Scania 124 push axle with Curtainside trailer

[gasdriverca]

This is going to be the Truck I'll be building,it's a Scottish company from Kirkaldy,Fife in Scotland. It going to be a Scania R124 Tractor unit with a push axle conversion pulling a Scratch built curtainside trailer. The decals are from KFS & are out of production now from the dealer,heres a picture of the project truck.

So I'll be starting the Trailer first wich will be scratch built using Evergreen Stripstyrene rods I-beams & plastic sheets.
Ok so I started the basic frame work & cutting a flange at the end where the 5th wheel plate goes,this frame is 13.6. in 1:1 so I scaled it down(=13600mm divided into 24 for 1:24=566mm) baring in mind of the cross members are where the axle supports go,which are the 3 in the middle.The I-beams used were from Plastruct Fineline BFS-20 & the cross members are BFS-16.It's essential that the cross beams were the axles supports will be are measured from the end(rear of trailer) with centers.So rearmost axle will be 130mm centerline followed by the other two of 55mm & 110mm.


I used a 1mm sheet slightly larger than frame width for the 5thwheel breast plate drilled a hole lengthly for the kingpin to slide so its easier for the pin toattach to the tractor unit once completed.



I assembled the bumper with support flanges & plates inserted where the registration plate & safety decals will be going & aslo capped the end of the frame.


I then raided my spares box & found the dolly legs from an old kit & attached them at the end of frame were the flange starts as follows & also used the kingpin & capped it with a scrap piece of I-beam so it can slide back & forth.


Once all that was done I started making 12 supports for the swing arms where the axles & airbags will sit on.

The airbags are made from two sizes of tubing,the outer ones are 1/2inch & inners are 3/8inch then capped where they both attach on the frame.The smaller tubing is longer to simulate the inner part of the airbag that attaches to the swing arm.




Support flanges were then inserted to the inner plates.


The swing arms are made from .125x.156inch(3.2x4.0mm)square rod then schamffered where the airbags will be,then raiding the old spares box for some shocks & inserted into the flanges.










Once that task was done I cut 3 axles from Plastruct square tubing to lengths of 67mm.


I then added strips of .060x.100inch(1.5x2.5mm) between the I-beam above the airbags & swingarm supports,I also added hexrod to simulate the bolt holding the swingarms in place.I bent .040inch(1.0mm)rod to simulate U-bolts that attach the axle to swing arm & attached a tube cut in half for the spacer underneath then on the top I just cut some small plates & rod to simulate the bolts on top.

[Ferrari TR]

Looks great. I'm not a big rig fan but i do love to see models built from scratch.

[rsxse240]

Excellent work! Just the frame so far is worthy of at least a 4 star rating! I can't wait to see what's next!

[endac]

Off to a great start. Nice work

[gasdriverca]

A bit of an update here,I have a snowday so I can do some updating.
I put on the inner dust covers that hide the inside of the rims(these are out the spares box again)& installed the slack adjusters




But upon further inspection I noticed they were in the wrong place & to far back so I had to take them off & reset them,I cut the mounting rod shorter so the brake chambers over lap on the axle.
Heres the rectified pictures.
I made three relay valves from .125x.188inch(3.2x4.8mm)bar & just attached scrap pieces of tubing & rod.Then drilled holes for the wire(airlines)to give the effect of the valve so its not so boring and square for the airlines going to the brake chambers that will sit on the cross members & get the axles prepared for the plumbing(airlines)& also added s-cam bars that connect the brake chamber to the dust cover.


I started the airlines coming out of the brake chambers(two per chamber)

Added an airtank for the airlines & once the airlines were laid & placed in line I just tidied them up hooked them to the relay valves to look pleasing to the eye & won't snag in the airbags etc.







Thats the basic frame & probably all I'll be doing to the frame so for, I'm now waiting for resin mudguards to arrive so I can install the brackets for the mudguards which will be the same color as the frame.My next stage I'll be doing is the floor for the curtainside with the outriggers or supports of the floor & probably start on the box itself.Probably have more updates at the end of the weekend when I pick up some plastic sheets from my LHS & get started on the next task.

[DerXL]

Some impressive scratchbuilding going on here.

I'll definately be following this one.

[gasdriverca]

Ok heres a pic of my spares box that I've talked about,it's full of old truck parts ,frames,fuel tanks etc. plus those parts you wouldn't use on some kits.

But anyway a wee quikie here for you folks.
I'm starting on the Truck unit now, Heres the specs or blue prints of the truck I'll be building,I printed them off of Scanias own website under the 'body builders' section where you can get all specs of Scania trucks that you require & print them off.
The base kit is the Scania 144L Millennium Truck which I will cut the frame & add an extension of 17mm frame work to get the correct size from the spec sheet.


So heres the basic OOB frame all built up & squared off then left overnight between heavy books so we don't get any warping of the frame.

I then cut the frame just infront of the 5th wheel plate flanges.

I have to make extension pieces from .040x.438(1.0x11.1mm) strips & add on .040x100(1.0x2.5mm)strips onto the ends to make the channel(frame)shape because you can't get channel bigger than 0.312(7.9mm).These are cut to 17mm in length because thats how much I'm extending the frame by.

Once glued in place I'll place it between books again then once squared off then use a bit of filler to tidy it up & also a strip placed inside the frame to stiffen it up.


Now I have the large sheets of 2mm & 1mm I need for the trailer I shall start building the box of the trailer & let the frame harden overnight & do a final check of squarness etc. before I go any further.

Heres the inner strengthening plates I put on the inner frame for support


Since I have my sheets I required for the trailer I cut the base from a 2mm sheet to 102mmx566mm & the sides are 110mm by the length of the base less the bulk head angle which is 5mm.I'm still waiting for strips of styrene etc. from my LHS to arrive also that I've ordered.

I cut the bulkhead back 5mm & in 15mm to give the Euro style trailer look & also gives the appearance the the curtain is on the roll tensioners once complete.Theres many styles you can do but I like this style bulkhead so I'll be going with this one.

I'll be flip flopping from Truck to trailer now so be aware.
What I'm doing now is making the 5th wheel flange extension over the new frame because I've extended the frame I have to take the flange from the back & discard it & make fresh new strips to compensate.I just used strips of .020x.125"(0.5x3.2mm)cut to the acquired length added some 1mm hex rod to simulate the boltheads then filed them down uniformally to the same length as the existing bolts on the kit frame.

[gasdriverca]

A wee quikie sorta say,
I attached the rear axle & front axle to the frame so I can calculate where the push axle will be but I'm having a hell of a time getting the shape & size I require for the push axle.

So I put it aside for now until I figure something out,Im wishing I had the part already in 1:24 so I can cross over the sizes to the scratch build parts & trying to scale the drawing is a pain.
So back to the trailer,I started cutting small plates that I will use to attack the mudguard to the frame.For this I used 1mm sheet & cut them to 5mmx5mm then attached tubing(3mm) cut to 5mm lengths & attached them centrally to the small plate.



I used a couple of resin mudguards to size the plates & get position of where they while be attached to the frame but these are not the one that are going on this build,these are for double tires & are too big(wide),I'm waiting to get 3 pair of super single resin mudguards from my mail order source Kit Form Services.

Now the brackets are in place and ready for the plastic coated wire to be bent to shape once the mudguards get here.I also had to tape the wheels & tires together then use rubber bands to hold them in place for fitment of the mudguard brackets.


Finally got the parts I was waiting for from the LHS so I can start another update,I had to wait for deep channel from Plastruct which my LHS don't stock(I think they are going to start stocking it now because of me) & only get it in if you order it oh well!
So I already cut the bottom & 2 sides for the trailer already,now I fixed a strip of .100x.312(2.5x7.9mm)to each side(left & right) to the edge which hangs down below the base (floor) of the trailer & is flush on the top with the base giving us the side raves where the curtain will attach to.


this is the front bulkhead of the trailer not yet complete of course.


I then attached the rear door which sits level with the bottom of the side raves.This rear door is 10mm higher than the sidewalls & will eventually be capped off once the curtain is in place.


Now I can start to play with the channel & side strips,I used Plastruct deep channel(UFS-6)on the end of the sides(trailer door) where I will attach the curtain into to give the tight pulled look of the curtain, these where cut to the height of the trailer sides of 110mm.I also cut 4 more strips of the .100x.312 less the channel thickness which is approx 4.8mm was then fitted but the strip thats on the bottom of the side wall has a gap of 5mm which will create the ripple effect of the curtain.


Once that was done & fitted to the sides & end I then used the rest of the .100x.312 to fill in the other side or end(front bulkhead side) to basically create a picture frame look(because this will act as the false inside of the curtain).


When the sides have all the edgings & channel on them I then start to attach the side walls to the base & rear door that I already attached & squared off.



then capped & squared off again when i attach the front bulkhead false wall.

Heres a little mockup of the trailer so far,I still have to complete the underside of the trailer with ribbing that attaches to the main frame I-beam & will be on another false floor.
Now I'm in a pickle because I can attach the false floor to the frame then do the ribbings but might not get the paint up into the inner part of the frame properly hhhmmmmm think I might just do that because you wont see that good underneath once done anyway!


Heres the false floor Im talking about which will fit underneath inside the box of the trailer,I thought it would be easier to build it this way because then trying to square everything off while the frame is on would be a nightmare I think?

[gasdriverca]

Ok lets get a bit of updating going on here!!!
So I started to finish the bulkhead off by cutting a 2mm sheet to the acquired length & height & cut 2 strips of deep channel(the same stuff I used on the sides at the rear)& placed them at the end of the small sheet flush with the edges,underneath I used 2 strips of .100x.100(2.5x2.5mm)to bring the bulkhead out by 2.5mm.


I then used .100"(2.5mm)1/4 round strips on the inside to give it the aerodynamic look to it& capped to bottom with a piece of .125x.250(3.2x6.3mm)strip & a small piece of .080x.125(2.0x3.2mm)strip above the 1/4 round piece at the top.



Once I let the glue settle I discovered I had just screwed up !!



The sides that are marked with yellow are to far apart & is basically too short!so "back to the drawing board" as they say.So I had to re-cut a new plate thats about 15mm longer take off the deep channel .100x.100 & 1/4 round strips & place them on the new longer sheet.Heres the longer version2 complete.

Once thats all said & done I added small pieces of .100x.312(2.5x7.9mm)that I had left over from the sides & placed them on the corners so the curtain will fit round the front & be nice taught & snug when fitted.




I then checked for squarness & attached the roof to give it stability but still have to do the edging around the top & do the rear doors.

I added a little strip of .125x.250(3.2x6.3mm) under the bulkhead but discovered I had to trim the frame back in order for this to fit,all part of the scratch building thing I guess?,its just trial & error :bristow: get back on the bike & carry on!

Another thing I can't get right is the bars that hold the mudguards in place.I tried bending 2mm plastic rod but looks too thick for the scale,then I tried cutting the 2mm rod at 45degree angles to themselves to create the same shape but that looks too square for trailer mudguard bars.



So I think I'll go back to my original idea & use plastic coated wire bent on a jig,I need to make 12 of them so I have to get them looking uniformal but I also realized that the tubing I used to hold the mudguard bars to the frame is slightly to large for the plastic coated wire so I'll have to insert the 2mm rod into each of the brackets & redrill them to the required size ....Oh the joys of scratch building!
I got my resin mudguards from KFS so thats on going just now.

What I'm doing is is finishing the backdoor of the trailer then the top will be ready for painting!
I finished the framing around the top & rear edges which will hide the untidy edges of the curtain once installed.Heres the edging after it hardened overnight,I used AFS-6 edging from Plastruct ,you buy it in 14" strips & followed the top of the trailer around.The edging was also used around the rear door with a piece of 1mm card to cap the bottom of the door off.


I done little wedges that go on the bottom of the door & side that give the rear door strength,they are just made from off cuts of the 2mm sheet & sized at 10mmx6mm lengths then cut at an angle & butted against each other to strengthen the bottom corners.

Now starting the door hinges I used 5/32nd(4mm) channel from evergreen cut in strips of 3mm.I divided the door frame up into 4 & glued the channel pieces in place which will represent the hinges.


Then I cut small pieces of .035"(0.88mm)rod from evergreen to act as the bolt or hinge pins that will hold the door hinge plates in place.



The hinge plates are made from .030x.100 strips cut at 12mm lengths then bent to the hinges & will add some hex rod to act as bolt heads.these wont be placed on until the painting is complete along with the edging around the top.

I made the rubber strips that go around the edge of the doors from .010x.080(.025x2.0mm)strips & will also be placed once the painting is done,I think I will paint these a light grey.
[IMG]hHere I used small channel .080"(2mm) for the locks at the top & bottoms of the frame doors cut to 2mm lengths.

then on the doors themselves I cut 6 small squares of .040x.100 which will be the door mounting brackets on the door.


Once they are in place & left to dry I will use .035" rod(.088) to act as the door locking bars,I want to do 4 locking bars but think it might be too cluttered looking so I'm going with only the 2 on this build.These will also be left off until painting is complete & decals are applied.

& I made a mock up of the rear doors with the hinge plates on but not glued & no bolt head detail yet, I'm leaving these off until the end but like I said its only a mock up!


I forgot to put the door seals on & I'm still working on the door locking handles. ttp://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa48/gasdriverca/Picture.jpg[/IMG]

[willimo]

Awesome! Look at all this scratch work! This is great!!! I can't wait to see more.

[Serioga]

Well done Dave. High level of scratch building! Looking forward for more.

[ScratchBuilt]

Although I'm more of a motorsport-modeller, I can identify with this build - and rather like it! I spent fifteen months working at the tanker and trailer manufacturer Crane Fruehauf here in the UK whilst I was at Uni, so this is bringing it all back! Who knows, if I hadn't found myself working with race-cars, this is probably the sort of thing I'd be building. Mmm...1/8-scale tanker units...actually, perhaps 1/24 is more suitable!

I'm amazed at all that flat styrene sheet and channel being used - and no distortion. Is that just because it's really thick stuff you're using, or is it just down to technique? You don't appear to be pinning anything, either - not required, or confidence in the glue? Either way, it's looking really good.

All the best,

SB

[gasdriverca]

Thanks for the comments guys they are always appreciated !
The hex rod(1mm) has been placed on the door hinge brackets to simulate the boltheads & the door handles are in place on the door locking bars.

I've been tempting to make the mid-lift axle on the truck & had many attempts & now think I've got the shape right now,in the background you can see the early proto types which i couldn't get right.I used .030"(0.75mm)styrene sheet for this but tried to do it with .040"(1mm) but seemed out of scale to me.

Now that I'm pleased with the shape I started to build the leaf spring mounting bracket from STFS-8 tubing from Plastruct & started to shape it on the plate.
I cut lengths of 19mm & cut out wedge shapes from the tubing to get the shape I'm looking for,I cut inset of 7mm from the end & 2mm from the bottom & glued it to the plate.


Then I filled the edges with filler & I will sand down to the required shape I need.



Just a small update.I'm praying that these parts will work out ok otherwise its going to drive me nuts trying to get the shape I require!
I still have alot of sanding & filing still to do then add bolthead detail.

[gasdriverca]

Originally Posted by ScratchBuilt

Although I'm more of a motorsport-modeller, I can identify with this build - and rather like it! I spent fifteen months working at the tanker and trailer manufacturer Crane Fruehauf here in the UK whilst I was at Uni, so this is bringing it all back! Who knows, if I hadn't found myself working with race-cars, this is probably the sort of thing I'd be building. Mmm...1/8-scale tanker units...actually, perhaps 1/24 is more suitable!

I'm amazed at all that flat styrene sheet and channel being used - and no distortion. Is that just because it's really thick stuff you're using, or is it just down to technique? You don't appear to be pinning anything, either - not required, or confidence in the glue? Either way, it's looking really good.

All the best,

SB

I drive Tankers here in Canada as a matter of fact but my trains are made from Westank-Willock, we do have Fruehauf in our fleet though but mainly Remtec is the new up & coming design for tanker trailers here in Canada,as for the non warping of sheet Styrene,I'm using 2mm(0.80") on the floor & sides.

I'm using a special tool from Flex-i-file(not sure if you can get it in the UK) which is a small glass tube with a small applicator on the end,I fill it with plastic weld cement then run the tip over the joint & it works just like using a brush.

I'm not pinning anything because the shape is not akward like a tanker .

I love race-cars too especially the DTM but don't have much time to build anything because of this project & work(always seems to get in the way)!

[gasdriverca]

The rear door handles have been slightly modified from the earlier picture,they looked too boring! All I did was file down the handles to give them a better shape.I followed a few trucks during the week & they all had this shape handle on them.


I am starting the under chassis struts from the frame to the outer edge of the trailer.
I set up a jig to cut all the channel I require so i get them all the same length 44 in total.
The channel I'm using is 3/16'(4.8mm),the jig I made was from a larger piece strip or off cut from the frame & just measured out the length I need & clamped it to the bench then cut the 44 lengths I need.



Heres the completed suspension part of the lift axle less the bolt heads then primed to find any imperfections.



Once I done the final check I added the bolt head detail & a small strengthening part on the top of the bracket then primed again,this is the best I can do....it's been a pain to make between getting the shape right & uniformal between the left & right parts.


I started on the bushing mount for this part by simply using tubing to the size required then cutting .080x.125(2.0x3.2) strip to a length of 27mm for the swing arm(if thats what its called?)then I will cut another strip that will fit under the swing arm onto the airbag.This I'm not too happy about so I think I have to take a trip to the LHS to get smaller strips so it will look like two separate leaf springs.