redneckrigger

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.

Unbelievable detail, and life like setup as well. I LOVE the figures, as they do not look like so many scale figures, they actually have superb real life poses. Stunning!

Fisheyes can be a royal pain. We custom color firearms using Dura Coat colors. We had a Glock that was about 20 years old that the new owner wanted colored. We did our standard cleaning with carb cleaner to remove all of the oils and lubricants commonly found on guns. Hit it with the paint, and instant fisheyes everywhere. Went through the same routine only more concentrated three times. No joy. Just before giving up in disgust, we got hold of the previous owner of the gun to see what he may have used on it. He told us he soaked the polymer frame in ArmorAll to make it look newer before he sold it to the present owner. Ah HAAA! So we boiled the frame out in first a water/Comet solution and then plain water to get it clean. Turned out OK after that. Had some hydraulic contaminents on the belly of an MD500 chopper belonging to my old boss as well that gave me fits. May not be able to see what is about to give you fits, but if you EXPECT that it is there and prepare as if it IS there, you can do no better.

Did you wash the parts before paint?

Yet ANOTHER build that looks like it was driven straight out of a miniturization machine!!!!!! Wow!

1991 Mustang GT summer car, 2000 HD Ultra Classic, 2011 Toyota RAV 4, and a 2012 Chevy S8lverado 2500HD.

I wish I could make a copy of some old photos I have of what my stash USED to be and post it here. At one time, I had about 4500 or so, all unbuilt, cars and trucks. Looking at those old photos makes my eyes sweat. I sold off a small batch of the most desirable to Hobby Heaven, which paid for most of a 50 x 55 addition to what was then my body shop. I now have about 300 kits left, after a large eBay purge when I moved ten years ago. I was the town fire chief when I had the large number of kits. I was more worried about a fire and the effect that the kits would have than I was about all of the ammunition I had stashed as well. I STILL have way more than I have any sane expectation of ever getting built, and am adding more to the stash than I am building. But, that is part of the disease, isn't it?

I have the whole cellar of our house, about 28 x 44. I have a couple benches set up, one for building kits, and the other for building guns. I have plenty of room for storage of parts for both as well as my stash of kits and literally hundreds of pounds of model parts and pieces. The cellar is bone dry, bright, warm and is my haven where I spend more and more time every day. My finished builds are displayed upstairs in several glass barrister cases. Still, though, it DOES seem at times that there is not enough room!

That is absolutely stunning work! I love Detroits to begin with, and the rest of the build is superb as well. I like the subtle weathering as well, all around the truck. Can't say enough. Your workmanship is wonderful!

VERY cool build, and quality looks too...........................now if only wasn't a DODGE! Only kidding.............last truck was a Dodge, and the LAST of 4.....couldn't bear the repairs any more! Very nice work!

I wanted to get a particular shade of green for my Detroit engine builds, so I mixed a few greens I had on my bench, reduced with my enamel reducer to airbrush consistency, and did the job. Came out beautiful. I cleaned up with lacquer thinner and all was good....................until I looked at the three bottles of paint to see which ones I had to get more of. I saw that I had used a Testors Model Master enamel, a regular Testors enamel, and a Testors Model Mater Acrylic. These are clearly not meant to go together, but they worked fine, and gave me both the finish and color I wanted. will I try it again?????? Probably not! Had some paint left over, and when I looked at it again about a week later, it was like snot in the jar and could NOT be salvaged!