I wasn't planning on putting up a WIP on this kit, but since I started it two days ago I found that the kit is such dire need of help that a WIP might be fun to do. I haven't built a car or truck in 30+ years. I spend all my time on the Aircraft thread with WWII birds. Since I am finishing up some other builds I needed a bit of a change. This kit has been in the stash for a bit now as my son wanted to build it, but he has no desire to actually do it. Since I own one of these in real life I thought it would be fun to do.
I had hoped when I started the kit hat it would be a fun, quick little build. Not so fast !! The kit has so many glaring problems that "inaccuracies" would not suit the issues. The kit is loaded with TONS of just plane WRONG stuff. SO, this quick build suddenly turned into a mission to correct as much as I can and make it proper while not loosing my mind do so. I hope you all enjoy the ride, it's gonna be a bumpy one.
The first thing I noticed on the kit that got me worked up was the way they lifted the suspension on the kit. They litterly just added blocks to the end of each spring. This is never done in RL and is not only dangerous but mechanically not possible if the truck as to move it would fall apart. Even the box art has it wrong. Ugh.
That being said, I went about scratching up a whole new suspension system for all 4 corners. I began by shaping a brass rod to the proper arch and then measured spring length needed for the lift to occur properly without lift blocks on the rear axle, which wouild have bee far easier. I cut strips from sheet styrene and drilled the centers and then pinned them just like the real thing. I clamped them in the wire jig and glued them up and let them rest overnight. In the morning I have a corrected leaf spring set and I will work on getting the hangers added to the frame and the back will be done. The front set will get similar treatment but the front is handled a bit differently as the lift is obtained in some srping arch and also in longer rear shackles. The frame also has to be extended about 1/4" to make this correct.
I also noticed that the kit part has the inner fender liners going all the way to the frame and making the area completely closed off. This too is wrong. The inner fenders do not attach to the frame and there is about a 3" gap, so I cut this area out to more accurately reflect the engine bay. It was at this time I also noticed that the cross member under the engine simply does not exist on the kit. I'm not sure how I will attack this but I will come up with something. I am planning on adding wiring and brake tubing, hose, ect to the extend I can stand to do it. Since I have one sitting in the driveway, reference is not an issue.
I also believe the transfer case is all wrong, mostly in scale. I may have to scratch one together to make it more accurate. The transmission is also for a 4x2 but that is easy to fix. The mounts it uses are for kit simplification and I will scratch those up to, easy peasy.
The axle assemblies also do not have covers detailed out and I have no idea what to do about that. Since this is one of the most commonly seen areas of these truck I need to correct that to get the look correct. I wish I still had my spares that I had when I was in school, I know I would have axles that looked better.
Thanks for stopping in and looking. If you have any ideas for improving this kit let me know.
BK