Tonight's production: 7-7-2015

Close up of brake rigging:


WARNING -this rigging IS NOT CORRECT. I will be wripping this out and correcting it shortly. Updates to follow.

Well here we go . . .





I think where PSP went wrong was that they did not realize the photo above is being viewed right side up - we are looking down from above with the wood decking removed. They thought the photo was being viewed from below, therefore putting the manual brake on the wrong side of the frame.

I cut a notch into those cross members with a Dremmel tool cut-off wheel so I could lay in that brake rod. I will go back with some Evergreen plastic strip and cover the tops of the cross bars and they will look like they have been drilled instead of cut.

Wheels and tires for the trailer:

Casting of these civilian pattern tires is nice and sharp. They look good.

HOWEVER . . . . .

Assembly of tires:
When trying to assemble each pair of dual tires the large central alignment pin on the inside tire is too large to insert into the mating (i.e. doesn't mate) outside tire. It makes keeping each pair of tires properly centered, relative to each other, nearly impossible while the glue dries.

Center bearing head of each wheel hub has the same problem, the alignment pin is too large to insert into the hole in the wheel rim casting???

Man that is looking great….can I have it..? Keep us posted……I make sure I come back here everyday to see the progress….looking good there buddy!!!

Did not want anyone to think I had given up on the tractor. I am still moving ahead on both the tractor AND the trailer.

I have now completed the finish detail painting on the underbody and chassis (rusted muffler, rubber brake lines, rust on the leaf springs, rust on the brake drums, oil on the U-joints and drain plugs) and also added my favorite dose of pastel chalk "dusty" weathering to bring out the detail.

But still there is plenty of work left to do!

Need to add service air lines and glad hands front and back to my White tractor. (Also gives me a chance to add a splash of color!)


Here they are seen on the back end of a restored Mack NO.

WHY DO THEY CALL THEM "GLADHANDS"?




Railroad Definition:

Gladhand connector: - "A quick coupling and uncoupling connector at the end of a trainline air hose that resembles a pair of shaking hands when hoses are connected."

(There is one "hand" on each end of every railroad car and engine that controls the brakes for the entire train.)

All semi-tractors have gladhands at the rear to attach to an identical set on the semi-trailer controlling ALL the vehicle brakes.

Trucks pulling multiple trailers will have gladhand connectors on both ends of every trailer, just like railroad cars.

I reworked the photo from HP's collection just a bit in photoshop. Darkened it, upped the contrast and burned in the areas that were faded out.

Hope everyone likes it.



Again, thanks Frenchy for the contribution!

I had to backup and do some restructuring on the trailer this weekend, I had to strip out all the existing brake rigging!

The P.S.P. instructions had the brake shaft and rigging hanging down below the main structural members. In reality this would put it in the perfect location to get knocked off wherever the trailer went over a high spot in the terrain. In actuality all this gear is intended to be mounted BETWEEN the structural members and out of harm's way.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BEFORE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AFTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

How about this rig! Not a White/Corbit pulling it but it could have been. Caption said this was in WWII. News to me. Never saw a double trailer like this before, at least not until the cold war days and then it was Russian. What a scratch project this would make!

Trailer underbody detail is coming along. Still need to add brake cylinders, air tank and piping details.

OK, only slightly off topic; but check out this White fuel truck with fuel trailer all covered up and disguised!

That does look cool.

Check out this thread and see what you think:

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/237158



https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/237158

Hi Michael,
your build is looking awesome.In relation to the double trailer rig I know that the USAAF in Australia did this quite regularly using Autocar U4144T tractors. The rig shown appears to be a Corbitt and may be early post war.Hope this is of interest.

Regards Jason

Hey what's up with these nice little etched hood grills? The instructions clearly show them as going on from the outside. So I held off installing them till later in the process but they are way oversized and must be glued on from the inside of the hood.

Really wish I had known this sooner; as in from the first moment!

To anyone else building this vehicle; you've been forewarned.





Way too large to fit in the grooves!

Looking good…can’t believe that photo etched part does not fit…..looks like we need to hope for a replacement PE set for this kit…like really soon….. how could they have messed up with something so simple…WOW

Had to stand on my head and get Ant-Man to get in there and hold the grill screens steady while I handled the CA glue but we made it! The screens are glued in from the inside.

Those grills just do not look right sitting that far back from the surface!

nope they are way too big as they are meant to go in from the outside. Only hope is too try and cut them down by removing the bar on each side.