Project 056 -- Australian Truck Group Build

Chris Greathouse
Can anyone tell me what color the engine should be for this Western Star? And what model is the truck?

Tom ...
Hey, I thought you were in the greenhouse!

Chris Greathouse
I was in the greenhouse. I got it tidied up for the next plant. And now I am enjoying the fruit of my labour ;P Next I think some random anime series is in order 😄

Munkyslut
He's a model building machine!
Watch Chris GOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

Chris Greathouse
This project won't start until the 15th of Feb.

I'm just getting a few answers so I can match the right colors... What model of Western Star is it (I want to get some reference exterior/interior pics)? And what color should the engine be?

Tim Heimer
research my friend.. Everything is on the internet once you sift through all the [****]! LOL!

Chris Greathouse
My question was not asking Google, unhelpful. If anyone actually knows something about the model and engine color of this truck, let me know, thank you.

Peter Hardy
Chris, the Star looks like somewhere around a 2000 model 4964. Engine would have most likely been a Cat 3406E at 600hp. You could do a Cummins engine, that would have been an ISX at 500 or a Signature at 600 hp. The Cat motor and Cummins colour are researchable. Oz and US engines are the same spec and colour.

Chris Greathouse
Thanks Peter! I'll start looking there 😄

Tim Heimer
There you go! Leave it to our favorite Aussie to know!

Chris Greathouse
👍

Mark Boots
I am going to follow your project Chris!

Chris Greathouse
Thanks Mark

Martin Oostrom
Will you build her oob, or go for a custom paint job?

Tim Heimer
Martin, you will have to wait to see! Chris needs a few days off of before tackling his next beast! Now he has to best the last beast he did, so he's going to need to get focused on that! No pressure Chris! LOL. I need to build a truck, but not an Aussie truck. Too bad.

Martin Oostrom
He could convert this one to a racing truck Aussie Style, with a Corvette as spoiler. Or something similar. Perhaps Mad Max style 😉

Chris Greathouse
oob, but I'm thinking of a dark blue and black theme for the paint/details/chrome/interior... I may do decals, but maybe not since they are green.

Bill Newcomer
Following

Danny Meer
At start of event do we need to make a photo with date and time or something to proof that your not started yet?

I want to build mine oob green and think i'm gonna use an metallic green for it. gonna do the truck first and maybe 1 or 2 trailers behind it (got a few trailers in my stash 🙂 Would it be a weird combo for a road train to use the American 48 FT Reefer Trailer and Australian Road Train Trailer behind the Australian Truck? 😄

Australian Truck (Italeri 719, 1:24)
American 48 FT Reefer Trailer (Italeri 742, 1:24)
Australian Road Train Trailer (Revell 07525, 1:24)

Tim Heimer
Peter might complain! LOL!

Tom ...
Ha, I like it. Proof of life photos! 😄 Too funny.

Chris Greathouse
Danny, this is how Slavo set up his group build... Some people copied the format. It made it like you were walking around the display tables, and you could travel/walk to see participants with a link. F-111G at speed | Album by slavatarko (1:48)

Martin Oostrom
Okay, I'll fix it 😉

Martin Oostrom
Easier way: Name your album " SCM Australian Trucks Groupbuild" and the search engine will automatically add it to the event page SCM Australian Trucks Groupbuild (15. February until 31. July, Moranbah AU)

Danny Meer
👍 great! thx Martin

Tom ...
Oh yah! Nice one Martin. Bookmarked that page now! Hopefully the list is sorted by most recently updated but I'll take a static list too. Maybe Tim can make events have their own newsfeed...

Peter Hardy
Danny, it's your model mate, you can drag a 10ft penguin behind it if you want! Authentic? No it won't be. Get another NTFS pan or two. Three trailers are about right for the early naughties. If you want to make it VERY authentic auslowe.com.au/ will assist. PM me if you want specialist advice. Green sounds pretty good. Martin and I are both doing blue and Chris might have been thinking along those lines as well. Yellow would work with the decals too I'd reckon.

Danny Meer
Thx Peter,
Would love to have 2 more NTFS trailers to make a nice road train, but so damn expensive lol

Chris Greathouse
Finished my Project 055 -- 2012 Corvette Coupe | Album by chrisagreat (1:25). Now to start on the Aussie 😄 Welcome all!

Nathan Dempsey
Auslowe has some really great items. At some point I'll get at least a pair of trailers from them. It ends up being about the same as what Evilbay is asking for those Revell Road Train Trailers.

Chris Greathouse
#2 Huzzah for SuperClean! 😄

Nathan Dempsey
Bye bye chrome!

Treehugger
Does the chrome just vanish and dissolve or did you have to scrape, brush or shake the parts?

Tom ...
Chris, remember to name the album "SCM Australian Trucks Groupbuild" so it appears on the event page. You can rename back again afterwards.

Chris Greathouse
@Tree, it dissolves to barebone.... I've been leaving chrome kit parts in for several days since I don't need chrome right away, in fact these pieces are still in the tub... When you grab them out, they are smooth and clean. I leave them in so long because it doesn't harm the the pieces, and I never need them right away... So I just let it do it's thing and let it dissolve the residue.

Chris Greathouse
Sorry, I think the naming scheme is bullshit.... take a look on the event page....

who belongs to what, and what are they building? Don't know, they all say the same damn thing...

Go look at the notifications... who belongs to what? Don't know, they all say the same damn thing...

Hell, even the event page is hard to find... not to mention this is a visitors nightmare.

Back on the aggressor build, The project list was presented cleanly and orderly and that had INFO-- This is a perfect example. F-111G at speed | Album by slavatarko (1:48)

And if every participant put the list in their album info, then visitors can click what they want and it sort of turns into a round-robin... because they can keep going around to the different projects from the page they're on. And they all won't say "SCM Australian Trucks Groupbuild".

imgur.com/ICLnwb7

Munkyslut
I like a man with conviction Chris, I have no idea what you are on about but any one who says "that's bullshit" is ok with me 😄

Chris Greathouse
It's what's happening when you use the group build title

Martin Oostrom
Them yanks can be bloody convincing sometimes, sigh! 😉
As I instigated this particular groupbuild, I sacrificed my album: SCM Australian Trucks Groupbuild | Album by Mahoo76 (1:24)

Nathan Dempsey
On the F-111 group build Slavo and all the participants hand entered all those projects in the descriptions of their albums. It's on mine now since Martin entered in the album above.

The album title matching the group build name only makes it show on the original group build title page.

Chris Greathouse
Here's a copy/paste bin with list/links in it.

Chris Greathouse
Thanks Martin!

Anyone in the group want the album info? I put it on zerobin.net so the links wouldn't automatically change to descriptions.
zerobin.net/?3801c8d..zwJxB9jmcp+G5kaZOT4=

Yeah I know that. I just think it makes navigating group builds easier and cleaner. And the fact you don't have multiple albums with the same names from multiple people being built at the same time. Only to show up(if you can find it) on a page with the same same and a half dozen nondescript albums.

I'm not sure if Tim can reorganize the group page mechanics to be less singular, where any naming option is ok, and after your project is underway, then you checkbox to add to the group or something. Then everything wouldn't be the same name.

Chris Greathouse
I am still here, process is slow... I am going through a bad spell of depression. I've only snipped through step #8... Sucks...

Tom ...
Sorry to hear that, Chris! Not fun. And this build is tough enough as is. Hang in there mate and take good care of yourself! Hope you start feeling better real soon.

Chris Greathouse
The winter months suck the most, thanks thou. I'm still messing with at least a few pieces a day to keep in the game. For design, I'm thinking dark green with gold chrome. Using the gold chrome on the cab too somehow, maybe I'll mask some gold swoops on the cab.

Tom ...
I have no idea of what to paint anything. Will need google image time to get educated. The cab and stuff I'll probably just do as on the box.

Bill Newcomer
Chris, I think that paint scheme will look cool!

Martin Oostrom
Hang in there Chris! We got your back buddy 👍

Nathan Dempsey
My motivation is sluggish as well Chris. Keep at it buddy!

Peter Hardy
I'll get some more pics up tomorrow night boys! That'll motivate ya!

Tim Heimer
A 1970's saying " Keep on truckin"

Munkyslut
Yes Tim!!! My favourite T shirt from the late 70's, I wore it out 😎
images.app.goo.gl/RhaB4MH33rP9YBMd6

Tim Heimer
That's the one!

Bozzer
Pictures uploaded

Chris Greathouse
#3, I used DOT 3 brake fluid, SuperClean and bleach and there's still a residue using these methods 🙁 Any additional help?

Peter Hardy
Paint stripper Chris, my chrome is coming straight off with SMS paint stripper.

Bozzer
This residue is a pain. I haven't had any as of yet? What I am going to do, is try to recreate what some of you guys have done, to see if I can get rid of it? It's definitely something going on with the factory clear coat and the chemicals you are using. @Peter. Two questions mate. 1. Can you supply a link for SMS? 2. Is it safe to use with plastic? I am keen to know if it softens it or has any effect on the surface? Pitting etc?

Tom ...
Chris, we're in the same boat! But I have brake fluid now so hope not to have this problem in the future

Peter Hardy
Gentlemen! Ahem, SMS is a hobby paint maker in Oz. Www.scalemodeller.com.au I use their acrylic lacquers almost exclusively. Can't recommend them highly enough. I use the paint remover too. Haven't tried the weathering stuff yet though.
As for harming the plastic, yes it will if you leave the parts in it for 7 hours like I did with my last build! Chrome has been coming off some parts in 35 minutes and others in 2 hours. With Italari that figures! Might also be because the chemical is becoming "tired" after multiple uses. Some parts have needed a little help with a stiff brush. I have two kits here and there seems to be a substantial difference between the chrome adhesion between the two.
When removing chrome in the past I have always used Mr Muscle oven cleaner but didn't even try this time. I tried the paint remover in the hope of stripping the clear coat off then I would have done the oven cleaner thing but the chrome came straight off within 35 minutes. So, new knowledge accumulated for me! Hope this does help over there!

Chris Greathouse
Thanks guys! Next question: How much would 10ml of paint cover? Using a solid color 1:24 van as an example.

mr-hobby.com/en/itemDetail.php?iId=83

Martin Oostrom
Depends. What colour will you be using, what colour will the primer be, how much surface is there to cover, does the paint need thinning.
I used approx 10ml of Vallejo Model Air French Blue on HALF my Citroën fourgon. But I wanted a solid coverage overall.

Bozzer
Peter, thanks for your help and your honest feedback. I'm all for a 1 hit solution, but I'm also after precise, clean and quick. I'll get it figured out and then we can all go down the pub.

Chris Greathouse
#4 I swear if this DOT 4 doesn't work... I'm going to scream so loud, my mates in Australia will be like DAMN. 😛 !

Nathan Dempsey
Remember if it all doesn't come off that I had success with Tamiya Laquer Thinner. It wiped everything clean and didnt harm the plastic. I wouldn't submerge any sprues in the stuff though.

Danny Meer
I hope it will work Chris, otherwise make the truck dust/mud weathered😉

Bozzer
Yeah Chris mate, how are you holding up? Everything ok buddy?

Chris Greathouse
The people I live with are extremely narcissistic AND ALSO treat me like shit about my mental stuff. I don't have a place to stand or a voice to use them without being wrong. It's suffocating but I don't know what to do. I REALLY wish my truck mojo would come back, I could really use the build distraction. All I've done so far is dechroming.

[img1]

Bozzer
Bloody hell fella, I wish you could come here and give me a hand! I've got plastic all over the place! I'm trying to get as many bits on, as possible, before I forget what goes where? Can someone beam Chris to England?

Peter Hardy
Your amongst friends here Chris. Glue some plastic brother, it's very soothing to the soul!

Bozzer
And the fumes are great! 🙂

Tim Heimer
Chris, that statement is so true!

Danny Meer
Sad to hear Chris, hope you can keep it together mate and find your building mojo again.
Hope you can block those negative ppl in your life and choose for your own health.
Me personal don't have much friends anymore since i'm in a wheelchair, but I don't care anymore. Rather have a few good friends then loads of ppl that talk behind your back😉

And you have us, even tho we are not in same country 😄

Nathan Dempsey
Well said Danny.

Hopefully the mojo will return Chris!

Bozzer
Yeah mate, I'm with Danny. We might not be in the same countries, but we're all in this together. This build has brought us all slightly closer together and we can all learn from eachother. The only negative thing I've seen here, is the bloody instructions on this kit, but between us, we're beating them. Hang tough Chris and fight the bad waves. There's light at the end of the tunnel r kid 🙂

Bozzer
Updated my album

Chris Greathouse
Hey guys!!! I'm still around! I'm just in dark and gloomy mode 🙁 Since my head's full of issues right now, I'm doing whatever I can to push ahead with this truck while my head keeps landing in the mud. Over the last several weeks, I've been able to make a color chart to label the colors slowly as I wanted and finally, when my head's in the game, I'll start to play with plastic. It's slow but a big step for me and this truck. I'm getting there...

Thank you everyone that has PM'd me... Thank you

And to those wondering what the F my color chart is 😛 : [img1]

Tim Heimer
Hey, you're not only part of a group build, you're part of a group! Have you at least been doing that bead art? Interesting chart.

Chris Greathouse
No Tim 🙁 The only energy I have is maybe watch a movie, but I've been falling asleep halfway through for several more hours before I wake up again... Then I'll fall asleep again. This duration of depression is really kicking my ass.

I know the chart looks bizarro, but it helps to really keep me organized. And I felt like I accomplished something good when I finished it today.

Chaz Gordon
I haven't done much chrome stripping yet, but I hear that spray oven cleaner works too, just squirt some in a bag, then put the chrome in the bag for 24 hours, then clean with soapy water and an old toothbrush.

Bill Newcomer
Hang in there Chris and keep building. I always look forward to what you have going. It keeps me entertained and motivated while I plug along.

Bozzer
Chris, I can relate to the sleep disruption. I'm the same. My sleep pattern is all over the place, and this lockdown crap is certainly no good for depression! I'm awake and asleep at all kinds of crazy hours. I can't wait to get back to work and get some normality back in my life. It's a pain in the A## but hopefully one day we'll beat it. Just keep picking away at bits on the bench mate, and remember, you're not alone.

Bozzer
Chaz, that oven cleaner is a lot of faffing around, in my eyes. Do a comparison, with the bleach method? If it doesn't strip in 5 mins, remove from the bleach, wash in cold water, dry, then immerse in the brake fluid for half an hour. Then wash and drop it in the bleach. It amazes me every time and you don't need a toothbrush.

Chris Greathouse
GUYS! GUYS! GUYS! I woke up feeling a little less like a depressed slug. 😄 For today at least. I clipped and sanded all the chassis parts (step 7) including a toothbrush to the chrome residue, leaving it nice and clean. Maybe later today, I'll prop everything to sticks. If I still have my Aussie mojo tomorrow, to the paint booth! An odd color combo, but I think I'll be cool... Dark Green cab and tanks with Alcalad Gold Chrome chassis and exterior accents, the interior will be Dark Green and whatever bright gold is sitting on my shelf.

Nathan Dempsey
Nice Chris! Good to hear that you're back at it!

Tim Heimer
Great to hear that! May the force be with you!

Munkyslut
Those colours sound fantastic Chris, golds & greens always go good together, looking forward to seeing progress!

Chaz Gordon
Hmmm, Green and Gold, that really works, Think Essex Lotus F1 and Aston Martin's Racing colours

Peter Hardy
Green and gold? My hand moves to my heart and a proud tear collects on my cheek. Oi Oi Oi!

Bozzer
Go Team Chris! I'm struggling to picture the colours together, so I'm waiting in anticipation, to see some pictures. If it makes you feel better, I've had to repaint my cab, sleeper and hood! Two massive cock ups occurred and it's set me back, so we can cross the finish line together Chris. Light the candles, because the midnight oil is gonna be burning! Let them truckers roll!

Chris Greathouse
I think I'm just as interested in the colours too, to be honest 😄 Thought it sounded cool.

1st spoon for Gold Chrome --- Model T Fire Truck - WIP | Album by tom... (1:24)

Dark green --- [img1]

Bill Newcomer
Glad to hear you are back at it. Keep on TRUCKIN'!!!

Chaz Gordon
good choice for the green, Very close to British Racing Green by the look of it which is a perfect complement to Bright Gold. Jaguar, Aston Martin and Lotus have all raced in these colours at some point

Chris Greathouse
Well, I got a little boost in emotion... My next door neighbor sings and plays the guitar... He's been facebooking live from his yard. I walked over and there was a small group of friends and neighbors in the yard diggin' his music. I sat down and enjoyed the show for 45 mins. It was great, I forgot my depression for a while. 😄 facebook.com/monte.l..s/10157499698828406/

Martin Oostrom
Better beware everybody! Chris is finding his groove again! Fasten your seatbelts 👍

Bozzer
That's a pretty mellow video Chris. Chilled me out. Let's see if we can get the mojo rolling and get some paint slapped on. 10-4

Chris Greathouse
#5 Finally felt good enough to get my airbrush out an spraying a little black primer. The next little burst I get, these pieces will be dark green.

Munkyslut
Dark greens are gorgeous Chris, especially Jade & metallics.
Look forward to seeing it 😉

Peter Hardy
There is nothing like a little paint to get you motivated!

Chris Greathouse
#6 Painted all the primed pieces from #5 to Dark Green (chassis pieces thru step 7)... I think that the green and the Chrome gold will look awesome 😄

Peter Hardy
I think you are right! Chris interested in your decals, are they a light yellow green or a darker yellow green? I have two kits because I am that bad I need two kits to make one model, and the difference in the colours is ridiculous!

Chris Greathouse
I would say that it is lighter yellow green.

Peter Hardy
Hmmm, interesting. I wonder when they changed them.

Chris Greathouse
How long should I give in between Alcalad lacquer layers? 30 mins? I have to do gloss black, chrome, and gold chrome on the pieces.

Danny Meer
between same layers you can do 20 minutes but for switching let it cure atleast 2 hours and sometimes longer depending humidity

Chris Greathouse
Sweet, thanks Danny!

Peter Hardy
Chris, if you are using Alclad black base let it sit for 24 hours. I have had the colour coat split when the black base expanded.

Chris Greathouse
Thanks for the tip Peter!

Brandon H
Shaping up to be a pretty sweet build, glad you're back at it!

Chris Greathouse
#7... This is alot to do. All of these pieces are going to be Alcalad Gold Chrome. That's 3 color layers each. And these pieces are only through step 8. I haven't started on the cab, interior, or exterior pieces which is alot of chrome too...

May the Fourth be with me.

Tim Heimer
We like what we're seeing! Hope your liking it too!

Chris Greathouse
#8 I may be a bit in trouble. These are just steps 1-8 dechromed pieces painted with Alclad black gloss (Peter I'll let it sit until tomorrow), I used about an ounce!! [is that a lot to use on this many pieces?]. The exterior pieces are going to use a lot of gloss too.... then slap some chrome and gold on all these pieces... The only problem is, I don't think I have enough chrome or gold... I'll order more stock, and in the wait, I'll start messing with the cab and interior... I have lots of green 🙂

Danny Meer
Nice to see some progress again Chris 👍 and it's just alot of parts so gonna need alot of primer and paint 😛 hope you have the paint soon to finish these parts

Peter Hardy
Chris, what doesn't turn out perfect, teaches you! Everything is learning. Alclad is very thin and you do use buckets of it. With applying the chrome the trick is to get it wet and you will see the result but don't go back over it. It will turn to silver paint.

Danny Meer
I wonder what would happen if you dip a part direct in bottle 😛

Peter Hardy
You're going to need a small part or a bigger bottle!

Danny Meer
whahaha

Chris Greathouse
Lol! I found another Alclad chrome on my paint rack, I should have enough for these, one step closer. Thanks for the tip Peter!

Chris Greathouse
I thought it was what doesn't turn out perfect, use more paint, decals, weathering, and Dioramas to hide it. 😛

Chris Greathouse
#9-10 Starting to chrome everything for steps 1-8.

Tomorrow will be the cab while I wait for my transparent yellow/gold.

Martin Oostrom
A chromed engine? WOW!

Chris Greathouse
This truck will only be Dark Green and Gold Chrome... Lots of F'n Gold Chrome 😄 😛

Munkyslut
Can't wait to see it done, gonna look too many fancy😎

Peter Hardy
Ha ha ha! Chris, you rock! What an awesome idea!

Danny Meer
That chrome looks great again Chris, love the chromed engine. Looks awesome 😄

Bozzer
Oh yeah, he's back! I think that's the first chrome truck engine, that I've seen? I'm gonna have to keep a close eye on you Chris! Just a heads up though. The filters are typically orange, white or red? Even the posh guys, can't have chrome filters😉

Mark Boots
looking cool Chris!

Chris Greathouse
Thanks guys!

Gary Kitchen
Hi All. Sorry here's a noob question. What's a group build? Is it production lining multiple models, or a group of modellers all making a similar model?

Danny Meer
Hi Gary there is no noob questions, only dumb answers 😛
But it's your last guess 🙂 A group of modelers building the similar kit in the same time.
We started in februari and we where going to end in this month, but due to all the mess cuz of corona we have no limit or a delayed end time 🙂

Martin Oostrom
In Chris' case, it's both 😄
When he's on a roll, there is no keeping up with his pace 👍

Chris Greathouse
Bozzer, I had Rick & Morty fly to the planet Chromium, where everything is chrome, and grab me a chrome filter.

Gary Kitchen
Many Thanks. Eager to see how it turns out. ????????

Gary Kitchen
Aah emojis don't work. Thumbs up then.

Chris Greathouse
Gary look halfway down the f.a.q page for emojis, link is at top of page ^

Gary Kitchen
👍 thanks Chris.

Chris Greathouse
#11-#12

I love/hate transparent colors, espcially when you have a lot of pieces to match tint, not too little, not too much... I did my best to match, except on the engine... I wanted to see the full crazy of the yellow... Turned a wicked bronze. Also I had enough of the color for all these pieces. I have about 10% of the ounce bottle left... I can keep going until I get stuck needing trans. yellow again 😛 Oh well, I feel pretty good today 🙂 Blasting my music with Skrillex and the bass to 11 😄

Olivier
The Man with the Golden Brush...

Danny Meer
Looks awesome Chris, glad you found your mojo again 😄 👍

Chris Greathouse
😄

Chaz Gordon
Wow, Now that's what I call a GOLD STANDARD.

Disaster|Magnet
ooh, 'spensif!

Brandon H
So shiny!!! Awesome result!

Nathan Dempsey
The Man with the Golden Spray Gun.

Tim Heimer
Look out James Bond! There's another gold finger out there!

Bozzer
Sometimes I wonder if my alcohol consumption plays with my mind? Thank heavens for pictures! Silver, gold, what's next? Hopefully a Mack engine! That's looking really sharp though Chris!

Chris Greathouse
Hobby Lobby has the Mack R685ST (AMT 1039, 1:25) for only $25. I was thinking about grabbing that. But I'm keeping to cars for awhile after I get done with this truck 😄

Chaz Gordon
RUBBER DUCK!

Munkyslut
That engine is brilliant Chris, I love bling engines & drivetrains😉
No Detroit or Cummins ever came out of the factory looking that good 👍

Bozzer
Chris, get that kit! In fact, get two! Don't forget your 40% coupon too!

Bozzer
Damn I got that excited, I pressed the wrong button! That's the kit, that is the donor kit, for the Rubber Duck. It's a long time project of mine, but that kit is the base model for it. That's were I got mine from, when I was in the states. Worked out about £18, for us Brits. They want over £50 here. Needless to say, I nursed it all the way home, along with my Super Boss!

Chaz Gordon
Hopefully it will find it's way here for a reasonable price. Pretty much any 1/25 truck kit under £50 here is a Bargain

Chris Greathouse
#13 Here's a sneak peek at the colors, the green will darken a bit when I clearcoat it. Which is the next step, then I'll be able to build steps 1-8 (chassis parts)

Bozzer
Chaz, the 1/25 Revell Peterbilt 359, is about the cheapest kit we can get, and prices are rising. Delivery of US kits is badly hurt, right now, so we are now looking in Europe. Needless to say, shipping nails our hats on!

Bozzer
Chris, them steps are Satan buddy! Proceed with caution!

Chaz Gordon
Bozzer, I know, but that Revell peterbilt is the old Monogram snap fix mould. It escapes me why they stopped making their excellent Peterbilt and Kenworth kits, in favor of that. At least we have the likes of Dave Coley when these things are available at a reasonable price. Last time I was in the US, I managed to get a hold of the AMT Bullnose Firebird in 1/16, and a few other kits, plus I had a bunch in my storage unit there, I spent a whole day snipping parts off sprues and bagging them. Think I managed to bring 12 Kits back. We actually do better in the UK for Model Shops, or at least we did before lockdown. I'm wondering how many will survive.

Bill Newcomer
Flipping thru the pics the chrome engine was a shocker. The heavy yellow turn bronze looks way cool.

Chris Greathouse
John, they are a great paint!

Bozzer
Chaz, Dave is getting more in. Unfortunately a slight price increase. Sadly, no sign of the K100 aerodyne 🙁 Chris, you're tempting me with those paints!

Chaz Gordon
I live just round the corner from both Amerang and Airbrushes.com. Unfortunately, Amerang don't hold stock at their offices, they have a warehouse elsewhere that handles distribution, and you need to put together a £150 order to get free shipping and trade discount is not all that much. Airbrushes.com carry the full Alclad range at good prices, I keep meaning to put in an order.

Chris Greathouse
What's the best liquid to remove Lacquer paint? I have a couple wheels I need to redo... I accidently bronzed them.

Chaz Gordon
From what I understand, if it's proper Lacquer, it's part of the plastic now. Although, probably the same stuff you use to strip the chrome. I know oven cleaner fume soak and a toothbrush works with enamels.

Chris Greathouse
Thanks Chaz, will try... Actually... I started an experiment... I got out some medicine cups, and filled one with SuperClean, one with enamel thinner, and one with 91% ISO, one wheel in each (3) and now we wait.

Peter Hardy
Chris, I use SMS paint stripper. Comes off in seconds.

Martin Oostrom
I removed Alclad primer with Mr thinner yesterday

Peter Hardy
Did you remove your fingerprints as well?

Martin Oostrom
No. Used gloves

Disaster|Magnet
And now you must tell us how you accidently bronzed the wheels.... Is this a Midas thing?

Chris Greathouse
Transparent yellow + heavy finger = bronzed (like the engine color [#12])..... doh!

I have 4 gold wheels and 2 bronze lol

Chaz Gordon
That'll do it

Bozzer
I'm still saying brake fluid😉

Bob Hall
Purple punch works. I had to redo the hood of the Charger 2 times. It was lacquer paint, came off with minor rubbing.

Tim Heimer
Just don't drink the punch while using! I'm sure it's not grape!

Bob Hall
Thank you Reverend Jones !

Tim Heimer
No, I'm not Jones! I did not make anyone drink the punch! Hey Bob, do you live in Waco TX? On 2nd thought never mind, they burnt that place down. LOL

Bob Hall
Nope, but been there plenty of times to stroll through the ashes ! LOL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Peter Hardy
Nothing wrong with me, just took me 24 hours to work out who Rev Jones was.

Danny Meer
Started with the Egg girls VW van with trailer/caravan...thought of doing something easy in between aussie build lol....
I hate the resin parts from Balaton Models...so much crap needed to take of the parts with a dremel...
Started the black coat on the VW van body and need to do 2 more layers black before I can start with the flip flop paint 😛
VW egg van | Album by Dony (1:24)

Chris Greathouse
Making me jealous Danny 😛 It'll be some time before I start my egg collection, I need to figure out paints and I just want to do a few of my simple kits before that project.

Anyone?
I have printer decal paper and wanted to scan the Aussie decals into Gimp 2 and change the color to gold.

I was wondering if someone can tell me how to make sure that I'm scanning, editing, and printing in 1:1 scale so it still fits the truck... I know it's something about DPI, but I've never had luck printing to 1:1

Thank you whoever!

Martin Oostrom
Gimp lets you resize to mm (or inches). You could measure the real one and resize your scan to fit

Chaz Gordon
you need to make sure the DPI from the scanner input is matched in the printout file. Best to work around 300 ro 600 dpi as they are standards that tend to match scanners and printers. best thing to do is print on plain paper first and check against the source, if the paper prints fine, the decals will be if the paper size matches
You might find Gold to be a bit of a problem though, printers can't really do that very well as it would require a metallic ink/toner. gold will come out as a kinda flat representation of beigy yellow with black speckles in it

Bill Newcomer
Chris, if you have MS Paint (old school) you can adjust PRINT size via percentage of artwork on the PAGE SETUP page. DO NOT adjust FILE size or RESIZE artwork. It kills the resolution. Do you have a printer that prints gold or are you limited by you printer ink?

Bill Newcomer
If you plan on scanning the decals sheet, save it as a .bmp (bitmap) so that it can be manipulated without compression like jpeg.

Bill Newcomer
I will be very happy to help you through the process. 🙂

Chris Greathouse
If gold prints like crap, then I'll pass on that plan... I'll just mask some lines/design on the cab and use my gold chrome, and skip the green decals... Thanks Bill for the assist, I know who to go to for help if I do this in the future...

By the way, were you the one who used rope filler in the tires? Perfect solution, the wheels don't wiggle at all.

Chaz Gordon
Chris, one possible solution, there are some Adhesive gold foil products out there, you could mark a template around the kit decals and cut foil ones with a sharp knife (very carefully). They might be a bit thicker, and you'd need to do a test run to see what it looks like under clear coat.

JD
I'm trying to learn to print my own decals too, I'll take a seat here in the back...

Chris Greathouse
#14 I'm finally to the point of building steps 1-8 (Chassis)... That wheel, went into a cleaner I found in the garage.. It worked perfectly, dissolved the paint but made the plastic mushy, hence the ugly wheel.

Oh well it's not a Chris Special without me fucking up at least a couple things 😛 A perfect truck would look out of place in my Crazy Used Car Lot. lol

Chris Greathouse
JD if you need help on decals, PM Bill Newcomer, he mods a lot of his kits, and prints out quite a few of his own decals...

Bill, your Freightliner COE triple drive | Album by musclecarfan (1:25) still has me gobsmacked with all you did with it. Just a shout out 😄

JD
Right on Chris, and just do what I do to hide a boo boo...place it on the opposite side of how you intend to display the model! 😛

Bill Newcomer
Thanks for the shout out Chris. I'll help JD out if he needs it.

Chris Greathouse
#15 - #16 Couple of pictures of the axles before they are covered with wheels... Onward we go.

Bob Hall
Forward on ! The leprechaun from down under rolling out ! Looking good Chris !

JD
Thanks Bill!

Chris Greathouse
#17 Tanks and runners done.

Bozzer
Them steps! Man, I'm still having the nightmares. Nice work buddy. It took me 4 days, to mount 4 tanks. Then I realised, I have to touch up the paintwork. I should really get some pictures. Hopefully tomorrow 👍

Martin Oostrom
Great colours!

Chaz Gordon
Glossy Glossy Shine Shine

Chris Greathouse
So excited for today! Getting the last of an order in the mail. Today is computer cleanout and upgrade, you won't see me for a day or two...

I made my system in 2013... It has a AMD FX-8350 and a basic ASUS M5A97 R2.0 motherboard, and 16GB generic RAM, an SSD, and a bunch of HDDs.

Things I'm installing 😄

CPU - AMD 3700X
MB - ASRock X570 PHANTOM GAMING 4
GFX - ASUS GeForce RTX 2060 Overclocked 6G GDDR6 Dual-Fan EVO Edition
RAM - 2 X 8GB G.SKILL 3200 RAM
STORAGE - Crucial P1 1TB 3D NAND NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD
FANS - Full set (6x120mm, 3x200mm) of addressable RGB fans (and CPU Cooler)

Chaz Gordon
Have you upgraded your PSU to power that?

Chaz Gordon
Ignore me, That's half the power consumption of your old CPU. Impressive

Bob Hall
When people talk computers, me to a tee ! LOL !!!!!!!!!!

Youtube Video

Chris Greathouse
I was going to get a 3800x but TDP on that was 105w. and the 3700x at 65w TDP is powerful enough for me, and the included Wraith Prism cooler (also A-RGB) is rated to 105w, so no need to buy a cooler (unless the Prism sucks)... Is a modular 1200w Seasonic 80 PLUS GOLD good enough 😄 (I have 13 hard drives, I needed all the connectors the Seasonic offered)

Still waiting for the stupid mail truck. "Out for Delivery".

Chaz Gordon
Chris, time to bust out those hard-drives and get some 4 bay NAS enclosures, My 4 bays only draw max 40W and most of the time as low as 5. Your PSU will be just fine. My 900W modular handles my 125W just fine, sadly the 12V connector on the MB doesn't do quite so well and needs it's own cooling fan.

Chris Greathouse
I would buy nas boxes but they are $150+ for a 4-bay, I would need a couple/few... I bought my XL Full tower with drives in minds... I used to mine burstcoin with the hard drives, until burstcoin died... Now half of them are blank. I might take them out and sell them... or leave them in... or whatever... and the 1200w is way overpowered for anything I throw in the case... was never worried on power, just amount of connecters 😄

Martin Oostrom
When did Chris and Chaz started talking Martian? Where is Spock for the intergalactic translation?

Chris Greathouse
It's here!! Goodbye all 😛 see you in a couple days.

playtime 222
Its easier to replace the disks with larger capacity ones in a cheap NAS to be honest (This is day job stuff for me). Depends on frequency of access and what youre storing but the more spinning rust, the higher the leccy bill. Seriously consider binning some of it and compression - again depends what it is. Happy to help. PM me.

Peter Hardy
Huh? Wha? Wake me at lunch time please.

playtime 222
Heh 0100 here. Better get some shut eye too 😄 And I approve of your CPU choice. I switched last year when I could get my hands on a 3900X. Scared the crap out of a guy talking me through compiling some Rust a couple of weeks ago. He said This will take a minute. Then Oh? Oh! What the hell have you got there. Poor sod was working on a laptop.

Tim Heimer
I've been compiling some rust in my driveway from my car ever since this stay at home order a couple of months now,,,,,Does that count?

Chaz Gordon
Haha, Chris, you jacked your own Thread.

Danny Meer
Very nice pc components Chris 👍 just got my holiday pay and not sure what to do with it lol 😄

Peter Hardy
Danny my stash could use a top up if there are too many € in the wallet!

Danny Meer
60 trucks and trailers in stash is more then enough for me 😛
Think I will donate € 500,- to some1 or a family that really needs it in this though times

Chaz Gordon
Very generous of you. If you happen to be an animal lover, these guys need all the help they can get - facebook.com/rudozemstreetdogrescue

Tim Heimer
I LOVE MY 3 BUTT SNIFFERS! AND THEY LOVE ME!

Chaz Gordon
We have 2 Dogs and 3 Cats from RSDR

Danny Meer
I'm a cat lover 😛 but found a family with 3 kids that really can use the help atm😉

Tim Heimer
Your a good man Danny!

Danny Meer
Thx Tim, like I said to Peter, I can buy a load of crap that I can do without, or help some1 who reaaly needs it atm...When I needed help, some1 helped me, so now I can help some1 else 🙂
I can't chance the world but can make it a bit better for 1 family during this crisis

Chris Greathouse
So much A-RGB! 10 fans, overkill I know, but drool 😄 and I found them cheaper then standard fans, so I didn't spend $30 per A-RGB fan, these were only $7 and are powerful and bright AF 😄

That NVME is snappy as F, and I've been playing games on Ultra setting with nice and juicy frame rates 🙂

Now to clean up my mess in the garage (where I was building) and get everything back in order in my room. 😄 Then I'll snap some pics with what I've done so far on the Aussie. See ya in a while.

Bill Newcomer
Great job Chris, It is always enjoyable to have a faster PC.

Chaz Gordon
Nothing quite like the speed that windows installs on a new machine with the latest processor.

playtime 222
Nah dude, it's the SSD with a telephone number for write iops sitting in a PCI Ex x4 M2 slot😉

Chaz Gordon
Onboard dedicated m,2 with a samsung pro ssd. Win 10 boot in under 10 seconds, 1909 update under 2 minutes.

Chaz Gordon
And £40 a month extra electric bill since I've been working from home. For the first time in my life, I've spent more on electric bill than petrol.

playtime 222
My leccy bill always awful - doubly so working from home. I seriously need to setup up a proper office here - separate entry door, sign, toilet (yes, really) and then I can charge my company to use the space/utilities. Was already doing it a lot but it's going to be the case more and more.

Chris Greathouse
#18 The gold and green are wicked together!!! The bronze engine looks fantastic! F*** YEAH!!!!

Chaz Gordon
Oh, Chris wants to talk model making now - How Very Dare He!!😉

Chaz Gordon
Chris, with that engine colour, and the gold chassis, it's starting to get a bit of a steampunk look, perhaps it needs some cogs and unnecessarily complex pipe work?

Chris Greathouse
I have no mod parts, but I see what your seein'. But it'll remain stock parts and gold and green. But I like the look of cogs. I'm not using the decals. I might make a cog wheel template (painted in gold) and add it to the cabin design I'm making in my head. Gold stripes ending in cog wheels... sounds fun... and a headache... I like it.

Chaz Gordon
Pretty sure you can get some steampunk metallic cog decals fairly easily, or perhaps rubber stamps.

Bill Newcomer
The bronze engine is way cool. The gold frame is over the top BOLD dude!

Chaz Gordon
Hmm, someone else is doing the Egg Girls steampunk van.........

Chris Greathouse
Yeah... Danny and his flip flop paint 😄 The cogs are cool, thanks for the share.

Tom ...
Looking really good, Chris!

Chris Greathouse
#19 Anybody have any cautions or warning for assembling or dealing any of these body pieces? I did notice the insert between cab and sleeper is a bit thick. I'll probably cut it down to half.

Peter Hardy
I wouldn't Chris. The exhaust might then be in need of adjustment.

Chris Greathouse
And another save by Peter, thanks!

Bozzer
Sleeper builds up pretty well Chris. It's that bloody cab roof, that you have to be careful with. There's several posts about it, but really it's just a matter of taking your time.

Munkyslut
Doing a blinding job Chris 👍

Danny Meer
And keep in mind that the sleeper floor needs to be a bit raised. I made the mistake with putting the floor on the table and placed the walls around it and had to redo it 🙂

Chaz Gordon
From watching the other builds, that roof is going to need some filling.

Peter Hardy
Chris, there is an internal seam for the floor of the sleeper to sit against. I very nearly did wot Danny did.

Chris Greathouse
Thank you guys for the heads up. I woke up feeling pretty good today, I think I'll work on gluing the cabin pieces together. And I'm going to start painting and working with the cab internals.

Bozzer
Chris, don't forget the rubber seal around the windows bro. Before you seal it up! 😠

Bozzer
Well, I screwed that emoji up!

Bozzer
:0

Bozzer
And that one! Told you guys, I suck at this computer stuff! Beer, now I'm good at that!

Peter Hardy
Bozz, I'll thank you not to reveal my mistakes!

Bozzer
Peter, knowing you, you've used a black Durex to seal your cab windows! Now there's a thought......

Peter Hardy
Sick puppy!

Chris Greathouse
I think I'm missing something. Rubber seal around the windows? What do you mean?

Peter Hardy
Around the glass Chris. There is a rubber widescreen seal all the way around the windows that holds the glass in. You need to paint / use a black marker to show it. Do that before you put the glass in like those idiots Bozzar and Pete Hardy who put the glass in first then painted the rubber seals!

Chris Greathouse
Oh, the regular seals around the windows. Since I'm only using two colors, they will be Gold chrome. 😄

Chaz Gordon
Sharpie works great for the rubber part of the seals, even if the trim is chromed. (Gilded?). So far It have tested sharpies with water and alcohol based varnishes over the top with no ill effects. Although I do find it'll bleed through acrylic paints.

Bozzer
Black Sharpie for me too. It's not effected by Tamiya thin either, if done extremely carefully.

Chris Greathouse
Look what I scored for my birthday! A 286pc "Heavy Truck" wooden puzzle! 😄 [img1]

Tom ...
Nice! And it even self assembles. Sit back and enjoy, Chris!

Tim Heimer
Too cool! Congrats on surviving another year on this goofy planet!

Chris Greathouse
Thanks guys!

Nathan Dempsey
Happy Birthday Chris!

Bob Hall
Happy B-Day from the Lone Star State Chris !

Chris Greathouse
Thank you, Thank you!

Chaz Gordon
Happy Birthday Chris, bet you can find some decals for that.

Chris Greathouse
Nope, nope, nope 😛 no decals, no primer, no paint, no nothin'... 😛 I'm seriously burnt out on modeling right now... This puzzle will be a good change of pace. The most I'll have to do is sand edges 😄

Tom ...
Arrg... there's always sanding, sanding sanding! Keep on truck'n Chris. Oh and Happy Birthday! 🙂

Chaz Gordon
maybe some Alclad? - Technically a Lacquer, not a paint.
And you didn't rule out masking

Danny Meer
That's a cool puzzle Chris 👍 and Happy Birthday mate, wish you all the best and loads of healthy years to go 🙂

Chris Greathouse
Thanks!!!

Peter Hardy
Chris! Happy birthday old mate! Funnily enough I was browsing through Scalenuts and discovered Tim is creating a "wooden Scalemates" for wooden modellers! More Mates coming up! The puzzle looks interesting and a bit of a challenge. Let us know if it gets fully solved or fills the rubbish bin!

Chris Greathouse
Thanks Peter!

Bill Newcomer
Happy birthday Chris! Enjoy the day!

Martin Oostrom
A bit late to the party, but happy birthday Chris and many more!

Chris Greathouse
You all are the best!

Mark Boots
Happy birthday Chris! I wish you all the best for the years to come.

Bozzer
Belated birthday wishes Chris mate. Finally back in work, so things have gone pretty nuts here.

Chris Greathouse
Things are nuts everywhere mate... The main streets of my little town was actually boarding windows and prepping in anticipation of riots/protesting coming through town... It's weird to actually see it... Good thing I live 5 miles out of town in the woods.

Peter Hardy
How big is the town Chris?

Chris Greathouse
population 7136 as of 2018

Peter Hardy
Similar size to Moranbah where I live.

Chaz Gordon
Peter, you should be aware Chris lives in Twin Peaks, Nuts is something that's been a local culture since 1991. Chris, If you live out of town in the Woods, you should get yourself a Log. Also, you'r next Truck build should be Leo's truck

Chris Greathouse
Lol, Yes I live in Twin Peaks. Also the Double R restaurant in the the show is a real place on North Bend Way called Twedes Cafe, a grease trap but their frys are gooooood. They filmed mosty around the of area's of North Bend and Snoqualmie (neighboring city 5mi away) and I believe some shots around Rattlesnake Lake which I currently live in walking distance from.

Also if anyone's seen the series Northern Exposure, that was shot about an hour east of me.

Chris Greathouse
Twin Peaks real life locations:

travelchannel.com/ro..cations-in-real-life

Peter Hardy
So, Twin Peaks was a movie or TV show, Wa is Short for the State of Washington. And Chris builds cars and trucks there. My re-education is complete.

Nathan Dempsey
Bigfoot lives there too 🙂

Chaz Gordon
Nope, Bigfoot lives in Happy Camp, California

Chris Greathouse
Twin Peaks was a short lasted 90's TV series and gained a cult like following of fans. 2 regular seasons, total of 30 episodes. and a reboot of sorts with a 18 episode season 3 in 2017.

According to Harry and the Hendersons (a totally fun and campy 1987 film featuring Bigfoot and John Lithgow) Bigfoot is from my neck of the woods (all filmed within 75 miles of me, including North Bend) 😛

imdb.com/title/tt0093148/locations

[img1]

Chris Greathouse
😛

Peter Hardy
Harry and the Hendersons I saw. Looked cold. Green, but cold. Snow?

Chris Greathouse
That's what snow shoes are for 😛 My house usually gets one or two good dumpings a year with around 12-18 inches of snow, and maybe half a dozen more times with 3-6 inches.

The town is at 500ft, I live at 1000ft and a half an hour away is the pass at 3000ft... Lots of snow, lots of fun. The pass can get around 100 inches of snowfalls each month between Nov-Feb. Here's the dept. of transportation cutting walls along the freeway, then snow plows push the mess off the roads. [img1]

Peter Hardy
7 brides for 7 brothers territory!

Chaz Gordon
One state to the North

Chris Greathouse
Thanks Bob for my birthday gifts! A fire brigade truck and and figurine. [img1] [img2]

I thought I'd show you my progress on my wooden puzzle truck. [img1]

And lastly, I had to re shelf the Aussie truck for another time. I'm just not feeling the build at the moment.

Bob Hall
Puzzle Truck looks pretty cool !

Peter Hardy
Look a lot better without the Police car glued to his arse!

Chaz Gordon
Ha, Ha, the figure would appear to be of a Local celebrity where I live - Google Horace Duke

google.com/search?q=..imgrc=r5_DQB6yyAS7aM

Tim Heimer
It sure does look like him. LOL

Chris Greathouse
Figurine looks familiar, thanks for the Joker! And I've seen this and the batman car at Hobby Lobby... Been so temped to get both 🙂

Christian W
This combination green - gold looks fantastic!

Peter Hardy
How are you going Chris Greathouse?

Nathan Dempsey
Geez I thought Chris was back!

Bozzer
I miss seeing his crazy creations. And Danny too! Hope they're both doing ok and have found something even more enjoyable to do 🙂

Bob Hall
May have to contact my fellow LE comrades to go check on him ! 👮🏼‍♂️

Nigel Chapman
Got my front row seat for this, love that colour, welcome back Chris

Bob Hall
No, that's not Chris, that was someone commenting on his project, sadly we haven't heard anything from him since 2020.

Bozzer
I've sent him a PM Bob. Hopefully, he'll be in touch soon? We need blokes like him, to keep us amazed and inspired. We've all changed, over these last few years, but we're still all on the same page. I don't mind adapting to the ways of the world, but glue and plastic is in my veins, just like the rest of us. There's no cure, for this virus 😉

Bob Hall
I have his home address and may contact the State Troopers in Washington to. Go do a health and wellness check on him if we don't hear from him soon.

Nathan Dempsey
I just requested $1 from him on PayPal and told him we miss him and State Troopers will arrive soon if he doesn't come back and build a model.

Christian W
I love this community 🙂 You are good guys and friends.

I didn't notice, that there is a quiteness since nearly two years.

Peter Hardy
Please do Bob. Very popular guy and I am worried about him.

Bill Newcomer
Chris' last post on this thread was June 2020. My last PM from him was Aug 2020. He had switched hobbies to video games. Last I heard he had built a system to play American Truck Simulator. He seemed pretty involved in it.

Bozzer
Such a talented builder, and a great guy too. Hopefully he'll pop in and say hi some time, and fill us in on his adventures? I do know that Danny got into VR games, and he too was heavily involved in that. Hence why we don't see much of him, anymore? He did mention that he was struggling with his hands shaking, but that's down to his medical condition.

Chaz Gordon
I too check in on Chris's wall periodically.