SCM Australian Trucks Groupbuild

Kerry COX
Will there be an air started Mack truck of the 'Western Transport Co' ? Circa 66 ?

westerntransportmuse..llery.php?gallery=1#
westerntransportmuse..llery.php?gallery=1#

Martin Oostrom
I'm afraid not Kerry. This will be one of the more modern (boring?) trucks. I'm planning on doing a special livery, so keep tuned in spring!
I might try and find an old Mack tomorrow at SMC....

Kerry COX
Good to know mate. 👍
I have had a look around for the older version I was referring to and they only come in diecast. 🙁

Spanjaard
what about those extremely long trucks?

Martin Oostrom
Thanx Kerry. Saves me the trouble of scouring all the older stuff at SMC for it. I will be scouring al the older stuff, one might never know what he finds 😄
No Spanjaard! This truck is long enough by itself to claim a significant portion of my display cabinet when finished.

Spanjaard
Pity that I will not be able to help you in your quest tomorrow.... I should have not joined two trainings ....

Kerry COX
"Road Trains" those extremely long trucks are called.
A sure death sentence if you try to overtake them in a car.
In the link above, there is an image (13) of one truck carrying bails of wool from the shearing sheds out on the "Darling Downs" west of Toowoomba.
At that stage, the biggest loads of produce ever hauled by truck, and mostly, on unsealed roads. !

Spanjaard
Road trains indeed

Peter Hardy
So Kez, are you going to have a crack at an ancient Aussie lorry?

Kerry COX
NO , NIX, nada. 😉

Peter Hardy
So, you're thinking about it then?

Kerry COX
NO , NIX, nada.

Bob Hall
[img1]

[img1]

Can I build this one ? LOL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Peter Hardy
You can build it Bob. Whether we let you enter it in the group build is another matter. Make a beautiful model if you could find one.

Danny Meer
Following

Peter Hardy
Making a start tomorrow morning! Chassis and engine first!

Bozzer
Good man! Have fun Peter.

Martin Oostrom
I did multiple attempts of removing the chrome on these parts.
Step 1: Bleach bath - No dice
Step 2: Regular oven cleaner spray - Meh
Step 3: Regular oven cleaner liquid bath in a jar - More meh
Step 4: Regular oven cleaner spray in a sealed bag - Total meh
Step 5: Mr Muscle oven cleaner spray in a sealed bag, 4.5 hours - Not happy
Step 6: Mr Muscle oven cleaner spray in a sealed bag, 12 hours - crying
Step 7: Bozzer's way: Bathing in Dot 4 brake fluid, rinse, bath in bleach, rinse, bath in brake fluid, rinse - THERE IS STILL RESIDUE
Next step: Blame Peter, just because he's Australian 😄

Peter Hardy
I'm only staying quiet on this because I haven't tried to de-chrome yet!

Kerry COX
Peter, Mr Muscle oven cleaner is the best for de chroming, (caustic) use out doors. 😉
They found my phone. !!!

Peter Hardy
Yay!

Tom ...
Following

Tom ...
Thankfully my dechroming was not *as* bad as yours. Welcome to the build....

Donald Dickson II
Super Clean or Simple Green both do a good job of removing chrome.

Martin Oostrom
I'm guessing the chrome got tired of all the chemical attacks and stubbornly decided to sabotage my build. Looking at all those pristine sprues of me mateys makes sad 😉

Bozzer
Sorry to hear you're having a bad time Martin. I have yet to order my Alclad chrome. I also need to post update pics.

Martin Oostrom
I spent over 3 hours trying to get one of the smaller tanks chrome residue free. Sanding, more sanding, polishing. More sanding, polishing. More sanding.

I just gave up and ordered a new kit. This one will become…. something, someday

Nathan Dempsey
That's a bummer Martin! I hope you will be able to salvage it at some point.

Bozzer
Martin, use the kit as a rat rod? If it helps, we, your friends, have enough parts in our spares box, to build several! I have boxes of crap, that I may never even use? Did you guys see my post on my build thread, about the cab? I need to get pictures posted!

Tom ...
Martin, I have two words: Mad Max! No sanding required!

Peter Hardy
Think of it as practice Marty!

Martin Oostrom
I have no clue what a rat rod could be? And I think my English vocabulary is pretty decent 😮

These chrome parts look perfect for a neglected version, so it might come out like that one day.

Practice it is Peter!

Peter Hardy
And while you're waiting you can get busy building a replacement steering box.

Martin Oostrom
Not while in a vacation cottage. All I can do is snip, sand, glue and polish.
Replacement was ordered yesterday, could be home sooner than I am 😄 Either Friday or Saturday, we'll be home Friday evening.

Spanjaard
you will came up with something, no doubt

Martin Oostrom
Kit arrived this morning. Three guesses how I spent my afternoon!

Tom ...
So jealous. The dechroming came out beautifully! Hats off to Bozzer!

Peter Hardy
I cannot bring myself to try! You blokes have me spooked more than Deontay Wilder when Tyson walks into the bar! I got some pics to load tonight.

Peter Hardy
Well Marty, you can front up to the new job tomorrow glowing with confidence after the success!

Bozzer
The wizardry is amazing! I love watching the chrome vanish in front of my eyes.

Spanjaard
great ! 🙂

Spanjaard
so what is the final recipe ? and why it did not work before?

Bozzer
Spanjaard, I can only assume that with the original parts, there was some kind of a chemical reaction. Some manufacturers use a clear coat on the chrome. The brake fluid removes the clear, the bleach vaporises the chrome, then the return to brake fluid removes the primary coat of clear. Something, somewhere, reacted with the process. After my two current builds, I'm going to invest some time into looking at what happened here. I'm also going to experiment with other products. I'll post my findings on a new thread, once I have got something to work with. I hope this helps buddy?

Peter Hardy
Bozz, can you do it quickly please? I haven't de-chromed yet! 😉

Bozzer
Lol Peter! The speed up process involves removal of the clear coat. Obviously, it has to be done without harming the plastic in any way. If this was a Revell or AMT kit, then normally, you'd just use the bleach. Them guys don't use a clear coat and the operation literally takes seconds. I'll see if I can do some tests over the weekend.

Spanjaard
thanks Bozzer!

Martin Oostrom
Before Bozzer's trick, I had attacked the parts with bleach, oven cleaner, more oven cleaner, more bleach. It must have done something and prevented Bozzer's method to work properly.
The way to go:
- Brake fluid
- Rinse
- Bleach
- Rinse
- Brake Fluid
- Rinse

If necessary, repeat the bleach-rinse-brake fluid cycle again.

Peter Hardy
I don't have any brake fluid. You only need brakes for corners and bends and all Australian roads are straight.

Bozzer
Lol Peter, that's what I always believed, until I came across a junction in palmwoods, Queensland. I've never seen so many road markings for a junction, in my life! The asphalt was almost white! And i thought our American cousins had problems with roundabouts? Luckily, being a true Brit, i mastered the junction and continued the journey safely. I was surprised however, to learn some of your rules regarding vehicle safety tests! We here, have to complete one, by law, every year. A fail means your car is off the road, until repairs are carried out and another test is completed successfully. Check out UK MOT Test.

Bozzer
Pictures uploaded

wilky
Bozzer, that's the beauty of states.
Depends which state you're in as to what level of safety you have on the roads.
I'm in Victoria which requires a roadworthy only on change of owner or if you let your rego run out past three months.
I lived in South Australia and there's no roadworthy required but the Police harass provisional licence holders and often defect their vehicles for the most minor of problems .
Often a defected vehicle in South Australia never goes back on the road unless you've spent a lot of money modifying it.
I believe that New South Wales has yearly roadworthy requirements.
No idea about the other states.
Due to South Australia not having roadworthy requirements a lot of trucking companies register their trailers there and this has caused preventable deaths due to cost cutting by not carrying out necessary maintenance
Years ago you'd see roadside safety testing of vehicles with trucks being the main focus but I haven't seen one in a long time.
Now it's the Police you see testing for drugs rather than the relevant roads authority except you do see log book inspections especially in my little town because our main street is really wide thus the flow of traffic isn't impeded

wilky
I spent years driving trucks but had to give it up because I had great difficulty finding a boss that I could happily work for.
I don't like being forced to compromise safety for time constraints and driving dangerous vehicles due to a lack of maintenance.
It might be because before I even had my heavy vehicle licence I was a Tram driver in Adelaide.
We could refuse to drive a vehicle if it had issues and just get a replacement, something that can't be done in any of the trucking companies I worked for.
I'd even had a boss once recommend drug taking which was the complete opposite of working in public transport

Olivier
I read you have roads in Australia. That comes as a complete surprise to me. I thought roads only ever existed in Europe. I mean Western continental Europe of course. The rest of the world had tracks didn't it ? 😉

Peter Hardy
Fair point Oliver! Never found a road from Australia to Western Europe so I haven't been there.
Wilky, Company I work for you'd be disciplined, maybe even terminated for taking an unroadworthy truck out of the depot! Mind you, we don't have deadlines or ETAs either. One call to the boss and you are early!

wilky
Peter, that's how it should be.
I don't drive trucks any more I surrendered my licence after my heart problems.
I could have kept it with paperwork from specialists but if something happened while I was driving I couldn't live with myself

Peter Hardy
Martin, you are long overdue for some pics please!

Martin Oostrom
I can post new pics of the same situation. #NoProgress

Nathan Dempsey
I was about to post pictures of my hands sitting idle.

Bozzer
Keep up with the good work buddy. Lol, I'm trying to mask up my stripes. Think I'll leave it for today, them shots I was drinking last night, are still in effect!

Danny Meer
Lol Nathan 😄 ATM Netherlands close to lockdown from now...al non essential shops closed, Coffeeshops need to close aswell so now they all stand in line to get weed for atleast 3 weeks lol...

All those effected stay strong and good luck, every1 else keep on building😉

Martin Oostrom
I caved under Peter's challenge 😉
Did some cutting, glueing and sanding today. Just a few parts, not too many.
As I'm aiming for a high gloss show truck finish, I need to sand, polish and polish and polish every part super smooth. I might have bit of more than I can chew (as usual)

Martin Oostrom
Being one of the stragglers in this group build, I decided to get some stuff done. Not much, but at least my truck will be different from the others.
It's a shame really, Peter setting the bar so high

Bozzer
Martin, don't worry about it mate. I've not had chance to do much. The recent heatwave here, has had me busy in the garden and doing other jobs around the house. I'm also now, waiting for some white paint, that I thought I had, to arrive. I'm glad you cut your roof spoiler off. I was thinking about that too, and it now bugs the hell outta me! You have done the right thing. I think due to the many problems that we have all faced, the build is gonna over run the deadline. I don't mind. Exceptional circumstances, deserve consideration. We're still all in this together 👍

Martin Oostrom
Next time I'll use old fashioned Revell Plasta for filler. This gap was too big for sprue glue.
The end of the build was already extended till the end of July. Should be enough for most of us?

Peter Hardy
Very creative Marty! I look forward to you widening the cab next! Why do you have bubbles it the sprue glue?

Martin Oostrom
Must have been radiation from the capricon star system, or extraterrestial flux generated by my wife's vegetarian yoghurt

Bozzer
I'll drink to that! And I hope your wife gets her old self back, in the very near future 😉

wilky
I use baking soda or plastic dust and super glue.
Doesn't shrink and dries quickly

Lode Schildermans
Nevertheless, Martin, the outcome is nice, IMO. I'm looking forward to see more

Martin Oostrom
So am I Lode, so am I.

Tim Heimer
Marty I'm proud of you! Nice maneuver!

Bozzer
Updated my album

Peter Hardy
Change your cover pic Marty. Getting bored with this one!

Martin Oostrom
Yes Pete, off course Peter, at once Peter. Satisfied Peter?
I spent a couple of hours polishing a bunch of cut and sanded parts. Now they're nice an shiny!
I'm hoping to cut and glue most pieces, as Alclad smells like **** and I don't want to expose my self-quarantined family to the fumes too much/long.

Martin Oostrom
Colour test

Bozzer
Ooooh the exciting part! Now you have my full attention!

Martin Oostrom
Not there yet Bozzer. I had a chat with Peter. Just like the rest of us, blue was my first choice. After Peters succes, I need something else, as his will be incomparable.
So it will be Ruby Red with Gold, or Silver and Blue.
Also have been drawing up some designs on a piece of paper. Peter keeps complaining my designs are 'American'.

Kerry COX
Candy Green with a deep silver base. ? Mmmmmmmmmm😉 👍

Bozzer
Lol, all my ideas are American, and I'm born and bred Brit! I'm sure you know what you're doing, so I have faith. I did loads of research into my colours, just because I didn't want to do green, like I thought that everyone else was doing? We're all gonna get there in the end though. Keep your chin up, buddy, and keep safe.

Martin Oostrom
As Lode will confirm time and time again, I have no clue! I know what I like, but that is a bit hard to do. We'll see where my dumb luck will take me 😉

Martin Oostrom
Added some (bad) drawings I made. Just some ideas. I need a blue patch on the back of the sleeper for a special secret something….which kinda rules out the Ruby and Gold options.

Peter Hardy
How come I get dragged into this?

Tim Heimer
My vote is pic#38

Spanjaard
it will looks awesome for sure.

Lode Schildermans
Martin, I confirm, knowing you a bit, you haven't got the faintest idea which color. And than, suddenly, we see it appear on scalemates

Bozzer
#37 & #38 get my vote

Martin Oostrom
So true Lode. My mind has been skipping between red/blue/green/orange/yellow/black in different combinations. Right now I'm back to my two-tone idea, with the colours reversed. But that could change any minute 😄

Peter Hardy
Progress? Nearly fell off my chair!

Lode Schildermans
I am curious of the definite choice, my Dutch friend

Martin Oostrom
Hold on tight Peter! The Kingsday day off gave me some time to do some actual painting. Hope you like it.
Still in doubt Lode. Bought some time by painting other stuff.

Lode Schildermans
Why doubting Martin? It's not the color that makes the build, but what the builder makes from it. Don't think you can do it, know you can do it

Peter Hardy
Kings day? I thought you had a Queen?

Kerry COX
OR. !!! LGBTQ. ? :-/

Tim Heimer
You're getting there!

Martin Oostrom
Our Queen abdicated some five years ago. Now we have a King and a mrs King: google.nl/url?sa=i&a..ust=1588149406726898

Peter Hardy
Takes a long time for news to get here.

Martin Oostrom
They visited Australia in '16......

Tim Heimer
LOL!

Wim van der Luijt
LOL indeed....I'm going to steal the idea for the clips

Peter Hardy
They should nearly be home again then!

Greg Baker
King and Mrs. King.... hahaha

Peter Hardy
Great. You need a King for four acres of tulip field and a cheese fridge!

Wim van der Luijt
Get back in your cage Mr Hardy! 😄

Martin Oostrom
Peter is jealous. We've got a good lookin Argentinian Queen while he's stuck with LoLiL

Peter Hardy
Sorry Gents and Martin, It's the isolation y'see, makes a man all silly!

Bozzer
Lol, Mrs King! We have a Queen and a Prince! To make things worse, there's German in the blood! Now that's gotta prove how screwed up we are? Nice progress on the truck buddy. I've been contemplating a few amendments. I'm not sure I like what I see now, so I am gonna do some research and see what happens. I'm just getting fussy in my old age.

Peter Hardy
Now I am burning with curiosity Bozz!

Martin Oostrom
Right Bozz. Our Kings granddaddy is German. His daddy is German as well. So I guess he's 3/4 German. To spice it up he married the daughter of a secretary of agriculture from the Argentinian Junta.
Never a dull moment with our royals!

Bozzer
Lol, no wonder our countries are in a mess! And to think of all the debates and arguments about immigration?

Danny Meer
Damn!!! that interiour is awesome, love the patterns in the bed sheets 👍

Martin Oostrom
Update. I wanted to do a red and mostly blue Alclad candy finish. Peter did such a nice job with his blue colour, as did Bozzer, that I needed another colour. While pondering my options, I decided I wanted an Alclad Golden Yellow engine. Cue Chris with his golden rod. So now I have a blue engine and something that resembles burnt pancakes for an interior. I have picked my exterior colour(s) and hope for a better result there....

Chris Greathouse
Yay for golden rods 😛

Bozzer
Lol, Golden Rods! Martin, it's hard for you, because you feel like you're living in our shadows. Don't worry buddy, just do your thing. It's not about who is the best, the fact is, we're all losers. The beauty of this is simple.... We all learned from eachother! Dude, this is an epic group build. When mine is finished, no matter what she looks like, she's getting top place! Every single one of us, has gone through crappy moments. We've lived through crappy times. But the best part is, we all came through it together! No matter what we produce, we did an awesome thing.😉

Kerry COX
Competition is great. 👍
But even more fun when competing with yourself. 🙂 🙂 🙂

Martin Oostrom
Don't get me wrong Bozzer, I know I'm a better builder than some on this site, and I know there are better builders than me. I'm living a happy life in the middle of the pack 👍
It's just that being behind pace wise has (dis)advantages. The pitfalls are stepped in by others. But the colour scheme I had in mind became a no go as I don't want the same colours as you guys. We're not building tanks this time!

Sir Cox, taking part in a real competition isn't my cup of tea. Would only add pressure to my hobby and I have enough of that in my work and sometimes in my other private life. I do like tom improve with each build and that goal is being met!

Thank you for your encouragement, we all will finish this truck and they'll be beautiful 👍

Peter Hardy
Very nice job on the engine belts! I couldn't get mine to sit straight!

Lode Schildermans
Martin, my dear friend, this build is coming nicely together (from my point of view) It's getting better and better

Bozzer
We shall go on to the end. We shall fight on the finish, and on the satins and clear parts. We shall fight with growing confidence, and growing strength in the airbrush. We shall defend our builds, whatever the cost maybe. We will fight them on the benches, we shall fight with the laquers, and the chromes, and the steels. We shall fight all the clears. We will never surrender!

Peter Hardy
Flippin' Pommies!

Wim van der Luijt
LOL....that's an epic speech!

Chris Greathouse
Bozz you remind me of the Braveheart speech 😛 (translate to modeling) Youtube Video

Chris Greathouse
Bozzer, I think that makes you William Wallace riding against plastic that's warped, pieces that break, paints that don't play nice, instructions that are F'd...

And the crowd bellowing and cheering behind you would be SCALEMATES. 😄

Bob Hall
I think he's related to Winston Churchill ! LOL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Martin Oostrom
Finally some more work done.

Chaz Gordon
Mr Hardy, you realise you are insulting your own Head of State!

Peter Hardy
No problem with that. National pastime.

Martin Oostrom
I'm getting a bit emotional. I sprayed some colour on the tanks... finally!

Lode Schildermans
Finally, and now we want to see more, my Dutch friend

Greg Baker
Yes, we do!

Peter Hardy
Must be a Dutchman. It's going to be orange!

Chris Greathouse
You're moving along mate!!! Now I need to get my ass in gear and pickup on my truck 😄

Martin Oostrom
More colour, by request 😉

Lode Schildermans
And we request even more colour, my mate. Nice to see you progressing on this build

Martin Oostrom
Why build 2 models at the same time, when you can do three? After my moderate succes with Tamiya primer on the Porsche, I had an urge to see some colour. And there was this truck calling me softly...
So I got the primer out of the airbrush and put some yellow in it.

Nathan Dempsey
Now that's a nice color 🙂

Spanjaard
that yellow looks beautiful

Tim Heimer
Follow the yellow brick road! Or in this case the yellow truck load!

Martin Oostrom
Small steps are still steps

Kerry COX
The red Australian mud splatter is looking good. Make sure that some one has written with their finger through that splatter, "Clean me !" for it to look genuine. hahahahahahahahaha 🙂 👍
Looking the ducks nuts Martin. 😉 👍

Tim Heimer
Step by step, mm by mm he will get there! Go Martin go!

Martin Oostrom
As this build has been in the way on my bench for way too long, I decided to expand it a bit 😄
In true form, the trailer needs a bunch of putty as well

Martin Oostrom
After about 5 hours of cleaning, sanding and glueing, progress is slow but still progress

Lode Schildermans
And the work is paying off, my Dutch friend

Spanjaard
Lode could not be more right 🙂

Martin Oostrom
It's all about the memories. I built this trailer about 30 years ago. Back then Revell had car kits with prepainted metal bodies, and the trailer was sturdy enough to handle a couple of them on the top level.

Peter Hardy
You could make a new part out of all the mess!

Spanjaard
as long as no old parts are lost in the mess 😉

Martin Oostrom
It took me a while to find some energy and sand all the putty back. Then I got infected with Peter's Detail Fingers. So I made some air tanks. Added some brake lines, and some more. Still a long way from done...

Lode Schildermans
Martin, it looks a promising build. Nice to see the scratch build addons. They surely give added value to your build

Brandon H
Lookin good Martin!

Peter Hardy
Going good brother Martin! I will be interested in the til lights you go with.

Martin Oostrom
Well, some progress was made in the last weeks. I finished all the prepwork and started with the primer. I used white on the topside of the parts and grey on the underside. Not because I planned to do preshading and stuff, just because I didn't have enough white primer 😄

Martin Oostrom
Time for some colour! After two hours of airbrushing I stopped, OR I ran out of yellow 😉

Spanjaard
looking good Martin.

Kerry COX
Yellow. That got me thinking, and here is what I found. 😉 [img1]?fj=1

Martin Oostrom
Close Kerry. The truck trailer combo will be from a small independent operator. Just wait for the final reveal…

Bozzer
Hat's off to you, Martin 👍

Spanjaard
Oostrom Trucking Services Australia?

Kerry COX
Martin. Soon I hope. 😉

Peter Hardy
Mobile car park!

Martin Oostrom
All parts that need to be yellow, are. Only about 2ml of paint left, so I cut it close!

Peter Hardy
Looking on the money Martin!

Martin Oostrom
Got a lot done over the weekend. Inching closer to the end.

Tom ...
Wow that thing is huge! Major progress. Looks really good!

Spanjaard
Looking really good Martin!

Peter Hardy
Very good Martin, but can you reverse it when assembled?

Brandon H
A productive weekend indeed! Nice progress!

Greg Baker
I'm loving this!

David Taylor
Not a truck guy normally but defo in.

Bozzer
Blimey Martin, that's impressive! I don't think that trailer will struggle passing any inspection! But now you got me thinking, what are you going to load it with? I have a few ideas for mine, which will become apparent, but have you thought about your load?

Martin Oostrom
Thank you all for the supportive comments. I need to find some time for the finishing touches!
Bozzer, she will be loaded on the lower deck with some lesser builds, like the Mitsubishi GTO and on top will be the Miura, the Mustang and the Chevy Pickup

Kerry COX
The "MO Freight Co". ! 😉

Martin Oostrom
Close but no shave Kerry!
The owner won't be MO, or some other average Joe! 😄 Although he could do a bit more maintenance
Won't be much longer now…

Tom ...
Martin, that has come out really nicely. Looks so good!!

Bill Newcomer
I remember when you guys started the group, build. I want to join in because I have the Revell KW but I was not anywhere near high enough in the queue. Also I want to get my painting skillset to be improved enough before tackling it. It has been entertaining reading the thread.

Lode Schildermans
Martin, this is really an impressive build. I'm following with great interest. Keep on the good pace

Martin Oostrom
Well thank you gentlemen. The trailer did what it was supposed to do: kickstart my mojo. I don't want to kill it right away by opening the truck's box right away, so there is something else coming. In the meantime: Car Transporter | Album by Mahoo76 (1:24)

Spanjaard
great job Martin

Peter Hardy
Martin, I have no words!

Martin Oostrom
That's a first! 😄

Peter Hardy
😂

Greg Baker
Don't worry I'm sure Peter will find some. He has an endless supply. 😉

But he's not the only one to be left speechless by this project. 🙂

Lode Schildermans
I fully agree with Greg

Martin Oostrom
Now I'm lost for words 😄

Peter Hardy
Now that IS a first!

Bozzer
I dragged mine off the shelf, the other day. I might try to separate the cab and dip it in brake fluid? I'll decide after I've finished my other builds. Still love that trailer though bro! Definitely a head turner!

Nathan Dempsey
That's funny Bozzer because I pulled my box out and looked at my kit too just last week. I got the mojo going on a few aircraft build though so I'm sticking with that for now.

Peter Hardy
You blokes are so slow! Mine is under 20mm of dust now!

Bozzer
Nathan, I envy you for still having the eyes and steadiness for those tiny aircraft parts. I think my last 1/72 was a Lancaster Bomber? I just can't physically do them anymore. I loved my 1/35 German armour too, but again, my body let me down.
Peter, I have done several since, but that kit did things to me, that nearly kicked me off the horse. However, it's Italeri, so it's strong, so I have faith that I can bring it back to life 😉

Nathan Dempsey
Peter: 🤣 Too right my friend!

Bozzer: I can't do any sort of building unless I wear my Optivisor. I'm too stubborn to go get actual glasses.

Martin Oostrom
I definitely want to finish this one. So here we go.

Ard S.
I have had the trailer when I was young. I thought I have bought it with a truck as well. But I has broken while I had placed it with 4 VW Golf on it on a shelve. Sadly the music box was there too and when I put my radio too loud the whole set drive from the shelve to the ground... All 6 models could go into the garbage. Since that time I glue at least one wheel..

Peter Hardy
Bozzer, I have not done a truck since and I didn't want to do it in the first place. That Martin Oostrom thought it would be a good idea to torment me in my retirement and it worked. Bikes, old classic cars and sci fi are my go! (I did actually enjoy the 'Star but don't tell Marty that)! Watching the Freightliner being built has stirred me, just a little.

Martin Oostrom
Ard, you didn't 😱

Peter, o Peter. Now I have ideas swirling in my head 😈

Ard S.
Martin, never talk about it anymore. It still hurts. But I guess that at my age now (it was 30 years ago) the models would be broken anyway. 😢

Bozzer
Peter, I've been into bikes from being a kid, but choppers, not road racers. However, I can't get into them in plastic? I love the smell of oil and petrol, the taste of the exhaust fumes, in the back of your throat, and the heat from the blue chrome exhaust. It's a lifestyle, not a daily commute? However, my cars are mainly nostalgia or something similar? Now my trucks, they're my mini me! I'd love to drive every single one, but there's more chance of finding a unicorn turd? It doesn't phase me though, and one day, I'll have a Mack on my drive. And I'll guarantee that I'll sit there, and start the bugger up, every Sunday morning, just to p**s off the neighbours 😉

Peter Hardy
Bozzer, I always thought if I won Lotto I would buy a brand new T950 Kenworth "Heritage" and park it in my backyard so I could throw stones at it! After 5.5 million kilometres in trucks I have seen enough.

Martin, I can hear your rusty old brain from here. Give it a rest will ya?

Greg Baker
Glad to see this one back in action!

bughunter
Nice to see another build from your bench! I was going through all the pics at one - I really like the trailer 👍

Martin Oostrom
Thanks Bughunter, once again I'll try and finish this thing.

Lode Schildermans
Looking forward to see the final result, Martin

Peter Hardy
Geeze Marty, my Aussie 'Star has worn out 10 sets of tyres waiting for you to build this!

Martin Oostrom
The operator who ordered my truck can't make up his mind about which configuration he wants. A true pain in the ass

Martin Oostrom
And we have primer and paint on the chassis and several bits!

Bozzer
Mine is now a dress makers dummy, for resin cabs. The paint on the cab and sleeper, was never right. One day, I'll have a play with it and see if I can resurrect it?

Nathan Dempsey
Don't worry Martin, your kit will need 10 sets of tires by the time mine is done. Peter's will be at 20!

Bill Newcomer
Nice to read up on y'all's procrastination. I now have a second KW T-900 thanks to Jarrett. Once I get back to building, I may join this little party.

Martin Oostrom
We're up to speed now. Sprayed primer, black and yellow today.
Bill, the Groupbuild was supposed to end in the summer of 2020. But you're free to join in anyway.

Goldman
Big Bang Theory? Great choice!

Martin Oostrom
Thanks Goldman.
A lot was done this weekend. Current state: Almost all parts painted. Decals are on. I'm in love with the new Revell chrome. I decanted it and thinned with slt, 50-50.
It sprays beautifully and it covers like a charm.

Bozzer
Looking good mate. You've really cracked on, this weekend!

Mr D
Can't get anymore Australian than that..🤣
Nice 👍

Spanjaard
looking really nice my friend 🙂

Goldman
I want to try it too but it is only available in spray cans that cannot be air shipped.
I guess I should settle for one of the dozen other chromes that I already have...

Mr D
CA is best, trouble with plastic for plating......is it's a different plastic blend to allow for the electrolysis, it's conductive, it just doesn't glue to good with poly.
Get some of the fine applicator tips for your CA and you be good to go.
Very smart model 👍👍

Brandon H
Some great progress the last few days! Excited to see the final product!

Martin Oostrom
Thank folks.

And I totally forgot to mention: The decals made by Spanjaard worked exactly as I hoped

Goldman, I have tried acrylics, Alclad is too much hit or miss, Molotow stays tacky for a long time. There must be a good enough chrome out there for you.

Mr D, two fresh bottles of CA are waiting on my desk.

Great song Urban, has been stuck in my head for an hour already.

Ben M
I will try CA for gluing the plated plastic in the future. I cannot get it to glue well with liquid styrene glue even with the surfaces clear of plating. It makes sense it is a different blend of plastic. The only problem is CA tends to cause the adjacent "chrome" to frost and turn white.

I've experimented with Vallejo acrylic "chrome" and it's a lot brighter than "aluminum".

Mr D
I just purchased these for my CA nice n acute 👍.

a.aliexpress.com/_EynOzw9

Bozzer
Ben, I gotta admit, I had the same thing, with CA/Superglue. I don't use it for plastic models, anymore. I do however, use it for my resin stuff.

Martin Oostrom
Just stay very clear of the clear parts with the ca. Fog is a fiend.

Bozzer
I've found, a good quality, exterior wood glue, that dries clear, works perfectly for clear parts. Apply it with a cocktail stick, on tricky areas.

Bozzer
Picture 168 should be under the heading
"SEXY"

Spanjaard
I have never been into the idea of decanting cans but that Revell chrome is just tempting me to do it, wow!

Jay Dubya
PHH - hilarious !

Goldman
I use BSI Super Gold+ CA glue. Expensive but never had it caused fogging. It also doesn't grab instantly which give you a little time to position the parts properly.

Really like the yellow. Which color did you use?

Tom ...
Bravo, Martin. Mine is still in its box in the closet somewhere.... like a lot of my projects... some day... life willing...

bughunter
Wow, picture 168 looks really fantastic 👍 You made a great progress over the weekend!

Mr D
It's good metal finish on the tank straps....what paint did you use ??
Looking good 👍👍

Martin Oostrom
The yellow is decanted Tamiya TS16 Yellow.
The chrome is decanted Revell Chrome, diluted 50/50 with mr hobby Self levelling thinner

Kerry COX
🙂 And the imitation fur stuck to the bull bar is meant to replicate the remnants of the dead camels and roo's that are found all over the roads of West Australia :after the wet season starts.-)
Looking just like the real deal Martin. 🙂

Peter Hardy
Hurry up Martin! I have a load I have to get to Adelaide by Tuesday!

Martin Oostrom
Italeri really screwed this kit. I had to remove several parts to be able to mount the steps/battery boxes in the right place. The tiny tanks interfere with the positioning of the large fuel tanks. And dumbest of all, the radiator sits too high for the bonnet to close.

Spanjaard
make a small base, just enough for the truck, and add a figure repairing the engine, so you can leave the bonnet open 😉

Martin Oostrom
I fixed it a bit more "elegantly". Check picture 178

Spanjaard
certainly effective 🙂

Martin Oostrom
I'm done with this thing. After a five year struggle, she's acceptable. Just don't count the parts I left out.

bughunter
Very nice looking with the trailer and a good place in the cabinet!

David Taylor
Nice build.

Mr D
Fantastic build 👏👍 you done it proud..... the metal works is top notch, can see why you remove the chrome . Caustic soda may remove the chrome bit better, l know they chrome on top of a conductive paint.
Looks great in the collection....well done 👍

Nathan Dempsey
An excellent finish on this epic struggle project! Martin is victorious!

Spanjaard
if somebody will continue until is done, is Martin, and continue until is well done as well. congrats on a great result. even if the kit (or the brand?) fought you all the way

Bozzer
Blimey, that looks great!
I can't remember how many trucks I've done, in those 5 years, but this one is still on the shelf of shame.
Yours looks excellent, with the transporter on the back, mate!
Well done brother 👍

Bill Newcomer
Congratulations on a job well done. I would be proud to have it on my shelf.

Ben M
You win this round.

Lode Schildermans
Absolutely fabulous. I really enjoyed watching this beauty come to alive, each time you posted your progress. IMHO, it is a stunning build

Goldman
Congratulations! Perseverance is part of being a truck modeler. It looks great!

Brandon H
Nicely done Martin!!

Martin Oostrom
Thank you all for your wonderful comments. It took me short of a week all of 5 years to wrestle this monster into submission

Rui S
Great work on the monster, indeed 👍

Peter Hardy
Martin, I am greatly honoured! My name will be etched in perpetuity, or at least till your kids empty the house out after your demise! Nice to see all the extras from Philip Island made it onto the big 'Star! Thank you so much for the idea of the Groupbuild but let's NOT do a truck next time!

Neuling
Very well done, very beautiful!