Before heading out for the week, I tried to get in at least a few minutes on several of the projects I have going. One of these projects is the pre-paints. I was able to cast a few of the Russian trucks on Sunday morning while finishing up a few other little projects.

To get back to the pre-paints subject; While spinning the molds, I took a few minutes to clean up a handful of truck castings. The clean up was very minor (spin the sprue, pluck a couple of spider vents, file the nubs left behind, and done). This followed by a quick washing to remove any remaining powder residue and I was set to prime. This time around, I tried the black primer from the local Farm and Fleet store (under $2.50 per can); I figured it was worth a try, and well so far t looks like this will work just fine for this type of project. The primer was baked dry (baked might be too strong, but heat cured for sure). Later on Sunday night, I had a chance to apply the first base coat. This went on fast and easy. This was a key point in the process. Why? The undercarriage of the truck is a tricky spot. Here I need to determine how much work we will put into the undercarriage. Well, I tried to keep it simple…

The only way to keep things simple (thus fast) is to leave the undercarriage black (I’ll circle back and apply the black base coat over the black primer, but for now, we will leave in just primer). So, the priming and the base coat are now done. Next will be some back lining and a clean up of the overall color. The one remaining piece are the windshield and the two side windows. I’ve not yet come up with the colour I want to use here (if you happen to have a suggestion, let us know). Anyhow, in the end, I think these will go quickly, and that we can target a price around the $6 mark for the trucks.

When I get home, I’ll finish up the first batch of truck and and likely start on a second batch to try the streamlined process. So, pictures and an update next week.