Western Star 4900 FA plow truck

[BK9300]

7 hours ago, Jürgen M. said:

What a perfect job! It's so fun watching this! 

Keep going! Can't wait to see the final model! 

As always, thanks for looking in and commenting, Jurgen!

[BK9300]

2 hours ago, Force said:

Mindblowing.

Håkan, thanks for checking this out!

[BK9300]

Not sure why, but I've been delaying work on the sand conveyor and I cannot put the conveyor in the sander once I have the sander mounted on the truck.  So, I need to press on with making the cross bars for the chain conveyor, then finish off the sander and get on to another section of the model.

 

Cross bars made from .5 x 2.5 mm styrene strip - a bit too thick scaled up, but width looks ok;  clear acrylic strip keeps the cross bars a tiny bit off the top plate of the conveyor (appeared to be that way on the real truck, but I don't know why)

Cross bars would have been a mess without checking 

Top side of conveyor done - need to get ends and under side done next

Conveyor bars seen inside hopper

Conveyor is not completely slid into place (I'd likely not be able to get it out again with the tight fit); chain links/sprockets need to be 'lubed' with something resembling grease/oil before conveyor's final install

Slow going part of the build - might be that way for rest of the build - with the details that I would like to add!  More to come soon (still no decals, so may need to move on to other parts of truck).

Edited October 14, 2024 by BK9300

[Biggu]

‘Grease’?? What’s grease? ?????That was always the joke at tool box meetings ??

Edited October 14, 2024 by Biggu

[BK9300]

16 minutes ago, Biggu said:

‘Grease’?? What’s grease? ?????That was always the joke at tool box meetings ??

Yeah, that's another thing that driver on shift before you was supposed to take care of, right?!

[Biggu]

1 minute ago, BK9300 said:

Yeah, that's another thing that driver on shift before you was supposed to take care of, right?!

Ah………………….. yeah ?

[BK9300]

Was able to finally get the sand conveyor installed.  One of the other new trucks in the yard had a new sander on it but the sand conveyor cross bars were already rusted up pretty good.  Turns out, during the process of calibrating the conveyor speeds and application rates, a load or two of sand is run through the hopper (with the truck backed up to the sand pile).  Seems the paint on the bars doesn't last very long!  I had a go at this on my sander, plus 'lubed' the chains with a wash, installed and wired the conveyor speed sensor and ran the final line from the pre-wet pump down into the side of the spinner chute.  I also added the two rear mud flaps and glued the side tanks in position, for better or worse -  now the remaining equalization hose running between the tanks will need to be figured out.

 

Conveyor finally in place

 

Even though this is a 'brand new truck', will still be more 'grease' to add to outside bearing/tensioner assembly on each side of the conveyor

 

Conveyor speed sensor in place and wired (circular black module opposite side from conveyor motor; can also see the clear pre-wet fluid line heading down under the sander frame and into the side of the spinner chute; side pre-wet tanks and valves glued in place

 

Rear mud flaps in place - used 0.5 mm silicone rubber (had to scuff them up to remove a shiny surface, but they look ok now and are quite flexible)

 

The sander has taken a long time to get to this point and still has a decent amount of work to go yet.  I don't want to mount the sander on the truck frame until I get the decals for the back of the sander, but I may need to so I can move on with finishing the hydraulic runs from the front of the hard lines back to the return manifold on the hydraulic tank.  Lots (and lots) of pictures so far and I do appreciate you looking in and commenting - thanks!

Edited October 18, 2024 by BK9300
typo

[Rockford]

This build is in a class of its own. Just unbelievable. I don't know how you do it. Marvellous stuff. 

[BK9300]

I appreciate your comments, Steve!  I’m happy with the results so far, but, like I mentioned awhile back, I’ve had my share of ‘do-overs’ along the way.  Thanks for taking a look!

[Gary Chastain]

And…..what Museum is this going too?❤️?❤️?❤️?

 

[Jürgen M.]

He should have his own museum and he could charge the highest fees!

[Biggu]

33 minutes ago, Gary Chastain said:

And…..what Museum is this going too?❤️?❤️?❤️?

 

I have been trying to convince him, .................... maybe we should all take up a 'petition' ..... so at the very least this magnificent build gets into a magazine........ if Brian won't we will.... nanananana 

[BK9300]

48 minutes ago, Gary Chastain said:

And…..what Museum is this going too?❤️?❤️?❤️?

 

 

37 minutes ago, Jürgen M. said:

He should have his own museum and he could charge the highest fees!

 

12 minutes ago, Biggu said:

I have been trying to convince him, .................... maybe we should all take up a 'petition' ..... so at the very least this magnificent build gets into a magazine........ if Brian won't we will.... nanananana 

I do appreciate the comments, guys, but I'm pretty confident there won't be any museums!  Just doing this like everybody else - good fun, good therapy and, if lucky enough, good camaraderie along the way!  

[Jürgen M.]

If that ain't good reasons! ? 

 

[Biggu]

1 hour ago, BK9300 said:

 

 

I do appreciate the comments, guys, but I'm pretty confident there won't be any museums!  Just doing this like everybody else - good fun, good therapy and, if lucky enough, good camaraderie along the way!  

  "Therapy" Lord knows we probably all need a little of that 

[Biggu]

Deleted

Edited October 18, 2024 by Biggu

[Biggu]

Ken , from the shop was over for dinner tonight. I was showing him the latest posts……. He just shakes his head at the accurate details. Even down to the blue ‘Arctic ‘ wire ……. He commented on the muck stick holder , said it was exactly like they  used to make. He said Highways have told them to stop making them like that as if one was climbing out of the box and hooked yourself , the results could be really bad. I guess they now use a hook. Interesting information. Your holder is what I know well. He commented on your level of detail. He said, no doubt about it, this is absolutely museum quality. He said the wing parts and operation is spot on!!

[BK9300]

12 hours ago, Biggu said:

Ken , from the shop was over for dinner tonight. I was showing him the latest posts……. He just shakes his head at the accurate details. Even down to the blue ‘Arctic ‘ wire ……. He commented on the muck stick holder , said it was exactly like they  used to make. He said Highways have told them to stop making them like that as if one was climbing out of the box and hooked yourself , the results could be really bad. I guess they now use a hook. Interesting information. Your holder is what I know well. He commented on your level of detail. He said, no doubt about it, this is absolutely museum quality. He said the wing parts and operation is spot on!!

Thanks, Jeff - the real truck that’s the inspiration for all this was built in 2010, and I guess lots has changed since.  Another change I’ve noticed is the big, square (and bright) warning board on the back of the sand hoppers.  Always more rules to keep people from running into something you’d think no one would miss seeing in front of them.

[Biggu]

1 minute ago, BK9300 said:

Thanks, Jeff - the real truck that’s the inspiration for all this was built in 2010, and I guess lots has changed since.  Another change I’ve noticed is the big, square (and bright) warning board on the back of the sand hoppers.  Always more rules to keep people from running into something you’d think no one would miss seeing in front of them.

Yeah , that silly  ‘rule’ came out a couple years ago. I always thought flashing lights back there was good enough to give a warning but I guess not. Personally I find those light boards WAY too bright and are a hindrance when driving behind these trucks. Even at a distance they are very bright and when flashing in wet conditions in the dark they are really a test to follow . Seems like, some common sense when driving is not a requirement any more. Back in the day our sander lights were an old school 1157 bulb ! 
Jeff

[BK9300]

Seems like a lot of work got done the past few days, but little to show for it in the pics.  Painted the wing plow surface with its 'plastic' coating - it may need to be scuffed up a bit as the blade on the actual truck was marked up during its installation on the truck.  Managed to get good facsimile of a hose in place for the equalization line between the two pre-wet tanks' valve bodies.  Finally, got the short length of clear line installed from tank valve on the left fender to the fluid filter valve inlet.

 

Wing plow blade plasticized - I was trying to get to the finish of the plastic miter box behind the plow, but this was as close as my efforts got me

I found a bunch of these springs at my hobby store last year and, thankfully, it was flexible enough for me to thread it down through the frame, behind the sand chute and up to the other valve body.  The brass pins allowed me to better align the hose into pre-drilled holes in the 'T' fittings at the valves

 

Ordered this adhesive backed material to simulate the clamps holding the hose to the fitting on the valves - its thin, a bit stretchy and sticks to itself firmly

 

Hose passing behind sand chute

 

Valve body on the left is now connected by clear line to the valve inlet for the pre-wet fluid filter before carrying on to pre-wet unit.

 

Better view of Hasegawa tape 'clamp' on hose attached to valve body 'T'; all the hydraulic fittings on the truck will be given some degree of darker wash to bring out the fitting details better, at a later date

Like I said, doesn't look like much difference from last set of pics, but lots of hours 'fussing' with little parts.

Appreciate you having a look and comments/questions are welcome!

Edited October 23, 2024 by BK9300
typo

[Gary Chastain]

Modeling at the highest level. 

[BK9300]

14 hours ago, Gary Chastain said:

Modeling at the highest level. 

Thanks, Gary - appreciate it!

Edited October 23, 2024 by BK9300

[Jürgen M.]

It's just unbelievable what you're doing!

If real car and truck makers today would do their work with your precision and enthusiasm we would have much better and longer lasting vehicles on the road!

[Steve H]

Amazing work Brian. A lot of plumbing on this vehicle! Fantastic attention to details, and excellent craftsmanship. ??

[BK9300]

On 10/23/2024 at 6:31 PM, Steve H said:

Amazing work Brian. A lot of plumbing on this vehicle! Fantastic attention to details, and excellent craftsmanship. ??

Thanks very much, Steve!  Yes, there are all sorts of hydraulic runs - I think I have most of them covered, just not all of them built yet.  Thanks again for checking things out - more to come soon!

Edited October 25, 2024 by BK9300