redneckrigger

Added the front counterweight supports, attached the exhaust and the air intake and filter, and made up the cab door. The basics of the carrier are almost done. Lots of truing, squaring, and surface finishing, and of course, detailing to do, but the main parts are in place. Will move on to the crane upper house real soon!

This is an incredibly well done build. In today's world, it is becoming less far fetched every day. That said, the details are wonderful, and the whole package works. But, the part that I notice the most is the absolutely stunning weathering. The rust patterns, the freshly torch cut metal, the welds, the dirt and grime etc. are PERFECT!

Beautiful sub build! A true trend setter in the sub world. Had that one when I was a kid. Am just starting a 1/72 U Boat build with all the internal compartments. Kind of daunting, but a good change of pace when the dreaded builder's block rears it's ugly head!

Little mockup of the Detroit 8V71 with exhaust and air filter in place. Just roughed in for fit. Also installed the carrier fuel tanks and filler necks.

Got the carrier cab about done, instrument panel, pedals, heater, shifter for transmission and creeper gears, seat, and steering wheel, which is just placed into position and will need to be attached to lip of dashboard. Still have to make door and windows and gaskets, though the windows and gaskets won’t get installed until after paint. Also made up the deck plates and the rest of the pontoons.

Looking great....................LOVE the 'binders!

That is SERIOUSLY fantastic Charlie! Where did you source the engine?

The first one was just a trial run for proof of concept on how to make it. Since it came out okay, after a couple scrap efforts, the next three will be all done at once.

Just got the first pontoon roughed together. Need to add lift handles and latches and fill the seams but it has the general shape. Lots of cut, fit, cut, fit, scrap, do all over again, but it works!

Thank you! I actually have neither, but I do persevere! I used to work with these beasts, and I draw from memory what they were and that helps me build them.

Got the pontoon, dunnage and tool storage all done. Made up the deckplates as well. This is starting to look like the real deal! Started on the pontoons with the base with the beveled edges.

Yeah, and the upper and the boom are so complex that they will be like two completely separate builds! Lovin’ it!

Just got the front and rear carrier fenders all fabbed up and installed. Now on to the fuel tanks, hydraulic tank, pontoons, and side trays for storage of dunnage, pontoons and tools. Then make up the floor plates and then finish the cab and door and windows. But it’s getting there!

The carrier still has LOTS of work to do, not even counting cleaning up all of the parts and pieces and all of the rough surfaces, but it's coming along! Truly appreciate all of the great comments and advice from everyone. I will continue to try to get more work done on it and updated here to the forums. I think the reason I find scratch building so much fun is that it allows not only building something cool, but also stimulates my brain, which is important as I get older. More to come soon!

Just finished the outrigger assembly mounting supports on the carrier. Got the lift cylinders done and installed. Need to fabricate the beam extension cylinders and the pontoons now and then on to a bunch more to finish the carrier......cab, fenders, powertrain, brakes, storage compartments, fuel tank, lots and lots more and then on to the upper works and then the boom. This is like three separate builds, carrier, upper, and boom. Loving working on this beast!

Getting better all the time Brian!!!

Looks great Brian. Love the IH cabovers. BTW, my workbench is absolutely infested with squirrels!

This sure is an oldie, as is it's little brother also shown here. Got both of them in an antique shop for $20 for the pair. With the scratchbuilding I do, it has become priceless. And, yup, it could make me into a three fingered Tom in a heartbeat! But I like my fingers attached to my hands, so I am VERY careful. And, yes it does cut sheet aluminum as well as brass. When I do thin brass and aluminum with it, I use a "cover sheet" which is just a heavy steel ruler, that I put over the part still on the cutting board, right up against the blade and hold pressure on it over the sheet. This helps me prevent curling of the edge of the cut. All in all a VERY handy tool

Looks to be a build, or three, worth following!

Looking superb Brian. Those tires are great.................KFS has been sold and is supposed to resume production under the new owner in March. Hope they still carry those tires! Glad to see it under way again!

Looking great Charlie! Those are neat trucks. The 230 CI OHC 6 cyl. Tornado engines in them were problematic. Had one in a 1965 civilian Wagoneer panel van...........was a dog from day one! You have already nailed the look with those fenders. Beautiful!

Just made up the rest of the beam box with the extension cylinder supports and the lift cylinder support housings on the ends of the extension beams. On to the extension cylinders and the attachment points on the carrier frame and the outrigger pads. Ended up being 84 parts so far per outrigger box/beam assembly without the extension cylinders which will add at least another 36 pieces per assembly. By the time the outriggers are totally done, they alone will total about 300+ pieces.

Many most likely have one already, but I just added these to my bench when I started the Link Belt HC-218 crane that is in the large trucks WIP section. Found these at an antique shop. One is a small size and the other is huge. These paper cutters are sharp, quick, and accurate and are easy to cut multiple quantities of the same size piece. I had a newly made one but it could hardly handle three sheets of paper. These old timers can cut 1/8” of plastic sheet without batting an eyeball! What a time saver!

Back when the new Round 2 IHC CO-4070A was announced, I pre-ordered two of them from a seller on eBay that was selling them at a pretty good price. They were projected to be available in 1-2 months. In about a week and a half I received an envelope from them that included just a wooden business card. Nothing more. Was kind of wondering what was up with that, but life was extremely busy then, so I just sat back and waited. A month and a half went by, so I checked the status on the eBay page, and saw a tracking number. Hmmmm. Checked the tracking number and saw that it had shipped over a month before, and was marked as delivered. So I contacted the seller and asked what was up, and told him I didn't receive the trucks yet, but saw they were shipped, and early at that, and supposedly RECEIVED! WOW.................was like kicking over a hornet's nest. The guy was rude, vulgar, and used more four letter words than a drunken sailor, told me that I was blocked from his auctions, that I was not patient enough, and was trying to damage his business. I answered asking again what was going on, mentioned that I saw the tracking number, and saw it was delivered, and that I most certainly didn't get them. Got more four letter words and a claim that I did in fact get the kits. Then I checked the guy's feedback, and saw that he is a VERY rude guy, who apparently answers every buyer that has a question with vulgarity and rudeness and a block. So...............I contacted eBay and filed a "did not receive" claim. eBay in it's infinite wisdom, told me that I did indeed receive the package, as shown by the USPS tracking number. I contacted them at least five more times, explained what I DID receive, (the business card), and that I wanted my money back. We went round and around many times, and after sending them photos, and all else, and even showing them that the tracked package was a 4 ounce First Class package and could not possibly contain two truck kits, they FINALLY decided that the package was in fact stolen, and reluctantly refunded my money. STOLEN???? Total stupidity. And, due to the refund having been made for a "stolen" shipment, I could not post feedback for the sale showing other members what kind of seller this guy is. All I can figure out is that he uses the tracked package with the card to claim that the product was in fact delivered. And eBay bent over backwards to try to protect him, and in the end actually did.

Yeah, everything is CAD now. But, hey, I’m an old guy so it’s old school for me!