Return to the BUILD
“You’ll now add more components to the cab roof before assembling the front wheel axle and wheel hubs and attaching the front right wheel.“
Contents
Parts
Materials: The Condenser Grille, Springs, and the rods of the Front Axle are metal. All of the remaining non-electrical parts are plastic.
NOTE: Save any spare screws left over at the end of each stage of this build. They may be needed in later stages!
Build
Components for the Cab Roof and Front Wheels
Step 1
Apply a small amount of super glue along this inner ledge of the Condenser Grille Frame:
Fit the Condenser Grille into the Condenser Grille Frame as shown, and allow the glue to set:
Firmly push the two pins of the Condenser Grille Frame assembly into the matching holes on top of the Condenser, as shown:
Retrieve your Roof Cab assembly from Stage 05. Fit the two pins of the Condenser assembly into these holes on the right side of the Cab Roof, as shown. The pins are different sizes, so this is intended to only fit one way:
Feed the plug and wiring of the red Lightbar through this right hole of the Roof Cab:
Firmly push the rectangular base of the Lightbar into the matching opening of the Roof Cab, as shown:
Step 2
Slide the Right Wheel Hub down onto one of the metal rods of the Front Axle.
The two Wheel Hubs are not the same, nor are they marked. This picture shows the difference between the left and right hubs, and how they relate to the front and rear of the truck:
Here, the thicker end of the Wheel Hub should face down towards the Front Axle. Also, the rods of the Front Axle have a knurled end (arrow below), so it may take some force to ‘pop’ the Wheel Hub down onto the rod. I tapped my hubs onto the rod with a nylon-tipped hammer:
NOTE: The Front Axle is symmetrical so it does not have a specific front/rear end, but how we position the Wheel Hubs will determine this going forward. If you rotate the Right Wheel Hub on the rod as shown, the long tabs of the Wheel Hubs will point towards the ‘rear’ end of the Front Axle:
Slide the Left Wheel Hub down onto the other metal rod of the Front Axle.
Rotate this Left Wheel Hub to mirror the other hub, as shown. Again, both long tabs on these hubs should face to the rear:
Place the Track Rod onto the Front Axle behind the Wheel Hubs with the long pin of the Track Rod facing up.
This Track Rod should be placed to the rear, as shown. I slightly rotated the Wheel Hubs out of the way here to show how this Track Rod fits:
Press the split-pin on one end of the Track Rod up through the hole in the long tab of the Left Wheel Hub, as shown:
In the same way, press the split-pin on the other end of the Track Rod up through the hole in the long tab of the Right Wheel Hub, as shown:
The completed ‘steering rack’ should look like this:
Retrieve your Front Wheel assembly from the previous stage and slide it onto the Right Wheel Hub, as shown:
Secure this Front Wheel to the hub with the one (1) Type L screw leftover from Stage 06.
Save the two Type L screws supplied with this stage for use in Stage 12B:
Slide the two Springs down onto the metal rods of the Front Axle.
Be aware that these Springs are not secured until we will attach this Front Axle to the Main Chassis in Stage 12B:
Thoughts
I love how the Cab Roof is coming together! We also get an idea of how the steering system will work after building this Front Axle. Keep the unused Fire Extinguisher somewhere safe until we attach it to the model in a later stage.
Next Up
Stage 11 – Left Lightbar, Chassis Front Parts, Crossmember, Exhaust Pipe, Cylinder, Pipe/Connector