APA Micro Layout (Part 15) - Detailing the Fiddle Yard (Part 4) - Trucks

I still had a couple of Athearn truck kits lying around and after close examination I found that they needed a bit of upgrading.

One model was a cabover tractor and trailer lettered for Bekins Moving. The other one was a Freightliner long nose tractor.

All these models come without cab interior and almost snap together.

From my scrap box I used bits of styrene to add a floor and shaped the backs of the seats. I test fitted a Preiser driver figure behind the steering wheel. These plain unpainted figures are cheaper than the painted ones and a box has over 52 different poses.

Then I painted interior medium grey and glued the painted driver figure on the seat.

I touched up the lights on top of the cab and added A-Line side mirrors.

I also painted the side and rear lights on the trailer. A feature that is often forgotten are the license plates. I downloaded a bunch from the internet, scaled them down to HO and printed them out on a sheet of paper. I cut out a pair and attached the plates with a dot of tacky glue.

Another nice touch are the air hoses. I wound a piece of wire around a small dowel to achieve the coiled look.
 

To give the trucks another realistic touch, I bent the front axle and attached the wheels so as if they take a turn.

The long nose tractor received the same treatment, by touching up the lights and adding side mirrors.

As a final touch I added a bar across the rear and attached mud flaps from A-Line.

This is a fairly easy evening upgrading project if you don't have a Herpa truck on hand.

Stay tuned as I continue with the detailing of my APA micro layout.