The most boring big rig build ever- First Gen Freightliner Cascadia

[RoninUtah]

There are so many cool big rig builds on this forum and on the WIP forum- each truck is unique, cool and looks awesome. They'd be real head-turners if they were real.

This one, not so much.

It's a first generation Freightliner Cascadia, ca. 2011, typical of millions that were sold by Daimler from 2008-2018, many of which are still on the road to this day. You see them every day if you're on or near an American highway. Probably the most commonplace and typical American truck today.  Boring? You bet. Ho-hum (yawn)...

So, of course, me being me, I had to build a model of one.

There are no commercial versions of this truck in 1/24 or 1/25 scale, of course, since nobody would buy one. This is a 3D print, designed by Hora80 and downloaded from the Cults 3D website. I printed it myself, but it fought me all the way- I had a nasty resin leak inside my printer, leading to multiple failed prints, a ruined FEP, and eventually a dead LCD screen- I'm waiting for a replacement to come from Hong Kong. Somehow, through all of that, I eked out enough prints to build this model. The cab is actually from two separate prints; each failed on one side, but luckily they were opposite sides and I was able to cut them apart and attach the good parts together. It still has battle scars, though, as you can see by looking closely.

This is strictly a curbside model, no engine, and the wheels don't turn. Well, most of them, anyway. The chassis is another partsbox special, mostly Peterbilt but with a lot of Kenworth parts as well. The interior is a temporary one, until I can put my printer back together and print up a better one. So, it's kind of a Frankenstein's monster of a model.

But it's close enough to what an older Cascadia looks like that I'm satisfied with it.

[vincen47]

A very unique and great model of a run-of-the-mill truck. I agree - boring, but an essential part of modern trucking.

[Gary Chastain]

Nicely done

[Jim B]

Nice looking Freightliner.

[RoninUtah]

5 hours ago, vincen47 said:

A very unique and great model of a run-of-the-mill truck. I agree - boring, but an essential part of modern trucking.

Thanks, Victor, I knew you would understand!

4 hours ago, Gary Chastain said:

Nicely done

Thanks, Gary!

51 minutes ago, Jim B said:

Nice looking Freightliner.

Thanks, Jim!

[PappyD340]

Very nice build!

[Jürgen M.]

This truck type not being commercially sold as a kit makes your build absolutely unique and special. Therefore not boring at all on the shelf and in this forum! 

Thanks for sharing!

[Perspect Scale Modelworks]

Looks good. How did you detail the headlights?

[stavanzer]

Great Job, Ron. When I was a Terminal Manager for a trucking company, we had  half a dozen of those in the yard. All of them White, 2 of them daycabs.

Your build really showcases what "normal" rigs look like.

 

Good Show.

Edited November 24, 2024 by stavanzer

[yh70]

great job.

[ChrisR]

Very nice!!!

[Rockford]

One of the unsung heroes of the road. One day people will be dragging them out of fields to preserve them! 

[RoninUtah]

6 hours ago, PappyD340 said:

Very nice build!

Thanks!

 

6 hours ago, Jürgen M. said:

This truck type not being commercially sold as a kit makes your build absolutely unique and special. Therefore not boring at all on the shelf and in this forum! 

Thanks for sharing!

Well, at least it’s different!

[RoninUtah]

3 hours ago, Perspective Customs said:

Looks good. How did you detail the headlights?

Thanks! It’s all paint- the headlights are designed to be printed with clear resin; the lamps are detailed on the back to show through. Since that can’t work with regular resin, I layered paint: first Molotow chrome, then a thin layer of white, adding lighter areas towards the front and middle. When that dried, I covered the whole thing with clear fingernail polish and let that dry. I then went back with the chrome and painted small arcs to simulate where the lamps would be visible. All based on poring over photos of the real thing to get close. It looks better in the photos than real life, but it looks okay from a distance.

[RoninUtah]

2 hours ago, stavanzer said:

Your build really showcases what "normal" rigs look like.

 

Good Show.

Thanks, that’s why was going for!

[RoninUtah]

2 hours ago, yh70 said:

great job.

Thanks!

2 hours ago, ChrisR said:

Very nice!!!

Thanks!

43 minutes ago, Rockford said:

One of the unsung heroes of the road. One day people will be dragging them out of fields to preserve them! 

So true! Most of our cherished historical trucks were just as ordinary in their day.

[Biggu]

Looks like I am late to this party, Ron …… but as they guys are saying , a basic ‘cookie cutter’ truck and there are thousands of them on tje roads and I for one don’t give them a second look , BUT, this one is very unique as it is a rare one to be modelled, you made it basically from scratch and it is an important cog in the history of trucking in North America, AND you nailed the look perfectly, thats one to be proud of my friend, nice job ! Looks great. 
Jeff

[RoninUtah]

7 hours ago, Biggu said:

Looks like I am late to this party, Ron …… but as they guys are saying , a basic ‘cookie cutter’ truck and there are thousands of them on tje roads and I for one don’t give them a second look , BUT, this one is very unique as it is a rare one to be modelled, you made it basically from scratch and it is an important cog in the history of trucking in North America, AND you nailed the look perfectly, thats one to be proud of my friend, nice job ! Looks great. 
Jeff

Thanks, Jeff!