, I really like them! 👌 Thanks very much, Francis - the reinforcements will look better once the finish sanding, painting and the rubber flaps are in place, so will carry on with the brace!
BK9300 Posted February 2 Author Posted February 2 Yesterday afternoon and this morning had lots of fiddly stuff going with the inner brace - mostly, because I only have a general idea of what I want to do, but not necessarily knowing how I will do it, so a bit of starting and stopping goes on! Issues with taking measurements and keeping hood square so the brace wouldn't warp it once it gets glued in and lots of checking back to original pics. The result is close enough to be acceptable and that's a good thing! While I was trying to get measurements initially, kept getting slightly different ones, each time I went back. Discovered I was unintentionally spreading the fenders apart while trying to hold the hood and measure. So, I made a little jig out of channel to 'lock' the fender width in place while handling, and taped it in place Some framing pieces of the brace spot glued in place (because I couldn't think of any other way to have one piece stay still while fitting the next piece!) I then glued temporary cross bracing in so the frame pieces would hold their shape when I cut them off the hood Started laying out the filler pieces for the remainder of the brace This morning I was able to start some cleanup and initial shaping - some puttying and more sanding to do once fully set Inner brace temporarily sitting in place - when I looked at this pic, decided it would be a good thing to check what the clearance under the hood would actually be, now that the brace could sit in its final position. I took a measurement from desk top to bottom, rear edge of fenders with the cab/hood in place, then mocked up hood without cab - should be plenty of room to get air intake from air filter over to turbo I'm spending a lot of time 'under the hood', because I hope to display the hood open from time to time. Hood is not exactly where it will end up (its sitting a little high and too far forward), but you can see through grille opening why I needed to separate the grille bars from the surround - bars would have hit the front plow lift arm when the hood is fully open Not totally certain what's next, other than to carry on with tidying up the fabrication under the hood, then a first coat of primer and then the hood hinges, before final primer and paint. Then the cab interior?! Every day gets closer to being done, but still a ways to go. Take care! 4
AmericanMuscleFan Posted February 3 Posted February 3 We see that there is plenty of space between the hood and the engine. 👍 A small ball of Play-Doh or Silly Putty is very useful for checking or taking precise measurements when elements are closer together or interference is suspected. I have already tried this technique and it works quite well. 2
BK9300 Posted February 3 Author Posted February 3 17 minutes ago, AmericanMuscleFan said: We see that there is plenty of space between the hood and the engine. 👍 A small ball of Play-Doh or Silly Putty is very useful for checking or taking precise measurements when elements are closer together or interference is suspected. I have already tried this technique and it works quite well. Thanks, Francis - I'll have to keep that in mind next time I have close quarters - thanks for the tip! 1
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