I've built the bed using the bed floor from the cargo truck as a base. I cut the width down so the outside dimension when adding sides of .015" styrene equals the out to out dimension of the splash aprons . The molded on crossmembers on the underside were reduced in height with a razor saw so the bed floor will sit below the tops of the tires rather than over them. The sides and ends were cut from .015" styrene sheet and seems scribed on both inner and outer faces. All was glued up on a glass plate using presicsion ground machinest's blocks to keep everything true and square. The "C" channel uprights came from 1/35 top bows from the spares box. Holes were located and drilled thru sides and channels. I tried using stretched sprue to represent the bolt detail but struggled with uniformity so I wound up cutting strips of styrene and pulling them thru a drawplate made by drilling a series of decreasing diameter holes in a piece of brass channel. These rods were then cut to rough length and passed thru sides and channels and cemented. When dry the outsides were cut of with a sprue cutter using a couple of post-it notes as a spacer in order that they stood "proud" of the sides. A little rubbing with 1500 grit paper in a circular motion and hopefully we have a representation of carriage bolt heads. More rooting thru the spares box produced some bits which , along with some styrene stock, were glued to a chassis crossmember to represent the power take off ( PTO ) necessary for the starter shaft drive.

A little more progress to report. The soft top will have to be narrowed to match the decreased width of the cab. I took the top from one of the kits and cut across just at the forward edge of the intermediate top bow with a razor saw. I cut a section out of the center so that when joined, the two halfs equaled the reduced cab width. While the kit tops come with a single rear window in the center, photos indicate that starter trucks had two separate windows flanking the upright chain case for the starter drive. After filing the rear of the top flat I laid out two new windows and drilled out the four corners of each to produce radiused corners. I then cut out the windows using a jewelers' saw. I thinned down the back of the top from the inside as much as I dared using dremel bits and scrapers fashioned from hobby knife blades. I then cut the remaining forward top section from front two back on both sides at a point just outboard of the windshield frame. This center piece was then cemented to the previously sectioned top while in place on cab body for alignment purposes. After drying the remaining pie shaped outboard pieces were fitted by trial and error and cemented in place. After drying all was cleaned up with files and sandpaper. I hope to replace lost wrinkle detail with scrapers and rifflers. I include an unmodified top for comparison.

Returning to the chassis/cab assembly the next task will be the extended running boards with their splash aprons and the rear fenders. I cut the running boards from the fuel truck kit away from the angular rear fenders and joined these to the radiused rear fenders from the cargo truck. As these radiused fenders were for dual wheels I reduced them in width so they finished out just beyond the outboard edge of the extended running boards.The cargo truck fenders are each molded with two circular bosses on the top with concentric holes as they are meant to join the underside of the cargo bed. The holes were filled with stretched sprue and the bosses dressed off with files when dry. The splash aprons were extended with pieces cut from .015 styrene and then all cemented together. Joints were treated with white putty . All comments welcome and thanks for looking! Cheers - Richard

A little more progress to report. I have built up the front platform from brass. I first bent up the vertical platform/grille guard framework from .020" rod. after establishing it's hieght relative to the chassis from the photos the bottoms of the legs were bent reaward at 90 degrees. Two .020" holes were the drilled along the inside of the frame horns so the platform assembly can be take on/off for fitting, painting etc. I next made up a few lengths of angle out of .005" brass shim. This cuts very easily with a few passes of a # 11 blade. The strips were lightly scored down the center with a straight edge and knife and folded over a machinist's block. An Etchmate tool or something similar would have made this task easier but as I don't own one I had to make do. Both knee brackets were soldered up using electronics solder and a small butane torch. The wire mesh radiator guard was made by wrapping .010" brass wire around a wooden block in two directions at the appropriate spacing 90 degrees to each other and soldered together. Soldering was done by passing a piece of solder over a file to produce some dust and placing it at each intersection with a small paint brush after each intersection had a tiny dab of paste flux applied with toothpick. My first attempts were less than satisfactory but eventually I got the right combination of flux/solder/ light pass with torch. The real difficulty came when soldering the knees to the vertical framework. Years ago I did quite a bit of this type of thing when I was into wooden ship models and scratch built a lot of fittings- at that time I had solders of three different melting temperatures- you start with the highest temp solder and work your way down with each sub assembly so you don't undo your previous effort. I no longer have those solders and as they are costly I wound up soldering the knees to the uprights using a vaiable temp woodburning tool wth a fine knife tip for heat and using small alligator clips as heat sinks on the previously soldered joints- again,if I am to be honest here, it took more than one try and the knees had to be rebuilt more than once. This was one of those scenarios we've all been through where one must walk away and come back to it another time with a better attitude and hopefully a little wiser. What fun this hobby is at times ! All the worse for knowing the right way to do it but not wanting to spend the money so you wind up spending time and brain cells instead. Ha ! While in soldering mode I also made up a small pintle hook for the rear of the chassis. Given the difficulty of multi step soldering I took the cowardly way out and epoxied the wire mesh guard to the uprights. The platform itself and the chassis mounting plate were made up of sheet styrene.
As always all comments welcome and thanks for looking - Cheers and Happy Easter to everyone! Richard

I have begun the next component - the quadrapod mast assembly which supports the inboard end of the starter shaft and the upper end of the chain drive from the PTO. Looking at period photos indicates that this mast assembly was built up of tubes - likely steel but possibly cast iron - brazed together at their intersections in cast lugs. I used 3/64" brass rod for the four main legs and their interconnecting horiizontal struts. To represent the lugs I used 1/16" O.D. brass tube. As the I.D. of the tubing was too small to go around the rod I cut short lengths of tubing held in a hand vise and reamed the bore with increasingly larger wire guage drill bits #'s 61 through 56 and finised off with a 3/64" bit to match the rod dia.

The reamed tubing was then cut into lengths of the appropriate size and slid over the legs and wired to a jig made of plywood and basswood strips to hold all together for soldering.

I first made two side assemblies- left and right - to later be joined to the hub in a separate jig.


The hub itself was made from 3/16" O.D. brass tube cut to oversize length so one end could be inserted into a bore in the jig to keep every thing square- this will be cut free with a razor saw when all solder work on the mast is complete. Next will come the fitment and soldering of the front and rear horizontal struts and and some detailwork/soldering of the leg assemblies to the hub. Thanks for looking and as always, all comments welcome. Cheers -Richard

Hi Richard

Amazing detail work!! Excellent sir!

Regards,
Kobus

Thank you Kobus - I think the next item I will need is a pair of younger eyes ! - Richard

I have finished the soldering work on the mast assembly and cut it free from it's fixture. I have added the pierced kingpost arrangment at the top of the hub that the boom supporting the outboard end of the starter shaft passes through. This was formed from a piece of brass rod doubled over and bent to shape to leave an eye in the lower part,soldered and filed to shape. A small rectangle of brass strip was cut and drilled to accept the pin on the bottom of the kingpost. This assembly was then socketed in a hole bored in the top of the hub and all soldered while still in the jig. The small sheave assembly in the center of the rear horizontal strut was made up of brass shim for the cheeks and a slice of 1/16" brass tube pinned with brass rod for the sheave itself.

I still need to do a little cleanup of the solderwork here and there with files/sandpaper then that should do it for the soldering on the mast. A dip in acetone and then a few minuits in the ultrasonic cleaner and it will be ready for the remaining details. They will be done in styrene as they don't need to be structural in anyway. All comments welcome and Thanks for looking ! Richard

I have added 4 small rectangules to the base of the mast legs to represent mounting flanges. This was an afterthought and now the soldering of the mast is truly complete and work has moved on to detailing out the hub with styrene. I filed two ends of a piece of 3/16" brass tube which is the same tubing used for the hub. One end was filed all around its circumference on the inside and the other end on the outside to produce sharp edges. I then used this tube to punch out two sets of stryene discs which equaled both the inner and outer diameter of the hub. These discs were then cemented together concentricaly to produce a plug for the after end of the hub. This plug was then filed to produce the dome shape for the end of the hub. The plug was bonded to the hub with C/A and it and the rectangular brass base for the kingpost were tuned up with epoxy putty,files,sandpaper etc. I next added the small rectangular box at the top rear of the hub and six small lugs of fine wire around the circuference at the back of the hub. All styrene bits were fatned with medium C/A.

I next built up the chain case of styrene sheet . I laminated two strips of .040" together to produce a core .080" thick. This was then bored at one end with 3/16 " dia. hole to accept the hub. I next laid out and cut the core to its tombstone shape. A small bit from the spares box provided the sprocket with its bolt pattern inside the bore. Two tombstone shaped faces were then made in the same fashion out of .010" sheet with a fastener pattern laid out around their perimeter on the inside faces. this paattern was the lightly pricked with a straight pin to represent the fasteners. The faces were then cemented to the core and the small T shaped flange that appears around the top at the hub center was added as well as the circular access plate.


At this point all major components were dry fitted to check progress- the front platform needs minor tweaking as it does not stand plumb/square but I believe this will be corrected during permanent assembly.





I initially assumed that these trucks would have a hinged tailgate but it appears that the back panel of the bed was fixed so I must make some horizontal angle brackets with bolt detail to match the front.
The next step will be the starter shaft itself. All comments/questions welcome and thanks for looking ! Cheers - Richard

Hi Richard,
Very interesting subject you've got going on here. I've been checking it out since the beginning.
Wow! ... that soldering! I'll just watch from the peanut gallery in amazement! Really nice work so far!

Cheers!
—mike

Mike - thanks for the kind words - as I stated in the beginning of this I can't understand why Tamiya or Hasegawa have not kitted one of these 1/48 scale. After waiting for years for one I bet when I'm through some one will release one just as the paint is drying on mine ! Ha ! - Richard

Hi Richard,

Still blown away by the detail you create - awesome build Sir!

Regards,
Kobus

Man this is impressive!! I assume it's going to be part of a diorama?

Kobus - Thank you again for the compliment and thanks for watching - Richard

Brian - Thank you - I originally planned to build just the truck and display it in the model cabinet along with my 1/48 aircraft and other airfield vehicles but the diorama idea or at least a vignette is growing in my head - the problem with the diorama is that I have very limited display area. Also, I have been following your epic B 17 build and I am very flattered by your noticing my tiny project- Thanks again - Richard

I've begun the next component- the starter shaft . The first pieces I chose to make were the four collars located in pairs at each end of the shaft. Since the shaft itself will be made of 1/16 " o.d. tubing I used a piece of 3/32" o.d. tubing for the collars themselves as the i.d. is 1/16" and slides over the 1/16" tubing. I split one end of the 3/32" tube with a razor saw for a short distance and inserted two small strips cut from a piece of 1/64" x 1/4" brass strip to represent the ears on the collars. A piece of 1/16" tube was inserted temporarily in the tube to prevent the strips from interfering with the bore. The split tube/strip unit was wired together at one end and soldered after removing the temporary tube.



Small holes were drilled in the ears to later accept a piece of wire for bolt detail and then the collars were sliced of with a razor saw and reduced in thickness by rubbing on a piece of 600 grit sandpaper on the glass plate. A short wire tag was threaded through the ear holes on each in an effort to avoid feeding the carpet monster.


The next piece made was the hanging shaft bearing for the outboard end of the shaft. This component consists of a tube with two pear shaped plates on the top which connect to a chain hanging from the boom and two small legs on the bottom which tie into the two shear poles that stand from the front platform.



A piece of 1/64" x 1/4" brass strip was crosscut nearly all the way through and folded over itself so that both pieces could be bored and roughed out together to minimize asymmetry.

Next a piece of 1/32" brass strip was bored with a 3/32" dia hole to accept a piece of 3/32" tubing, two legs were roughed out with a jeweler's saw and files, and then soldered to the tube.


The two pear shaped plates were then roughed to shape, split apart,and then soldered on each side of the leg piece. Final shaping was done with files and sandpaper after soldering to the tube.

This piece will be sawn off the tubing after the lower end of the legs have their shear pole connections finalized which I am a little in the dark about because I have't found a clear photo of the back side of this piece.
The last piece made was the shaft itself which is simply a piece of 1/16" o.d. tube cut to length with a piece of brass rod inserted in the back end and soldered and then chucked in the lathe to have the slight taper filed to shape on the inboard end. Here are all the shaft components so far-

Next will be the telescoping shaft with it's universal joints and coupler that inserts into the outboard end of the shaft. Hopefully the photo fairy will come and clear up the shear poles connection- till then all comments welcome and Thanks for looking- Cheers ! Richard

Hi Richard,

Once again blown away by your skills in [small scale] metal working - unreal!

Looking forward to the next update.

Regards,
Kobus

Kobus - Thank you once again for the compliments - now it looks like I am experiencing the Photobucket gremlins and I haven't a clue as to how to fix it !
Richard

Looks like Photobucket issues have healed themselves - when trying to post a reply last night every image that came from Photobucket was gone and replaced by oops! Message . Strange. Richard

Brief update- Two steps forward- one step back ! After all the work on the four shaft collars I have remade them and I am discarding the originals for two reasons- By spliting the tube and inserting the brass strips for the ears I spread the bore just enough so the collars won't sit squarely on the shaft - also the holes are too large and the collars too heavy and clumsy looking. I took one and tried to solder the holes closed and thin it out by rubbing it on 600 grit on the glass plate but that did not solve the sloppy fit issues. I made the second batch by soldering the ear material directly on the outside of the tube and am mutch happier with the result. In the image below I have placed two pairs on the shaft for comparison- originals on the left and new on the right.

I have also begun the telescoping shaft with the first yoke of the universal joint roughed out and soldered to the shaft.

I believe I have the bearing legs/shear pole connection worked out in my head to some degree as well - Cheers and thanks for looking - Richard

Oops ! " mutch" should be "much"- red face here ! Ha !

Heavens, I simply couldn't do this. No skill-set for it. Your ability to work with metal is remarkable, and to me the hallmark of a truly advanced modeler.

So far as a display is concerned, that picture of the starter truck and a couple of KI-44s is what set me off. Just placing a Japanese fighter head-to-head with this vehicle, with a figure or two thrown in, on a "grass" or hard earth base, would be far more than the sum of the parts IMO.

http://images.yuku.com/image/bmp/7e41574f5db133cb0b74249a540874be74449b4.bmp
Brian - Thank you once again - the difficult part of this work these days is seeing what I'm doing . The pictures reveal things that I don't see , even with the Optivisor.
Regarding the diorama I agree with you completely. One of my visions is just as you described only with an Oscar from the stash. I have also recently added to the ever growing stash with Arii/Otaki/Nichimo Willow and Spruce kits from that evil temptress e-bay so one of these would work as well. (BTW- dated as they are these appear to be very nice kits still .) If I'm to do it I'll have to make my mind up soon as I may want the shaft engaged with the prop hub and I will need to fix the height. Cheers - Richard

Ha - where the h_ll did that shower image come from ?

Small update - I did not get much work in as I was away to take in the NoreastCon hosted by the Long Island Scale Modeler's Society. Many very nice examples of our craft were to be seen . This was the first chance I had to view Wingnut Wings kits in person and they are everything I expected and more- any way, back to the topic at hand. I have furthered the work on the hanging shaft bearing by starting the clamping fixture that is situated between the short legs of the hanging bearing.
I first filed a piece of 1/32" brass strip to fit between the legs. This piece was then laid over the front view drawing and the paths of the two shearpoles were scribed on the strip. A small hole was bored in the center for the pinch bolt.

Next, holes were bored edgewise through the legs and clamp piece for a hinge type pin as this clamp fixture must stay in the same plane as the shear poles while the hanging bearing will swing in an arc as the shaft is raised or lowered to accommodate different aircraft. The sides were then sawn and filed to a keystone shape and a small brass dog was soldered on the left side to retainone leg of the shear pole. This piece was then used as a template and a corresponding piece was made of 1/64" brass with a dog on the right to retain the other leg- this piece will lie between the two shear poles. Yet to be made is a small rectangular component that will lie outside the forward shear pole. All of these will be drawn together with the pinch bolt.




For ease of working all these tiny pieces are made in situ with the brass stock and will be cut free at the last possible moment.
Lastly a small length of brass rod was chucked in a Dremel tool and filed to shape for the forward pinch bolt handle. This was soldered to a strip of brass shim which was bored for the handle. A small square of brass was soldered to the end of a length of rod to represent the pinch bolt itself.

The brass shim was then folded around the pinch bolt and soldered.

Hopefully the next session will see all the shaft components come together. As always all comments welcome and thanks for looking.
Cheers ! Richard