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The trucks that built Boulder Dam


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Very nice ! These old trucks fastinate me. I wish there were more kits available, but it seems that there are always unique versions such as these that some of us didn't even know existed. How could they possibly keep up, producing what we want? I wish I had the knowledge amd the skills needed to build such interesting replicas. Guess some of us will just have to experience these through your posts. Keep up the good work, and thanks for taking the time to share with us, because we know can be very time consuming.

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  • 1 year later...

Hi Charles,

until yesterday I was only reading in this forum but there is a time to become a member and for me it was yesterday.

When I found your report on the Mack AP model for the Boulder Dam in this section I sat riveted in front of the screen and read how you scratched this dump truck.

It's really an awesome build and your ability to do this kind of scratchbuilding is beyond my imagination. In your report you also mentioned the Mack AP cement mixer your buddy was building at the time. Did he finish the build? Was there also a report of this project in this section? Is it possible to see some Pictures of the finished model?

Anyway, hope to see some more of your outstanding work.

Juergen

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I love these old trucks. You and your friend have done an excellent job on recreating them. Truly amazing work all the way around.

My Wife's Grandfather worked on this project , he had a box of pics showing the old pull graders and other equipment in use. Just a great old guy to sit and listen to his stories about different jobs he worked on way back.

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Hi Charles,

until yesterday I was only reading in this forum but there is a time to become a member and for me it was yesterday.

When I found your report on the Mack AP model for the Boulder Dam in this section I sat riveted in front of the screen and read how you scratched this dump truck.

It's really an awesome build and your ability to do this kind of scratchbuilding is beyond my imagination. In your report you also mentioned the Mack AP cement mixer your buddy was building at the time. Did he finish the build? Was there also a report of this project in this section? Is it possible to see some Pictures of the finished model?

Anyway, hope to see some more of your outstanding work.

Juergen

Hi, Juergen: I will post some photos of the AP Mack as a cement mixer. I have some as it is being built as well as the finished model. Will need to get them uploaded in Photobucket first.

Charlie

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Here are some photos of Jeff's Mack AP as a mixer. When Boulder Dam was built and after the dump versions were generally finished hauling dirt many of them were converted to concrete haulers. The truck that Jeff built shows two mixer units that are lifted off the chassis at the construction site and taken to the lower portions of the dam that needed the concrete. Each mixer unit has an electric motor on top that could be plugged in either where the concrete was loaded or where an overhead crane would lift the units off one by one for discharge of the mix. Jeff is a former associate of mine when I was owner of an engineering and land surveying company and we have spent many great hours building these rigs. You will note many similar parts as we shared the building of the various components as we went along.

Here is the beginning of Jeff's build.

JeffsAP1_zpscb4f7b58.jpg

Jeff's truck under construction with my dump version side of it.

JeffsAP13_zpsd7adc6e4.jpg

The body is now well under construction. Jeff used plastic baby feeding spoons for the beginning of the concrete shute that is under the discharge.

JeffsAP4_zps2cf35163.jpg

The right side of the mixer drums.

JeffsAP10_zps606804f1.jpg

Here is the finished truck with all of the wonderful detail showing.

JeffsAP25_zps96daa057.jpg

The two figures next to the truck are Walt and Zeb. Walter was my father's name and also my grandfather's name. My father grew up during the depression and worked in the Civilian Conservation Corps about the time that Boulder Dam was being built. Through home study and an International Correspondence Course he became a civil engineer and land surveyor. Not sure where Jeff came up with the name of Zeb. Just fit I guess.

JeffsAP24WaltandZeb_zpsf98ae86a.jpg

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Hello Charles,

Thank you very much for the marvelous pictures of Jeff's AP Cement Mixer. Both your dump truck and his cement mixer are gorgeous builds.

I browsed through your photo bucket and was again stunned with all your models with the numerous details you scratched.

It really is a pleasure to look at these builds and how you solved the scratch building of the very small parts from brass.

I just have to repeat myself: I'd like to see more of your models. BTW, have you ever thought about publishing articles or writing a book about your work with detailed drawings and descriptions to help other people to build such beautiful models? Or, by any chance, did you this already?

Thanks a lot for sharing and posting the pictures.

Juergen

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Spectacular work on these two models, and great to see these long-term projects finished so beautifully. I've always been fascinated with the building of America's infrastructure and the Hoover Dam in particular, especially that it was built with then-unproven techniques, and was finished well ahead of schedule.

Your models are a fine reminder of the period in history that made America great, and the can-do attitude in the face of adversity that was so much a part of that time.

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Hi, Juergen: There have been a couple of articles in Model Cars Magazine, the most recent a couple of issues ago on working with brass. There was also an article in the IPMS Journal on construction of a 1937 Seagrave tractor drawn aerial ladder. Most of what I do is by the seat of my pants, so to speak. My modeling now spans decades but most of it in a serious nature over the last 25 years or so. Experimentation with materials that seem to work best makes sense to me so I'm not trapped in a plastic cage. I do some simple resin casting, basic turnings on a lathe and a lot of hand fabrication. Most of the kits I now have stored are incomplete as I tend to scavenge parts when I need them for scratch projects.

There have been books written about various subjects in modeling so I'm not sure how much more I could add. The work I do is not on par with a Gerald Wingrove but that kind of quality is something I aspire to. His work as well as that of other builders is the work of real craftsmen. Me? I'm just a plodder and duffer compared to them.

In the meantime I'll continue to post things as they take place. I also do a fair amount of posting on the Scale Firehouse site in case anyone is interested. There is a tutorial page where a lot of ideas and methods get posted by a lot of modelers. Worth looking at.

Thanks for all of your kind comments.

Charlie

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Awesome builds with fantastic details. What powered the mixer units while they were travelling on the truck?

I'm not sure they were powered while in transit. The routes were quite short from the batch plant to the dam site. I think they simply added power at each end of the run. Not all mixers had electric motors. Some were gasolene driven so they could have kept the drums turning as they traveled.

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.

There have been books written about various subjects in modeling so I'm not sure how much more I could add. The work I do is not on par with a Gerald Wingrove but that kind of quality is something I aspire to. His work as well as that of other builders is the work of real craftsmen. Me? I'm just a plodder and duffer compared to them.

.

Charlie

Ok Charlie! I have to call you out on that statement. I am not someone who speaks in hyperbole. I have seen Wingrove, Manuel-Olive Sans and other outstanding high quality model cars in person. Your work is definitely in the same class. I have seen your models in person too at GSL and NNL East. I enjoy your work tremendously.

Edited by Modelmartin
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