Warren D

This one is just about ready for paint, went for a bath earlier and it should be dry tomorrow to shoot primer. To avoid issues I seem to have shooting color on from the same bottle on different panels at different times, I'll be shooting the yellow nose first and wait until it's dry and masked off and then shoot everything at the same time. Malfunction was black.

I had the issue but it seemed to clear up when I logged out and back in. Running Win 11 and Firefox.

I like both, great work!

After a few hours work, I'm back to where I was yesterday. It was worth it.

Update to the update. I didn't like what I saw in the update photo of the side of the armor box. After some inspection followed by a dose of curse words, I decided to remove the Hobby Link armor box parts and fab my own. Removal was difficult as they were well-attached with super glue and they didn't survive. There was enough left to use as a pattern and I have just finished installing the new, smooth side box. I'll need to fab the radio stand but that should go quickly. The one on the Hobby Link box wasn't fully formed anyway and was deformed with an odd twist. So, call the step back a win.

A quick update, I'm glad I went with the Roden kit as a base. There are tons of microscopic parts but I like the way it's progressing. I had read some not-too-kind reviews of Roden kits many years ago (about the time this one came out) and maybe compared to Tamiya, Dragon and Hasegawa it comes up short but I'm not finding any major fitment issues. Could also be it looks good compared to the Hobby Link junk I've been dealing with! Anyway, progress is a bit slow, with the small parts I find myself taking more breaks. I'll need to fab the door armor as the Hobby Link doors are too small and couldn't be used. The Roden kit doors look much better and have a slot in the top for the windows which will make it easy to drop in the armor panel just like they did on the full-sized ones.

This next pic shows that the Hobby Link gun box didn't fit the Roden bed. It was too narrow which required that I remove the back wall and fab from sheet. The sides of the gunbox had to be adjusted to fit the wheel wells.

The next photo shows the comparison of the 2 beds. The upper one in the photo is the Roden bed with the Hobby Link gun box fitted to it. Items to note are the difference in size and location of the wheel well. A quick trip to the garage with a tape measure and calculator proves the Roden bed is the proper size and configuration. It's also better quality.

I have decals for Malfunction, Mr. Nice and Otto but decided on Malfunction. Hobby Link made a complete kit in 3D resin so I picked one up. I've built up several Hobby Link conversions and they generally aren't worth the high prices they charge. This one is no exception. I found a Roden M-37 in my stash and it's far better so I decided to use the Hobby Link armor box and windshield armor with the Roden kit. First up are a couple of pics of the quality issues with the Hobby Link "kit". Note the depressions in the side of the bed, the hole in the inner fender well and the bad fit of the hood (this is after mods to even get it to sit flat). The corners of the hood stick out and that's not something easily fixed with the compound curves.

I have more than a few extra 5th wheels and plates from Autocar A64B kits and I should have at least 1 from the AMT General kit. Let me know if you want any of them. You might look at the MPC Gravel trailer kit, it has 3 axles and might make an easier suspension swap.

Thanks, this was one of the more well-outfitted GTs of the war.

Another GT build in 1/35 scale. AFV Club 5 ton M54a2 kit with Hobby Link Red Baron gun truck conversion. Decals were Archer Dry transfers. Sadly the dry transfers are old and I used 2 sets and still had issues, either the images wouldn't transfer or they were stuck to the protective sheet (the one that is supposed to keep them from sticking....). The Hobby Link conversion was actually decent, there were warps in the rear of the armor panels but they bent back into shape and stayed there. This truck was originally named "The Saint". It has 2 M60's in the front corners, 2 50 cal's to the rear and an XM-134 mini-gattling gun in the center. Exhaust was extended and it ran street tires in front instead of the military NDT's. They installed the side track protectors from an M113 for extra protection along the bed.

Found on Wiki under former equipment: HR 70 "The General" – 1980 GMC, Holmes 1801 (45 Ton), sold June 2021 to Hustler Towing in Olds Alberta

Update photos. I finally got the cab fitted after almost 8 hrs of adjustments. Not sure how it will look in the long term, the material seems to return to a pre-adjustment state after a few days. It's been sitting for a few days now and the super-glue is holding the shape. The bad news is I can't get the doors to fit. So, I decided to attach them in the door-open position. Next decision is color. The model was designed as a Vietnam era military grader but I'm thinking I may just do it in civilian yellow.

Last I had seen, Jamie sold the General a couple of years back, to someone in the USA IIRC. An internet search might reveal who bought it.

I asked a local wrecker collector this morning when I saw him at an antique truck show. He has 4+ buildings of wreckers but not one with an 1801. He didn't know of anyone in the Northeast with one, as you already know they didn't make many and when they wore out they were scrapped. If someone is going to the big show in Macungie, PA next weekend, maybe they could ask around. I doubt I'll go this year, forecast is calling for rain on Sat (which would make 14 or 15 in a row).

Excellent!

Thanks Jim.

Calling it done, though I do need to glue the hood down.

Calling it done. In spite of the issues with the aftermarket conversion kit, I'm happy with the way this turned out. Cab and chassis from the AFV Club M54A2 5 ton kit, wrecker conversion from Hobby Link.

It's 9-1/2" as shown in the pic.

Almost done but hit a problem when painting the hood yesterday. The paint from the same jar as the rest of the truck doesn't look the same on the hood. I suspect it might not have been mixed enough but bottom line is I have to wait a day or two, re-mask and re-shoot it before gloss coat and decals.

Another day of work (it's been raining here for what seems like 3 weeks) and some guessing on the intent of the minimalistic instructions and it's coming along. The cab is in bad shape and will require a lot of tweaking to make it look decent.

I had purchased several kits from Hobby Link before building my first one. I'll not do that again. QC issues seem to be rampant with these, warped parts, soft, sticky "resin" in spite of being 3D printed. They do provide extras for the small parts but the larger ones always are the worst. The frame had a noticable twist which was helped by a relief cut. Before and after pics below. It's not what it should be, but it's better.

Thanks Charles, the base truck for this is an M54A2 5 ton cargo truck. It's not big enough for these old eyes and shakey fingers!!