The below pic is my effort at jazzing up a stock HO Ford L9000 cab unit to look a lot less plasticly than the off-the shelf item make by Atlas
As a base I managed to find a set of photos from a US auction website of a particularly 'well used' example to use a base for added detail, painting and weathering.
Where my base model was plain unpainted white I decided to break this up a bit by simulating a replaced hood / radiator section by painting the cab section. After disassembly and masking the front section the cab was painted using a Humbrol rattle can that was left over from another job
To pick out the panel lines I used a lining pen to run black ink down into them, with the excess wiped off immediatley with a cotton bud so the effect was not too stark. Then the marker lights on the cab roof and blinkers on the wings were picked out in silver for the housings and then Tamiya Clear Orange to simulate the lenses. The headlight lens moulding were removed and mouldings on the wings also painted silver. Potentially these could be drilled out to accept reflective lenses as produced laterly by MV but now also by AK Interactive and Little-Cars.co.uk. Finally the solid plastic grill was removed with the space behind painted a 'dirty black'
Added detail wise as I couldn't get hold of the correct A-Line wheels as per my prototype photos I painted the stock Atlas ones mid grey. A-Line parts were used for the see-thro etched radiator grill, the side mirrors and the windshield wipers. The exhaust cover was made from a rolled piece of Scalelink etched mesh I found in my 'odds and ends' box
Weathering started by sealing the 'clean' paint with matt acrylic varnish from a rattle can. Once properly dry started with appying a fade to the red section of the cab. I used a method I picked up from 'The Weathering Shop' website (see my earlier post) where white artists oil paint is roughly applied over the area to be faded, left to dry 30 mins and then gently brushed off again and 'blended' to get rid of any brush marks with a clean soft flat brush. This was left to dry for 3/4 days as the oils take a long time to go off. Next a 'dirt' wash of highly thinned Paynes Grey and Burnt Umber was applied to pick out the detail and also tone down the 'new' hood section. After setting aside to dry some rust effects were applied to places old vehicles tend to rust e.g. door hinges, bottom of A pillars and bottom of doors. This was done using dark rust weathering powders applied with a "Microbrush"
Dirt and grot on the truck chassis were added using MIG Weathering powders - a liberal amount of powder was applied to the wheels and chassis frames and then white spirit applied to create a thin paste. At this time the colour applied will darken considerable but will revert to normal as the thinner evaporates. While wet the 'mud' was pushed with a small paint brush into the knooks and crannies of the frame and around the detail on the wheel hubs
And that was about it!
Cheers
Dan
![Image](http://farm7.staticflickr.com/6041/7001253467_c8d093da01_c.jpg)
Atlas HO Ford L9000 by warbonnetuk, on Flickr