Return to the BUILD

“Next, you’ll assemble and attach the wheel arch cover over the rear wheels on the right-hand side, and add a compartment cover.“

This stage will be very similar to Stage 53 and Stage 54, just on the other side of the Body assembly.

Contents

Parts

Materials: All of the parts in this stage are plastic.

Build

Right-Hand Side Wheel Arch Cover & Compartment Cover

Assembling the Wheel Arch Cover

Step 1

Glue the pins of the Emergency Light Lens into the holes of the Emergency Light Frame, as shown.

Using super glue here may cause the lens to craze (fog) up. I recommend using a PVA glue instead:

As part of my Custom Lighting modifications, I added a tiny red LED to this Emergency Light and the matching one from Stage 54. Therefore, you may notice extra wiring in the following pictures. You can find additional details on my dedicated Lighting 57 page.

Step 2

Glue this Emergency Light assembly into the holes of the matching rectangular recess of the Wheel Arch Cover.

These holes are different sizes, so match the pins to the correct holes. This should sit perfectly flush, as shown:

Glue the pin of the Work Light into the hole at this location on the Wheel Arch Cover.

This Work Light needs to be fully seated in the circular recess, as shown:

Step 3

Glue the D-shaped pin of the Electrical Socket into the matching hole below the Emergency Light, as shown:

Glue the D-shaped pin of the Side Marker into the matching hole at this location on the Wheel Arch Cover, as shown:

This is what our completed Wheel Arch Cover should look like:

Step 4

Retrieve your Body assembly from the previous stage. Press the pins of this Wheel Arch Cover assembly into the matching holes of the right-side Storage Compartment Cover, as shown.

I used a few drops of glue to keep this nice and flat. Also, there is a tab at the rear edge that fits into a matching slot of the Storage Compartment Cover:

Installing the Compartment Cover

Step 1

Push the pins of the Raised Walkway into the matching holes on top of the Storage Compartment Cover, as shown:

Push the pins of the Storage Compartment Cover into the matching top holes at this location on the right side of the truck.

The large tab at the rear of the Storage Compartment Cover should slide in front of the Stabilizer Jack, as shown:

While the previous step completes the construction of this stage’s parts, it is now time to install the Cab Floor and Steering components into our model:

Installing the Cab Floor and Steering System

Cab Floor

Step 1

• Carefully turn your Body assembly upside down on a very soft surface, such as a towel, pad, or foam to protect the roof components
• Make sure all of our wiring is clear of the two tall posts inside the Cab section
• Retrieve your Cab Floor assembly from Stage 23
• Open all four cab Doors and carefully guide the Cab Floor down into the Cab, aligning the screw holes AND the two tabs of the Divider Glass (arrows below) into their matching slots, as shown

This can be very tricky and requires some patience. It was even more challenging due to all of my extra Custom Lighting wiring. Also, note the white tab of the Dashboard that needs to fit into this slot (circled below):

Secure the Cab Floor into place with two (2) Type H screws (supplied in earlier stages):

Steering System

Step 1

Retrieve your Steering Wheel, Steering Column, Steering Strut, Steering Bracket, and Securing Tab parts from Stage 15. Slide the long, straight end of the Steering Column down through this hole of the Cab Floor…

… and through the black plastic Steering Column so it projects out of it, as shown:

The bent end of the Steering Column need to be within this marked area:

Step 2

Push the D-shaped hole of the Steering Wheel onto the exposed D-shaped straight end of the Steering Column, as shown.

This is a press-fit connection, but was not easy to attach upside down:

Step 3

Secure the Steering Bracket to the Steering Strut with one (1) Type L screw, as shown.

Do not over-tighten this screw as the Bracket and Strut need to be able to pivot around this screw:

Slide the large hole of the Steering Bracket over this post of the Cab Floor and the open end of the Steering Strut over the pin of the Steering Column, orientating it as shown:

Step 4

Press the Securing Tab onto the two pins at this location of the Cab Floor, securing the steering components in place.

These pins/holes are different sizes, so this will only fit correctly one way:

Thoughts

While installing the parts from this issue was something we have done before, closing up the Cab section with the seats and adding the Steering components was excellent! As before, keep the unused Ladder someplace safe for now.

Next Up

 Stage 58 – Turntable Storage Unit/Panels, Small Cabinet/Door/Lock, Handles, Reflector, Water Pipe