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About this blog

The birth of an icon. Or that's what I'm aiming for...^_^

Entries in this blog

 

On request: building a Peterbilt 379

And here's the finished result of my work. With the license plate and IFTA decals on, and outside pictures in decent weather, I think I can call this truck done. All that's left is the Build-Off judging itself...


Joris

Joris

 

On request: building a Peterbilt 379

The Beast is done! In the last week I finished up on the big Peterbilt, scratchbuilding a deep bumper and adapting the rear fenders. If you look closely, you can recognise the fenders from the Revell of Germany "Canadian Hauler" kit in them. Also the mirrors are one, as well as the license plates. IFTA decals on as well. Now only I have to wait for decent weather to make outside pics; at the moment nature's not really cooperating...  

Joris

Joris

 

On request: building a Peterbilt 379

The Build-Off Peterbilt is getting close to completion! I have the hood functional, the mirrors are on and I made a big bumper from styrene. All that's left is the fenders over the rear wheels; I'm still not sure about the definite style and way of attaching them, but I have some time left to figure that out. License plate decals and IFTA decals are last. The stack tips are in place as well, but I'm not really sure If that was smart. I might have to work on the underside of the truck a little for that. Oh well...


Joris

Joris

 

On request: building a Peterbilt 379

A little progress on the Build-Off Pete. Not much, but haven't had much time to tinker around.
I'd say the truck is on the home stretch here; mirror brackets are on, rear mudflaps and tail lights. The exhaust tips I have ready as well, just waiting before I have put some work behind me that could snap them off again. The hood is done and waiting as well, I just need to figure out the hinges since the resin aftermarket part isn't prepared for the kit's hinges. Also I fear that I might have mounted the cab a little too high (talking about halves of millimeters) so I need to set the hood just right. With all the effort on the C15, I try to make the hood functional.

After that it's off to the upfitter, for the custom bumper and rear fenders. Mirrors will be the last items on, last decals will be the license plates.

Joris

Joris

 

On request: building a Peterbilt 379

Some work has been done on the big beast. I completed the engine setup, which means that I put on the exhaust system. For that I had to attach the cab to have the exhaust stacks in place.  I cut off the exhaust tips, I want different tips. And while I was at it, I also put on the sleeper.
Wheels I put on the axles; I used chromed 10-holed wheels with round holes from an Italeri Western Star kit I had saved, because I ran into a little issue with the lift axle. The rims I ordered fit the axle hub, but they are too wide for my taste; the tires that came with them have a pretty rough thread, more fitting on a dumper I think. It took some consideration, but my buddy Patrick Tompkins gave me a tip about using AMT wheels. They're a little smaller, like 22.5", and they would do well. These wheels come with round holes, and to keep the wheels more or less looking uniform the Western Star wheels were to go on the other axles. I put Italeri trailer tires on the front axle, they're a little wider than the standard truck tires. I do need to remember to put on the axle hubs on the front axle, though...
With the battery boxes and tanks in place, the truck has now entered the "Roller" stage; she should be able to move under her own power now. I'm getting more and more happy with how this truck is turning out!
As you might notice, the truck has two extra air tanks inside the frame, right about where the lift axle is located.

Joris

Joris

 

On request: building a Peterbilt 379

Now I'm wondering if I posted updates on the cab of this monster…
I decided to build a visor from scratch. I wanted something a little more ominous than the standard Italeri item over the windshield. From styrene I made this item; it was a little harder than I anticipated, but I got it eventually. It looks great after sanding, painting and fitting on the cab I think! Yeah, the marker light placement is a little Old School I think...

Joris

Joris

 

On request: building a Peterbilt 379

Been a while since the last update in this blog, but again work has kept me busy, as well as other stuff in my life. That doesn't mean I haven't worked on the big Pete though.

Initially I made the engine and radiator assembly. I adapted the tubing from the original kit, and I was pretty pleased with it. It all fit well, the fan lined up with one of the pulleys and all. Yeah, this was gonna work!

Also I (finally) got the keel laid for this big beast. I was waiting on a lift axle from Jamie Rahmoeller (moluminum.com), and I wanted to take good measurement for placing this fine piece of work. I happened to have picked up a spare set of frame rail; actually two whole part trees for this kit, with all the stuff that comes in it. These came in very handy in adding the belts, pulleys and plumbing for the mighty C15 too. I managed to get a nice frame stretch with them. I painted the frame red. Then came the placing of the engine in the frame. And that's where the brown stuff hit the ventilator, so to say. When I put in the complete powerplant, I found out that the engine would list too much, and the air duct on the firewall wouldn't clear the engine head. Nice going there, Joris… 
  Again I had to adapt the plumbing to make the powerplant air- and watertight. Took some cussing and swearing, words I won't repeat here because this is a family-friendly site and all, but I got 'r done, so to say. Even the air duct fits over the engine again! And I got the placement of the cab supports right; this was a little worry for me, but I guess this will work. I had to modify the air duct to the turbo, but this wasn't such a problem with all the spare parts I have. Now I do have some fears that the big hood won't be able to open; Eric Jones from P&P made a wonderful item (or perhaps it was Tim Ahlborn who made the master) with a realistic inside, but it rubs against the air intake duct. I so hope I won't have to glue it shut…

Joris

Joris

 

On request: building a Peterbilt 379

Tuesday, November 10th 2015 Been a while since the last update, but work has kept me busy. 
However I found time to tinker on a little. The work on the hood, cab and sleeper continues diligently, although there have been some SNAFU's along the way. A little bleed-under in the painting process, which has been mostly corrected. I tried the pinstripe decals from KFS as a demarcation line, but they were absolute horror! So it's fallback to Plan B, masking tape and paint. As soon as the results are satisfying enough, pictures of the bodywork will come. Then the livery is being revealed as well.
Also it seems that the hood hinges from this particular kit are missing (funny, I do remember all the bags were sealed…) so I have to improvise a little.
  As you can see, I finished the big CAT C15. The way I put on the belts and pulleys might not be the 100% correct way, but then again I'm not a rivet counter and I had to make use of the stuff I got. For me it works this way at least. For the colors I went a little Old Skool; transmission in frame color and I put a twist on the 'white" engine Peterbilt featured back in the Olden Days; I used Tamiya's Pearl White, since that color comes back on the bodywork on this truck. The cab needs a dash too. Since I'm building a Post-'05 Peterbilt, the new style dash is needed. I've painted the dash a little custom too. Red dials and switches on a gunmetal background, while the upholstery is supposed to look like white leather.

Joris

Joris

 

Peterbilt 379

Friday, October 23rd 2015, The other day I got a pm from Casey, if I wanted to do a blog about my current building project. For a Build-Off on a facebookpage I'm planning to build a Peterbilt 379-127. I was surprised by Casey's message, but also pretty honoured. I don't consider myself a so-called Master Builder, but I'm not a complete dunce either. So I figured: yeah, why not? Please bear with me, while I'm also trying to figure out how to put up this blog as I go... First of all, for those who don't know me, I think introducing myself to you all is the decent thing for me to do. My name is Joris Scholte, born in The Netherlands in 1977. I emigrated to Switzerland in 2012 for various reasons, none of them really matter for this blog. Met a nice girl here, coincidentally she's Dutch too. I've been building 1/24th and 1/25th scale trucks since 2005 or so. In my pre-teens I have built models before, mainly military aircraft. Pretty cumbersome with the wings sticking out, and sooner or later you run out of possibilities.  Restarting this hobby, almost right away I got into contact with Tim Ahlborn through email. As you all probably know, Tim has a Peterbilt fascination and builds extremely good trucks. I happen to like the Peterbilt trucks too, the main reason why I focus on building them. Tim has been giving me background info on the real Peterbilt trucks and tips how to recreate them in scale over the years, he's a great guy! Back in 2011 he even helped me get a tour of the Peterbilt plant in Denton, Tx, when I went over to Dallas for the Great American Truck Show. Nice!   Anyway, back to this truck I'm going to build. On the (closed) facebook group "Building Big Rigs..Tips and how did you do it.." a build-off for members got my attention. Participants have from October 1st 2015 till March 2016 the time to build their truck. One of the 4 classes to enter is Custom. Basically, not building the kit exactly box-stock. Since I bent the rules a little on a previous Build-Off, the Custom-class would be where I'd put my entry. Furthermore, for the contenders not in Rebuilding-class, a fresh kit has to be used. Sounds logical, but okay… Thinking about what I have in stock for kits and parts (and yes, I have quite a lot), I remembered I had some nice resin stuff from P&P Vintage kits. Actually all the conversion parts to turn the Italeri Peterbilt 378 kit into a nice Ultracab Peterbilt 379-127, with the newer door and dash (post '05). In this blog I will post updates as they come on the build, progress and the issues that will (undoubtedly) arise during construction. The final result will be shown here, as well as the result in the Build-Off.

So why a Peterbilt 379? For me, the non plus ultra American truck is a Peterbilt 379. The way it looks, the reputation and all. Also, if you consider that for the aftermarket parts market there are supposedly more items available for Peterbilts alone than for all the other brands combined, you can build a scale Pete any way you like. The truck I'm building has no definite plan yet. The kit I'm using is an Italeri kit, the so-called Long Hauler (#3857). Comes with the 63" Standup-Sleeper, and a Detroit Diesel 60 Series under the hood. The truck the Italerians offer is not a 379 model, but a 378. Cab sits a little higher and the hood is different. I don't like the terms "Short Hood" or "Extended Hood (or EXHD, which I dislike even more) so I try to refrain using them. There are 2 ways of making the 378 into a 379. The first is lowering the cab a little and adapting the hood. Tim Ahlborn gave me that tip many years back, and it works great! This way you'll turn the truck into a Pete 379-119 aka Short Hood. On Tim's site (http://www.timstrucks.com) you can find the instructions how to do this if you are interested. I have done this several times in the past with what I think great results. The other way is making or ordering a resin conversion kit; I have ordered in the past lots of parts from P&P Vintage kits and a 379-127 hood conversion is one of them. Now of course there are many sellers who offer them, I'm sure they are all good. I stick with P&P because I had good experiences with them in the past. Also I have a resin cab with the newer doors and a raised roof (the so-called Ultracab); this cab has a true Unibilt sleeper transition too. I picked up an extra set of frame rails too somewhere in the past; actually it's the whole sprue, with engine parts and stuff. Since I have to alter the cab supports anyway, I figured a frame stretch using the extra rails would be great. And here comes the first dilemma: do I make a Large Car, with custom fenders and cowboying it up, or do I make a heavy hauler with a lift axle? Both of them are appealing… At the moment I'm working on getting a lift axle through Jamie Rahmoeller from Mo'luminum. The Detroit Diesel I'm definitely not going to use. Don't get me wrong, it might be a fine engine and the Italerians did a fine job in moulding it, but I want something different. Through my friend Patrick Tompkins I got a Caterpillar C-15. A nice resin kit, comes with lots of detail. Should be a nice engine for my project. But then again, if I can pick up a Cummins ISX again, I might put that in...
Also I have tons of spare parts accumulated over the years, so I plan to put on lots of extras. Since the 379 I'm building is a newer type, with the new door latches and window sills, I need a newer style dash too. P&P has them as well, and I got 3 sets back then.   The cab is already primed, I'm working on the Unibilt transition in the sleeper front panel.


Saturday, October 24th 2015, I got the panels on the sleeper together, and cut out the opening for the Unibilt sleeper transition. The cab and sleeper make a flush fit. Also I shaved off the door handles on the all the doors. Either I'm going to make 4 matching ones, or perhaps I'm keeping the doors like that. Customized, opening by remote or something... Ahm, I seem to have forgotten to put the doghouse in the firewall on the front of the cab. Let's get that corrected...
 

Joris

Joris

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