Thanks for the comments!
Serioga: I would have preferred that option, but I couldn't justify spending even more on this model to avoid a couple hours of work. If I can put on a convincing enough grease job, it should turn out for the best.
The rear suspension is nearing completion, with only the air brake architecture to go. The control link mounts for the axle are complete and shown with a bar and frame mount...these took a surprisingly long time to get right, because of their size. At least the second one took less than half the time to make.
Along the way, I keep finding new things to "fix" or build. Case in point: the air brake/drum detail consists of a flat plat covering most of the inside of the wheels, so I found some old model wheels and repurposed them as brake drums. I took it about as far as it will be visible to me, which is hopefully just a bit further than it will be visible to anyone else.
The biggest news was the arrival of my wheels from Spaulding! I have searched high and low for 5-hole wheels that would fit Italeri's tires. The 1:1 originally came with 5-hole aluminum wheels all around--a very uncommon combination--and later had to refit the steering axle with 10-hole wheels. I'm depicting the truck in the later stages of my Dad's ownership: a little worse for wear at just over 10 years and 1 million miles since manufacture.
Anyways, the white metal castings were a little rough. I've pictured one of the better castings on the right and the results of sanding, polishing, and reshaping the holes on one of the worst castings on the left. They turn into a pretty good replica with a few hours of work each.
They can only be used on the outside drive tires, and are still too narrow to mount the tires without some more kit-bashing. I'm beginning to wonder how long I can drag this on without actually painting anything
