Brian Conn

Thanks Gary...wish I had more time in the hobby room to devote to this project, but it is what it is. I think I might have enough for another update post soon

So here we go..... my first truck build W.I.P I started with the engine first in an attempt to fallow the kit build directions in order. I soon discovered an issue with the fitment between the bottom of the heads and the intake/engine block. Note the notched?? area between the bottom of the head and engine block and intake manifold. I don't know the reason for this, I just know that this is not the way it looks in 1:1 scale. Filled in the area with Styrene strip and Bondo Here's where I am at presently with the engine....aftermarket distributor and plug wires, scratch built fuel line,governor linkage to carb, water pipe from intake manifold to surge tank (surge tank not pictured) and riser for the oil breather on the Right side and ignition coil....started some slight weathering...I have not applied any dull coat yet , nor any wash. I had to slightly modify the bottom of the heat riser to properly clear the spark plug boots. Got the Ford C photo etch for this build which will really enhance the cab. Just for shucks and grins I compared the 534 C/I Ford truck engine against one of my 1:25 Fat Block Ford 427's and a big block Ford 460....this truck engine even makes them look small and puny.

...Impressive build. I've got a wrecker in the pipe line, getting all the parts and pieces rounded up. Bought an early 60's I.H DCO 405 Emeryville resin cab before the prices went insanely high from Spaulding trading a couple of years ago, Picked up a 3-D print Holmes 750 minus body a year or so ago and picked up a derelict Transtar cab over for $20.00 at a model show a couple years ago that will donate its chassis....building a 1:1 wrecker that I remember as a kid growing up.

YIKES...it's hasn't been since last year since I posted anything......... Tried some 1 mm. Yellow pin striping tape that failed miserably..so with a steady hand and a Sable hair detail brush I have started pin striping the cab....fair results, will work for a weathered garbage truck. Started working on the packer body. Coming out of Garwood's assembly plant, the bodies where all White, so I am going to leave the portion of the body that doesn't get weathered the molded kit White...it's not too dull or too bright. Hydraulic oil tank assembly This shows the interior of the packer body as far as what see's the wear and metal to metal contact and what doesn't. Made a small lip out of styrene sheet to cover up the extreme rear portion of the truck frame to keep trash out

☹️ Word on the road today is that the Kenworth W900 will cease production in 2026.......

When I found out it was kind of surreal.....I still had a couple hours of windshield time before I made it home yesterday from S. E Nebraska ....quite a few trucks pulling grain trailers and started noticing the W900's . Saw where a 30 year old W900 can still fetch $60,000 , wonder how many of today's trucks will be able to do the same 30 years from now?

To determine how much to add to the frame..... Dry fit (no glue) the 359 body (hood, cab sleeper) on the 359 frame. Take one of the sides of the wrecker bed and place it behind the sleeper to give you an idea of how much to add if your not ready to start cutting on the frame....OR (preferred) go ahead and make your cut on the frame, then support the front portion of the frame (making it level) with the hood, cab and sleeper in place and then center the tandems in the wrecker bed wheel wells once you have determined where you want the wrecker bed to sit. The gap between the 2 frame halves is what you will need to add. Another possibility would be to cut the frame directly behind the sleeper on the 359 and directly in front of the wrecker bed on the other and connect the two frames. Since your dealing with 2 different kit manufacturers, this would not be a highly visible area

Took advantage of the unseasonably warm temperatures and decent humidity outside today and shot some color on the cab....still have a small bit of tape to clean up (door handles,wind shield wipers, script on the doors, etc. etc.) Still working on the packer body.....so far so good.

I got some more work done on the packer body interior. Filled in the open areas on what is the 1:1 scale hydraulic oil tank with styrene sheet. Did some subtle weathering. For what ever reason there is a notch on both upper corners of the kit ejector blade. I filled in the upper Right notch with a piece of styrene sheet. Filled in the interior wall (Left piece} with styrene strips and automotive glazing and spot putty. Will leave the sanding scratch marks in place on the rear 2/3rd's for metal to metal contact effect.

I shoot a Paasche VL airbrush w/the 1 oz. glass jar. After my last session, I went to clean the air brush and discovered cracks in the vinyl pick up tube that is in the glass jar. 1/8" I.D X 1/4" O.D micro fuel line (Red) One foot of fuel line cost me $2.00...enough to last me a long time. As it turns out,the inside dia. of micro fuel line (gas powered weed eaters as an example) is a perfect fit over the fitting on the glass jar lid. Instead of trying to clean the pick up tube every time I use the air brush,I will just simply replace the used pick up tube with a new, clean one.

A couple days ago I got some new Paasche bottles and lids w/tubes. I noticed that the tube fitting on the 1oz. bottle lid was different than the lid that came with the air brush originally. Not a problem,except that this tip/how to would not work with this new style? lid w/tube...so I came up with a working solution. Newer style lid w/ tube on the Left, the original VL air brush lid w/tube on the Right With the newer style lid (Left) the vinyl tube fits inside the fitting. With the original VL air brush lid w/tube (Right) the vinyl tube fits over a barbed fitting. Newer style lid w/ vinyl tube removed This old CA glue bottle nozzle will become an adapter that goes between the lid fitting and the vinyl micro fuel line. Be sure and clean any glue remnants from the nozzle...I used a drill bit and blew it out w/compressed air. Remove the threaded portion of the nozzle...avoid cutting into the inner flange of the nozzle, this is what will end up fitting over the lid fitting. Remove the grooved ridges from the base of the nozzle...remove enough so that the nozzle will fit up into the lid and the lid can be screwed to a bottle. Taper the tip enough so that the vinyl micro fuel line will fit over the tip. Slide the vinyl tube over the nozzle Firmly press the nozzle over the fitting. 1 oz. lid with tube adapter on a former clear coat bottle that has been re purposed for spray painting.

First off a salute to my fellow veterans on the forum..... I have started to work on the packer body and its separate components. This is from the Garwood sales brochure for the LP 900 packer. This is the view looking forward towards the truck cab from inside the packer body. Here is the same part from the kit. The lower portion and upright portions are part of the hydraulic tank. I am going to be displaying this at model shows with the roof of the packer body off, so I will be filling in those open portions with styrene sheet to replicate the hydraulic tank shown in the sales brochure. This is also from the LP 900 sales brochure. This view is from the front part of the packer body looking towards the rear of the ejection panel..... the sliding panel that pushes out the trash at the landfill as well as compacts the trash being picked up. I will be cutting a notch in the ejection panel for the raceway and attaching it so that the raceway will stay in place with the roof off instead of making it part of the roof as shown in the brochure. These are the inside of the packer body sides. I understand to make the injection mold process work that AMT had to do it this way, but the insides need to be flat with no obstructions. These raised parts would be disastrous in the real world. I will be filling in the areas between the raised parts with styrene sheet to have a smooth interior of the packer body.

Thanks!!! Just about got the cab wrapped up and have started on the packer,hopefully posting some progress pictures soon.

The Ad Astra Modeling Club here in Topeka, Ks. had its annual show today......got a few truck pictures.... Fellow forum member and member of the Ad Astra Modeling Club, Paul, built this diorama along with fellow Ad Astra member Lamar Johnson. Along with the logging truck diorama, Paul also built this fine looking combo. A lot of scratch building went into this wrecker

Shot this first light coat of color with the air brush....turns out there was cracks in the pick up tube...will have to sand out the areas of splatter and re shoot, other than that I'm o.k with it.

I went to the annual Prison City Model show in Leavenworth, Ks. ...did'nt show a truck, rather a dirt track Gran Torino that garnered me a 3rd place finish in the competition class....enough of the car stuff. This American La France 900 series pumper that pays homage to the 343 New York City firefighters that lost their lives in the line of duty on 9-11 won an award in the truck category...built by Brian Gauthier of the Show Me State Modelers....plenty of after market and scratch building. One clean cab over.

Just checked out your eBay store.....for any of you who haven't checked it out yet, you really need to.

Thank you for your comments, they are much appreciated! For me to have a youtube channel I would more or less have to convert the hobby room into a studio....I would much rather build than have to deal with releasing videos....I feel that I would become a slave to making youtube videos thus ruining any relaxation that I get from building. Secondly, I would not want my name associated with some of the advertising that is viewed there. I would much rather have a million friends than a million views. As far as action goes on this build or any future truck build for that matter here,on these forums, is where its at....your not going to find them any place else. Here are the links I think that you are referring to...... Here is the link for glass weathering: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzFUIrzNCWY Here is the link for headliners: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIXPfZCrSe4 If anyone ever has any questions on how I did something , I would gladly like to be of assistance

I'm glad your enjoying it...been enjoyful for me as well now that I have more time to spend in the hobby room. I've got a couple of new technics that I am going to try my hand at.....weathering the glass ala' Dr. Cranky style and using a Silly Winks foam sheet for the headliner. videos on youtube if anyone is interested.

Finished up the cab interior.....it still looks like I need to dull coat the seats a little bit more as pictures dont lie....still a bit shiny for my taste. Roughed up the drivers seat a little bit to show wear and tear. Gauge cluster ,lower dash and radio are PE from ST Supply. My first time using PE on anything. Had to re-work the kit dash to make everything fit right. Scratch built the blower motor for the heater, dash/radio knobs and air brake control and panel.

Started to work on the cab........ I'm pretty happy with the way the cab sits...I used the rear cab support as a reference guide as compared to 1:1 trucks as well as the position of the front wheels in the wheel wells. I did have to do some modifying along the way.... On the engine, I went with an aftermarket, pre-wired distributor and a scratch built oil filler tube riser to clear the coolant expansion tank piping. In doing this , the cab did not want to sit down properly with the cab hinges attached as the bottom was making contact with the distributor and the back , vertical portion was in contact with the riser. To correct this, I raise the flat piece that the seats attach to aprox. 2 mm. and redid the vertical back piece with a very thin piece of flat styrene slightly angled out more at the bottom once cuts where made in the kit piece. This is the bottom side of the cab. You can see were I made cut outs for clearance for the air intake pieces, the distribtor and oil filler tube riser. Once everything was were I wanted it , I boxed the cut out area in.

...Thanks Gary....working on the build as spare time permits. Got the PTO pump attached and the battery box attached and wired....scratch built a Ford starter solenoid. Will start working on the cab and cab interior soon. Got some P.E for the cab.....lots of little pieces, but it should bring the WOW factor, least I hope so.

Yikes!!! It's been almost 4 months since the last update..... Have not had much time in the hobby room due mostly to work, going into a slower part of the year so hopefully more free time... It's a roller! Finally got it up on all fours...scratch built rubber air line and frame fitting (Right front). The entanglement of wires and etc. on the Left front of the engine is what will be going into the cab to represent electrical, tach drive and air lines. Kind of hard to see, scratch built rubber power steering lines between power steering pump and steering ram cylinder Scratch built a shifter cable between transmission and what will end up in the cab area...kind of hard to see...its on what is the bottom side of the transmission and towards the rear in the picture. Up next is installing the PTO pump and shaft and wiring and installing the battery box.

Welcome aboard! Tried to locate you on eBay with no luck, BUT did score a fire fighting apparatus that I had been looking for , so it wasn't a total bust. Could you please post a link to your eBay store...much appreciated.

There's a few of those monsters running around the Kansas City area...seen them in action a few times....impressive would be a huge understatement....your build fits that description quite well.