How it’s Made ~ Haynes ST Service Trucks

The Haynes ST Service trucks were among 5 trucks commissioned by Paul in England. Read the article how the original Haynes truck was made here. As noted in the previous blog post, the entry is incomplete due this series taking shape long after the work was done.  I will include as much detail as possible.

The real ST is a 4 door Freightliner M2. With no experience making four door trucks I began the search for a builder. Thanks to Facebook I found M Duane Stone who makes four door Freightliners cabs. I purchased 2 cabs only and he sent those parts completed. The frame began as a “Bobcat” branded Freightliner Century. I purchased two cases of those trucks for $7.00 each. A huge bargain for parts hunters or cheap frames.

The Bobcat Freightliner was stripped down to the frame. The cab fit very well and none of the accessories on the frame such as fuel tanks would need to be moved. The engine did come out so a piece of wood could be fashioned to support the new cab. The piece of wood was cut down then sanded until the cab was leveled. Once I was happy, it was painted and glued in place.

Next, the bed. I paid to have the ST bed drawn in auto cad then 3D printed. I called Chester of Haynes Custom Harvesting for measurements and the artist did the rest. Read 3D printing the smart way to learn how I accomplished that. The bed turned out fantastic and is exceptionally long. The real bed is 20′ long. In 1/64 scale that means another 3 3/4″ behind the four door cab. This turned out to be a long model and the real truck is no exception.

To accommodate the bed the frame on the cab was lengthened a bit. Several spacers were fashioned out of flat styrene scraps to level the bed across the frame and get the correct space over the tires. The spacers were painted black and glue in place.

The bed did receive a bit of treatment to make it look like the real bed. First, the front and rear ends were open so square pieces of styrene were glued in. Next, it is was painted with multiple coats of white. Between coats  I worked on a fuel barrel, air compressor tank, and compressor motor. The two tanks were fashioned out of 1/2″ scrap aluminum pipe I had around the house and 1/4″ brass pipe. Once cut to length, scrap flat styrene was glue to the ends and sanded smooth once dry. The air compressor tank received 3/16″ brass channel pieces near the ends to look like the feet on the real tank. The fuel barrel was painted white and compressor tank gray.

The air compressor motor was fashioned out of a piece of 1/4″ square styrene rod. I cut it down to 1/4″ and sanded it into a basic V shape with a good flat bottom to glue to the bed. I took a small triangle file and cut a cross in the top to look like a V style compressor motor more or less. This received gray paint like the compressor tank. Back to the bed, the floor and steps were painted black. I used a generic paint with an ultra fine brush to cover these spaces. The accessories were then glued into place.

The cover over the fuel barrel was a booger and took several attempts. I started out with an extra wide piece of flat styrene and measured in approximately 3/16″ in on both sides. I scored a straight line with an Exacto knife and broke the styrene on the line being extra careful not to separate the pieces. As best I could, I set the cover on end on another piece of flat styrene and glued it in place. Theother end was done the same. Once the glue was dry the excess was sanded off smooth and flat. The “crack” left from the scored brake was filled in with Elmer’s glue. Once dry it was sanded smooth. It was painted and glued in place.

A light bar stand was installed and fashioned out of scrap styrene. A light bar I purchased online was glued on the stand. Under the light bar stand is a tool box that was a salvaged box off a DCP truck. It was sanded down to fit under the stand, painted white and glued in place. Spots lights cover this rig for night work and were purchased online. I set all these very tiny parts face down on a box and shot black paint from a distance to cover them. Pilot holes were drilled where the lights should go and each was glued in place. Touch up work with a black Sharpie followed installation. The front of each light was painted silver with a toothpick.

Two final details were the decals and entry door to the bed. The entry door at the top of the stairs was fashioned out of square styrene with rounded off corners, painted and glued in place. The decals were commissioned online and printed by Rockin H. They are standard water slide and made a perfect finale to the truck.

Please forward any questions you have and I will be happy to answer and share any tips I learned along the way. Please see the notes below  to see where items were purchased.

Bobcat Freightliner – Bobcat Equipment Store – sold out now but available on EBay

M2 – 4 Door Freightliner – M Duane Stone

ST Service Bed – Rockin H

Fuel barrel, fuel barrel cover, air compressor tank, compressor motor, light bar stand –  Rockin H

Spot lights – Moore’s Farm Toys

Light bar – Marks Toy Box on EBay

Decals – M3and Co

Printing –  Rockin H