ENTERING the BIG Money Pit Club - Grand Hauler!!

[IXLR8 1153]

Yeah, I really should have researched this more before placing the order.  Not that there's anything wrong with the GH, it looks fantastic and probably will look fine setting on my shelf.  

It's interesting how the KH and Globe Liner share parts.  Your custom GL should look awesome with the parts you've planned to use.

Oh, I forgot to mention that I did order the KH decal sheet from Bob when I ordered the truck - I was planning to go that route from the beginning.

So I think the plan is to finish the body asap, build the truck from standard kit parts (when time permits), then swap the body in a few months when I get a King Hauler.

I'm going with a dark metallic red (cherry red by Duplicolor) which I think will look good with the KH stripes.

I found this grille from RC4wd that's similar to a Kenworth grille.  Haven't order yet but I'm giving it some thought.  It's silver anodized so I'm thinking the coating should be stripped before the grille can be polished.  Wish they offered these in chrome.  Chrome, I must have more chrome.  

Anyway, I reckon I'm jumping head first down the Tamiya truck money pit.  

 

Very much looking forward to your GH build resuming again.  

[Carmine A 2046]

That color is going to be gorgeous!! I bought the Same Grille.... it looks fantastic. You'll like it. 

My GL is 3 builds down the line... but I am looking forward to that! I can't wait to dig into the 8X4 Tipper Truck!! 😊

[IXLR8 1153]

Oh, that Merc tipper will be cool!  

Between this site and Bob's, Teri's and Colin's and countless other youtube channels, the amount of information available for these trucks is staggering.

I've noticed that Teri has separated her sleeper and cab to make wiring simpler.  I will do the same also because I think it should make painting and polishing easier.

For some reason, while the GH black edition and unpainted are the same price, the KH black edition is a little cheaper than the unpainted one.  Do you think perhaps the KH unpainted version includes something extra?

[tim.senecal 487]

IXLR8,

I bought that grille, here's a picture i posted in Beetlemankurt's Kenworth W924 thread of my truck:

If you want me to take any closeups of it before you pull the trigger let me know.  I do know that it does have some machining marks on it that will keep you from getting a really good chrome look to it.  I wanted more of a work truck dull look (evidenced by the de-chroming of everything) so the marks didn't bother me.

[IXLR8 1153]

8 hours ago, tim.senecal said:

IXLR8,

I bought that grille, here's a picture i posted in Beetlemankurt's Kenworth W924 thread of my truck:

 

If you want me to take any closeups of it before you pull the trigger let me know.  I do know that it does have some machining marks on it that will keep you from getting a really good chrome look to it.  I wanted more of a work truck dull look (evidenced by the de-chroming of everything) so the marks didn't bother me.

Thanks Tim, that's a great looking truck.

I have noticed with many CNC machined grilles posted on the web that there are very prominent tool path marks mostly in the recesses of the grill.  I'm not sure how difficult it will be to reduce or remove these marks.  I have a lot of experience polishing metal and have a rotary tool with a variety of metal polishing wheels so perhaps it just requires time.

Another solution would be to use a chromed Tamiya grille then attach a one of the accessory KW emblems like this one from jarcgarage on ebay.

 

Although, I think I would prefer to have the emblem mounted higher and projecting above the top of the grille - similar to the actual KW grille.

[Carmine A 2046]

If nothing else, the KW Emblem has to be mounted higher. It could also work as you've shown it with a Tamiya Grille, but something's GOT to go behind that mesh, to not see all the electronic gubbins!

[IXLR8 1153]

I agree completely.

It would be great to make a "gubbins" shield that resembles a radiator.  I'll probably just cut a piece of styrene and paint it flat black.

I like Teri's idea to use a compact "LCD" TV speaker and mount it in the sleeper.  Her Movin' On truck sounds great - looks awesome as well.

[Carmine A 2046]

27 minutes ago, IXLR8 said:

I agree completely.

It would be great to make a "gubbins" shield that resembles a radiator.  I'll probably just cut a piece of styrene and paint it flat black.

I like Teri's idea to use a compact "LCD" TV speaker and mount it in the sleeper.  Her Movin' On truck sounds great - looks awesome as well.

I'm actually thinking of printing a picture of a Radiator and gluing it to a sheet of Styrene. 

Teri has several great tricks, but I'm more interested in low tones in sound. I go for the biggest speaker I can fit. The Beier comes with a 40 Watt amplifier, and the effect is awesome! That's just me. 

Have you seen her trick of drilling an 8mm hole in each of the Frame crossmembers? It's great for sneaking the Tail wiring through! I think I've got pictures here.

[IXLR8 1153]

21 hours ago, Carmine A said:

I'm actually thinking of printing a picture of a Radiator and gluing it to a sheet of Styrene. 

Teri has several great tricks, but I'm more interested in low tones in sound. I go for the biggest speaker I can fit. The Beier comes with a 40 Watt amplifier, and the effect is awesome! That's just me. 

Have you seen her trick of drilling an 8mm hole in each of the Frame crossmembers? It's great for sneaking the Tail wiring through! I think I've got pictures here.

I'm sorry but a printed image of a radiator makes entirely too much sense and would be far too easy to make.  You need to learn to re-invent the wheel and do things the hard way, like me.  

I've been watching Teri's Movin On build series out of sequence and I just finished the video where she assembled the frame.  I might jump ahead and watch her fish the wires through the holes in the cross members.  It doesn't seem like 8mm is large enough to accommodate all those wires and plugs but, hey, this isn't her first big rig build so I'm sure she has it right. 

Did I mention the GH arrived yesterday?  When I first opened the shipping carton and found only the Tamiya box for the truck, I was concerned that Bob forgot to send the FlySky radio and other bits --  or maybe they will arrive as a separate shipment.  However, after opening the box, I found everything neatly packed away in the bottom right compartment under the hardware and tire box.  Very clever!  It's almost like Tamiya planned it that way.

 

[Carmine A 2046]

1 hour ago, IXLR8 said:

......hey, this isn't her first big rig build so I'm sure she has it right. 

Did I mention the GH arrived yesterday?  When I first opened the shipping carton and found only the Tamiya box for the truck, I was concerned that Bob forgot to send the FlySky radio and other bits --  or maybe they will arrive as a separate shipment.  However, after opening the box, I found everything neatly packed away in the bottom right compartment under the hardware and tire box.  Very clever!  It's almost like Tamiya planned it that way.

Congratulations 🎊 👏 💐 🥳  Welcome to the MADNESS!! 🤣  Bob does that. When I ordered the KH Frame Rails and LEDs.... I found the LEDs sandwiched between the Rails!! 

8mm is just big enough to fit the MFC plugs through, one at a time. She and I started this Hobby the same year, 1982. But she started with Semis in 1993....

I just got into it a year and a half ago! 😲 Been catching up as quickly as I can. 

And I know, I'm SUPPOSED to Rube Goldberg everything. But I have to shortcut SOMETHING! 😉  I'll probably end up 3D Printing a Radiator as soon as I figure out how to USE the dang thing!! 

[IXLR8 1153]

Well, I've got the cab and sleeper separated, all the mold parting lines removed, the holes in the back and the antenna hole on the top of sleeper filled and that stupid sun roof panel glued (why does Tamiya cut a sun roof in every hard body they make - this is a semi not a beach buggy!!).  Anyway, I've spent the time required to sand and fill, prime and sand some more to make all the filled holes and repairs disappear.

Next, I applied Tamiya white fine surface primer and it went on perfect.  I waited three hours then wet sanded the repairs again to level a few remaining dimples.  Then disaster set in.  The red went on extremely rough and refused to level, it blushed then it ran.  With each of three coats it just got worse.  What a mess!!  I was tempted to chuck everything in the trash. 

The plan going in was to apply color then let everything set 24 hours before applying the clear but since it was ruined anyway, I just went ahead with the clear (at this point what do I have to lose?).  The clear seems to have fixed the blush but the paint is orange pealed like crazy.

I think most of it can be salvaged during wet sand and polish but it will be difficult to polish around the rivets without knocking them off.  I have a ton of work ahead of me, that's for sure.

Very disappointed with the application but the color is exactly what I wanted - it's beautiful.

 

[Carmine A 2046]

What an ordeal!!! 😲 Glad it ended well, but it sounds like it really tested you. 

[IXLR8 1153]

1 hour ago, Carmine A said:

What an ordeal!!! 😲 Glad it ended well, but it sounds like it really tested you. 

Well, the ordeal isn't over yet.  I've just had another look and I think I'm gonna shop for a replacement.  It's so rough - I won't be happy with it.

The KH body is out of stock nearly everywhere.  The one exception I've found so far wants 20 bucks for shipping - highway robbery.  I will keep shopping.

I still don't understand what went wrong.  I did everything right.  Maybe I should look for professional to paint the next one.

[tim.senecal 487]

IXLR8,

have you used that duplicolor paint with the tamiya primer before?  if not, i would assume you have two different brands of paint that hate each other...  next time, try the duplicolor primer under the duplicolor paint...   preferably their flat white primer.  it would make that red pop.

[IXLR8 1153]

1 hour ago, tim.senecal said:

IXLR8,

have you used that duplicolor paint with the tamiya primer before?  if not, i would assume you have two different brands of paint that hate each other...  next time, try the duplicolor primer under the duplicolor paint...   preferably their flat white primer.  it would make that red pop.

Yeah, that's a very good point Tim.  I'm not sure if I have used that combination before but I know both paints are lacquer so I was confident that it should be fine.  I have a can of Duplicolor white primer and used it for two Beetle bodies recently finished (now a partial can of primer) but I had a new can of Tamiya white and decide to use it for this project.

Your right about using white under this color.  The paint is metallic and also slightly translucent so it takes on a slightly candy appearance over the white.   On the panels that aren't heavily orange pealed, the color is really quite nice and exactly what I wanted. 

Anyway, thanks for your comment.   If I have another KH body painted, I will use Duplicolor paint from start to finish. 

I will say that Tamiya primer self-levels much better than Duplicolor primer so using it can require some wet sanding before the color goes on.  

[Carmine A 2046]

I do agree with Tim. My own method.... unless certain, I Never mix Brands when painting. From Prep to final Clearcoat. 

SOME Brands mislead!! I once bought "Acrylic" Paint, but ran out mid job... I saw another Brand, same Code, Acrylic. WELL.... one was Acrylic Enamel, and the other was Acrylic LACQUER!! 🤬😲☹️

Not clear on either Brand, I only cleared it up because I had a MSDS Book, that specified every ingredient in every Brand. OH, and my 70 Dodge Challenger had to be STRIPPED! The Paint looked like an old lady. 

I'm sure most Labels are more transparent and informative now, but I just don't take chances. 😉

[IXLR8 1153]

I've never had a problem mixing brands of lacquer paints but there's always a first time.  Maybe the Tamiya primer somehow accelerated the dry time for the Duplicolor so it didn't have time to level before setting up?  Lacquer dries so quick anyway that it's hard to achieve a glass-smooth finish.  Either way, I want to leave it for two weeks before sanding and polishing - I've probably already mentioned that.

Anyway, lesson learned.  Thanks for sharing your wisdom.   

[Carmine A 2046]

.... I went a different route with my quad Headlamps, but if anyone wants to try something quick and easy....

 

[IXLR8 1153]

That's a great tip and it looks fantastic.

I don't have a KH bumper so I plan to make functioning quads using GH headlights.  I think Bob has a how-to on his yt channel.

[Carmine A 2046]

44 minutes ago, IXLR8 said:

That's a great tip and it looks fantastic.

I don't have a KH bumper so I plan to make functioning quads using GH headlights.  I think Bob has a how-to on his yt channel.

I think so too. I did a completely different method. I hope I posted it here!

EDIT: I just scanned the whole Thread. I didn't post pictures! 😪  I'll have to look for any I can find. 

Edited May 11, 2022 by Carmine A

[IXLR8 1153]

Just watched Bob's intro and three-part series on the Beier SFR-1 system.  Very impressive and not as complex as I thought.  For the demo, he is using the same FlySky radio I have so that could be helpful.  Anyway, I'm having second thoughts about the MFC now.  The Tamiya controllers appear to be a great plug-n-play system but not as versatile as Beier.  

 

How many ways to pronounce "Beier"?

Beer

Buyer

Bear

Bayer

Burr

Bye  

 

[Tamiya Fan 1 114]

You can do so much more with the Beier. You have to learn the computer program, takes time, is well designed, you can make it personalized, it is well designed, and the more you can do with a Beier. Bob at Hobbyconcepts didn't go over everything either. It will take longer to set up, especially on a bigger build. (more functions) Could be frustrating to some.

The MFC is every thing in one package ready to go. It is easy, preset to it's functions, and not to expandable. But easier for some one not used to Semis/RC and can be running quickly/simply. My first MFC was frustrating enough but it isn't really. If I worked with Beier all the time that would get easier to.

I would say it depends on how confident someone is with electronics and setting things up.  I recently used a Beier SFR-1 with 12 channels and it took me weeks to get it set up fully the way I wanted it. A lot of trial and error. But in the end you will have an awesome truck the way you want it. Many function items!

Beier is the way to go, but a more complicated install. (and a little smaller) There defiantly a learning curve to a Beier. Most people will find it harder but better.

If some one is nervous about your build go with MFC. If some one feels confident about his/her build and want a lot of options go with Beier.

My take!

AND HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE IT?-------------------------------------- I think Beer! ---------------------- But maybe Bye-er? ----------------------- It is a German company.

 

 

[Carmine A 2046]

Couldn't have explained it better!! 

Yeah, complicated. And Bob does leave out a bunch of steps, and exciting features- like Cruise Control, wig-wag, strobe and many other great lighting features. And not to forget, unbelievable slow speed control, even with 35-45 turn Motors!! 

And there's STILL more. 😊

[Carmine A 2046]

....... eventually this Thread WILL get back to the actual Build soon, I promise!!

[Tamiya Fan 1 114]

Yea, it seemed to get High Jacked. Sorry!

2 minutes ago, Carmine A said:

....... eventually this Thread WILL get back to the actual Build soon, I promise!!