Ford Race Car Hauler w/sleeper (extended version)
Comments
34 3 January 2021, 04:50
Bill NewcomerI have been making progress. Deflashing a lot of parts and doing some kitbashing. I also have a sleeper on the way.
5 January 2021, 05:18
Bill NewcomerMy parts box sleeper came today thanks to Sam a fellow modeler in Oregon.
6 January 2021, 01:38
Bill NewcomerBob, The Coke decals are in the T-bird box for you.Please PM me address again I cannot find it. Been really busy around here. Still have not mailed it out
11 January 2021, 03:24
Bill NewcomerPaused the soaking sleeper's paint stripping bath to do a quick mock up. I am liking the proportions.
13 January 2021, 04:22
Nigel ChapmanAre you planning on extending the race hauler box over the sleeper?
14 January 2021, 07:28
Bill NewcomerNigel and Dominik, I am doing a feasibility study on that. First I had to fix the issue with the unrealistic ramp wheel notches. I ended up cutting out the upper ramp portion and replacing it with a plate of reinforced diamond plate.
15 January 2021, 03:08
Bill NewcomerInstalled rear window in cab then carved it out to line up with the sleeper pass through. I also have a leftover bed from my Freightliner builds. I will repurpose it in the sleeper with some minor trimming. No one will ever see it but At least it will get utilized as intended.
16 January 2021, 04:51
Dominik WeitzerIs this pass through such a small hole to slip in? I mean at the real trucks, is this only a hole ore is it more comfortable to get to sleep?
In our european extended cabs from the trucks, it's completely different built
16 January 2021, 10:10
Bill NewcomerDominik, I have never been in a real semi cab from the 70's. Maybe they were that small way back then. Over the years they figured out that bigger is better.
16 January 2021, 23:51
Bob HallYeah, I rarely pull over a skinny truck driver ! LOL !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
17 January 2021, 00:00
Bill NewcomerMade some more changes today. I was not liking the rain gutter tire rack and the little wings on the side. I separated the top plate from the gutter and rotated the gutter concave side rearward instead of up. The original top diamond plate is now vertical in front of the parking spot. A new larger diamond plate deck covers the top. I needed a ladder so I visited my friend Tim. He gave me an absolutely PERFECTLY sized ladder. The length, width and thickness were spot on. He thinks it came from a 1/32 fire truck. It worked out great.
17 January 2021, 02:19
Christian WThere are really good improvements on the hauler! I never checked the sitting of different cars on mine (in progress since decades *lol*). I'm watching!
20 January 2021, 07:12
Bill NewcomerAfter enough mock up, I nailed down the frame length and added the splices. Saturday and Sunday I got the frame and engine painted. Been waiting for a dry weekend for quite some time. Still debating body paint scheme. It will be either two or three colors.
26 January 2021, 02:28
Bill NewcomerAssembled the ramp/box now that all the mods are done. Mounted all my clip stems prior to painting. Hoping to hit them all with primer tomorrow.
4 February 2021, 04:49
Bill NewcomerGot some of the body in white primer. Took side pic so I could dream up a paint scheme in the computer.
6 February 2021, 23:15
Bill NewcomerThank you guys. I kinda have a plan for the paint scheme The question will be can I pull it off due to the masking required. It will take some time because my choice of white paint is not curing very fast.
7 February 2021, 03:10
Chris GreathouseWow!! I love this style of hauler *added to wishlist* Sitting in for the ride!
3 March 2021, 07:51
Bill NewcomerTime for an update: Added a forgotten pic for the bed in the sleeper (never to be seen again but, at least it is in there). Drew up my proposed paint scheme on paper weeks ago and started masking. Hood and cab were a pain. Sleeper layout turned out to be all wrong once I got to the hauler box. I was so disappointed it put me in a funk for a few weeks. Made the proposed layout on the box and I like where it is going. Had to fill in some gaps redo the paint on the sleeper yesterday. Got the interior finished today which turned out pretty nice.
29 March 2021, 01:04
Chaz GordonSleepers are a great opportunity for detail, so I always leave the rooves unglued. Usually, the kit is designed for this, and it seats positively to allow glue-free fitting.
29 March 2021, 13:11
Nigel ChapmanBeen there done that and had to re-paint Bill, but there's always light at the end of the tunnel
29 March 2021, 14:12
Christian Wthe interior tube looks good! I like the chrome trim with the instruments.
30 March 2021, 03:56
Bill NewcomerI did not realize that it has been over a year since I reported any progress. Most of the time I had been procrastinating masking my ambitious paint scheme. Finally pushed my self to finish it and got it in paint today. I knew I wanted dark metallic blue for the primary color. I checked my inventory and did not want to use any of the rattle cans I have. I decided to be brave and try something new. I took two different Testors metallic enamels and mixed them together. I added some lacquer thinner to them in a 1:1 ratio. I fed my airbrush and shot a plastic spoon. I liked the resulting color and loved the gloss. I shot the hood, cab, and sleeper. While painting the box I ran out of paint 80% of the way through, BUMMER! I had to search ebay to find a vendor that had both colors in stock. Now that Testors line of paints have been terminated, I decided to grab a few more colors. I ended up ordering 17 bottles for $51.12 including shipping. At $3 a bottle to get exactly what I want, I am not complaining. Hopefully the new remix will match in color.
13 May 2022, 05:34
Bill NewcomerKyle, If you do, get some scale diamond plate. The tire notches on the ramp bed are not (lowered) model car friendly.
13 May 2022, 06:41
Brandon HOf course it would only do 80% haha.... Nice looking blue though, I hope you'll be able to match it again!
13 May 2022, 10:54
Bill NewcomerMy paint arrived the other day. Mixed a new batch this evening and shot more on to the hauler body. So far the colors match on the test spoons.
19 May 2022, 06:09
Bill NewcomerNigel, Actually No. The Shelby is decanted Testors Dark Blue (non metallic). The Hauler is two different colors of Testors metallic blue from the 1/4 ounce jars.
Spanjaard, Thank you. 🙂
20 May 2022, 05:26
Bill NewcomerBlue cured (rather fast surprisingly). Masked for red stripe then painted red stripe. Unmasked everything today. Kind of got mixed results. BMF does not provide as good as a mask compared to Parafilm. If I had used only masking tape, this would have been a failure. The good news is I have no bleed under anywhere. The bad news is my limited experience with air brushing gave me some paint ridges and the resulting chips. I now have some touch up to do. Fortunately since all the color is Testors bottle paint, I am good to go. After touch ups I need to aluminize all the diamond plate. I was originally going to mask and spray aluminum/chrome paint. I do not want to spend all the hours to do that now. Plan B is to cover the diamond plate with Matte Aluminum BMF. I just ordered 5 sheets of various sheens from their website.
22 May 2022, 05:38
BozzerSorry to jump in late on this mate, but it's just come up in my newsfeed. I plan on doing a similar build, in the future, only I want to utilise the box of the delivery van, but lower it to a similar height to the race hauler. I have both kits, just for reference of parts and ideas, but I think that the box will mainly be scratchbuilt? I'll hang around and peruse your pictures. Looking sharp mate 👍
22 May 2022, 10:26
BozzerI'm gonna get Bill into fire apparatus. Then he can build an Engine House! 🙂 🙂
23 May 2022, 18:39
Bill NewcomerMarvel, Thanks. So far my display cabinet still has room for additional finished projects.
Bozzer, Fire trucks? Mmmm... Not on my radar.
24 May 2022, 23:56
Bill NewcomerSpent all day on sponsorship artwork.
Snagged files from the internet.
Converted them to bitmap files.
Cropped and contrasted the files.
Sized them to fit.
Test printed them to confirm size is correct.
I will work on printing them tomorrow hopefully.
5 June 2022, 06:49
BozzerGreat job on the decals! I hope everything goes well for you, mate! Can't wait to see it done 🙂
5 June 2022, 09:11
Bill NewcomerThanks Marvel and Bozzer. Just uploaded the pics of the diamond plates getting BMF.
5 June 2022, 23:54
BozzerI have a great admiration for you guys who use bmf. I've never tried to get hold of any, but I've seen it done, many times. Looks awesome mate!
6 June 2022, 00:29
Bill NewcomerThanks Bozzer. It laid out really nice because I took my time and used a lot of q-tips the burnish it over all of the bumps without damage. It got done WAY faster than masking and shooting it with Chrome paint. BTW, I printed out all my decals. So far so good. I am letting the ink dry completely before shooting any clear on it.
6 June 2022, 05:40
Nigel ChapmanBill, just noticed the BMF treadplates (how did I miss this!?) Looks amazing. Decals look great, I need to have a go myself.
Bozzer BMF is really good for complicated trim pieces. I've also found you can use several small pieces and 'blend' them in to make one piece.
Strangely though I have struggled with their black trim foil.
6 June 2022, 07:23
Bill NewcomerBozzer. The ink has had 24 hours to dry. I just coated them with Testors Decal Bonder 9200. Since Testors is soon to be no more, I went to try to find some more. It turns out this stuff has been unavailable for some time. I will need to research a clear coat substitute that meets the same criteria.
Nigel, I am glad you like the BMF diamond plate. Decal creation is one of my favorite tasks now. I have it down to a (very time consuming) science. I have never used the black BMF.
Thank you Brandon. 🙂
7 June 2022, 06:21
Brandon HBill, I've had good results so far with Liquid Decal Film from Microscale. Seems to be pretty easy to get too, at least over by me.
7 June 2022, 13:05
Bill NewcomerBrandon. Thanks. I looked up that Liquid Decal Film. Apparently, it brushes on. That may turn out to be very useful when I want to finish decals and do not want to set up my paint booth.
8 June 2022, 05:53
Kyle DeHartI like the microscale decal film. I have brushed it on old decals that were cracking and had good luck with it there. I'd have to imagine it would work equally well on newly printed decals.
8 June 2022, 08:42
Bill NewcomerGot the decals applied to both sides of the hauler. I am nearing the end.
12 June 2022, 04:22
Kyle DeHartThis just continues to look awesome. Love the decals with the great livery.
12 June 2022, 10:04
BozzerThat's looking smart mate! Glad everything worked out for you. This is looking like a banging build!!!
12 June 2022, 18:54
Bill NewcomerNigel, Kyle, Bozzer and Munky, Thank you. 🙂 I have made som slow but steady progress this weekend. Frequent rain has kept me indoors allowing me to avoid manual labor in the yard and garden.
13 June 2022, 04:22
Bill NewcomerBeen poking away at this project. I got my Olson Brothers Warn winch painted and assembled. I did some brush dabbing to get the simulated "hammertone" finish. I even faked some decals without decals on it using ultra fine point Sharpies.
22 June 2022, 03:33
Bill NewcomerGetting very close to final assembly. Hood, cab and sleeper finished being detailed. The photoetched grille is much nice than the kits lumpy chrome.
25 June 2022, 04:29
BozzerI picked up some PE from the states, and I have to admit, it's impressive! Definitely agree with you mate, they do look so much better. I've not had chance to fit anything yet, work and life, keep getting in the way, but I'm looking forward to it.
Winning post in sight mate, keep it up!
26 June 2022, 10:47
Bill NewcomerThank you Kyle and Bozzer. 🙂 PE adds that finishing touch though the tiniest parts are hard to fiddle with.
26 June 2022, 17:14
MunkyslutThe PE is only a tiny part of this story Bill……. u done some amazing work as always 👍
26 June 2022, 17:22
MunkyslutThat blue actually looks like some automotive custom clear coat, it's just so believable
26 June 2022, 17:24
Bill NewcomerMunky Thank you. 🙂 The blue is actually 2 different Testors metallic blue enamels mixed together and airbrushed. I like the results so much I bought a bunch of other colors to spray.
26 June 2022, 22:58
Chaz GordonI'm impressed you have heard of Green Stuff World all the way over there. I always end up with a huge order every time I go near their site
27 June 2022, 21:28
Bill NewcomerThis project is finally done. The mods I made came out as well as I had hoped. The paint scheme and required masking were quite time consuming and challenging.
I did learn what to do and not do on the next multi-color project. Overall is was a fun build. I do not think it is contest quality but it will be proudly displayed in my cabinet indefinitely.
10 July 2022, 00:31
Kyle DeHartA stunning conclusion that was a joy to follow along with. Looks awesome!!
10 July 2022, 02:53
BozzerExcellent work mate! It looks the Mutt's Nuts! I've enjoyed watching this move forward, and I agree with everyone else, it's come together beautifully! Well worth all the effort and time mate. Definitely a showpiece! 👍
10 July 2022, 08:38
Martin OostromJust spotted this one in Finescale's 2023 Contest Cars. You're famous now Bill!
20 December 2023, 13:30
Martin OostromTop of page 20. You can buy it in print or digital. It is just one picture thoug.
kalmbachhobbystore.c..issue/vt-sac231101-c
21 December 2023, 07:25
Bill NewcomerThank you Martin. My 1:1 car made it into a magazine in 2004. It is cool to learn one of my models has now as well. Thanks for the link. I shall order the magazine.
22 December 2023, 04:51
Bill NewcomerYes, thank you Jarrett. It was kind of a happy accident after reconfiguring the silly tire rack.
16 March, 05:24
Album info
Kitbashing a Ford Race Car Hauler with a Ford Short Hauler. Added a 36" sleeper and modified the ramp deck.
