Recent Builds and on the workbench

www.timstrucks.com 11/09/2009 03:50 PM

Recent Builds and on the workbench

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386 Tanker Yanker

Inspired by a 386 for Williams Tank transport, I decided to make a fantasy version - a sleeper tractor. Williams runs daycabs with truck mounted tank bodies. Mine will be tractor with a 48" sleeper.

11/9/09 update

My 386 will also have dual rack mounted exhaust, no sleeper extenders, no chassis fairings. These 386 and 384's are the inspiration:

If I had several Revell Beall tankers, I might have tried the straight truck version.

The 386 hood is from www.aitruckmodels.com and replaces the earlier 386 that AITM offered. The new version corrects a fitment issue at the cab cowl, and smoothes the hood shape a bit more. 10/25/2009

Speaking of AITM, check the link on the AITM page for the return of Illini Replica Conversions!

Heavy Hauler 378

While the Jade Sublime 389 paint is curing, I started this 378 as a heavy haul tractor. My original idea was along the JADE theme - dark metallic green with orange roof caps. Once I painted the roofs I know I didn't like the look.

I grabbed another set of roofs and painted them silver. I liked that look so I masked off the hood and painted the fenders and part of the hood silver. I will add an accent stripe - color not yet decided - then clear coat the body.9/26/09

10/2/09

The kit frame was extended 2 inches. I fabricated 5th wheel loading ramps, and reworked the fuel tanks eliminating the visible seams on the end caps. The rearward tanks are smaller than the forward tanks. (these are left over pieces used to lengthen the fuel tanks on Sublime 389 below) The ends were covered with Bare Metal Foil and polished to a luster. The faces of the fuel tanks were wrapped in Koitchi film.

10/04/09

As you can see, I decided against an accent stripe between the silver and green.

Almost done 10/10/09

Parts: Italeri 378 main kit. Italeri Peterbilt 377 for the sleeper, quarter fenders, roof marker lights and extra fuel tanks. RNK/AITM tool cabinets (these same cabinets were previously on a two-tone green 377 that is now a wrecked-trailer mounted model). The crane is from an Italeri Accessories kit. The driver is from a parts box from another modeler. Front wheels and tires are from Kit Form Services. The rear tires are resin from Mo'Luminum. The mudflap hangers are from an Italeri Western Star. The extra turn signals and amber beacons are from an AMT amber tree, the beacon bases (round) are from the AMT Peterbilt Wrecker. Plano Model Products mesh used for the grille and round-hole mesh for the air cleaners. Thanks to Kurt McLucas for the correct Detroit Diesel color and MAG for the door sign decals. 10/11/09.

JADE 389

Sublime

9/22/09

The cab is from the Italeri 378 with side panels from Spaulding Trading and Shipping. The hood, fenders, headlamps and bumper are also resin from Spaulding Trading and Shipping. The sleeper roof is resin from Budd Ricker. Note the shape of the lower sleeper panels. These are tapered to mimic the lower ledge of the cab door.

Inspired by a beautiful Peterbilt 389 glider built by JADE Transport of Winnipeg that I saw at the St.Ignace Truck Show.

My version will be slightly different, but still along similar lines.

I painted the entire body Duplicolor gloss black, then masked off the black and painted the lower half Tamiya lime green. This is my first (yes, the first) time using Tamiya paint, and I must say it goes on fantastic. The reason I don't use much of it is that I don't have a hobby shop within 100 miles that carries it.

I stretched the kit frame for a 268" wheelbase. The engine matches the exterior.

Here's the body painted and the silver separator stripe added. 9/25/09.

I plan on full rear fenders (parts coming from Sourkraut). The real truck has some radical rear bumper treatment that I don't think I will attempt.

10/2/09

10/04/09 10/09/09

Sublime is almost done (Oct 10,09), some small parts still to be added and a booger in the clear above the drivers door needs to be fixed (don't ask how I scratched the clear). Mr.Weatherman said cloudy and rain for days and days and this morning the sun came out for a short period - I took advantage of the sun and snapped a bunch of almost-finished pics. I'll take finished pics once the sun returns.

10/10/09

My honored guest to my truck room during the St.Ignace Truck show was the Ice Road Trucker Alex Debagorski.

Italeri Tipper Trailer

I built this from a test-shot for Model Rectifier Corp's display. The trailer represents the German built Schmitz brand of trailers. The kit assembles nicely with a minimal amount of flash and clean up.

9/12/2009

AMT Fruehauf Flat Bed

This is the latest from AMT - the Fruehauf 40 foot flat bed. I built mine box-stock. The current reissue of the kit has a nice decal sheet with company names, mudflap logos and the old MPC Goodyear tires.

Here are several variations of the trailer I have built, stock, 3-nines spread axle, stock, 6 axle Michigan Steel hauler and a drop deck tire carrier.

Thank you AMT for bringing back another nice kit.

8/28/09

Big Hook

Here's a kit I haven't built before, the Revell of Germany "Can-Do" Wrecker, based on the Stepp's Towing fleet.

My take on the Can-Do wrecker is slightly different from the kit..

I'm going with a tandem steer and tridrive. Instead of the 1/25th scale Peterbilt 359, mine will be on the 1/24th scale running gear/cab/sleeper of an Italeri kit. I widened the wrecker body to fit 1/24th scale. The frame is Evergreen channel. Started 7/14/09.

On 7/20/09 I painted the cab and body. The clear coat ended up a bit pebbly, so I used various rubbing compounds and waxes to bring a nice gloss to the parts.

7/21/09

This tandem steer, tri-drive wrecker has sure taken a long time to get built. It has graced my workbench from mid July to the end of August. I finally finished it! The wheels are painted with Alsa Killer Chrome spray system. Similar in appearance to Duplicolor Bumper Chrome, but not as thick and it dries. The grille screen is stainless mesh from Plano Model Products.

I got stuck on a company name for the wrecker. The decal from the Lindberg Dodge L700 flatbed with the old car on the flatbed had the perfect company name, an auto restoration business, ideal for a company with a wrecker service. I made the Winnipeg and phone numbers using Bare Metal Foil decal paper for ink jet printers. While taking the photos the bee's were swarming the model! They thought the amber marker lights looked like flowers.

One of the nice things about digital cameras (and also a bad thing) is that you can see detail in much closer/clearer views. I see several things that I have to fix, including the crooked left exhaust, the lower left exhaust elbow and trim some BMF from the right cab pillar. 8/30/2009

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Peterbilt 365 SBFA

I started this hood as a hood with no intended project. I sliced the fenders off a Spaulding Trading and Shipping 357 hood, scratchbuilt the hood shell, reworked the 357 fenders a bit and grafted them onto my new hood shells to make a 365 SBFA. I have found it is just as easy to make two hoods as it is to make one hood, so I now have another version of the hood for a future built.

A friend suggested the configuration, tandem lift axles, long dump body. I've cut out the corners of the cab for the corner window option. Under cab DPF on the right, a small fuel tank under the door on the left and a space saver battery box just aft of the cab. Single exhaust. Everything else is up in the air at this point. I'm leaning towards this truck for colors. I can't decide "private fleet" or municipal. Stay tuned. 5/31/2009

And the color choice is: The color looks more red than orange in this photo. It is indeed orange. 6/1/09

6/5 update: Fuel tank, battery box, air tanks and DPF installed.

The DPF cover is a simple box cut from plastic with a hole cut for the piping. A piece of round tube simulates the diesel particulate filter. The tool box cover is a resin piece from Spauldings Peterbilt 389 conversion. The cover was cut down for just the face. The battery box is the COE box from AITM and slightly modified for the newer "SpaceSaver" box. Air tanks from the kit were relocated to under the box. The fuel tank is from the kit, cut down for a smaller size with scratchbuilt steps. The tank, box and DPF were all painted with Duplicolor Bumper Chrome.

6/7/09 update

6/10/09 progress 6/13/09 progress

6/18/09 progress 6/21/09 progress

6/26/09 progress... Not quite finished, but the sun and sky were perfect for photos so I snapped a few with the cab and roof resting in place for the photos.

6/28/09 finished.

I made the company door logos using Bare Metal Foil clear decal paper for ink jet printers. The logos crinkled as they cured and have a texture that I am not pleased with. The company name "JUIS Sand and Gravel" is a fictitious name based on a line from the 1970's Saturday Night Live TV program. The truck's name is "Jane."

This was a strange build for me.. almost a month from start to finish.

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Chrome Paint Experiment

To simulate polished aluminum I have used Duplicolor BumperChrome spray paint. I recently bought the "Killer Chrome" paints from Alsa Paint Products of California. The Killer Chrome is a spray can system. My first attempts didn't yield any better results than the $7 dollar can of BumperChrome. The second attempt seems to have more luster but looks more like stainless steel. More experimenting to come. Here are some examples as I go.

7/10/2009

I reshot the wheels with a lighter coat of the chrome. The effect is a darker, slightly more lustrous wheel.

7/11/2009

Here is Killer Chrome applied to an AMT Mercury sleeper. I polished the clear coat before applying the Killer Chrome. The finish is smoother, but still not the high-gloss super-deep luster advertised on the Alsa website.

The Verdict: Not a bad product, but extremely overpriced for the end result. Update: It has been suggested that blue is used instead of black, and the surface must be smooooth. This could be an issue for resin wheels and small parts.

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GW Trucks resin parts.

PACCAR Tech Center 389

As with all my late model PB's, I start with an Italeri kit, this time the 378. The hood is a resin copy of my pattern cast by Spauldings. Spauldings offers the hood, headlamps, bumper, air cleaners, battery boxes, springs and cab sides to convert the Italeri 377 into a 389. I'll use the springs, air cleaners and batter boxes on another project.

My PTC 389 will have a 355 wheelbase, a 70" sleeper, and Ultracab roof. Started 4/19/2009. Actually, the hood was painted in early March.

I'm calling it finished for now, there are a couple of things that need to be corrected and add yet, but those will come later. 4/29/09.

5/2/09 - I repositioned the crooked (too high) mirrors and a couple of other crooked parts. New pics added.

The Inspiration: A PACCAR Technical Center 389. My version will be slightly different with polished air cleaners.

2009 Peterbilt 386 Hybrid

Peterbilt 386 in aero-dress. My 386 will feature full side fairings, roof deflector, cab/sleeper transition panels, aero visor and mirrors.

Starting with the Italeri 377, a resin hood from AITM and a resin roof from MonkeyClaw, I cut down the sleeper to a 48" length, modified the cab for the newer door/window style, scratchbuilt the side fairings and aero visor. The resin hood has been massaged too.

Started 2/09/09

Since my plan is the Wal*Mart 386 Hybrid, finding the Dupont Imron color in spray paint would be a big problem. I did a Google Search for "custom mix spray paint" and found Tower Paint in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The custom mixed the Viper Green, packed it into a large spray can and in 3 days I had my color. I am impressed with the quality of the paint. It sprays evenly, no splats, no pressure issues, the metallic goes on smooth and consistently. The only drawback so far is that I have to wait five days before clear coating. (2/14/09) Okay.. 6 days later I cleared it and the clear crinkled. Hmmmph. Everything was stripped, it was painted again, and six days later it has been clear coated again. 2/28/09.

3/6/09 update.

3/8/09 update

4/12/09 update.

I've gone as far as I can for now. I want to re-do the unit numbers and rework a couple of things. So for now, it is done. 4/29/09

The inspiration

While taking this photo I noticed that the wind was moving the unattached air deflector from behind.

Before I could catch the deflector and reposition it, the wind caught it again and this happened

The wind tossed the deflector forward knocking off the hood mounted spot mirrors. Hmmph! 10/11/09

Workbench project - aka a mess

I wanted to build just one 70" sleeper for a project. One sleeper. One thing lead to another and I have FOUR of them for future projects. Building four at a time really isn't any more difficult than building one.. just more time consuming. 4/19/09

Stacks - 2008 Peterbilt 389

I finally found a rattle-can paint that is close to the color I need for "Stacks." The paint is Duplicolor engine enamel "Torque and Teal." The white stripes are thin automotive grade vinyl cut to shape (vinyl from www.flaminfrog.com). 8/16/2008

Stacks is owned by John Smedile of NJ and is leased to Horseless Carriage. Stacks is the nickname for John's 2008 Cat powered 389.

3/17/09 update: Stacks is back on the workbench. Using pieces left over from another PB kit, I stretched the frame to a 295 wheelbase, installed the glass and interior and applied Bare Metal Foil Chrome. The new formula for BMF is quite nice. The foil polishes up nicely and seems to work around corners better.

3/21/2009 Update: Finished! Resin hood from Spaulding Trading and Shipping, along with resin cab sides, bumper and springs to convert the Italeri 377 to a SFFA 389. The 70" sleeper was scratchbuilt except for the roof front and sleeper front. I goofed on the sleeper - the real Stacks has a "Werner Door" on the RH side.. I forgot the option. I should have stretched the fuel tanks too (not just reworking them for 4 straps). The exhaust was reworked for the '08 style with DPF and dull aluminum piping (Testors Metalizer Aluminum). While I mention "wish I hads," I was I had laid the stripes out more carefully so the stripes matched better. I had to splice them where I didn't want to because I didn't take enough time laying them out ahead of time. Special thanks to Cheryl of Flamin'Frog for the great work on the lettering. 3/21/2009.

The real truck

Southland Sod 379-119

In southern California is Southland Sod Farms with their fleet of 379-119's in classic dress. Painted fuel tanks, battery box sides, cab mounted steering reservoir, painted rear wheels and small bumpers. This fleet has captured the look of a mid 70's Peterbilt 359. My version starts with an original issue of the Italeri 378 kit. The cab was converted to a daycab with a new back wall. The LH cab side was modified to omit the molded on air cleaner mount and intake hole. The hood was modified to appear as a 379 short hood (minus the huck rivets). The frame has only been modified at the end, removing the tractor taper. The rear suspension was moved forward. The deck is made from the flatbed trailer from Lindberg. The brown I chose is really confounding me. In some light it is really close to the Southland color, in other light it is too dark, or too metallic or too red or.. arg! Started 10/30/2008 and finished 3/09/2009. Thanks to Cheryl for making the door logos for me.

Peterbilt 330/335/340 hood

Peterbilt 330/335/340 hood. This hood is entirely scratchbuilt. 2/27/2009

1975 Hayes Clipper COE

Back in 1974, PACCAR bought Hayes Trucks LTD from Mack. In the short time that Hayes was in production under PACCAR, the Clipper COE used the Peterbilt Pacemaker cab. The cabs were ordered from Peterbilt Parts Department as a complete cab and shipped to Hayes to assemble on their frame. My Clipper is based on the AMT Peterbilt Pacemaker 352 kit. I've modified the cab for the mid-70s Pacemaker features and the Hayes grille surround using etched metal from the Clipper COE resin trans-kit once offered by Spaulding Trading and Shipping. My frame is a combination of the 352 kit and rails from the later reissue AMT 359. The rear axles feature the wide "Canadian" spread. Spoke wheels were sourced from a junked Diamond Reo (ebay buy). Fuel tanks and mufflers from an Italeri PB.

The etched metal grille was a big challenging as I am notorious for having epoxy ooze out where it isn't wanted, only to discover the ooze too late. The Hayes mudflap logos came from a brochure. I made the cab corner deflectors from Evergreen round tube cut and covered with BMF. I still need to find one component for the engine as the pieces were missing. Once warm weather returns, I will sift through the parts boxes in the garage. 2/1/2009

The Hayes-PACCAR story

Excerpt from the book PACCAR The Pursuit of Quality by Alex Groner and Barry Provorse, Published
by Documentary Media, Seattle, WA. First published in 1981.

"In February 1974, PACCAR bought Hayes Trucks LTD of Vancouver, BC, a principal competitor in Canada of Canadian Kenworth. Specializing in
heavy duty trucks used by a number of large forest products companies, Hayes had a sales of almost $20 million dollars in the fiscal year ending
November 30,1973. The firms market was primarily western Canada but sold units in other provinces as well as the United States. The plan was
to have Hayes compete against Kenworth much the same as Peterbilt and Kenworth competed for business in the United States.

...Mack Trucks Inc., took over the firm in 1969.. ... expanding the sales organization into eastern Canada. As sales rose from $10 million a year to $20 million, Mack was faced with the choice of financing an appropriate plant expansion or disposing of the company. In 1974 they decided to sell and PACCAR decided to buy.

Hayes did not turn out to be a good investment for PACCAR. The acquisition had been made just before the start of a major worldwide recession
and a pronounced downturn in the truck sales market. Prospects for long term growth seemed little better, and thus PACCAR decided to dissolve the company. Its operations ended on September 30, 1975."

Mirror - Mirror

I bought a roll of galvenized steel wire at the local True Value hardware store and set out to make a "few" Peterbilt mirror brackets for '05-current year conversions of the Italeri 377 and 378 kits. A "few" turned out to be 30. 1/22/2009

Peterbilt 367 Heavy Haul Rig-up

PB 367 HeavyHaul SBFA oilpatch rig-up truck - I started the hood in late '08, then started the frame and body in late December. The kit frame rails were too lightweight and short for the configuration. I used Evergreen strip #383 to simulate a 13" rail. The crossmembers were scratchbuilt. (the kit crossmembers and rails will be used on another truck). Since the frame rails will only be visible from the sides, I didn't worry about the lack of flanges (to make a "C" channel) rail. The crossmembers had to be scratchbuilt due to the solid rail (otherwise the frame would be too wide). The rear suspension will be a tandem drive with a lift axle. Kit Form Services wheels all around, Plaskit resin suspension for the lift axle. (modified Neway). The rig-up body is fabricated from Evergreen sheet stock. The gin poles are Plastruct round tube. Started 12/21/2008

Finished 1/19/2009

The inspiration - photos from Peterbilt of Wyoming's Truckpaper.com listing and a fabricator listing(c2008)

Peterbilt 377 with drom

I obtained the photo of this interesting red, black and yellow 377 in 2003. This unique configuration intrigued me enough to assign an Italeri 377A/E kit for a future build. 5 years later I decided it was time to build it. I lengthened the frame 1.5 inches, scratcbuilt the drom box, fabricated an Able style 48" sleeper using the Revell of Germany 359 sleeper roof, the doors were cut from the kit sleeper and grafted into the new side panels. The red is Krylon International Red and Duplicolor Black. The headache rack was made from Plastruct diamond tread sheet and Evergreen square rod. The fenders are Platruct car siding. Decals are combinations of decal sheets from several kits and from Kit Form Services North American decal sheet. The mudflaps are from the KFS sheet. I coated the body with a layer of weathering chalks to dull the paint a bit. I took artistic liberties with several features, including the graphics and headache rack. The darned hood doesn't want to close tightly on the left side.

Started 12/14/2008 finished 12/21/2008

1988 Peterbilt 376

The Peterbilt 376 was built from 1988 until 1991 as a light class 8 tractor or truck. The truck was targeted at the city delivery market. Basically a single drive 375, the 376 was a plain-Jane truck. About as bare-bones of a Peterbilt as you could have ordered. My 376 started as the Italeri 377 kit that I had robbed many parts from to use on other model builds. The frame rails are made from Evergreen #391 .125x.375" strips. The cab backwall was cut from sheet plastic with the back window cut out. The 377 hood was cut from 120" BBC down to 114" BBC. The fuel tank was sourced from the parts box and covered with Bare Metal Foil. The wheels are resin items from Kit Form Services. I made the initial hood modifications in December of 2006 and then put the kit back into the stack of kits. I started back on the 376 and finished it in December 2008.

Actual 376 in tractor and truck configurations.

PB 367 HeavyHaul hoods

Three 367 HeavyHaul SBFA hoods for future projects. Two will be for FEPTO fixed grille options. 12/1/2008

Brockway 760 SFFA

"The toughest truck in the world" - Brockway Trucks - that is what Mike Parkhurst of Overdrive magazine used to call them. This axle-forward model 760 is a resin cast hood/cab from www.aitruckmodels.com. I used the Italeri "Mack" Superliner as the donor kit. A small notch in the front of the frame was made to accept the radiator so that the cab/hood sat at the right height off the frame. I used the AITM fuel tanks, battery boxes, bumpers and other items. The casting is smooth and free of distortions and pin holes.

My original plan was a dressed up Huskie, gold and brown. I had a terrible paint failure when I applied the clear coat to the gold. I stripped the paint and went for dark black cherry metallic with a gold stripe (vinyl). The vinyl bubbled up and looked terrible so I removed the vinyl and went with only painting the bumper, grille and wheels cream for accent. The LSSI door signs are railroad decals from Microscale. LSSI was Lake Superior and Ishpeming (Michigan) railroad.

The AITM casting is just begging for a a 761 SBFA companion to be built. 11/29/2008.

Ford LNT 9000 Snow Plow

I built this AMT Ford LNT 8000 Ford Snowplow box stock. The model is missing mirrors in these photos. 8/5/2008

Skelly Oil Dodge Tanker

Lindberg Dodge L700 and tanker wearing Skelly Oil livery. These were built box-stock. 12/27/2007.

Chevrolet Titan/90 COE

Box-Stock AMT Chevrolet Titan/90 COE. Look at the bottom of the AMT reissue Titan 90 kit - this is the truck on the bottom of the box.

Lindberg Peterbilt 359

Twin 1/20th scale Lindberg 359s built box stock. 9/2008.

Looks like a pumpkin

Italeri Freightliner FLD120 reworked for an integral sleeper. 8/27/08 is the last time I worked on the Freightliner. I am waiting for vinyl graphics for it.

Resin Parts - good stuff!

As Overdrive Magazine used to call them "The toughest Truck in the World!" AITM www.aitruckmodels.com offers this big Brockway conversion kit. Look for mine to built in 70's style. I will use an Italeri 1/24th scale frame. 11/7/2008

Monkey Claw resin parts www.monkeyclawmodels.com has several Peterbilt sleepers in resin. The line up includes the stand-up 63" sleeper, the flat top 63 and a correct style/scale 36" sleeper. Also offered now is a raised cab roof and 2 hood conversions. Look for these parts to grace future PB builds! 11/6/2008

More Hoods

367 hoods for the Italeri 378 kit.

Peterbilt 378

I watched this truck being built in September 2005. A unique paint set-up on this 378. Black with a white roof and silver fenders. Being unique, it was added to my truck-to-build list. I modified the cab, roof and sleeper in mid 2006 and painted the body in October of 2006. I returned the 378 to the workbench on 9/25/08, constructing the frame, running gear, etc. I added metal mesh to the air cleaners, along with mesh for the grille screen (www.planomodelproducts.com).

A couple of detail highlights I tried on this one include painting the inside edge of the headlamps black, and the recessed area of the fog lamps on the bumper. The fog lamps now have a nice recessed look to them. The headlamp lenses were covered with Bare Metal Foil on the backside. The black highlight and the BMF gives more depth to the lamps. The curved exhaust tips are from an Italeri Western Star, as is the frame step. The air horns are from a Revell of Germany 359. The mirrors are made from aluminum tube.

Note the vertical scratch on the left side of the bumper in the 4 photos on the right (above). The scratch occured after a traffic mishap. While I was transporting models to the Peterbilt factory, a large bump near Green Bay, Wisconsin vaulted the 378 forward and it smacked into my PIE Peterbilt 351 and green Peterbilt 350 livestock COE. The 378 suffered the scratch, the 350 lost its cab and the 351 had its cab/hood come off, a headlamp break off and the aircleaner zing across the back of my pickup. I thought about replacing the bumper on the 378 but decided to leave it as a battle scar with a story to tell. (10/30/2008)

Tamiya turn signal orange is used for the amber lenses.(yes, I finally found some of this!). I dislike the bug deflector mounting slots that the top of the grille/crown has. I filled these in and wrapped the top of the crown with Bare Metal Foil. The paperwork in the windshield represents items seen on a factory-fresh truck including the sequence number, target build date and Denton "bilt with pride" sticker. The front wheels are resin from Mo'Luminum. The rears are the kit wheels with the PB oval holes drilled out and painted with Duplicolor Bumper Chrome. The engine is a fake Kitty-Cat painted new Cat yellow.

Since taking these photos, I have corrected a few crooked items that the camera lens sees and the eye misses: Right hand toolbox, RH mirror and left air cleaner.

10/5/2008

Peterbilt 388 Car Hauler

In mid 2008, Peterbilt introduced a new version of the aluminum hood 388, this new hood was aimed at the car hauler market. The hood has less slope creating a lower height for the cab and sleeper, thus more "headroom" for a car body and cargo. I decided to try my hand at making one. My idea was to build just the 388, no car racks. As soon as I got into the project I decided to expand and make the car hauler body too. My aim was a brand new truck still on the dealer's lot - in this case inspiration from a Rush dealer Truckpaper.com listing.

I scratchbuilt the 388 hood and crown, grafting fenders from the Italeri 378 hood on to the hood skin. The cab sides are resin items from Spaulding Trading and Shipping. I lengthened the frame between the battery box and the springs to account for the longer BBC of the 388 (125" versus 119" for 378). The rear of the frame was lengthened aft of the rearward spring mount. The 48" sleeper is a combination of parts from a junked Revell of Germany 359 63" sleeper (roof), cab sides and backwall from an Italeri 377 sleeper, and a modified front wall from the 378 kit. All of the roof horn/light holes were filled in as the marker lights are on the car rack structure. The horns are side mounted on the roof. The drivers battery box is a more typical tall box from www.aitruckmodels.com. Side note: Italeri didn't use the wrong left hand box on the 378 kit, what they used was the high-mount box option seen on trucks that require extra ground clearance like a log truck, except Italeri didn't mount them higher.

The rack body was constructed from various sizes/shapes of Evergreen square rod and tube. I used the decking from a Revell of Germany car transported kit for the decking. The ladder is Plastruct. The fuel tanks were stretched using another set of tanks. The leftover parts will make a set of small tanks for another project. The tanks were painted bumper chrome and rubbed to a dull-aluminum look. I mounted the tanks reversed so that the fuel fill was forward under the cab/sleeper transition panel. Speaking of the panels, I cut these pieces square on the bench, but didn't take into consideration any irregularities in the the sleeper or cab shape, thus they don't site properly. I damaged the paint while attempting to readjust one - I should have left well enough alone.

The exhaust is underframe mounted, I scratchbuilt a simple DPF out of Plastruct tubing, and carved the curved tip out of thick plastic sprue. Even though the model represents a modern 388, I left the interior pretty much kit-stock as it isn't very visible under all the car rack body channels. Almost a sheet of Bare Metal Foil was used on this, covering the grille, grille crown, door jambs, bumper, battery box, fuel tank straps, hood spine, air tanks, vent covers and headlamps. Paint used was Duplicolor Gunmetal Gray Metallic, gloss black for the frame, and Bumper Chrome for the fuel tanks, ladder and hydraulic parts.

Over all, I'm pleased with the outcome. I wasn't sure where this one was heading, and I might still modify it as time goes on. I need to redo the rear mudflaps as they aren't mounted at the same level. Thanks to Yves at www.whitefangmodel.com for the Rush logos.

9/10/2008 through 9/20/2008

379-127 long hood and 120" sleeper

The Italeri 378 kit is the base - the hood and sleeper are scratchbuilt using sheet plastic from Evergreen. The frame is extended using Evergreen strip stock. This kit had faulty chrome plating that I stripped off many parts and used bare Metal Foil Chrome to simulate aluminum. I left the slightly dulled chrome plating on other parts for an older/weathered look. The Watson Trucking decals are slightly modified Lee Watson decals from the Revell 377 kit. The headlights are from an AMT Peterbilt 359 with the mount inverted (ala a 351). The drivers side battery box is from AITM and the big tool cabinets are old RNK items - these two tool cabinets have been on 2 other models previously. Started 8/8/08 Finished 8/22/08

White 377 Big Bunk

In early 2007 I bought 2 built-up Peterbilts from another modeler. A 377 and a 378. Both were in need of rebuilding, and I rebuilt the 378 into a short wheelbase daycab that became the blue Alcoa Tire rig. Using the remaining frame section from the 378, I stretched the 377 and made it into a long framed daycab AND as a big bunk tractor. I couldn't make up my mind. Even 1 year later I still can't make up my mind what to finish it as, but with the white 379 built, it looked like a perfect companion for the 377.

The 377 is missing some pieces - mudflaps, hood tie downs, front shocks and some odds and ends. Someday I'll finish it. 8/23/2008

Peterbilt 389 hoods

Resin hoods cast from my pattern of a 2008 389 hood. The cab sides are resin also. 2/5/08

388 hood and a sleeper

Now that the Italeri Peterbilt 378 kit (#746) has been reissued (thank you Model Rectifier Corp.!), I set out to convert one into a 2008 model 388. While working on the hood and cab, I also built a 36" Peterbilt style sleeper for another 378 kit. 7/23/2008

Okay, I wasn't happy with how my modified kit hood looked, so I made an entirely new hood from Evergreen plastic. Only the fenders come from the kit hood.

The real truck:

Scratchbuilding the 388 hood lead me to build a second for a future project. That hood lead me to try a 2008 367 SFFA hood, which lead to another. So now I have 4 '08+ hoods for future builds. 7/29/08

Peterbilt 384 daycab

Peterbilt 384 - started July 4, 2008. I heavily reworked an AITM resin 386 hood, removing 10" inches in length, resloping the hood, changing the fender shape slightly. The donor kit is an Italeri Peterbilt 377. The cab has been modified to daycab, the 377 molded on fenders removed and the doors converted to current year style. The forward fuel tanks are kit items cut down. The fuel tank steps are made from Plastruct. The battery box is resin from AITM. (www.aitruckmodels.com). The door lettering (what a royal pain!) is dry-transfer lettering. My inspiration was the cover of the Peterbilt magazine First Class Volume 27 Number 2, Winter 2007. My 384 is not an exact replica, although it does wear the doorsigns for Evans Oil Co of Naples, Florida as does the truck on the cover.

I may yet rework the bumper as it isn't quite right. 7/14/08

7/15/08 - I redid the bumper and added the hood mounted mirror.

I'm still debating if I should finally build the Revell Beall chrome plated tanker to go with this. Stay tuned.

1/15/2009 - My 384 was featured in the Winter 2009 issue of the Peterbilt dealer magazine First Class!

On the workbench July 4, 2008

Various hoods and parts for future projects.

Blue Petes

With Italeri reissuing the Peterbilt 378 kit (summer '08), I was anxious to build one - or two. Here are two examples. Both metallic blue, (one a brighter blue), one built straight out of the box as a 378, the other modified and reworked into a 379-119 with 70" sleeper.

The 379 was inspired by a real truck seen at the International Bridge at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan in 2006. The truck was hauling windmill parts along with 2 other PB's (a black 379X and a blue 359). I had planned to weather my version as the real truck looked in the photo, but recalled that the driver of the 379 was commenting on how dirty the truck was at the time I was taking the photos. I'm glad I kept it gleaming.

Progress Photos

The kit air cleaners have the mesh recessed too much. I wrapped them with round hole mesh from www.planomodelproducts.com The grille screen is mesh from Plano. These two metal items really change the looks of the model. The Landstar Ranger door signs are from Kit Form Services.

Note the tiny bee that was captured in flight. The little bee was really interested in the amber marker lights!

378 finished 6/15/2008 - 379 finished 6/21/2008

1946 Peterbilt 344 - Teresi Trucking

1946 Peterbilt 344 tractor based on a 1948 Peterbilt 344 owned by Teresi Trucking of Lodi, California. The real truck is featured in the book Peterbilt:The Class of the Industry by Henry Rasmussen. There is a photo spread on pages 55-60. The truck is also seen on www.hankstruckpictures and on www.teresitrucking.com The 344 cab and hood are resin cast from the old Silver State Specialties company. This is a "blem"- a casting with flaws - in this case the hood and fenders were badly warped and the cab was full of pin holes. I only had the older style of 344 with the vents in the side of the hood, so I decided to make a fictional older version of the Teresi '48 Pete. Stated on 6/1/2008.

Ford C900 Tractor

This little Ford C900 was built box-stock. The only modifications made were to strip most of the chrome. The U.S.Forest Service logo was made from a photo and printed on decal paper. 6/1/2008

Mack R600

AMT Mack R600 modified to a sleeper cab tractor based on a photo seen on www.hankstruckpictures.com. I stretched the Mack's frame to accomodate the sleeper. The rear window of the cab was enlarged to accept the molded front of the sleeper. The sleeper is from American Industrial Truck Models #SB-4 36" Able Body. The 2 hole wheels are also from AITM. The Mack kit is lends itself nicely to making a fleet tractor. I also bobbed the bumper and added dual exhaust. The kit comes with two bumpers, an unpainted and a chromed bumper. Two styles of roof lights are also included. Thanks go to Stevens International and AITM! 5/25/08

HOME

The above photo shows my row of 'modern' Peterbilt kits, each assigned a model number, and proposed build. The stack on the right is the '08 reissue of the 378 kit with 377s behind it. Obsessed? You bet!

tim@timstrucks.com