Andy T's Italeri 1/24 "Australian Truck"

[Andy T]

Thanks everyone, I'm really glad you like it.

The light blue is some MRP left over from a Russian cockpit. It's also on the headliner and "quilted" panels behind the seats.

The darker colour is light prussian blue from AK.

The floor had some physical texture added by stippling Mr Surfacer 500, then a coat of the prussian blue. I then stippled on lighter and lighter shades by adding some sky blue to the mix.

The same treatment was used on the very bottom section of the door cards and the floor in the sleeper.

 

[Ian M]

There is a bit more to these truck models eh Andy. The cab looks great in blue.
Good job on the seats as well.

 

[Andy T]

Thanks Ian.

Yes I'm this deep and there's still a load of stuff on the sprues and a lot of backwards & forwards work left to do.

I thought the time frame of this GB was huge but I'm thinking otherwise now lol

Next one will be oob and as per the instructions. Maybe

 

[Andy T]

I've been fiddling with what was a very basic interior for the sleeper. The kit gives you a bed that hangs in mid air, and that's it!

I cut the moulded pillow from the bed and after a bit of reshaping it'll do for me. I still have a blanket to make as the moulded version looks rubbish. There's a variety of cupboards with suitably chunky handles and something resembling a microwave (blue tac'd on for ease of painting later).

I've also lined the interior of the very roughly moulded roof with the "quilt effect" card I have and added some piping to tidy its edges.


It's all a bit rough & ready but given how much is visible I'm not too bothered. At least there's something in there now.

 

[scottie3158]

Andy,
Looking very nice mate. and a great bit of kitchen work.

 

[Mickc1440]

Really eye catching interior Andy

 

[peterairfix]

I am glad I proposed this group build as the builds we are seeing are outstanding

 

[Andy T]

Thanks guys, very kind of you.

I had a mini disaster while painting the interior - a drop of paint landed on the outside! Being MRP it bit straight in and there's no removing it

Fortunately it's landed on the back of the sleeper near the bottom. I guess that's made my mind up about scratching a bracket for the susie cables! I should be able to hide the blemish with a bit of touching up and some careful positioning...

 

[Allen Dewire]

Playing ketchup here Andy and enjoying your progress immensely. That paint job is fantastic and the 2 blues really set it off. Sorry to hear about the drop of paint, but you have it under control Sir...

I was going to say your steering wheel is on the wrong side and saw it is an Australian truck, not an Austrian truck. Then I remembered that Down Under, they drive on the wrong side of the road too...

Prost
Allen

 

[Andy T]

Thanks Allen but I think you are mistaken. You may drive on the right side of the road, but we drive on the correct one

The blob



The interior painting didn't go so well as I'm still a bit rubbish at brushing larger areas, but with his chunky fluffy blanky the driver should have a comfy nights sleep.


Yes it's over scale, but once the sleeper is closed up and attached to the cab you'll struggle to even see it.

 

[Jim R]

Interior is looking fine. Glad the wayward paint spot can be sorted.

 

[Ian M]

I solved the sleeping area in mine very quick and easy ... four or five coats of clear smoke. Ain't no-one seeing throgh that lol.
That's one fluffy blanket though!

 

[David Lovell]

Very impressive sir , im liking this I'll admit not my bag but always enjoy following these kind of builds well done Andy it'll take something drastic to stop this one going over the finish line ,great stuff. Dave

 

[Andy T]

Thanks again.

It does seem a lot of faff for something that won't be seen but I guess it's a bit like detailing a cockpit. At least I'll know I've done something in there.

It's out of my comfort zone Dave. So many different elements it's hard to know which to do first and I'm constantly thumbing backwards and forwards through the instructions to see if anything I do now will interfere with something later down the line, since I'm not really following the build order.

It's blowing my mind a bit but hopefully it should all come together at the end.

 

[Andy T]

With so many small parts knocking around I thought it made sense to start throwing a few at the model and see what stuck.

I nicked Ians idea and put a light tint on the windows to further reflect the custom look.



That's only a fraction of what needs nailing on but at least I'm whittling it down bit by bit. The fuel tanks are the bits I'm not looking forward to so will keep putting them off lol

Once the glue has dried I can clean up the inside of the glass and fit the interior.

 

[The Smythe Meister]

Blimey that looks nice Andy !!

 

[Jim R]

That's looking very good indeed Andy.
How did you go about tinting the 'glass'?

 

[Andy T]

Thanks guys.

I used Mr Color smoke grey Jim, similar to tamiya smoke.

There's a little visor / bug deflector that fits on the front of the bonnet. I was tinting that and thought I may as well add a couple of very thin coats to the windows

 

[Ian M]

That blue is well nice.

 

[Andy T]

That blue is well nice.

It's something I had left over from work after painting some plastics for a Yamaha R1 track bike.

Im currently working on a maclaren 720s in orange and a sparkly black. Hopefully I'll find a kit I can use the leftovers on as I love the colours.