redneckrigger

Makes me wish I had a REAL one just like it!

Based solely upon the pain and hassle of an overweight ticket, the lighter weight is a good thing to strive for. When I used to work construction, we would move some very heavy loads. We were moving a Koehring 1166E excavator from one end of a job to the other, about 1/2 mile. The boss didn't bother to get a permit for the weight, (don't even know if he COULD have), and had us do it at 0430 hrs using a Mack DM800 tractor and an old Schertzer lowboy. The 1166 alone weighed in at about 195,000. We got about 100 yards out on to the road and the state police truck team came out of no where and stopped us. We figured a disgruntled employee blew the whistle on our plans and called the police. We had to park the truck, and break the load down into legal loads. It takes about 5 days to take it apart and put it back together again, tracks, house, boom, dipper, counterweight etc. That one move not only cost thousands in fines, but also many thousands in lost work, and labor costs. And of course we got reamed out about it too! Regarding recaps.............I was about ten and sound asleep in the back of my Dad's Willys stationwagon, with my head on the wheel well when the tire on my side threw a cap at about 50 MPH. That was over 50 years ago and my head STILL rings just thinking about it. WOW!

I would be interested in a single cab at the least and possibly one of each. Nice work!

Nice work........love those 1/25th scale First Gear diecasts too!

I have used the method described by Sean with good luck. I have also used Magic Masker, a liquid masking agent that forms a film on the item to be masked, and gets peeled off later.

Sure, CAD would have made the WWII designer's life easier, as long as it didn't bring with it the bureaucracy of the lousy management we have today overseeing those that USE CAD. Seems that those same WWII designers did pretty well with their sliderules............only took 102 days from order placement to first finished unit for the P51 Mustang. I'd LOVE to see today's corporations come out with a flying prototype 102 days after order. They would still be arguing over who gets the bigger office. 102 MONTHS maybe...........................

Losing my Mom was a terrible day, and when my grandson was born was one of the best days in my life. Remember the good times with your Mom and have great times with your new grandson!

Nice job! Love Jeeps!

Very nice build!!!!! Time to start another one!!

Just used a set of AITM ones about an hour ago. Nice items!

Superb build AND weathering...................looks like the crud all over my own truck out in my garage right now! Awesome!

Al good things take time........................and this build is a REALLY GOOD thing!

It's not a difficult repair if you prepare the areas properly. When I ran my garage/body shop, we were in a rather depressed area..........had to do that a few times just to keep the good old boys working. Your excellent description brought back good memories! Thanks for the well thought out post!

Well, from the looks of a LOT of the builds around here, just borrow the SHRINKING machine they use and run it in reverse! Seriously, a 1/25th M series, IMHO, would sell like hotcakes. I have a few 1/32 and 1/35 kits and resins, but only build outside 1/25th because there is no choice when it comes to SOME subjects. I have a couple Tank Workshop M123 resin kits that are awesome, require LOTS of work, and I only WISH they were 1/25th!

A superb looking build............nice work!

x2.........................WELL described repair! Have done that very same thing more than once, with total success.

Yes sir! I have seen several rigs built by them. The State of MA Forestry Division has a 2 1/2T tanker that had a nice breaker cage built on it. I ended up painting that truck for them about 15 years ago. It is still in use, to my knowledge, in Hampshire County. I would KILL to get a M Series truck in 1/25th!

Nice work so far..................keep the pics coming! Love the big Broncos! Had a '93 that was still running strong when she went to her new home with well over 400k on the clock!

I too love parts box builds as most of what I build is reborn junk from the parts box! Can't wait for WIP pics!

Wow! Once you get that cab and chassis made you ought to consider making some for sale. A 1/25th M series would be a huge item. The same cab can be used for the 35 series, 2 1/2T; the 52 series, 5T; and the 123 series, 10T. Different chassis, power units, fenders and hoods, and running gear would fill a HUGE hole in the 1/25th scene! Just sayin'! Those trucks fill a great need in brush trucks in New England. We built several trucks for our department back when I was chief. We built a tanker on a 5T tractor, and had two brush trucks on 2 1/2T chassis. Awesome machines. Having used these, and worked on them, I can say that your work is spot on! Unreal!!!!

Nice build!!! And if it ain't orange, we know it wasn't built by you!

Simply stunning!!!!!!! Looks like the original put into a shrinking machine! I only WISH for but ten percent of your skills!

Dennis..............yes, the GE plant was in Pittsfield. I worked there in the early 70's when the place was still going strong. They built HUGE pieces. They had special Schnabel rail cars built for the REALLY big stuff..........up to 700 tons, absolutely incredible. Then, later in my working life, I worked for a company that had the contract to tear the place down, building by building and piece by piece. I ran a rigging crew moving transformers and other very heavy stuff. We had to drain the PCB oil from them, flush them out, and ship them away. We did ship some for reuse. We had our own cranes and trucks, but had to contract with companies like Barnhart/Marino as well. It was heartbreaking to destroy such a magnificent facility, but that was our job. We destroyed so much good stuff. They had huge test pits to do tests on these huge transformers. We filled the pits in with lathes, milling machines, drill presses, computers, air compressors, fork trucks, and about ANYTHING you can imagine, then poured concrete on them. The place is a huge parking lot now....................with an unbelievable cache of metal below the surface. We filled tunnels under the rail tracks by driving fork trucks into them with machines on the forks, parked them, took the propane and batteries off, and walked out, and did it again until the tunnel was full, and then filled it with concrete. What a sorry waste! It was FUN however when we got to play with the BIG toys. I only wish I could find my photos of everything we did.

Best wishes for your speedy recovery! AND, thank you for your service! Welcome to the site...........it's the best place on the net!

We loaded a 350 ton transformer for moving out of the local GE plant in the late '80's. The rig looked a LOT like the one in your pics. I have photos somewhere but Lord only knows where! It was a heck of an undertaking. We moved it about 12 miles. We had to reinforce bridges, make special ramps, and the whole project took about three weeks.........for 12 miles! And an absolutely awesome rig! That plant built some transformers that weighed far in excess of the 350 number. One building had 2 cranes set up to lift 700 tons. Most of the REAL big ones were shipped by rail. Loved working on that stuff.