Serenity

This is out of the way-back files. I've been visiting with a friend about this and that, and the Wildfire Mfg. Kit was brought up. This one came from Jaydeez, and is mounted on an old Ertl Chevy chassis. Originally, the Chevy had a pickup box and blacked-out windows, so I fashioned a rudimentary interior from plastruct, and added clear windows made from some plastic container or another (almost anything works). I wanted to do something different with the Wildfire parts, so the seats with the kit were mounted as driver/passenger seats in the cab. The other pieces were incorporated into the body, where the boxes were again fabricated with plastruct. If memory serves, this little guy was an absolute blast. Oh... Almost forgot, the front push bar is the one from the kit as well, with parts from the 'roll cage' added to it.

I'm disappointed in myself. I'm usually much better at staying away from 'TRENDY' diecast, and here I have a piece of my own. Everyone wants to have one, and now I have 3. Yippee. Technically, it's an exceptional casting for 4 bucks, but the 'CXT' in the back window is about the most narcissistic thing I've seen in diecast. But, as you can see, I've torn into this one, now, so... At the very least it will end up with a new paintjob. Trends disappoint me. Once this one is done, I'm going to go back to doing my own thing.

After days of fighting, I have an acceptable, although imperfect paintjob. I used Rustoleum Gloss Black, and Genuine Caterpillar Yellow straight from Zeigler Cat in Columbus, Wisconsin. The paints are EXTREMELY antagonistic, and Crazing is horrible.

I want this off my desk. Got other things to do. Ugly CXT removed from rear window (loosend with non-acetone nail polish remover, scratched off with fingernail, 3 coats of car wax to restore window shine). Welder is from Jaydeez, lightbar is a jewel bead from Walmart with ends filled by epoxy. Painted wheels, and... About done. Thank the Gods!

This is a casting of a Case 4490 I purchased off of Ebay. It needs a lot of work, but hopefully one day it will accurately model the tractor back on the farm.

These AHL rigs came in a lot off of Ebay. Definitely priced right - I was looking for the C cab (have plans for it), but at the very least, the wheels off of the Mack will be novel to have around. AHL are great models, always eye-catching.

Another Jada Toys model from Wallyuniverse. This one will undergo a conversion like the Ford I did previously(see below).

Very, very simple, but kind of fun. The 57 suburban, stripped, primed with Model Master Lacquer primer, and new axles epoxied into place to lift the stance of the vehicle back to normal. This is a great little casting, if anything I believe this will make a better model than the F100 I did first. Highly suggested.

These aren't the proper wheels, but I needed to size things up a bit and see how I was doing. Decided on one more coat of green. She'll likely be lettered with the Roadblockers Generic Decal sheet. Still just primer on the base, and need to clean up the bumpers, windshields, tires, and paint the wheels. Comming along, though.

Calling this one done. It's far from perfect, but my models always are. Thanks to Roadblockers for their Generic Decal sheet - it's a favorite of mine for repaints. Sublime Green from the Testor's lacquer model master system for paint, a jewel bead for the light (not my favorite, but I'll live with it) and a whole lot of fun.

Being a new skipper of one of these in real life, I couldn't pass this model up. Truth be told, I have several in my collection/stores, but the Ertl truck decked in the old Agchem markings is a real treat. Brilliant model, purchased from Bossen Implement.

This is a Jada toys 1/64 model. It came straight out of the package like this - it's a Ford F100. A definite fixer-uper, it looked like the perfect piece for a restoration attempt.

I broke the Jada wheels trying to get them apart, but to be honest, they looked stupid anyways. These are donor wheels I got off of an Ertl Ford pickup from the Ertl outlet store in Dyersville, Iowa. I had to jack the axle housings up so it didn't look quite so bad, and gave it a rear bumper (of sorts) from an old 'Hummer' model I had in the parts box. Obviously a flight of Fantasy, this is off to paint next.

Credit to Jaydeez for supplying me with Rich Krom's awesome LAFD decal sheet. The bubble light didn't turn out quite like I had hoped, but it ought to do for this build. More clear coat and detail painting to come.

An Ertl International Transtar II I picked up off of Ebay for $15. Someone has modified the trailer with spread axles - it's actually very good work. The new axle housings are made from metal, quite professionally done.

This is a Speccast Freightliner M2 in the process of being married to a Code 3 pumper body. The M2 was shortened, the rollback was removed, and the cab was stripped and repainted to more closely match the pumper. The pumper was purchased from Jaydeez - it is the Hoffman Estates Pierce Quantum pumper 22. The wash on the front grill is by far the easiest and best detail on the entire model - it really stands out in person.

The screw hole from the Code 3 body matched up to the speccast frame, and looking at the model, it always will as long as you shorten the chassis (about 2.2cm) in front of the rear axle, and remove all of the metal possible behind the rear axle. Works really slick.

Running boards, tailboard, and simulated emergency lights - looks like this is the done stamp for this rig.

This is an Ertl Quadtrac. It has been disassembled and repainted, and a Moore's Farm Toys three-point hitch was added (non-moving). The blade was fabricated from the hydraulics on a Speccast Miller tow body and the blade from a 1/50 scale Ertl tracked Bobcat. A few detail bits from styrene, and a lightbar from Jaydeez. This is still listed as incomplete; more detail painting and a side mounted snow blade are anticipated.

Found this at Wallyuniverse today. It's one of the finest 1/87 pieces I've seen - it would make an awesome load as well. At $6.30 (tax included) it was difficult to pass up.