BIG Iron

[BK9300]

Coming along nicely - tedious now, but soon you’ll be building the frame!  Good progress,

Edited December 8, 2024 by BK9300

[Rockford]

Great attention to detail there. I like the oil filters on the oil coolers, very good. You could have used white sprue to save you having to look a more yellow! 

[Biggu]

7 hours ago, Rockford said:

Great attention to detail there. I like the oil filters on the oil coolers, very good. You could have used white sprue to save you having to look a more yellow! 

NOW you tell me ! 🤣🤣 I never actually thought of that, and yes I am going to have to paint them white. I got focused on the fact that I am going to prime it with Tamiya grey primer then paint it and the whole kit actually in a more realistic yellow. But , yes there is a LOT of yellow plastic. Thanks for noticing the filters. Something that seems quite visible to me but not included with the kit …… thanks Steve

[Jürgen M.]

I'm following this closely cause I decided to design a new engine so I don't always have to use my "standard" not really authentic, self designed Cummins NTC 290.

The plumbing on these things and all the little peripheric parts can make you crazy! At least if you don't have the routine in building engines Like me! I'm not even the one eyed among the blind concerning that. 

So Jeff, it's up to you to show me how it works! 😂

[Gary Chastain]

On 12/7/2024 at 9:49 PM, Old Buckaroo said:

Love the details you're adding. Reminds me of a buddy that would saw off the heads, valve covers, oil pans, ect and add a colored piece of construction paper to simulate the gaskets.....

Gotcha thinking now don't I 😄

Ooohhhh nooooo, Sean, don’t do that, you will send Jeff of the deep end with even more detail stuff 😂🤣🥴🤣😂🤣. That’s flipping awesome, never thought of gaskets. 

[Pete68]

On 12/10/2024 at 3:50 PM, Gary Chastain said:

That’s flipping awesome, never thought of gaskets. 

Wonder if he torque the bolts yet? I’m sure he will think of that next 😂 Awesome work. 

[Biggu]

1 hour ago, Pete68 said:

Wonder if he torque the bolts yet? I’m sure he will think of that next 😂 Awesome work. 

Thanks Buddy...

[Pete68]

1 hour ago, Biggu said:

Thanks Buddy...

Your welcome 

[Biggu]

Well it has been a while since some sort o up date .  Once again this isn’t a huge update such as Ron does but more of one to say that, yes I’m still at it. It appears most of my time is doing sub assemblies and prepping for some paint but also not getting too far ahead to where I can’t run hoses etc … so it is spending time looking ahead on the instructions, doing some, leaving parts off but trying to remember to make sure those parts are put on the truck later on …… I know …. I need a doctor……. Anyway I have been sanding seams and cleaning up a bit of flash etc. as an example here is the rear spring pack. First pic is just assembled off the sprue….. second pic is the spring pack seam sanded and cleaned up with a top plate added and 4 bolts to hold the ‘U’ bolts. I think it makes a difference …..or am I wasting my time … this little deal took over an hour …..

Edited December 17, 2024 by Biggu

[RoninUtah]

I think it makes a big difference- even though by itself it might not be very obvious, it contributes to the overall effect of a very thoroughly detailed build. Keep it up!

[Biggu]

2 minutes ago, RoninUtah said:

I think it makes a big difference- even though by itself it might not be very obvious, it contributes to the overall effect of a very thoroughly detailed build. Keep it up!

Thanks, Ron, that is kind of what I had in mind, but being covered in little yellow shards of plastic, and staring at this stuff for hours, makes a guy have second thoughts......... Ok I will keep at it... hopefully it will pay out.... oh I am now sanding and cleaning the batteries.... I HATE black plastic..... when I sand it , it's like sanding coal, it's all over the place, and makes everything seem dirty... and yes I use water when I'm sanding....  can't we just have regular white or grey plastic, please??

[BK9300]

I think any improvement of a piece beyond how it came off the sprue adds to the build's character, so, I agree with Ron and sure wouldn't call that kind of effort a waste of time.

[Biggu]

22 minutes ago, BK9300 said:

I think any improvement of a piece beyond how it came off the sprue adds to the build's character, so, I agree with Ron and sure wouldn't call that kind of effort a waste of time.

I do agree. I guess there is only so much that can be done with injection moulding and it is incumbent on us to add the details as we see it, I just hoe we can see it🤔😉

[RoninUtah]

Ultimately, we build these models to please ourselves, and hope others like them as well. Just knowing that that extra level of detail is in the build, even if you have to look closely to see it, makes it worth the effort in the long run.

[Old Buckaroo]

What a great improvement on the leaf spring stacks , that's one of the things that can put me over the edge - diamond shaped leaf springs (and figure 8 shaped shocks)

You know - you're missing an opportunity to use one of those p/e weld seams on a "repaired spring" !!!

[Jürgen M.]

This is looking really cool Jeff! Those details are awesome. Keep going Pal!

[Biggu]

Ok. Well now that I have the rear spring packs ‘fixed’ with a little extra details , I looked at the front spring pack. This truck was a very complicated engineering feat back in the day. It was very heavy and needed to carry a significant load . So with that the VERY heavy rear spring pack with an ‘overload’ set was required as that is where the bulk of the weight would be carried.  As the truck had a short wheel base of 11 ft 8 inches a lot of the load weight would fall on the front axle as well as the weight of the 16v71N of 4800 lbs (dry ….. add oils an it is over 5000 lbs ) a large set of springs were required up front as well. A huge heavy 9 leaf main pack and 16 auxiliary leafs ( over loads ) on the rear, could not be used on the front axle so as to accommodate some modicum of driver comfort but still needed to carry the weight, a side by side double pack of 9 leaf sets per side was used. So it was a shallower set bit could still support the weight required. 
 

The kit springs are there an represent the double pack “ok” but also needed a little attention. So I assembled them as per, then sanded off the molded in U bolt ‘detail’ and added some rod , a base plate and bolts. Thos will tie in with the axles when the time comes. Yes the rods are way too long but better to have more than is needed….

Edited December 17, 2024 by Biggu

[BK9300]

Looks awesome, Jeff!  Am  I seeing scratch built washers, as well?!

[Biggu]

6 minutes ago, BK9300 said:

Looks awesome, Jeff!  Am  I seeing scratch built washers, as well?!

Lol you’re right. I forgot to mention that. I’m trying to emulate your skills , Brian. Your outstanding work on the P&S truck pushes me to try harder ….

[gotnitro?]

Killer work, almost missed the slot between the spring packs 

[Jürgen M.]

Jeff, this is great! You're making the pictures of the real thing look like they're the model! 

[Gary Chastain]

Looking really good, nice detail on those springs

[Biggu]

7 hours ago, gotnitro? said:

Killer work, almost missed the slot between the spring packs 

After a good discussion with Ron, who is building the same kit , he mentioned that it appears there are 6 carriage bolts on the front axle spring pack rather than 4, which makes total sense as there should be a couple bolts ‘between’ the front dual spring packs to keep the spacing and to keep them from compressing into each other thus wearing bushings, and the springs themselves causing a potential failure. Makes perfect sense, but very difficult to ascertain by the lousy photos, but studying the VERY few I have, it certainly does appear there sure could be a couple carriage bolts between the spring packs, so I will make that happen. So with a center bolt shared by each spring pack, it essentially gives each pack 4 bolts to hold each pack to the front axle by sharing the center bolt . I think thats a reasonable explanation…… thanks for pointing that out Ron, I may have missed that. 

[Rockford]

16 minutes ago, Biggu said:

After a good discussion with Ron, who is building the same kit , he mentioned that it appears there are 6 carriage bolts on the front axle spring pack rather than 4, which makes total sense as there should be a couple bolts ‘between’ the front dual spring packs to keep the spacing and to keep them from compressing into each other thus wearing bushings, and the springs themselves causing a potential failure. Makes perfect sense, but very difficult to ascertain by the lousy photos, but studying the VERY few I have, it certainly does appear there sure could be a couple carriage bolts between the spring packs, so I will make that happen. So with a center bolt shared by each spring pack, it essentially gives each pack 4 bolts to hold each pack to the front axle by sharing the center bolt . I think thats a reasonable explanation…… thanks for pointing that out Ron, I may have missed that. 

Very hard to tell on the extra bolts scenario, but the ones that you can see appear to be captive T heads in the top plate, so I suppose a similar arrangement in the middle would be nigh-on invisible with the dried mud that's on there. There would have to be something between the springs otherwise they'd start wandering around and ultimately collapse. There's no binding straps towards the ends either, which would make the need for something in the middle of the leaf pack all the more necessary. You can see one of the rear leaves has started wandering out of alignment. 

On the detail front, although each one isn't immediately obvious, the overall effect gives a sharper, more complex impression and adds to reality. You also have extra hours of quiet escape from the pressures of life, which helps your blood pressure. 

Great work you're doing. Keep it up. 

[Biggu]

12 minutes ago, Rockford said:

Very hard to tell on the extra bolts scenario, but the ones that you can see appear to be captive T heads in the top plate, so I suppose a similar arrangement in the middle would be nigh-on invisible with the dried mud that's on there. There would have to be something between the springs otherwise they'd start wandering around and ultimately collapse. There's no binding straps towards the ends either, which would make the need for something in the middle of the leaf pack all the more necessary. You can see one of the rear leaves has started wandering out of alignment. 

On the detail front, although each one isn't immediately obvious, the overall effect gives a sharper, more complex impression and adds to reality. You also have extra hours of quiet escape from the pressures of life, which helps your blood pressure. 

Great work you're doing. Keep it up. 

Thanks Steve , yeah I came to basically the same conclusion as you after talking it over with Ron. And thinking about it, as you say those ideas went through my mind and your observations are well taken and make good sense. 
 

And your take on bench time and escape from the world is SPOT ON! Doing this takes my mind away and wit a little imagination, I am at a much simpler time and enjoy ‘playing trucks’ again. Lower BP is always a good thing.  Thanks for checking , Mate

Edited December 18, 2024 by Biggu