I like this little piece a lot. I call her 'Junk 2', because she's just bits and pieces left over from other projects and other ideas. Last time I photographed her, I don't think she had the ladders or running boards installed. They're simple little details, but in person they add a lot to the truck. I know ladders are available from Jaydeez, but these are actually leftovers from fire truck models I've torn up. I'm still thinking about it, but I think the box will be painted metallic silver and mounted to the chassis soon. From there, I'll add a sand load, magnesium chloride tanks, and a few other goodies... Estimated cost of this project so far? Prolly $10 or less...
This is just some more custom fodder... The two FLD-120s are slated for dump boxes & Customization to make accurate models of my friend's 1989 model, as well as my own of the same year. The milk trucks usually end up donating their tanks to other rigs, and the chassis will be used to replicate parts of the Orchard Fertilizer Service fleet where I work. The pickup??? Well... It was pretty cheap. Purchasing clearance priced diecast is a moral imperative. *Grin*
This truck has actually seen more thought than work lately. I'd thought the chassis was almost done, but I need to extend it forward a bit so I can mount the bumper on it. I can't leave it as it is (one piece, connected to the front grille) because it needs to be stationary while the grille will pivot with the cab. Also been thinking about where to find an engine, and have decided either to steal one from a farm tractor, or build one out of plastruct. The back of the box is also receiving some finishing bodywork, as I wanted to do away with the 'pivoting' rear door and replace it with something a little more accurate. It's turning into more and more work, but hopefully it'll be a good model whenever she's finished.
This one hasn't come too far either, just had a lot of thought. I did teach her to 'stand up' on her own, and have started putty work on the cab. As with the Emeryville up above, I need to come up with an engine as a detail piece, and I'm sure it'll be identical to the Emeryville's (once it comes clear what that will be *Grin*). Lots to do... Need to shorten the chasis, detail the cab, and... ???? *Smile*
This is a Roadchamps Pierce Telesquirt, or at least what's left of one. She's to be painted Black over orange to match a Mack CF/rescue body. Plans are to shorten this chassis, add a fifth wheel, detail, and ultimately use her to pull an Aerialscope as a TDA (Tractor Drawn Aerial).
I hate building these. I really, honestly, and truly do. They're extremely complicated, and they're getting boring. This one is taking a little shape, and was originally intended to mount on a Speccast Peterbilt 385. Since I changed employers to an outfit that is almost all Volvo, it looks like I'll do a Volvo for it instead. So... This one is about to make its way to the backburner until it's time to mount the ladders, auger, and do final detail work. *Grin* It'll keep!
Thanks Nazz! *Smile*
Another Ebay find, and a cheap one, at that. This one came in from Canada, and evidently had a rough ride - one of the stacks is broken. It's of little matter however - I'll find some cool way to replace it, or turn it into a one-stack. I hadn't seen a mold like this before, so... It's cool to me. It reads as a 'Roadchamps' piece, by the way. Historically, Roadchamps stuff has been a little under-sized to match 1/64, but this looks right on the money. Somethin' kind of fun to have *Smile*...
The Mack CF cab was getting lonely, so I had to make her some company. Besides, *Grin* There's just not enough day-glow Orange getting used in today's world. It's more practice, if nothing else. There were definite flaws the first time I tried this paint job, so... Call this round two. This is the Cab off of an old Roadchamps Telesquirt. Hopefully, she'll become the tractor portion of a TDA pulling a modified Code 3 Aerialscope body. Obviously, Lots to do to it...
I fell in love with the boat, and then had to have something to pull it with. The boat is a 1/87 scale Boley piece, and the truck is a 1/87 Athern Ford C Rescue. I love the boat, the Rescue turned out to be 'Okay'... Will shy away from Athern and back to Boley in future 1/87 purchases, I guess. These came from 'Truck Stop Models' - and I'm very pleased with the service. I like to keep all of my business in one place as much as possible, and since Jaydeez doesn't handle this stuff, I'll be with Truck Stop whenever I can from now on. *Grin* It's nice to work with people who provide good service.
I'm not particularly happy with the way this turned out. I rushed the paint, and it shows it. But I did learn a few things... Lots of clear coat makes black paint look REALLY deep. A think coat of black over metallic silver makes a really sparkly metallic black. And putting a decal where it shouldn't be makes it want to peal off... Oh well... Live and learn. .. *Frown* Now, it'll be interesting to see if I can salvage this model.
Well, this is moving along a little bit. She's still not done, and still has not had any appriciable money spent on it. The load is perhaps a bit unrealistic, but it looks cool in person. It is railroad ballast from Walther's, secured in place using a 50% Elmers White Glue - 50% water mixture. *Grin* The truck can be turned upside down and nothing is lost, but it still looks natural. She still needs to be fitted out with detail work.
This is my weekend's work - start to finish, this took 48 hours. Kind of fun, it's a 'Tonka Farm Toys' model - repainted and lettered for Orchard Fertilizer Service. The only add-ons are new and extra tanks. This is a fun little model to do - I'd expect she'll not be my last.
Just some more ebay junk. These 2 need some work, but I think they can make nice models. The cab on the freightliner is hinged, allowing it to tip forward like the real thing. There is even engine detail - equal to DCP at least. No real plans for them, but I'd expect some of the 1/50ish detail parts from Jaydeez can spruce 'em up a bit *Smile*.
Just another Ebay piece (the RD600) and a Chevy from 3000toys. A Tonkin cabover is included for size comparison. All pieces look to me to be approximately 1/53 scale.
The White/GMC I lettered for Orchard Ferilizer Service took a spin out to Colorado, so I needed something to take her place. A little different, but that's what keeps this interesting. We'll call her 114. *Smile*
114 wouldn't show it, but she has progressed a bit. Two or three things going on here. The frame has been shortened to make it more accurately represent a single axle tractor. I took length out of it both in front of and behind the fifth wheel, hoping to get the placement to be realistic. Also, she has lost her hood and front bumper in hopes of getting a 'tilt hood'. As you can see from the ugly blobs, I'm trying to learn how to solder parts back together instead of epoxying them. Eventually, I want to be making my models out of mostly or all metal - and this is a technique I'd been hoping to learn. *Smile* We all start somewhere... Lots to do!