John Deere 8360R "Siku" version

[bluegreen]

Evening all,

I have taken the xmas holiday freetime to strip down Sikus new JD8360R and then try to improve its detailing and finally rebuild

Lets look at what I started with and as far as Siku go this is an excellent basic model.

Remember to click on the pic for a larger view

[bluegreen]

Unlike my RC controlled 8345R  this model allows for the cab to be removed.

[bluegreen]

And once the undercarriage is removed with a few screws off comes both front and rear wheels and axles and the screws holding in the cab controls and upholstery etc.

As you can see ive got plenty of paint colours ready for the start

[bluegreen]

Firstly I tried to match the various colours to the trims in the cab and used a brochure of the new 8Rs to get a guide.  The consoles and cab skirting are brown, the leather seats a light gold, so a couple of coats were applied.

Whilst they were drying I removed the standard tyres back and front and replaced them both with slightly beefier Claas 850 Axion tyres which also sport a more aggressive tread   and then applied a first coat of bright yellow enamel gloss to the wheels.

[bluegreen]

Day 3  saw me concentrate or more colour detailing in the cab especially on the console with ts orange levers green buttons , black switches and silver monitor screens,seat logos plus other bits and pieces

[bluegreen]

And to complete phase 1 I screwed the new cab interior back in place

[Farmersam]

The cab interior looks very realistic, you've done a great job. Makes it lots more interesting being able to see each step of your conversion. 

[Deere-est]

That looks superb now, takes the overal interior appearance up a few levels. Very nice work indeed.

[toyfarmer]

Great, makes the interior look much more realistic.

[Paul Palmer]

great work bluegreen,looking forward to phase 2

[bluegreen]

Thanks for the comments lads.

Ive been finishing of the wheels today after they got their third coat of yellow paint by painting the various wheelnuts silver and blacking out the six oval holes.

[bluegreen]

Also the front axle got its second coat of JD green paint which is a good match with Sikus

[bluegreen]

And now a pic of the finished wheels tyres assembled.

[bluegreen]

Heres the tractor so far complete with Fred

[jdc]

That looks very smart. I think the biggest difference cab be made to a model by painting self coloured plastics as you have done.

[bluegreen]

A while ago I bought a couple of JD weight holders from Tractorium and ive already fitted one to my JD8345R . 

Heres the new one after painting.

[Tractorman810]

have they changed the way the rear wheels fit on those then?? looks like the axels got a star bolt? on the end and not the usual pin and washer version usally fitted?

[DAF]

Have you painted all the bits by brush?  If so what type of brush do you use - it looks a very smooth finish!  It has improved the look of the model so much!

[mad4machines]

This project is very neat! Well done, I look forward to the finished project!

[bluegreen]

Hi Chaps,

In response to some questions,  Yes Siku have used a star bolt design on the wheel centres which does spoil the look a little bit and I am considering trying to make a bar axle piece to fit in the hole (somehow \ ) or perhaps put a set of wheelweights on to draw attention away

My RC controlled 8345R has the same star design but I think it needs it for security because the drive motor is housed inside and I guess they want to make it difficult to get the wheels off by members of the public as opposed to authorised dealers!  The fact that the new 8360R gets the same style star axle I guess is either laziness by Siku or most probably tooling costs which we all understand but I find irritating when it impacts on correct detail.  I often get criticized for that stance but accept begrudgingly why manufacturers do it ,especially in these increasingly hardtimes.

As for paint brushes I pay a wee bit more to get revell "painta luxus"  as the cheaper ones have an annoying habit of losing the bristles in the middle of the job   and then you end up spoiling things by trying to remove them.  I will put one of the brushes in the next picture later today

[Tractorman810]

one advantage of that star center would be a great mount point for removable duals, you can get magnetic star bits for drill sets cheap as on fleabay, match the size, center them up in the dual, on and off with ease ,, fronts dont seem to have this fitting though going by pics, but rear duals is good enough

[bluegreen]

Ive fitted the painted frontweight holder which fits perfectly and I also gave the plastic cab steps two coats of JD green paint which is a notable improvement.  A coat of "chrome silver" paint was applied to the wing mirror arms as well

[bluegreen]

Another pic.

Next up is the front weight which requires a hacksaw session but nothing to drastic.

Beyond that Im looking at additional beacons, a roof aerial and possibly wheelweights.

[bluegreen]

Heres the real thing from Ben Burgess  yard :)

[Deere-est]

Oh  I quite liked it as an open platform 

No, in all seriousness you have turned what appeared to be a good strong toy into a very fine model indeed