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Hi all, I'm just getting geared up to start my first semi build since roughly the late 80's. I stopped modelling mostly due to real world trucking, 20 years of jamming gears followed a few driving the original M-1 Abrams, then after all that I did maintenance for a few years before becoming disabled. I'll be starting the AMT White Freighshaker cabover once I finish a tank build. I plan on hyper detailing it and the color scheme will suite my better half once she decides. Between you and me, I'll bet it'll have green in it since it's her favorite color. LOL Not really sure what else to say, just an older guy getting back into a wonderful hobby here Thanks, Clair G

This build was wrapped up a few weeks ago. It is a kit bash with the Watkins 925 and the Malone race truck. I used the long hood (15mm longer than stock) and the twin blower/ twin turbo V12 engine. The turbos were exchanged for larger turbos and re-plumbed for an intercooler. Frame stretch, hand built aluminum exhaust, custom fuel tanks, fabricated headache rack, grill was cut out and replaced with a screen, custom interior, aftermarket tires, and cast mirrors.

Just finished this build today. Nearly every part was modified/ replaced with 3D print or scratch built.

Hey, how are ya, thanks for looking, may do this kit bash again in a custom road truck.

Nice custom fabrication. Something you’d see at a truck show attracting a big crowd. Aftermarket tires and the grille screen make a big difference. That engine is a beast!

Thank you, yup wish I could drive a truck that nice

....One last update for 2025.... Have the hopper done and ready for weathering Began some subtle weathering on the upper panel Will be scratch building the control handle for the over head winch that ties in with the controls for the upper and lower panels HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL AND KEEP ON TRUCKIN'

Nothing SPOOKtacular to report on this Halloween day........ Inching closer to completion, still a ways to go.....had hoped to have had it in the model clubs annual show coming up in a couple of weeks, looks like next year. Since the P.E kit that I got from S.T.S came with a radio face, I went all in and scratch built an antennae to go with the radio. Still need to dirty up the front of the cab a little bit as the dirty windshield-clean body look wont pass muster with the judges. Scratch built the hydraulic lines for the front of the packer body, also the electrical conduit for the rear of the packer body (vertical round white piece, Left of center going down into truck chassis) Overhead electrical and hydraulic line raceway going towards the rear of the packer body.

I set a goal of having this a curbside build by the 4th of July and I made it!!!!! This is my way of saying Happy 259th Birthday to the United States of America. This build is far from being done, in fact the cab is not even attached as the interior has been barely started and there still is some body work to be done.

Starting to look like a truck...glass and stripe decals are next!!! Studied some pictures of the 1:1 DM 800's smoke stack location and repositioned the kit offering...in doing that I also had to move the battery box and air tank back on the frame. Shot a coat of floor wax thru the airbrush....now it shines like a new penny ☺️

A minor setback..... I never was quite happy with the position of the smoke stack, so I removed the smoke stack and the battery box. While I was at it, I made some cab locating pieces....now the cab sits where it is suppose to. The cab sits on the four vertical pieces that are part of the frame. The kit locating bosses leave a lot to be desired..they are pretty small. I had some Evergreen styrene angle pieces laying around, so I made taller locating bosses...still a small bit of wiggle room left for final cab alignment. I think what I am going to do, unless someone has a better idea, is to attach the completed interior tub to the frame and then lower the completed cab shell over the tub. Edited just now by Brian Conn

Necessity is the Mother of invention I was having issues with my latest build and getting the outside tires to look like they are seated to the wheel while having the proper gap between the tires...here's what I came up with..... These are the old laces out of my work boots. The first thing you do is mount the outside tire. I used canopy glue on the outside (visible) part of the tire/wheel since it dries clear...I plan on entering this rig in future model shows and cant have dried CA glue showing anywhere. The parts of the tire/wheel that are not visible, I use CA glue. Mount the inner tire. Wrap the shoe lace around the area between the two tires...snug it down until the tires are seated to the wheels..you will still have to move the tire back and forth across the wheel to get everything set perfect.

..........DESPITE procrastination, busy season at work, life and recently being a storm refugee I have made some decent progress. As I have stated before my goal is to have this a box art , curbside build (no engine or transmission) by the 4th of July. I will come back to this one later and assemble the engine and transmission, stretch the frame and add the milk tank and additional decals. Got some sticky tape residue to deal with on the hood....used scotch clear tape to mask off the area dividing the red and blue, no problem...used Tamiya tape in other places no problem( great stuff!!),,,,used some expensive blue painters tape...leaves a sticky residue ☹️ The white stripe decals just barely wrapped around the backside of the cab..didn't like the way it looked...so I taped off the the backside of the cab since it was molded white to create white stripes. I do need to go back and do some touch up work with some white paint. Need to put some heat to the smoke stack and straighten it out.

Thanks, and yes , I like that motor build. Planning another road truck with sleeper using the long hood and a V12 again. Will do better with the plumbing.

What a Neat Project!! Keep up the Great work can't wait to see your next steps!!! 👍

I can’t even see that wire let alone do something with it.

Holy Cow ! And some people thought I was a little nuts for working on 1:64s. 😳 Johnny

Hang in there, went thru that about 20 years ago and she threw out all my builds and unbuilt kits in the trash among other stuff

Good to see you picking this build up again.

Oh yesss.. "Trailer got the slider damaged when it got knocked off the shelf" Hate it when that happens. HeHe , well, back to work then. 😎 Good to see you back. Johnny

Pics with the trailer I just finished.

I'm very impressed of the detail in that scale. Nice work. Paul