Western Star 4900 FA plow truck

[BK9300]

I was going through the parts tree for the Alaska Hauler and found a pair of chrome, Donaldson air cleaners, marked on the instructions 'Not for use'.  They were definitely smaller in diameter than the non-chrome one from the kit I did the earlier work on.  After a few trial fits and and removing about 1.5 mm from the overall height, I think this air cleaner will be able to be used and the hood will still open and close without hitting it.  While the air cleaner modifications set up, I prepped some of the small cab pieces for priming and painting and spent the afternoon painting.  Also got second coats on the floor pan underside and on the dash

 

The windshield washer reservoir still needs a coat, or two, of dull or satin clear to give the illusion of reservoir itself - hoping to get it to look a bit more like the filler hose portion.  Also, two short tubing extension have been added, positioned below the control tower, for wiring runs to exit/enter the cab floor.  The small, rectangular box on the upslope of the footwell is another receptacle that part of the front wall harness will hopefully plug into

 

Might not show up well in the pic, but the control tower and the mast have been painted using Alclad 'Steel' - it is not as dark as the satin black underside of the floor pan and should be a nice contrast to the rubber black floor mat which is getting painted tomorrow

 

The hood supports, overflow tank and the fuse box are temporarily in place so I could see what size of Wave spring would best suit an attempt at the basic wiring harness(es) I want to do.  This size spring looks to be a bit big, so next size down (2.0mm) should do it.  I'm planning to insert an appropriate gauge, normal wire with a copper core, into the spring which can be formed into curves and will hold the shape needed for the harnesses.

 

I test fitted the door cards into the cab today.  Once the cab is painted and the door cards glued in, the goal is to lay out some of the wiring harness, attaching the ends at a nearby point inside the frame, then set the floor pan/dash assembly on the cab mounts, and get the wiring from the sander tucked up under the cab in one tube, and add the few wires leaving the cab, out to somewhere along the frame.  Then the glass can be put in the cab and the cab can be lowered down over the floor pan and glued, the wiring harnesses 'plugged' in and hope that everything still lines up to have the hood work properly!  All this is several days off but, that's part of the plan for the next week or so.  Take care!

[Biggu]

Brian …. When do we fuel this baby and flash her up for a spin?? It is SO real and no detail missed, it is like we can fuel and fire her up and blast off down the road........ Holy what incredible details you’re adding. These are things I never would have thought to do nor have the talent to do them anyway. You have the steadiness and the talents of a surgeon.  Fabulous to watch and to watch and wonder whats next.  

Edited March 18 by Biggu
added a few new words

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Just a thought about the difficulty or small problems you encounter with the fitting of the parts, do not forget that the precision required is at the factor of 25x due to the 1/25 scale (I may have already mentioned it to you, I sometimes repeat myself...🙄).

Like you, I am a detail freak and there is a price to pay for this but in the end, the satisfaction is great and you give us a great show during this time!

[BK9300]

10 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

Just a thought about the difficulty or small problems you encounter with the fitting of the parts, do not forget that the precision required is at the factor of 25x due to the 1/25 scale (I may have already mentioned it to you, I sometimes repeat myself...🙄).

Like you, I am a detail freak and there is a price to pay for this but in the end, the satisfaction is great and you give us a great show during this time!

  Always good to hear from you, Francis - repeat away, if needed because I sometimes forget - thanks!

[BK9300]

Tried to do some work on the firewall today, but quickly found that I had no clear idea, for the moment, about how to make a couple of the parts or how to 'wire' them all together.  Going to have to let thoughts about that process ferment for a bit till the way forward becomes a little clearer!   Only got a bit of painting accomplished yesterday and today I managed to drop the mast for the monitor and needed to repair and repaint it.  Also forgot to add a couple items the interior before painting it yesterday, so, you'll see a couple pics with the floor painted and then another pic with those extra items added in.  I'll need to repaint the interior floor again tomorrow.

 

Another little touch up I had wanted to do - I added a bit of white to satin clear and sprayed three light coats on the reservoir.  To my eye, that has toned down the original blue and the satin clear goes a bit of the way to looking like an opaque container with the fluid in it.  To me, the fluid in the reservoir should look slightly different than the fluid in the clear filler hose

 

I added a bit of flat white to the Rubber Black, as the real truck's floor mat had a bit of a grey look to it - could have just been the light I was looking at the truck in, but I'm pleased with the contrast between the steel of the control tower and the floor material.  The hydraulic control boots are just sitting on the control tower, taped so they won't fall over

 

The monitor's electrical outlets are drilled for small wiring to be added later

 

No comfort for any ride-a-long passenger in these trucks - would be pretty rigid, I'm imagining!

 

So, at some point while painting yesterday, I realized I had more things I had wanted to add to the interior front wall - by the driver's left foot, there is a pass through for some air lines from somewhere up in the dashboard, the brake and accelerator pedals and the heater from the Alaskan Hauler kit.  Also, at the back under the control tower area, there are four more holes drilled - these holes are for the vent lines from valving controls under the control tower

 

Short update today - spent lots of time thinking and fussing with what to do about wiring firewall.  I'll see what the next few bench sessions produces - take care!

Edited March 20 by BK9300

[BK9300]

Just spent a few hours making, then discarding some prototype wiring for firewall.  One of the problems I was having is that the Wave springs are very flexible over the 5" lengths they come in, but not so much over a 1" length.  I am going to use a copper wire core for two of the longer runs, to hold the loom shape, but that didn't work well for me in my attempts this morning.  After more thinking, I decided to try and do part of what is done on the real truck - I needed to see about making hold down clamps.

 

I fabricated a semblance of a Power Distribution Unit, that will mount below and to the side of the steering column.  In the center of the pic are two attempts at clamps, made from 0.2 mm sheet aluminum.  The white wires are the main feeds from the PDU up to the fuse box and the red wire is coming from battery via the starter.  I'm dropped down another size for the Wave spring, using a 1.5mm one instead, and more of those tiny, Top Studio bolts!

 

I had to CA glue the clamps to the temporary firewall because they kept swiveling on the bolt when I tried to feed the spring/loom through the clamps.  I'll be making more anyway, for other parts of the harness - I just needed to see if this would work

 

Am very happy how this is turning out!  This is one run of five runs I hope to create, that will collect into two, 2.0 mm looms that will run under the cab 'terminating' out of sight along either side of the frame.  It's a far cry from the complexity of the real thing, but will still satisfy my goal for the impression of harnesses.

 

Given how this had to be made, and some troubles I had orienting the firewall to be able to place things, I think I have to change how I was going to put this together on the model's firewall.  Had hoped to build everything on temp firewall and then just 'plug' it all into the model's firewall.  Might still be possible - I'll have to cross that bridge later!  Have to go and re-do some painting from work done yesterday.  Take care!

 

[Biggu]

Brilliant. !!

Edited March 20 by Biggu

[cifenet]

Wow, all those small details make up big!  

And it is almost like wiring your home electrical junction boxes except your tool is your tweezers.      Good work!

 

[Gary Chastain]

The details just keep coming……you are on another level. If you wire in the Key switch…..I’m throwing the towel in🤣😂

[Biggu]

1 hour ago, Gary Chastain said:

The details just keep coming……you are on another level. If you wire in the Key switch…..I’m throwing the towel in🤣😂

When he does that, Gary , it is an old school square GM style key😉😉

[BK9300]

 

2 hours ago, Biggu said:

Brilliant. !!

Thanks, Jeff - appreciate you letting me bounce my ideas off you!
 

1 hour ago, cifenet said:

Wow, all those small details make up big!  

And it is almost like wiring your home electrical junction boxes except your tool is your tweezers.      Good work!

 

I appreciate it, Steve.  At least I won’t be any shocks doing this wiring!

[BK9300]

1 hour ago, Gary Chastain said:

The details just keep coming……you are on another level. If you wire in the Key switch…..I’m throwing the towel in🤣😂

Too funny, Gary - not wiring in the key switch, but I do have keys!

8 minutes ago, Biggu said:

When he does that, Gary , it is an old school square GM style key😉😉

So, I have three kinds - square it is!

[Mopar - D]

Brian very impressive build that keeps going to the next level of detail! 

[BK9300]

3 hours ago, Mopar - D said:

Brian very impressive build that keeps going to the next level of detail! 

Thanks very much, Dan and looking forward to an update on your car hauler trailer!

[AmericanMuscleFan]

More great details on the firewall Brian, the only problem is you have such great details all around this build, we won't know where to look!  Nice problem isn't it? 😁

[BK9300]

23 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

More great details on the firewall Brian, the only problem is you have such great details all around this build, we won't know where to look!  Nice problem isn't it? 😁

Thank you, Francis.  Lots to look at in the pics, but I might need that magnifying lamp handy for people to see some of the details when it’s finished!

[BK9300]

A few more tiny bits made up for the firewall assembly I've been working on.  Still one more item to fabricate, paint and plumb - the heater/AC plumbing manifold on the passenger side of firewall.  But, fairly soon now, I'm going to have to get the cab prepped, primed, repaired if needed and painted, so I can get the work I've been doing on the temporary firewall transferred to the model's firewall.  I do see light at the end of the tunnel!

 

A bit out of focus on the firewall, but got three more clamps made and set in position to test fit looms through.  The three firewall connectors are made and three 1.5mm looms have been epoxied in place.  A 1.0 mm and a 0.5mm loom still need to be added to the connectors, along with the two, blue wires for the front plow light runs

 

This is my representation of the Electronic Control connector that mounts on the firewall, above the pass-through air lines outlet.  It's a 40 pin connector, but 4 wires will have to do!  I'm using the smallest wire I can find - 0.0125 from Detail Master

 

The EC connector is pinned temporarily to the firewall and the remainder of the looms and wire runs have been added to the three connectors.  I had to modify the three connectors and make them one piece, while still looking like three parts, because the individual connectors weren't going to take the stress of shaping the looms along the firewall.  After the epoxy I used on the connectors is well set, I hope to be able to weave the appropriate looms through the clamps.  If this all works out, I will need to make replacement clamps to attach to the model's firewall, and re-weave the looms through to their final positions.

Still lots of fiddly things to do, and a few weeks work left overall, but the build is much closer to being done than I thought.  Apart from decals, cab and hood exterior details like mirrors, lights, etc., it will soon all come together in small space between the firewall and the rad!  Long day at the bench for a little bit to show, but that's all I managed for today - take care!

Edited March 26 by BK9300
incorrect terminology

[Gary Chastain]

Brian, you realize you are influencing all our builds, I can steal two or three cool tips or build ideas for my next build….but I can’t remember 30 or 50 detail ideas, that’s just sensory overload. 🤪😂🤣😜. Just a great build. 

[BK9300]

1 hour ago, Gary Chastain said:

Brian, you realize you are influencing all our builds, I can steal two or three cool tips or build ideas for my next build….but I can’t remember 30 or 50 detail ideas, that’s just sensory overload. 🤪😂🤣😜. Just a great build. 

Thanks for the kind words, Gary.  Sensory overload is a good description for me, too!   At the end of yesterday, I had no clear idea how to tie it all together - just lots of ‘next steps’ that all seemed to conflict with each other!

[BK9300]

Moved on with a couple of those 'next steps' I was thinking about yesterday.  It is becoming clear that it will not be as simple as 'unplugging' pieces from the temporary firewall and 'plugging' them into the model's firewall.  Too many parts need to be handled separately, so, even though the temp firewall has been very helpful, I think I will need to re-install the parts on the actual firewall, following all the steps I used on the temp one.  All that, of course, after the cab has been painted.  In the meantime, some nerve wracking progress achieved today!

 

With the epoxied looms and wiring well set in place, and the three connectors all one piece now, I started weaving the looms into place

 

Most of the bits are in temporarily in place now.  Just below the Engine connector, I still want to add the five, pass through air lines that come through the firewall just above the steering rod.  They will be made from the thin, flexible rubber hose I got from Ted's Modeling.  I also hope to use an 1.5mm Albion rod for the steering rod - likely one of the last things to be installed after all the wiring runs are in place.  I labeled this pic, as much for my future use as anything, because I need to run the ABS and Main chassis connector runs under the cab, terminate them at some reasonable point along the frame rails behind the cab, and I wanted to be sure which run is which.  The hood supports are just sitting in place for now and will be more aligned once I finally glue them in place on the firewall - they are just in place at the moment, to make sure everything will fit together.

 

This mock up gives an idea of what all will look like (can't set cab all the way down because of temp firewall) - will still need to adjust final position of some of the looms, like the ABS run which is looping too high at the moment.  The black Sharpie lines are where the hood supports would be attached.  As an example of needing to set out the order of assembly, I will need to first attach the distant end of the Engine connector loom along side the engine, up against the ECM, then loop the loom underneath the cab and back up into the position it's in now - wouldn't be able to do it in the reverse order without a big mess.  From the looks of it, I'll have just enough room to run the wiring to the passenger side plow light, by routing it between the rad and the trans cooler, along with the loom for the front lights.

 

 Still lots of unanswered process questions at this point, but the questions are getting fewer and the 'to-do' list is getting a bit shorter!  Take care. 

 

 

Edited March 26 by BK9300
typo

[BK9300]

Will be taking a few more days off - some spring (in North Vancouver), yard chores are piling up!  Still, gathered all the assemblies that are finished (mostly) plus most of the pieces yet to be added and took a group photo.  Like I said last post, I need to lay out an 'order of assembly' to make sure I don't glue something in its final position out of order and can't properly add or finish detail another part further along.  The photo is going to help put some written steps in place to help with that.  Hopefully won't be off too long - I'm feeling the push to finish!

 

When I'm not working on the parts and pieces, I have them stored in a glass display cabinet - one of our cats has sometimes taken a little bag or two of parts off my bench and chewed on them

 

Looking at all these pieces together should make it easier to write out my 'instructions' for most of the remainder of this build.

 

Much to think about still . . .take care!

Edited March 28 by BK9300

[Steve H]

Absolutely fabulous work Brian. I need to have a look for some of those wave springs, they really look the part for looms. Your fabrication of the various parts is very tidy, first class work sir.

[BK9300]

17 hours ago, Steve H said:

Absolutely fabulous work Brian. I need to have a look for some of those wave springs, they really look the part for looms. Your fabrication of the various parts is very tidy, first class work sir.

I appreciate the generous comments, Steve - thanks for stopping by again!

[cifenet]

Now that you lay out what you have accomplished in the "aerial photo", all I can say is you have done brilliant work so far!

 

[BK9300]

44 minutes ago, cifenet said:

Now that you lay out what you have accomplished in the "aerial photo", all I can say is you have done brilliant work so far!

 

Thanks kindly, Steve!