Tamiya Haulers - A wrecker update? Never!

So, since the last update. The roof came off the workshop (through choice, not weather)



And after an extensive refit, I was left with a nice, dry warm space to work in. Finally.



First thing I looked at were a few bits on the Merc, I fitted a sliding 5th wheel to allow hitching other trailers than the tipper, and replaced all the JIS head screws I could with hex head M3 bolts.





I think did some 'graffiti' on a broken Huina exe as a trailer load, having sold the wheel loader as someone was interested in it.

Next!

Ford fell apart gain.



I wanted to replace the lights on the bottom of the first fuel tanks, the colour was wrong and I wanted lights on both tanks. I was sorted out with these light bar sets, which do the job nicely enough.



I kinda saw this as an opportunity to do a few other mods I'd wanted to for a while, namely the headlight LED colour and the black masking around the headlamp bezels as well as a blackout panel behind the grille.



From cold, icy xenon blue to a warm sealed-beam white.





With that done and the wiring modified to have less... wiring (taking advantage of Beier's common positive rather than running 6 positives, one for each LED) I moved on to the bumper which had always been held on with VHB and frequently fell off (when I bumped into things)
I liked the clean look, but if anyone picked it up without knowing the bumper was just taped on and used it as a hand hold, it's bye bye Ford.



So out with the M2 hex head bolts. I also repurposed some of the little lamp holders under the front slab as chicken lights (with the right colour LED in this time)



Moving on to even more things I wanted to alter, the dash being RHD was one. The truck had been built as an Aussie lorry, which isn't my thing, so conversion to LHD underway. Utilising a poorly painted King dash I had kicking about, I grafted it into the Ford bulkhead. Holes?



Ah yes, my mediocre attempt at making it light up. Dash isn't really accurate but the layout of the controls is as close as I could do with the square panels.



Re-used the Ford steering wheel as it was nicer. Made a new gear lever, and in the driver went. He's had a few to drink, he's legless.



I did also rewire the identification lamps on the cab roof from 10 to 2 wires (yea, I dunno either) but no pics of that. I added some period cab reading material and map sheets and that was that, back on it went.






And there we go. Maybe. I have a few more of the torpedo ident lamps so temped to put some on the top sides of the sleeper. I'll sleep on it and see. Pun. 

The detail is awesome on this

Be good to see the other bulid as well

Where you get the square tubing?

After the Ford was all done, a friend popped up for a workshop day for some work on his ‘Volvos’, the first being a FH16 cab kit on a Scania chassis as Tamiya don’t make a FH16 6x4 tractor. I was called upon to fit a Beier USM-RC 3 along with a few other bits including skirts and deck plate.





done. Next.



His second ‘Volvo’ is a Freightliner Cascadia with a VN style grille. It had come to him with Grand Hauler arches seen in other pics which suited it as well as a pineapple hat on a Mod and some LEDs poked in a piece of aluminium stock as a bumper which interfered with most trailers. He’s recently had the DK Line graphics added so wanted a more working truck look so a while back he got hold of a (I think scaleclub) fancy rear transom which we added lamps to, and a set of big old flaps.





And now back to my stuff..