Dump truck WIP

[Pogo02]

This is a WIP of my dumptruck. This is a prototype for me, based largely on the plans from the book "More of Blizzard's wooden toys" by Richard Blizzard. I want scale 1/27 so it will fit my other models, that means it's exactly half the size of the plans. That will make it 10,5 cm wide. 1/27 trucks and trailers are 9,2 cm wide, so it will just fit a lowloader in the same scale. Maybe the later models will be a bit wider, but this will be my starting point. I use this as a prototype because I want to build more than one, and this one will be used to see what I want to change from the original plans. That is why some holes are drilled and later filled, and maybe some parts appear in one photo, and are disappeared or are maybe different in the next.

I started with the chassis. I copied the plans, glued them to 2 pieces of 18 mm wood, and started cutting. I removed 12 mm more from the part where the cabin will sit, because I want to glue the deck on top of the chassis, instead of on the sides of it.
20140830_182636a.jpg
Next step is to glue 2 pieces of wood between the 2 chassis parts to make the chassis complete. I followed the plans for this, but I already know that I will use different places for the "production" models. The wooden dowels run into the chassis beams for extra support because they are very smal compared to the load they will handle.
20140831_165008a.jpg
With the chassis finished I started on the business end of the truck, the dumping bed.
20140909_203019a.jpg
In order to know how heigh the dumping bed should become, I built the drivers cabin first. The roof is still seperate to make finishing easier.
20140909_203050a.jpg
Test fit to measure the height of the dumping bed and get a global idea of the looks. The cabin is a bit too long and exceeds the deck it sits on, but that's alright for now.
20140909_203421a.jpg
After the test fit I cut and glued the last part of the dumping bed. Getting the angles right to make it level with the drivers cabin was a challenge!
20140909_211719a.jpg
There is a 5 mm gap between the roof of the cabin and the dumping bed. It looks like a snug fit, but maybe it's to close. Maybe I want to add support beams on the onderside of the overhang to avoid breaking, which will make it too close to the cabin roof. The side parts of the dumping bed will give it more strength as well, so maybe the support beams are not necessary.

This is as far as I am right now. More progress will follow.

[Repliconics]

Great stuff mate.
I really like the way your matching the scale to your other work.
I'm a big fan of modifying plans to suit your taste.
It will be interesting to see how you develop the truck as you go.

Cheers
Trev.

[crowie]

Got to sit in on this one from you Bob...... thanks heaps for all the photos & work in progress notes....much appreciated..cheers, crowie

[PLD]

Look'n good!