Round corners on the front of van trailer bodies are common on the real ones - in fact all of the readily available 1/24 and 1/25 kits (Italeri's 48' "American reefer trailer", Moebius ribbed and smooth side 53's, AMT's beaded side, exterior post, moving van and race car hauler, Ertl's Great Dane vans) have rounded front corners.
0:37 With that said, many van trailers are made with 45 degree angled front corners - like the 48' Strick I am modelling here.
1:07 Sides were cut to required length first, then basic box assembled leaving roof and floor full length. This was easier than trying to plan multiple angled cuts ahead of time. Using side panels as a guide, cut lines were laid out on roof...
1:22...roof cut partway through with razor saw...
1:31...and straight cut made with hobby knife.
1:40 Floor was easier to cut by clamping set square in place for use as cutting guide.
1:53 Ribs molded on floor and roof were trimmed back about 5/8" to provide a smooth surface.
2:00 This was for gluing on 1/8" square styrene backing strip to support new trailer front panel which will be made from .080" styrene sheet.
2:18 .080" is used because of recessed areas for waybill box and glad hands. Layout of these done with pencil...
2:26...and holes drilled around perimeter of openings with .032" drill in Dremel drill press stand.
2:35 Minor inaccuracies in hole placement are not critical since trim pieces will cover edges of openings.
2:43 "Connect the (drilled hole) dots" with hobby knife and small saw blade.
2:51 .100" styrene angle used for trim around small (waybill box) opening. Side pieces cut to proper length, end pieces left extra long for trimming after installation.
3:15 Gaps where angles meet filled with .020" styrene rod and backing piece glued on inside.
3:32 Waybill box is simply a piece of .125" x .250" styrene strip cut to length and corners rounded off.
4:01 Larger opening is deeper, .250" styrene angle used to trim edges. One leg of angle is trimmed down to .100" wide using piece of 1/16" square brass tube set against inside corner of angle and held down with magnets on small piece of 1/8" steel plate.
4:16 Air glad hands are resin parts from Canadian supplier Plaskit. Excess resin cut off one end and hole drilled .020" for the air hose...
4:33...other end trimmed the same way, drilled .032" for brass wire mounting pin.
4:55 Electrical plug is also from Plaskit, drilled .032" all the way through for mounting pin and electrical cable from tractor.
5:19 Trailer front glued in place. Open corners are filled with 3/16" (.188") square styrene strip...
5:31...set at proper angle with aid of bevel gauge set to 45 degrees.
5:52 Mismatch of angle cut on roof panel is easy to correct...
6:07...by gluing on styrene strip of required thickness...
6:15...and sanding to shape.
6:22 Cutting away front 5' of floor removes detail molded in around kingpin area.
6:34 First step in restoring this detail is adding .080" styrene sheet in front of first floor rib.
6:45 .020" styrene sheet is cut to fit and holes marked out using cut off kit part as a general guide.
7:00 Oval holes are a pair of holes drilled out to 1/8", material in between removed, and final filing is done to smooth them out.
7:14 Square holes are drilled out round to start then finished with square file.
7:24 Closing remaining gaps in van body front corners is last major step.
7:40 Material of choice is .003" shim brass, made by K&S.
7:58 3/16" square styrene strip, set against square...
8:07...locates straightedge which is in turn secured to 1/8" steel plate work surface with magnets...
8:15...then single edge razor blade is used to start bend. Edge of brass sheet is lifted slightly off steel plate...
8:25...so that a more substantial forming tool, in this example a small X-Acto 45 degree square, can be used to complete the bend.
8:37 .080" styrene sheet cut 5/16" wide locates straight edge for second bend...
9:00...and the 3/16" square strip is used again to locate straightedge, this time to cut finished piece free from sheet.
9:11 Multiple light passes with hobby knife will cut thin brass sheet cleanly.
9:30 Completed corner piece ready to install, cut to length so it will fit between styrene sheet rub rails along top and bottom of trailer.
9:40 Medium viscosity gap filling CA (aka "super glue") is applied along face of 3/16" styrene strip. Keep glue on this surface only so that it does not squeeze out along edges of brass corner piece.
9:50 Corner piece installed, all that is needed now are fasteners...
10:08...which are represented with Micro-Mark O scale rivet decals.
Angled front corners are a modification that can be made to any van trailer kit to match a specific 1:1 trailer you are modelling.
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