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Blakbird's 56323 Scania R620 Highline Build 4 years 10 months ago #55269

The Scania R620 Highline is the 9th Tamiya tractor truck to be released, and my 3rd. The 56323 R620 is the 6x4 version which came out in 2009, 2 years after the 56318 R470 4x2 version. I'm not sure why they were not released at the same time since they seem the same apart from the extra axle. Even though the shorter trucks have a better turning radius, I prefer the appearance of the dual rear axles so I picked the R620. The real Scania is a Swedish tractor truck, and one of the few to have a V-8. Most big diesel trucks have a straight 6. Sadly, the Tamiya sound system does not have any options for the Scania V-8 sound although there are other competing systems which do.

Like the other tractor trucks, this is a leaf sprung model with a 3-speed transmission and solid C-channel frame. The rear two axles are driven and feature open metal differentials. It is provisioned for using the MFC (Multi-Function Control Unit) for lights, sounds, and vibration. The doors do not open but the cab tips forward to access the inside. An interior dash and seats are included, but they are not used if you install the MFC. Instead you can use smoke colored paint to tint the windows and effectively hide the wiring without totally blacking out the transparency. I used a 55 turn motor in lieu of the 27 turn silver can in the box since that one seems much too fast.

I wasn't sure what color I wanted to do this model except that I didn't want it to be the red used on the box art. That just didn't speak to me for some reason. When researching the Tamiya tractor trucks I happened upon the 23801 which is a limited edition factory finished (pre-built and ready to run) version of the Mercedes Actros Gigaspace painted in Candy Lime Green. I loved the way it looks, but it costs a fortune and I'd rather build it myself. I decided to borrow the color idea for this similar shaped Scania and I'm glad I did. I think it looks just right. I chose a gun metal for the grille and black for the trim. The color tends to get overexposed in photographs so I don't feel like they really do the truck justice.

Since I've already fully documented a tractor truck build on my King Hauler page and the chassis is 90% similar, I'll be providing only a cursory overview of the build here.

Here's the typically huge box of the tractor truck series. Unlike many of the others which use old style white boxes, this one has a stylish black box. Inside are the usual dividers with the main body on the left followed by plastic sprues, tires, and finally all the hardware on the right. There is a lot of hardware in a tractor truck. The body parts are mostly molded in white while everything else is black.
The chassis goes together exactly like the Mercedes I built earlier with the shift servo up front and the steering servo mounted on the left side. There are a tremendous number of holes in the chassis rails so I was sure I wouldn't use them all. I used them all. The right hand image shows the rigid front axle and leaf springs. It always amazes me that you can get by with such cheap servos on a big truck like this, but the Futaba S3004 works fine.
The twin rear axles are mostly like those on other trucks with one odd exception. There are a pair of rubber stops on the chassis rails which limit the motion of the rear suspension to almost nothing. I suspect this is to avoid contact with the fenders which have very little clearance. Although the suspension cannot compress with weight, it can still tilt and therefore a wheel can drop into a divot or up onto a bump a bit. This model uses the old style pink shock bodies. The right hand image shows the usual wheels and tires.
I've built this transmission a couple of times now and all the tractor trucks are the same, but it is always worth another couple of images of the internal geary gloriosity. I used a 55 turn Axial motor in my King Hauler and so did it again here, but for some reason this truck drives quite slow with it. I may need to change it out for a 35 turn.
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Blakbird's 56323 Scania R620 Highline Build 4 years 10 months ago #55270

The left hand image shows the rolling chassis with the suspension and tires installed. On the right, I've added the transmission and drive shaft which adds a lot of weight. At this point, the model is pretty much indistinguishable from any of the cabover trucks and you'd have a hard time identifying it.
Time to start making it look like a Scania. We start with the front fenders and side panels which must be painted first. I put on the Candy Lime Green paint followed by the stickers (side marker lights) and then a couple of coats of gloss clear. The side steps are separate parts painted in silver. You can also see the huge electronics tray containing only my tiny temporary ESC and receiver. There are fuel tanks hidden behind the green side panels. I painted the rear fenders and tail light shrouds in semi-gloss black. I didn't bother painting the 5th wheel since attaching trailers would just rub the paint off.
The tail light lenses need to be painted in clear amber and red. The pattern shown is what is called for in the instructions but ends up a bit strange. The lens is basically divided into 6 sections and the colors from left to right are: red, amber, red, red, red, white. However, the light buckets behind have only 3 chambers. This means the tail light only lights up 2 of the 4 red sections, and both the turn signal and the reverse light are half red. Doesn't matter if you don't use the lights, but doesn't look quite right when illuminated. An online search reveals this is the correct pattern though.
The main body takes a lot more work. It may seem like these tractor trucks are pretty much one color paint jobs, but there is actually a lot of black to do which requires a pile of masking. In this case, I also wanted the whole inside painted in black to help hide the wiring and MFC that will be installed later. The picture on the right shows the result. The grille area, A pillars, window surrounds, and interior are black.

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Blakbird's 56323 Scania R620 Highline Build 4 years 10 months ago #55271

The front bumper has a lot of detail. The four small lower round lenses are fog lights. The head lights have a low and high beam as well as a turn signal on each side. The amber turn signal marking is a sticker which isn't my favorite way to do it. There are wipers on the headlight lenses and the grille is a separate part painted in gun metal. There is actually a black mesh behind the grille which looks like the front of a radiator. The license plate is a separate part with a sticker. There are several EU country options and I chose Sweden since this is a Scania. On the right I've installed the bumper, the main body, the fairings, and the wind deflector. The windows are painted in Smoke to hide the upcoming wires and the interior is not installed. Yes, I skipped a few steps here without taking pictures. There is so much labor and concentration involved in the painting process that I tend to forget.
Here are a couple of shots of the (almost) completed truck. The mirrors and stickers are installed and everything is clearcoated. At this point I had forgotten to install the visor above the windshield though. There is no connection between the front bumper and side skirts which can lead to some strange gaps depending on how the model is sitting. I wish there was an attachment here since this would also help eliminate chattering when the vibration motor is running.
I kept the modifications on this truck to a relative minimum. Of course I added the MFC-03 which I hardly consider to be a modification because it makes a tractor truck what it is. I also added a handful of smallish parts from CChand.

The main change was a new back bumper. The stock kit doesn't really have a bumper, just a plastic cross member and a metal rod. The molded part I installed as a replacement includes an air tank, a pair of wheel chocks, and a decorated emblem which I painted silver. The below images show the rear of the truck before and after the modification.
The other change is a bit harder to spot. There is gap between the fairing on the back of the cab and the chassis panels. I installed a little spoiler piece to partially close this gap and to make room for some etched emblems which say "R620" and "V8". Subtle but nice.
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Blakbird's 56323 Scania R620 Highline Build 4 years 10 months ago #55272

The candy green paint is certainly eye catching on an already good looking truck design. I'm happy with all of my decorative choices here; I don't think I'd change anything if I did it again. If there's one thing I wish was different, it is that there should be some lights up higher on the cab. All of the lights are down low by the bumper which makes the top look a bit empty in low light. I may try to add some amber side markers in the future. Of the trailers I have right now, this one seems to look best with the stanchion log trailer.
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Blakbird's 56323 Scania R620 Highline Build 4 years 10 months ago #55273

Great looking Truck, blackbird!
The top right picture could just as well be of the real thing.
Signature now gets correct formatting if you edit it in your Profile. Use normal BBcode if you want.
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Blakbird's 56323 Scania R620 Highline Build 4 years 10 months ago #55274

Great looking Truck, blackbird!
The top right picture could just as well be of the real thing.

Thanks, that is the perfect compliment.

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Blakbird's 56323 Scania R620 Highline Build 4 years 10 months ago #55275

Awesome truck blackbird. And the apple candy green is a pure beauty
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Blakbird's 56323 Scania R620 Highline Build 4 years 10 months ago #55293

Hello.

I have only just joined the forum after re-discovering an interest in a Tamiya model that I built in the early 90s. It was a car but upon browsing the forum this morning I have found your Scania & what a treat it is. Well done.

I drive trucks in the UK & the company I drive for has several Scania units ranging from a 2007 R480 Topline, a 2012 R440 Topline, a 2012 R440 Highline a 2015 R450 Topline Streamline, 2 2017 R450 Topline Streamlines, a 2017 S450 Topline to 2 2019 Next gen R450s with the Topline cabs & lightweight pusher axles. The earlier ones are all 6x2s with lifting & some steering pusher axles. No V8s unfortunately & I do prefer the look of the 6x4 but they aren’t popular over here except for the forestry & heavy boys which makes yours look spot on.

I am amazed at the detail of the kit & the modifications that you have made really make it look real.
Please forgive me if I am telling you things you already know but the finishing piece you have fitted at the rear is a battery cover for when batteries have been factory relocated to there due to adblue and/or extra fuel tanks being fitted to the side of the chassis. The original battery placement is underneath the steps that access the catwalk & I see that the model even has the hole above the bottom step. I always thought that this was unsightly. Some of ours have a battery isolator switch there & some have an extra orange side marker to disguise it a bit.

Run up ramps are often fitted when batteries are mounted at the rear to avoid the possibility of the trailer kingpin hitting the tops of the batteries when coupling with not so great results, mainly if the pin is mounted well forward on tankers etc.

Do the visor spots & top corner position lights work? The lower bumper lights have had many uses over the years from outside ones as fogs, inside ones main beam to outside ones led daytime running lights & inside ones main beam. You can even get clear & blue tinted plastic covers from Scania as a genuine accessory to avoid stone chips.

The extra spoilers at the bottom of the side deflectors were not fitted to some of ours & they look strange so the extra addition on yours looks nice.

You maybe know all of this already & obviously lighting regulations differ in different countries but I am only passing on an odd bit of mainly useless information that my brain seems to decide to withhold.

If close ups of any full sized trucks would ever help, please let me know. Again, that is a pleasure to look at.

Cheers. Jonny.
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Last edit: by JonnyCooper.

Blakbird's 56323 Scania R620 Highline Build 4 years 10 months ago #55297

Thanks for the kind words and all the information Jonny. I am by no means a truck expert so much of what you've said is useful information. I'll try to respond where I can.

I am amazed at the detail of the kit & the modifications that you have made really make it look real.

Tamiya makes a lot of different kinds of RC models, but their tractor trucks and tanks tend to be the most detailed. They are huge kits packed full of realism in both appearance and mechanics. If you enjoyed reading about my Scania, I've also built the Mercedes Arocs tipper and the King Hauler (older American style) and you can find the build threads here on the forum. Let me know if you need help finding them. I've recently built the Ford Aeromax but haven't posted a thread about it yet. Coming soon.

Please forgive me if I am telling you things you already know but the finishing piece you have fitted ay the rear is a battery cover for when batteries have been factory relocated to there due to adblue and/or extra fuel tanks being fitted to the side of the chassis. The original battery placement is underneath the steps that access the catwalk & I see that the model even has the hole above the bottom step. I always thought that this was unsightly.

I didn't know any of that so thanks for the information. I wouldn't have guessed that the battery could go in back like that. I've heard of Adblue but I don't know what it is. This model has a tank with a blue cap just ahead of one of the fuel tanks which I assume is for that. Normally a blue cap means washer fluid but that wouldn't have made any sense down by the fuel tank. That hole above the step really bothered me because I didn't know what it was and figured maybe Tamiya just did it for some reason to make the molding easier. I'm glad to know it is a real feature!

Do the visor spots & top corner position lights work? The lower bumper lights have had many uses over the years from outside ones as fogs, inside ones main beam to outside ones led daytime running lights & inside ones main beam. You can even get clear & blue tinted plastic covers from Scania as a genuine accessory to avoid stone chips.

The visor lights don't work on this model but they do on the Arocs. With a little work, I'm sure I could make them light up though.

If close ups of any full sized trucks would ever help, please let me know. Again, that is a pleasure to look at.

Yes, that would help and I'll probably take you up on that. My next truck will be a MAN TGX and I plan to modify it by adding a hydraulic knuckleboom crane.

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Blakbird's 56323 Scania R620 Highline Build 4 years 10 months ago #55300

Hello.
I'm pleased that I can be of help to you. Adblue is a water based urea solution that is used to clean the exhaust gases to meet the Euro 6 regulations.
My Volvo uses about 40 litres a week so tanks are often mounted on the chassis & to make space the batteries are relocated to the rear.
I'll try to take some photos next week to show you the differences.
I drove a brand new MAN TGX in 2008 but they have been facelifted a couple of times since then so bear only limited resemblance.
It was my first brand new truck in 19 years of driving and I loved it but the Volvo engine & gearbox are very much better.
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