Wagoneer81 Posted November 6, 2011 Posted November 6, 2011 (edited) Since I posted in another thread the picture of the grey and red Revell 359 Pete with the stretched sleeper, several people have asked me about the sleeper. I figured I'd go ahead and post a few of the build pics showing how I stretched the truck and built the sleeper. This is just one way of doing things, but it worked well for this type of kit making for a very rigid and sturdy assembly... The first thing I did was measure and cut the new sides out of Evergreen .040. I used the tape edges as guides when I cut the sleeper apart. this helped insure that my cuts were straight and true. Here's where we are after cutting away the old sleeper sides and positioning the new. When gluing in the new sides, make sure that everything is square and, most importantly, flat. The floor is not fastened at this point because I needed to build up the new sleeper interior on it. The floor is just taped in to assure that everything ended up square. When I cut the frame, I cut it and the sleeper floor right down the middle of the floor. This kits frame is one of the easiest to stretch because it doesn't have any flanges. I added those with syrene strip, front to back and used .040 for the framerail sides and the new sleeper floor... This is a good angle to show the pieces that were added to the frame and floor. You can see that I superglued a piece of brass channel into the inside of the framerails. This really stiffened the structure. Once again, remember to keep everything flat and walk away from it until the glue is good and cured otherwise your frame will develop a permanent twist... The grey crossmember pieces are just for detail as the .040 plastic is plenty rigid enough not to sag... ... And here we have things starting to come together. I made the roof panels out of .080 sheet because I didn't want to take any chance of the roof sagging over time... I hope these help, I hope I have answered questions, created more questions, or inspired someone to stretch their skills out and try something different. These Revell Pete and W-900 kits are good places to start because their inexpensive and very easy to work with. I'll post more pictures soon on building up the interior and finishing said sleeper. Edited November 6, 2011 by Wagoneer81
Kostas Parchas Posted November 6, 2011 Posted November 6, 2011 Not because it is a Peterbilt, but this is gonna be a coooool truck. You have put a lot off work there and by sharing this here makes things to look easyer. I will keep an eye on this build for sure. Bravo & thank you for your tip. Kostas.
Truck parts Posted November 6, 2011 Posted November 6, 2011 Thanks Chris, I was not sure what thickness to use.Looking forward to more pics..
Wagoneer81 Posted November 6, 2011 Author Posted November 6, 2011 (edited) OK, installment number two... Here's the basic interior... The floor is .080 sheet. The seats are from the parts box, the rest is mainly .040 sheet and scraps from the parts bin. My plan is to hang a bunk above the couch at the back of the sleeper and it will be assumed that the couch folds out into another futon-style bed. The large closet is the shower/water closet, RV-style. The clothes closet is behind the single seat. Here I've built the rear fenders and am making progess on the bunk... ....And one of the new aluminum fuel tanks. This was one of the first things I turned on my, at the time new, mini-lathe. These pictures were taken about two years ago... I've moved twice since then and this Pete still isn't finished. The good news is that it and all its parts were packed in a box with several other projects that I want to finish (Including Snowmans W900 and trailer...) and is here at my new place and not in storage. This may just be the motivation I need to dig the beast out of the closet and finally finish it... Edited November 6, 2011 by Wagoneer81
bandit1 Posted November 7, 2011 Posted November 7, 2011 (edited) ill watch this and.... SIR HAVE INSPIRED ME TO TRY WITH MY LAST SNAP PETE! (REMINDS ME I HAVE TO GET SHEET STOCK!) QUESTION... how much of the 040 sheet did you use cause do i need to get 1 pack of 3 (i guess its a 3 per pack) or what cause i dont want to get to much but i dont want to have to make a 2nd order somewhere? Edited November 7, 2011 by bandit1
Wagoneer81 Posted November 7, 2011 Author Posted November 7, 2011 (edited) Excellent! I love it when I can inspire someone... Lord knows I can return that favor as you all have inspired me on more than one occasion! I'd say start out with three sheets of .040, maybe four and one of .080 for the inner floor and roof panels... especially if you're going to build rear fenders and an interior. In my opinion, you can never have too much sheet styrene laying around. If you have it as extra, you'll be more easily tempted to start another project with it... In fact, I'm getting ready to make an order for a sheet of .040 that's 40" x 72"... and one of .060 of the same size... Just as soon as i get the extra dough to do it... Please, post pics of your build and don't hesitate to ask questions to me or anyone else on this Forum! Yeah, I've been inspired too... I have a few days work left on the New Dodge Charger I'm building. When it clears the bench, the 359's coming back out. I've decided it's going to pull the 53' dropdeck flatbed that I kitbashed from the AMT Lowboy trailer... Edited November 7, 2011 by Wagoneer81
whale392 Posted November 7, 2011 Posted November 7, 2011 How heavily have you braced the frame length-wise? With the added length/weight I had just stretching my KW to 110" sleeper, it bent the frame. I had to go back in and add strengthening bars to keep the frame flat and true. That bunk interior looks killer, by the way!
Wagoneer81 Posted November 7, 2011 Author Posted November 7, 2011 How heavily have you braced the frame length-wise? With the added length/weight I had just stretching my KW to 110" sleeper, it bent the frame. I had to go back in and add strengthening bars to keep the frame flat and true. You can see in the frame modification pics in the first post that I added about 8" of K&S Brass channel to the inside of the frame rails. I don't remember the exact size of the C-channel I used, just that it tucked in nice and snug. I fixed it in place with 5 Minute epoxy. This stuff will bind and hold almost anything... Since the simple frame rails in this kit had no lower flanges I also added those using .040 x .100 styrene strip fixed with Tenax 7R. This in itself made the frame so much more rigid than before that I added the brass C-channel just as insurance that the frame wouldn't sag over time. I didn't add another crossmember because of the way the bunk floor is integrated into the entire structure. Thanks for the compliment on the interior. I painted it and flocked the floor before I packed it away... Made a laptop and coffee mug for the table and such... I'll have to dig it out and post pics of that next... I just dread getting into that closet right now... The resulting avalanche that may occur when I open the door kind of dissuades me from getting into it...
Truck parts Posted November 9, 2011 Posted November 9, 2011 Thanks for the pics of inside the sleeper,and the other details that you have done.
jeffs396 Posted November 9, 2011 Posted November 9, 2011 Very cool Chris! That sleeper is bigger than some studio apartments!
Wagoneer81 Posted November 9, 2011 Author Posted November 9, 2011 Thanks, Jeff. I tried to get all the things I would have to have and stll not be ponderously long. there's accomadations for two with a shower, sink, toilet and microwave. plus several storage drawers under seats and whatnot. This is basically a 108" or 9' sleeper. That makes for some pretty good comfort and not have to tie a good portion of your GVW up in the tractor alone. I'm getting pretty stoked about finishing this build because I've decided to put it under the 53' dropdeck lowboy that I converted from an AMT lowboy kit... I believe that they will make a wonderful pair...
bandit1 Posted November 19, 2011 Posted November 19, 2011 Anymore progress? MORE, MORE, MORE!!! :lol:
Wagoneer81 Posted November 20, 2011 Author Posted November 20, 2011 Anymore progress? MORE, MORE, MORE!!! :lol: I'm trying... Thanks for the encouragement! I'm having a bit of a problem right now... I go in for an MRI this Wednesday to see why I am having numbness, weakness and loss of reflex in my right hand. Luckily, I'm a lefty but... my hand not working like it should has me a bit worried...
bandit1 Posted November 20, 2011 Posted November 20, 2011 I'm trying... Thanks for the encouragement! I'm having a bit of a problem right now... I go in for an MRI this Wednesday to see why I am having numbness, weakness and loss of reflex in my right hand. Luckily, I'm a lefty but... my hand not working like it should has me a bit worried... oh sorry to hear that ... ill pray for you to at least find out whats causing it and then heal itself for ya'!
Wagoneer81 Posted November 20, 2011 Author Posted November 20, 2011 I'll take those prayers and any others that anybody wants to send my way! Loss of sensation and dexterity in my hands has always been one of my biggest fears and now it's come to pass... My Doc thinks I may have ruptured a disc in my neck... Aggressive steroid therapy (Prednisone) did me no good, whatsoever... I'm having some pretty nasty pain in my right shoulder and if I'm holding a small part between my thumb and forefinger, I can't tell the part is there without looking... I can still build, it just slows me down and takes rethinking anything to do with my right hand. Doc says surgery may be the only way to fix it. I'll know more after Wednesday and I'll certainly let everyone know what the news is. Today, I did do a little work on the Lindy Charger kit that's holding everything up... It's going to be a 'Law-Enforcement-esque escort vehicle' for a Mobile Command Post/Containment Lab that I'm going to build using a Lonestar and modified Moebuis' 53 footer... To give a little background on the whole project... for those of you who are familiar with H.P. Lovecraft and Cthulhu Mythos, Delta Green is still in business... This Pete was originally slated as the power unit for the CP/Lab but the Lonestar just cried out to be included... I'll get this Pete unpacked in the next couple of days and get some more current pictures so I can update this thread... Then, onward through the fog!
kilrathy10 Posted May 17, 2013 Posted May 17, 2013 Looking really good, my friend....Always like to see how others approach condos....Very nice.....
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