ScaleART - Assembling a MAN TGX/XL 6x6 tractor & Trailer

[Rakthi]

The heavy duty front coupling









Support bar for the push/pull rods gets bolted on.





The push/pull rods that will attach to the chassis



The bits in the upper left corner are not used here. They are to attach the coupling to the frame of other models.



The M2x20 bolts get installed throught the previously drilled holes and the spacers put on.



Bumper ready to be attached to the frame



Bumper attached and screw needs be bolted through the black grill and chassis. This screw serves to hold the spring to lock the front of the cabin and also prevents the unlikely event of the bumper being pulled of the frame.



Screw bolted on and spring installed. Arrow indicates where the push/pull rod from the heavy duty coupling will attach.

[Jolipe]

�� I love this ✅

[Rakthi]

Hi Jolipe, glad you enjoy the thread

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Started on the cabin. You can see that the MAN is an older design. The tolerances are not as tight as those on the AROCS.

According to the manual, supposed to first attach the door hinge. However I received the kit with the door already in place. So left it like that. I presume they must have had a good reason for it. Probably has to do with the alignment of the doors.





Close up of the hinge





Next door handle (to be glued in with crazy glue) and the fender indicator glass that clips in from the outside.





Followed by the steps.



That slot in here



As you can see they will need a little fine tuning for a perfect fit.



Then the interior of the door. For some reason they delivered 2 sets of covers for the inside metal door cover. One set came with the optional carpet (the one with the holes) and the other one was with the steps/door handle and other little exterior bits.



First the door glass. Still have to remove the protective film



Then the metal insert



Interior door fabric (the one with the holes easier to fit)



And the inside door panel



As you can see, I didn't install the stuff. Just checked for fit and finish. Now have to go look through the nuts and bolts delivered with the cabin to find the right ones.

[Tp_hofmann]

I made the same observation with carpets and already assembled doors

While assembling you will see, what progress they made on cab construction between the man and arocs ... The arocs was a piece of cake compared to the man.

[Rakthi]

Hi Tom, yes indeed, one of the reasons I am fitting things without assembling immediately. Read enough build threads on ScaleART MAN trucks to know that due to the larger tolerances between the parts there is some fiddling needed to make it all come together. Still the quality of the parts is excellent. Just a bit more work assembling. No rush on this one.

[Prop Shaft]

I just found this new build of yours, awesome! I havent been surfing the boards much lately. Subbed naturally. I love these scale art kits, so much detail and functionality. Watching this one to the end.

[Rakthi]

Hi Prop, going to take some time before this one is finished ... for some reason I can't seem to find time to work on it. And I will have to take the whole lot apart again for painting too. All good fun though.

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Today had some time to work on the cabin ... well give me one of those new Mercedes cabins any day ... the MAN needs way more tweaking with loosening and tightening screws to line things up.

Here some pics. Forgot to take some of the front piece but since the left door is acting up, I have to redo that side so will try to remember to take pictures of that part.

Assembled the doors. The magnet is glued in place.



On both doors I replaced the lower M2x4 countersunk screw with a M2x6. The M2x4 didn't seem to go deep enough. The arrow points to the galvanised one that will serve as a lock with the magnet.



Both done





Glue in the little side windows with 2 component glue, wait for it to set and stick on the black outline stickers.





Forgot to take the pics of the small black sticker that goes on the door frame.

The front part attaches to the side parts same way as on the AROCS with cast holes that fit the hexagonal nuts. (will take pictures of that when I check why the door on the left is acting up)

Different is this piece that connects the front to the side and at the same time acts as support for the interior of the cab. The 2 pins for the front cabin lock were already installed.



A quick test fitting



Manual states to first do the side panel ...



And then the angled piece. Tightening those allen bolts is an exercise in patience.



Both sides installed. When all screws tightened, the left door pops open ... I guess I will have to remove some paint where the bottom hinge is captured in the provided slot of the front piece. Already got the paint of the bottom hinge which was a small improvement on the fit.



Front view on the chassis. Will have to adjust the angle of the bumper once I got the roof and back of the cabin installed.

[Rakthi]

The difficulty with the left door turned out to be my own fault for over tightening the screws on that side ...

Assembling this cab needs a totally different approach than the AROCS one. Have to be way more careful and take your time with adjusting tension on screws etc.

Here the missing pics from yesterday:

As you can see same principle as the AROCS. 2 hexagonal openings to hold the nuts for the screws used to attach the side panel. The hole in the middle is for the wind deflector that will cover the holes. Note the 2 little pins that fit in the holes on the front part so the deflector will line up perfectly.



Wind deflector - this bit is in plastic.



Inside of the front where the bottom hinge of the door fits into.



Door adjusted - and with the black sticker applied.



Next is the roof and here I ran into a temporary hold ... the LED for the position lights and the indicator on the side of the cabin are missing. ScaleART already informed me they will send them, but this will take a couple of weeks ... So for now I will just test fit the rest of the cab.

Roof outside and inside. The small holes are for the sun visor, the 2 big holes are for the rotating lights.





A quick fit revealed they were not joking when they inform you in the manual to loosen the screws holding the side and front panels together.



Here the roof with the recommended hardware to bolt it in place. The little key things in the front have to do with the front window. Just one little problem, all the screws were too long. The M3x8 should be M3x6 and the M3x6 should be M3x4 ... Used left over screws from the AROCS, but didn't have M3x4 for the little key things.



I also did not glue the 2 small position light covers in place yet either.



One of the rotating lights



Opened up



Roof installed. The wires of the rotating light are supposed to go behind the attachment points of the roof, but since it all has to come off again didn't bother with it. Those wires are so thin, they are a pain.





Because of the slope of the roof there is some air between the roof and the beacons. Christian (Newcomer_2) sorted that on his TGS by putting some thin foam under it. Doesn't really bother me, but I will keep an eye out for a suitable material.

Got the back panel out too, but didn't get around to installing it yet. Was surprised it was in plastic.

[Cossett]

Are they Pistenking beacons as they look it and from my experience are the best on the market ?

Cheers Tracy

[Rakthi]

Yup Tracy, they are the Pistenking ones. Forgot to mention that. If you order them as optional extra from ScaleART, they will drill the holes in the roof for you.

[Jolipe]

I simply love to see yours posts, detailed, wonderful ...

[Rakthi]

Hi Jolipe, glad you enjoy it, but it you want to see a really detailed ScaleART thread, you should check out this one ... in German, but plenty of step by step pictures!

http://www.modelltruck.net/showthrea...astzugmaschine

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So back to the TGS ... yesterday I took the whole cabin apart again and re-assembled it in a different order. First front and side panels, then roof, which went on without a hitch, and then those 2 black angle pieces that will hold the floor of the cabin. This way things lined up easier.

So now time for the back piece.

First need to add the metal lock bar for the rear. Need to drill out the 4 holes for the bolts. I used a 1.5mm bit. Bolts are 1.6mm.







Next is the 2 plastic covers for the cabin ventilation. These just glued in place



Ready to be bolted to the rest of the cabin. Manual specs M3x8 for the top, but replaced those with M3x6. the 8 ones were too long (might work for the XXL version with the high roof). The rest of the screws are M2x8.



The M2x8 are a bit long, so will replace them with shorter ones when I reassemble the cabin once i receive the LEDs. The little holes I circled are for optional airflow panels.



Next the air intake cover on the left side of the cabin.





The openings are to run the wiring through to the electronics compartment. It will be covered by the other part of the air intake



Air intake cover laid in place (not attached yet)



Cabin fitted to frame. Will need to adjust the angle of the bumper and extend the supporting arms of the heavy coupling.



Back of cabin with air intake cover temporarily in place



Rear locking mechanism



Top view comparison with cabin from the Arocs



Next up will put the electronic compartment in so I can see what is visible from the back and needs painting, then take the lot apart, paint and final assembly. Can't do much with the cabin until I get the position and indicator LEDs.

[Prop Shaft]

Hey Stephan. Those trucks are looking awesome.

Hows the Tatra doin? Just sitting a shelf like mine? Lol They have a 3rd version of it out now and I must say I think Im going to grab one. It has everything I wish the V2 had.

[Rakthi]

Yup, the Tatra is indeed gathering dust ... for some reason the cats love to sit on it.





Mhmm Version 3 ... didn't know that. They have obtained the official licensing from Tatra too.

Looks like your list of projects to start is getting longer too

[Rakthi]

Had some time and did a quick install of the electronic support module.

First the bottom plate goes in. Didn't have to cut or file anything, fitted like a charm.



This bottom plate bolts on to the 2 holders installed a while back.



Then follows the rear box that will hold the battery and electrical distribution board



When doing the final install, the 4 pieces have to be bend over. Then a screw through it to bolt onto the bottom plate.



Following step is bolting one plate on each side to the stainless steel plate that holds the air filter and locking mechanism of the rear of the cab.

Forgot to take a picture of it because getting those plates in place was colourful language moment.

Then followed by a tray so there are 2 levels for the electronics. So plenty of room compared to the Arocs.



Bottom supposed to hold the ECS, receiver and sound module, the top level the light module. Since I have the Commander bus system, I don't have a light module. Plenty of room.



Also straightened the front bumper by lengthening the bars on the front coupling.



Picture of the back so I know what needs painting





Now take the lot apart, paint and re-assemble adding all the missing bits like servos, cables, propshafts etc ... still need to come up with a solution for the rear lights too.

Might be a while for an update ...

[Prop Shaft]

Originally Posted by Rakthi

Yup, the Tatra is indeed gathering dust ... for some reason the cats love to sit on it.


Mhmm Version 3 ... didn't know that. They have obtained the official licensing from Tatra too.

Looks like your list of projects to start is getting longer too

The cats are hilarious. Think they would stay put if it was in motion? Lol

The v3 has an over hauled drive train, seems to be geared lower now wich is good. Im definitely going to grab one at some point. Then what to do with my v2...

My lists of projects is eclipsing my available time. I have my eye on the Ural from Cross, as well as a bin full of parts for a 1:10 Man Kat scratch build.... Oh yeah, and I have a tote full of parts for a Bruiser based Hilux that I havent had time to touch either.... I keep telling myself "soon" I'll get to these other builds.

What are your plans for the Man?

[Rakthi]

Plans for the TGX ... decided to replace the air suspension with a leaf suspension. The air suspension is not going to work in our back lot.

Next will be painting, am tempted to start on the trailer, but already have a bit of a problem keeping track of the small bits and pieces I will need to install when re-assembling.

The trailer promises to be an interesting piece to assemble.



On the Tatra V2, I am sure you can sell that one easy. Been thinking of selling mine, but the shipping from Malaysia would be rather expensive ...

Found CAPOs Facebook page, looks indeed like they beefed up the whole drive train, better suspension (seems they are working on a working airbag one too), included an interior for the cab, each axle separate differential lock, more details (guess part of the licensing agreement) and different load area.

https://www.facebook.com/Caporacing/...63920540393392

Interesting ... but I'll pass on this one ... saving up for a CAT 963D track loader ...

[Prop Shaft]

Yeah its more about the scale for me, I love the scale art offerings but I find the scale on the small side for my tastes. And since theres really nothing else in the 1:10 scale market, I find myself limited for offerings. Still love following your builds tho so keep the updates coming!

[Rakthi]

Guess I'm kind of committed to the 1:14.5 scale at the moment, the Tatra is kind of the white elephant. That new versions sure looks like it will be value for the money!

Now trying to remember where I put the thin brass plate so I can sort out the rear lights of the TGX.

[Rakthi]

After fiddling around with bits of paper trying to get some way to fix the rear lights to the fender I realised I could actually use the provided supports.

Just a matter of having the left one on the right and the right one on the left



So now it is simple a matter of cutting off the excess bits and drilling two holes so I can bolt it to the fender. Should work.



I'll stick with this unless I get a better idea.