As I usually do when I’m building a vehicle and a trailer, I’m starting with the trailer first, for the most part. I’m using the Miniman Factory M101 which is a very nice kit, but I’m making some modifications and using some parts from the old Italeri trailer kit because I found the last time I did an M561 and trailer those parts worked better.
First step is to drill out the hinges on the tailgate. I drill those out with a 0.020" index bit and will probably use that diameter styrene rod for the hinge pins. There are some very nice PE hinge brackets with this kit so I won’t have to scratch those.
Next I’ll replace the kit’s solid resin axle with a scratch built one which is made from a styrene tube and a smaller diameter rod, which will allow the wheels to turn.
To get the resin wheels to fit inside the tires, the inner diameter needs to be sanded open somewhat and the inside surface of the wheels also needs to be sanded out so that they will spin on the wheel end/brake assembly.
Here’s the front end of the trailer with the Italeri “A” arms and lunette as well. The support stand is scratch built as is the hinge box. It’s designed so that a pin, attached to the front of the hinge box with a piece of thread can insert in one hole when the stand is down, and then pulled, the stand rotated to the rear, placing the pin back into another hole to keep it in place in the raised position.
And while I’m working on this end of the trailer, I’ll go ahead and open up the tow pintle on the back of the truck, and remove the cover for the electrical socket, drill out a hole for the plug, and then glue the cover in the raised position.
