Jeff

The Detroit 60 Series is a good engine, and we had one in a Western Star at work, that I drove pulling a pup gravel trailer, for graveling and paving, I know some will say this is the wrong color, BUT the one in the truck I drove had a Red 60 Series....it wasn't the Detroit green... so mine is red.... the fit of these kits are wonderful overall, and not a huge amount of cleanup parts wise... I did de-chrome the valve cover as it was WAY too bright and as the real one was painted, so is mine....it fit well, I also added a few air lines to the transmission for the range changing valve, I added an inspection plate and bolts on the lower side as well a an oil drain bolt, plus the bolts for the top cover of the transmission.

So some of the mods will include the non-installation of the sleeper, High flotation tires ( and rims) for the front axle, aftermarket drive tires, some de-chroming of some bits, and the biggest thing, is a frame shortening, from a highway tractor to a gravel truck. Now, the frame had already been made, a long time ago, and it took a little brain work ( somewhat taxing for a non engineer LOL) . It wasn't as easy as chopping off the back end of the frame, I had to or more wanted to keep the integrity of the rear part of the frame to correctly mount the rear ends and suspension, so it was to be the middle of the frame and so as not to foul any cross member, so with a little research, and a phone call to my buddy from work, I cut out about 3/4 of an inch in the center part of the frame and spliced it back together.... you will notice the plates are bolted and not 'welded' .... so out came the Meng bolts ( those are really cool and I should get more) Turns out, I measured straight and correctly, and managed to get the frame shortened and put back together straight and true. I was quite please with myself, as I had some trepidation on cutting up a VERY expensive kit. But all worked well....

Ok guys here we go again, I have been encouraged to post this build...... suffice to say it has gone through a few changes, in the conversion thoughts. I have had this kit for quite a while, partly started, with a vision of a heavy haul unit, but it got put on the back burner for a few years, due to looking after the ageing parents, then a move , then just life getting in the way of good bench time..... so with all that behind me I decided it was time... but I changed my mind once again on the conversion. When I saw that Revell had reissued their Kenworth gravel truck, I thought, that is the way I should go, as I have almost 40 years of gravel truck experience it should be an ok conversion, IF I could secure a gravel box from that kit. ................. Ron G. to the rescue !! He had a spare box from the kit in question and gave it to me... perfect ! Now, I have no excuses..... This is the kit I started with.... and there will be some mods to the truck itself, but it comes with a 420 HP 60 Series Detroit and what appears to be a 15 or 18 speed transmission

A joy to watch this build , Rob. Thos is going to be a beauty. Jeff

X2

That sounds like a good plan PW ! That should work. It will be cool to see this come together. I have never seen one in the flesh but have seen a video or two and holy cow did those birds go FAST! A very cool bird. And I am enjoying your build. Jeff

Mark, I will be looking forward to this one.

That’s really interesting, Peter. Digging up the history is a really fun part of any build. I really like what you are finding. Sometimes I get really side tracked looking up details of a build subject. But that’s the fun of modelling

I was wondering the exact same thing. If it were me I’d cock it up and make a mess. I am watching with great interest and hoping to learn a new technique. Jeff

Now that is COOL. I hope a WIP is in the works for this Mark.

Wonder where the real airframe is today? And the 310. Did they get sold or scrapped? Be really cool to see the original bird. And a quick Google shows it was sold off and in August 1962 was involved in a fatal crash. Sad. The 310 is still out there ‘they’ say ….

Wonder where the real airframe is today? And the 310. Did they get sold or scrapped? Be really cool to see the original bird.

There’s a warthog in the picture?🙄🤣

Thanks Rob , coming from you that is very high praise ! And a little brain distortion once in a while is a good thing. 🤭🍺🥃 I’m really happy you like the conversion. It was fun and brought back memories of the early ‘70’s when these birds were the front line of air tankers here in British Columbia. They were so cool.

Thank you so much Jeff

Excellent update Peter. Looks to be a bit of a challenge but will be more than worth it in the end for sure. A unique bird for your display. Looking forward to your next update. Jeff

Thanks Phil. You are too kind. It was a lot of fun and definitely a little different and I miss them flying over my house .

Nice build! It looks absolutely spot on. ! I must build another one or three. They are excellent kits. 105 Sqdn is Iconic. Nice job. Take a bow !

Top drawer Peter. I love the finish. The checkers on the cowl came out beautiful. Super well done !

Thanks Phil , you guys are quite persuasive and I will excitedly watch your build. I felt the same way when I also was on TOS and I guess that just carried over to here subconsciously