Scale model building

[Sparky-(Admin) 24,686]

Looking good. 
  This guys photobombing face made me laugh 

 

[ebinmaine 77,595]

2 minutes ago, Sparky said:

Looking good. 

 

Thanks! 

2 minutes ago, Sparky said:

  This guys photobombing face made me laugh 

 

Good eye!!

 

 

I'll claim that's a box of dog toys but .....

[ebinmaine 77,595]

Couple coats of primer on.  

 

 

 

[ebinmaine 77,595]

 

I BOUGHT the green & red International truck that's on top of the black trailer. 

 

Didn't build it.  

 

This will be similar to the one I do build for the tanker and help me visualize the process.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also been watching fleeebay for inexpensive trailers and parts piles. 

 

This livestock trailer needs only a small amount of work to be finished up and painted.  The tanker will need more....

In the box by the tanker you can see a bag of red and orange. A bunch of tiny light lenses.  

 

 

[ebinmaine 77,595]

Sprayed the silver paint over the kast several days. 

Looks very good.  

 

There are a few areas that are a small nicks or dents.  

I'm leaving them alone on purpose because this model will be weathered. 

I'll call out the imperfections later in the build.  

I can also still see the original casting mold lines through the primer and paint. 

I left them alone asnwell because they actually look like the full scale version of tank divider or reinforcement lines.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ebinmaine 77,595]

Years ago I read a magazine article about weathering certain aspects of a model. I've also seen other build articles mentioning the following trick...

 

 

 

 

Scale model tires are molded just like most other parts. That process leaves lines and dots. Real tires obviously don't have either so to increase realism I remove them. Sanding works. But this rotational tool method is neat too. I'll be switching to a more powerful drill but the pics show the idea.  

 

 

On the rear section, one of the many modifications to this trailer is to move the entire rear suspension back several scale feet.  On the full sized trailers the back tires were actually setting past the back of the tank body.  

To help strengthen the model as a whole I decided to add a plate between the suspension frame and tanker body. I used black sheet styrene cut to fit. 

The sheet styrene adds to the total glued area by having the cross members involved all the way across. 

 

 

 

 

Same basic idea for the landing gear. I widened it and set it on a similar plate. 

After painting it'll look like a standard full sized trailer modification done by a cheap boss looking for a strong functional piece that didn't have to be sent out to a fabrication company.  

 

The landing wheel's axle was actually broken in the kit so I figured,  what better place to add the wider section. 

To create the addition my intention was to add a piece of tube styrene over the axle.... but it hasn't arrived yet. Could I wait? Absolutely. Would a real world company wait? No. 

So I made a repair addition section by slicing (carefully) a piece of C channel into an angle. Glued the whole assembly together.  When dry, I'll paint it and install the assembly.  

 

 

[ebinmaine 77,595]

Another new experience today. 

I used a razor saw to cut the black cross members for the scratch built trailer frame.  See the black handled tool close up.  

 

 

 

[8ntruck 8,639]

What did you end up doing for the domed tank end?

[ebinmaine 77,595]

7 hours ago, 8ntruck said:

What did you end up doing for the domed tank end?

 

After babbling back n forth with a few guys here n there I decided it was unlikely to be something I could produce to my own satisfaction. 

 

@Wheel Horse 3D is making several pieces for me related to this project and others.  

 

The long pieces are two sets of frame rail extensions. 

 

 

Here is the tank end chunk. 

 

 

 

[ebinmaine 77,595]

On 2/23/2026 at 7:52 PM, ebinmaine said:

 

 

On these old tanker trailers the attached pieces like a bumper were variables. 

They could be straight across or have a downward slope at the ends as seen above. 

They can also be hollow C channels as above or a solid piece. 

 

I prefer the look of the downward angle and solid. 

 

I made a bumper out of sheet styrene.  

Another new experience in tools. 

I used a razor saw for this. Started by scoring the cut lines into the styrene. Then, saw cuts.  42 TPI made for precise hobby cuts.  

 

 

 

 

This scales up to approximately 2.75 to 3 inches thick. 15.5 to 16 inches tall. Width would be 100 inches.. ish...

 

 

 

[Beap52 2,066]

The building I've been working on is about as complete as I'm going to make it for this season.   It's on the location on the train layout and will have a building across the tracks tied together by a walkway over the tracks at some point.  I made add more objects in and around the area as I come up with ideas 

 

These building are cheap.  Scraps of foam board for walls and shingles and flat roof.  Masking tape for round roof's roofing.  Window glass is plastic sheeting from TV's I taken apart.  A couple dollars of the small bottles of paint.  The "grass" is brushes from an old paint brush.  Labor is biggest investment and that's my plan to have something to do in winter months. 

[ebinmaine 77,595]

4 hours ago, Beap52 said:

These building are

 

Very nice! 

[ebinmaine 77,595]

I added the two spare tire holders a few days ago. 

 

 

Also prepped and glued the kingpin plate on.  Axle set is in place. There'll be more framing added beside & in front of the axles.  

 

 

This is one of two top catwalk pieces I'm using to scratch build a top walk for this tanker. 

The double diamond plate strip on the box there will be the center of it. 

 

I used the back of a #11 Xacto blade to score the groove and snapped the edges off.  

 

 

 

I also got some more paint laid on. 

 

 

 

[8ntruck 8,639]

Semi related.  Yesterday, Mrs 8n had me take her to the local Hobby Lobby to pick up some sewing supplies.  While there, I wandered into the model making asile to see what was being offered.  An AMT '53 Ford pickup kit caught my eye.  Recent issue with Coke Cola decals.  The other thing that caught my eye was a 40% off sign.   

 

The kit is now on the shelf of 'someday' projects.  Other than the decals and some tools, it appears to be the same kit I had built back around 1970.

[ebinmaine 77,595]

4 hours ago, 8ntruck said:

appears to be the same kit I had built back around 1970.

 

Yessir it likely is.  

 

I know next to nothing about injection molding but I do know that several parent companies have bought sold won lost tons of kits over the years. 

The tanker I'm building is the same mold but two different companies in two different generations. The quality is very different. The later one is much worse. Likely a well worn mold set.