Great Dane Extendable Flatbed (with mods planned)

[Bills72sj]

Starting on this trailer to go with my black and gold Freightliner. I am going to see if I can extend the deck and maybe add a tag axle.

[Bills72sj]

Stuffed the tires with backer rod to keep AMT's wimpy tires full in the rims. Sanded the tread for a touch of realism. Painted the brake drums gold for a subtle hint of color. Added tag axle wheels from the parts box. However, I am now one tire short for the spare rim.

[Bronzekeg]

looking great so far

[Bills72sj]

Made my first modification. I was not sure if I wanted to utilize the front bulkhead or not. If I glue it then i can't remove it. If I want it on for display, it just falls over. I could figured out some method of pegging it but I found a better way. I still had leftover magnets from my diorama. I simply added some C-channel to the inside base of the bulkhead and glued magnets to that and the underside of the deck. Now I can take it off without marring the finish or put it on with always perfect alignment. Easy peasy.

[gotnitro?]

Looks good so far ! 

What size tire are your short , I probably have a few your welcome to 

[Bills72sj]

Jeff Thanks. Just one AMT Goodyear Custom Hi Miler 10.00x20.

[Sam I Am]

I will be following along Bill.  Looking forward to seeing your modifications. 

[wayne00]

I built this kit a few months back, it all most falls together, no trouble at all

I will say this; be careful when you glue on the landing gear, it's very easy to get it in the sliding section. 

Following along.

   Rog?

[Bills72sj]

23 hours ago, Sam I Am said:

I will be following along Bill.  Looking forward to seeing your modifications. 

Thanks Sam.

 

22 hours ago, wayne00 said:

I built this kit a few months back, it all most falls together, no trouble at all

I will say this; be careful when you glue on the landing gear, it's very easy to get it in the sliding section. 

Following along.

   Rog?

It is good to hear that it goes together well. Thanks for the tip.

[gotnitro?]

Looking forward to seeing your trailer ! 

I have ya covered on the awol tire  ! 

[Bills72sj]

6 hours ago, gotnitro? said:

Looking forward to seeing your trailer ! 

I have ya covered on the awol tire  ! 

Thank you Jeff!

[Bills72sj]

I am going to utilize the tag axle suspension I got from Auslowe last year. I do need to figure out exactly where to locate it. Maybe all the way to the rear, maybe in between the sliding tandem rack or further forward. I am not sure. I'll know better once some of the other chassis pieces are in place.

[Mopar - D]

Nice modifications Bill. 

[Bills72sj]

Onto the next modification. I wanted to take advantage of the extendability of the frame and increase the deck length to accommodate 3 long cars. I have the floor from a parted out short hauler that even has a woodgrain pattern. The width was really close and I shortened each end right up to the nearest crossmember. I fabricated a perimeter frame with some Evergreen C-channel. I made two tracks to locate the deck on the extended trailer frame from some Plastruct I-beam. Once the perimeter was complete I fabricated tie-down rails from some more Evergreen styrene. I got them to match pretty close to the kit's tie-down rails.

Edited November 28, 2021 by Bills72sj
grammar

[Mopar - D]

Nice extension Bill how long in scale feet will the trailer be?

[Bills72sj]

6 hours ago, Mopar - D said:

Nice extension Bill how long in scale feet will the trailer be?

Measuring and doing the math for just the trailer comes out to 56' 3". My COE day cab will keep the overall length down enough to still fit in my display cabinet.

[Bills72sj]

I got all the pieces for this and a couple of other projects mounted and painted.

[gotnitro?]

Really coming along ! 

[DrKerry]

Looks awesome so far Bill!! Where do you get your magnets at?? Curious to know... Thanks

[Mopar - D]

Nice progress Bill I like your paint booth set up. 

[Bills72sj]

15 hours ago, gotnitro? said:

Really coming along ! 

Thank you Jeff.

11 hours ago, DrKerry said:

Looks awesome so far Bill!! Where do you get your magnets at?? Curious to know... Thanks

Kerry, Off ebay from China

4 hours ago, Mopar - D said:

Nice progress Bill I like your paint booth set up. 

Thank you Dan. I am glad I made it big enough to paint semi-trailer parts. The surprise bonus is that the corrugated plastic in front holds the bamboo skewers  I use to hold parts while they dry.

[Bills72sj]

I got most of the frame parts assembled. The instructions want you to glue the frame to the deck(s) first then put everything else on. My decks are not ready yet. Besides there is some play on the mating of them. I want to take advantage of that for best alignment.

[Mopar - D]

Nice details Bill. 

[Bills72sj]

Painted my decks with flat tan to simulate wood. I debated with myself as to whether on not to highlight the molded in woodgrain for more realism like I did my lowboy. The challenge was the differences in how the woodgrain was embossed onto the parts. The front and rear decks have the detail indented into the deck. The added-in deckplate has the woodgrain detail raised. After determining that two different techniques were required and the trial and (and mostly) error that would likely result, I decided to forgo the attempt. So... I masked off the pieces and sprayed the mostly gloss black onto the underside and perimeter of the decks. I also sprayed some matt gloss onto the mud flaps. It sprayed like doodoo but still gave the effect of mudflaps made from recycled rubber.

[Mopar - D]

Your getting closer Bill and it just keeps getting better.