Quick '39 Chevy Truck Part 5

Completed the major work on this model with the final shaping and detailing of the bonnet, grill and fender assemblies. There turned out to be a lot more sanding to do than I imagined!

I'm really pleased with the final shape of the fenders, I managed to get the big rounded mud-guards looking about spot on (in my humble opinion, though they are a little too large). I guess you could say that all this work is a bit over-the-top when you consider that the overall cab shape is wrong for the '39 Cheverolet truck (being based on my Valiant Ford V3000 truck), but it looks passably like a Chevy!

Having got the truck cab sorted it was time to work out how to attach the new resin wheels that my brother had sent me to the chassis...

It's a bit of a fudge but I made a pair of axels out of some spare brass rods and attached them to the underside of the truck with some BlueTac so I could work out how to fit them correctly into position. I trimmed and sanded off the resin of the original chassis to make some rudimentary slots into which the axels could fit. I kept checking how the wheels fitted in relation to the flatbed and the fenders to ensure they were both centred properly and sat at the right height and were level.

Eventually it all came good(ish). The wheels look like they are in the right place and are secure, but I will put off fitting them permanently until I have finished off the cab detailing and have the cab interior installed.

The detailing includes all the fine panel lines around the engine hood and cleaning up the grill. Obviously I will be simplifying the detail, just adding a few bits and pieces to get the mock Chevrolet look I'm after.

So, there we go - a mock Chevrolet Model 1939 truck, of sorts. The main problem is that it's a bit too big, the original Chevy was a 1.5 ton truck based on Chevrolet's 1 ton pick-up truck cab - while my conversion is based on the 2 ton Ford V3000 which was a proper medium truck.

But, hey ho. It'll do in the absence of a proper 1/72 scale model of this vehicle (Minarions are working on a 1/72 scale Model 1937 Chevrolet which should be available in April of next year).

Next: Painting.