Western Star 4900 FA plow truck

[Biggu]

4 minutes ago, Bren said:

At risk of waxing too philosophical Brian, my submission would be that you are highlighting the difference between an artist and a draftsman. I have always contended that what we do when we build models is create “constrained art”. We decide to accentuate certain things, and omit or modify others. How each of us choose to interpret the raw materials of a kit or scratch built replica is what marks us an artist - and why we love looking at someone else’s work. How did they represent this or that - not whether they succeeded in slavishly reducing the size of a 1:1 object. Your entire project is art, in my view- you have interpreted the real object in a very creative way - I LOVE looking at your updates. Yup - the bumper isn’t dead square - gives the subject character and, as Biggu points out, it can distort that way if stressed in the real beast. My Diamond Reo hood wasn’t quite square to the bumper - which drove me crazy, until I noticed a lot of 1:1 Diamond had exactly that happen over time. So - don’t let it drive you crazy - I think if we could perfectionistically eliminate the least little variation in our work it would render it paradoxically very boring! Keep trucking brother!

Nail hit squarely on the head, Bren. VERY well put. Even if Brian left the truck as it sits now it is still a world class build…

[TrucksMT]

15 hours ago, Biggu said:

Another stunning update. The little bits that aren’t perfectly level are more realistic than you think. All of our trucks were bent and twisted after a  few rounds of heavy pushing. She looks perfect to my eyes, Brian. A little twist and misalignment is dead on ! Very realistic. 

Excellent point Jeff.  Things often aren't perfect in the real world.   A little asymmetry actually adds alot of realism.

[TrucksMT]

2 hours ago, Bren said:

At risk of waxing too philosophical Brian, my submission would be that you are highlighting the difference between an artist and a draftsman. I have always contended that what we do when we build models is create “constrained art”. We decide to accentuate certain things, and omit or modify others. How each of us choose to interpret the raw materials of a kit or scratch built replica is what marks us an artist - and why we love looking at someone else’s work. How did they represent this or that - not whether they succeeded in slavishly reducing the size of a 1:1 object. Your entire project is art, in my view- you have interpreted the real object in a very creative way - I LOVE looking at your updates. Yup - the bumper isn’t dead square - gives the subject character and, as Biggu points out, it can distort that way if stressed in the real beast. My Diamond Reo hood wasn’t quite square to the bumper - which drove me crazy, until I noticed a lot of 1:1 Diamond had exactly that happen over time. So - don’t let it drive you crazy - I think if we could perfectionistically eliminate the least little variation in our work it would render it paradoxically very boring! Keep trucking brother!

I love this.  As someone who is also a visual artist i have always felt that modeling blurs the line.  It's hard to argue that pure scratchbuilding isn't art.  Literally taking raw materials and creating something that is essentially a photographic-level representation of a real object.   I liken it to photo-real drawing or painting, and see many parallels with sculpture.   I really fail to see any difference.   The inspiration and dedication of a modeler is no less than that of a fine artist. 

Certainly I don't want to highjack Brian's thread here, but I also believe it's very relevant.   His work is art.

[AmericanMuscleFan]

The self-criticism of your work and your comparison to the real truck is just another proof of your passion and your commitment to this disproportionate project.  Only a handful of modelers could carry out such monastic work and we are lucky enough to be able to appreciate it through the photos you offer us.  Styrene is a fantastic material but the thinnest we can use in certain cases (body panels for example) is 10 times thicker than the part we want to reproduce and this inevitably affects the precision of what we want to imitate.

You can be proud, even this physical constraint did not prevent you from delivering the goods, the illusion is as perfect as perfection is achievable! 👌

[BK9300]

Bren, Jeff, Dan and Francis - thanks to all of you for these, well, humbling comments!  Hadn't intended my earlier comment(s) to downplay the way the build is turning out - I am very pleased with the progress - just observations that stand out to me!

[BK9300]

Kind of an exciting moment early this afternoon - sitting at my bench when a kind of a low roar started outside and a couple seconds later the house is trembling a bit and a few seconds later, it was over.  Was a 4.7 earthquake about 55 kms away - never experienced that before!  My wife and I, and the two cats, a bit unnerved by that.

 

Found a way to do the cab floor pan supports so the cab could be removed, for additional work, until the cab is finally ready to be glued in place.

The pinned support at the top of the pic will locate into the top of the rear cab suspension; the parts in the lower left form the balance of the front cab/floor pan supports

 

Rear floor pan cab support sitting in place;  I will be painting the front cab supports and CA gluing them and the tubular cross member in place

 

Once the front cab supports and cross member are glued in place, the front, rectangular tube cross member and the rear cross member will have solvent glue applied to them and the cab/hood/floor pan unit will be set in place, starting with the hinges up front, and the hood/cab/floor pan tilted back down onto these two cross members.  I'm hoping to keep the rear cross member lined up properly until glue sets.  Then, I should be able to lift off the cab with the front and rear cross members glued in place to the floor pan, and the cab/hood alignment all working properly as well.  I will then be able to set the cab/floor pan unit back onto the truck in its final position as many times as I need to, to finish adding details to the cab and underneath it as well - that's the plan, anyway!

 

Rectangular and tubular cross members visible - cross members not glued to floor pan yet!

 

Tomorrow, should be able to test fit hinges/hood/cab assembly on top of cab supports and if all looks lined up, I can get the supports glued to the bottom of the floor pan.  If all goes well, should be able to test if hood opens and closes ok and if so, then finish the other few crossmembers under floor pan.  I remain very appreciative of all your comments - take care!

[BK9300]

Had a good result today - this was the test of my plan to set hood/cab unit on the cross members, check final fitting, then glue the top of the cross members and re-set the hood/cab back down on them - all while having the hood's hinge bolts lined up in the hinges.  Thankfully, it turned out well.   I had to make a small adjustment to line hood and cab up, once I took the tape off, but looks good!

 

The was the end result of setting the hood/cab back on top of the cross members, after applying glue.  I can now easily set and re-set the cab on the frame and the hood will be lined up with the cab.  I can now layout the few remaining cross members supporting the floor pan and cab.

 

The hood is no longer taped to the cab and is free standing.  Will still need to CA glue hinge bolts into hinge mounts, eventually. 

 

Very happy with fit of back edge of hood against cab - being supported at back edge by flange installed a ways back - no more tape on hood holding it to cab!

 

Now I can figure out where to cut out hole for air intake plenum from air cleaner

 

Also, need to get on with finishing the hood support mounts that come off the inner brace and line up with the other half of the supports on the firewall.  Short update today, but sure relieved with how the day turned out.  Take care!

Edited February 23 by BK9300

[Biggu]

Brian , you make these mods and fabrication look so easy and that is a true mark of a master craftsman. Outstanding fit … can’t wait for paint.  Great update. 

[cifenet]

It is great to see how things are coming together one by one.

The cab/hood fit looks very good also, all perfect vertical and straight too! 

And I like how you are safely holding the wheels with a couple of nuts while still working under the truck.  Safety has to be First Priority.  

 

 

[Jürgen M.]

Just amazing! Thrilling and entertaining to watch! 👍

[Rockford]

Short update but very significant for this project. I know I'm relieved it worked out and I'm sure many others are too, though we should never have doubted. You've handled this step with the same care and precision as the rest. 

Do you anticipate any issues between the blue cab/white hood when it comes to paint?

[BK9300]

14 hours ago, Biggu said:

Brian , you make these mods and fabrication look so easy and that is a true mark of a master craftsman. Outstanding fit … can’t wait for paint.  Great update. 

Thanks, Jeff.  I don’t know about easy - it took a couple hours of fussing and fidgeting before brave enough to put glue to plastic!  Have some more fiddly details before paint, but looking forward to that, too.

[BK9300]

13 hours ago, cifenet said:

It is great to see how things are coming together one by one.

The cab/hood fit looks very good also, all perfect vertical and straight too! 

And I like how you are safely holding the wheels with a couple of nuts while still working under the truck.  Safety has to be First Priority.  

 

 

The fit turned out well - always good to have a bit of luck involved!  Thanks, Steve.

[BK9300]

10 hours ago, Jürgen M. said:

Just amazing! Thrilling and entertaining to watch! 👍

Thanks, Jürgen - I appreciate that!

[BK9300]

3 hours ago, Rockford said:

Short update but very significant for this project. I know I'm relieved it worked out and I'm sure many others are too, though we should never have doubted. You've handled this step with the same care and precision as the rest. 

Do you anticipate any issues between the blue cab/white hood when it comes to paint?

I’m thankful things turned out well, too, Steve.  There was a good bit of relief on this side as well!

You make a good point about the paint - I hadn’t considered that.  So, maybe some tests would be safe thing to do.  I have two Constellation kits, and one has a very warped, blue hood.  At the risk of too much paint, will paint the hood with grey primer, then white primer and a couple final coats of body colour and see what happens.  Thanks for that!

Edited February 23 by BK9300

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Another step in the right direction, the photos show a perfect fit as you described, who would be surprised, everything is so well organized and thought out!  Probably a good sealant and/or a quality primer will be able to effectively hide the blue Styrene.  I had already read an article on the subject in a modeling magazine, is it certain that it would be more problematic if the final color was white?

[BK9300]

10 minutes ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

Another step in the right direction, the photos show a perfect fit as you described, who would be surprised, everything is so well organized and thought out!  Probably a good sealant and/or a quality primer will be able to effectively hide the blue Styrene.  I had already read an article on the subject in a modeling magazine, is it certain that it would be more problematic if the final color was white?

Well, Francis, Steve and you have me thinking much differently than I was yesterday.  I don't have a good answer at the moment, but I am very glad to be directed to doing some tests, first, before making a potential mess on the cab and hood.  I've been using Tamiya primers so far, both grey on the frame and white on the sander, so we'll see.  Thanks!

[Rockford]

I would hate to see you come a cropper at the last stage.

I seem to recall that some modellers use a coat of silver before the final colour because it blocks the colours underneath but I'm not absolutely certain of that. 

So basically I've frightened the life out of you and walked away. I feel lousy about that. 

Edited February 23 by Rockford
Text editing

[BK9300]

2 hours ago, Rockford said:

So basically I've frightened the life out of you and walked away. I feel lousy about that. 

That's too funny!  Not to worry - I'm actually glad you got me thinking about it.  I'll definitely do some test painting before going ahead on the model itself.

Edited February 23 by BK9300

[Randy D]

Glad to hear that the quake was not more destructive up there my friend!!!

Great idea on the cab mounting.  Your work building up the hood and hinges is a masterclass in scratch building.

Randy

[vincen47]

You continue to impress. I’m looking forward to seeing how the paint tests work out.

[BK9300]

10 hours ago, Randy D said:

Glad to hear that the quake was not more destructive up there my friend!!!

Great idea on the cab mounting.  Your work building up the hood and hinges is a masterclass in scratch building.

Randy

Thanks, Randy - sure don't want to go through the 'Big One' they say could happen out here on the West Coast, if that was only a piddlin' 4.7!

Glad how the cab worked out and, as I said a bit ago, sure can't discount a bit of luck was present!  Thanks again.

[BK9300]

3 hours ago, vincen47 said:

You continue to impress. I’m looking forward to seeing how the paint tests work out.

Thanks, Victor!  Was going to go out back today and see what would happen, but was raining all day - all ready to go, though!

 

[Steve H]

Hi Brian, not at all surprising that everything fit perfectly. Beautiful work. Those moments in a build where main assemblies come together and fit as planned, are very rewarding. 
My 2 cents on the paint. Steve (Rockford) above is correct about the silver base as a colour block for the plastic. This would be more commonly used as a block for red plastic which tends to bleed and turn white paint pink. I think you would probably be ok with just primer, but definitely do some testing, and maybe consider a base of silver. Others here may have a more informed opinion. 
‘Keep up the amazing work, very much looking forward to seeing this in person sometime. 

[BK9300]

Wet and miserable here today and not much accomplished inside either.  Spent a bit of time yesterday getting the spare hood and a scrap piece of white styrene ready to do the test painting, but that will need to wait for a drier day.

Also got a bit done on underside of floor pan - not lots, just carrying on!

 

Ready for the 'Rockford' test paint job!

 

Cut, drilled and placed the remainder of what I wanted to do underneath the floor pan.  I didn't think about taking many pics underneath the cab of the real truck, but I did get a few.  

 

A glimpse of some future detailing - 

 

Didn't finish the hood supports yet, because I finally glued the inner hood brace in place and have always (mostly!) let newly glued items set up over night.  Perhaps tomorrow - take care!