Plain-O-Dude

Doing a quick comparison of the frame from the Moebius '72 Ranger with Snowplow kit and the frame shown in the Hpiguys Workshop YouTube video review of the wrecker kit, it looks like the two kits will be using the same frame (and sprue). So if you have a snow plow hanging around from the Moebius kit, it should be relatively easy to add a snow plow to the wrecker. And my vision of when I get back to it is using the push bar left over from the wrecker on the ramp truck. Yeah I have been doing a lot of wishful dreaming - hoping for a long cold winter... Cheers Keith

Hey Scott - Oldmopars Nice looking grille. Is there somewhere others can see more information on these parts? And as long as you are asking about "upgrades", how common is the fuel tank in the photo above and would it be something that could be done and made available? Just wondering. Thanks Keith

I am really looking forward to trying again to replicate the Bronco I had bought new in '78. My first attempt at modeling it in the early '80s is showing its age. Hopefully I can build a better looking model this time. Keith

Thanks for the input Mike! OK maybe buck boards isn't the right name for those. Bed side racks maybe? Was able to tackle the tie rod replacement. Was actually easier then I was thinking it would be. There wasn't much material on the ends of the plastic one so pinning the ends together would have left weak joints. I fashioned a brass one from .047" brass wire and flattened the ends. A .028" hole was drilled to accept a .025" straight pin. It isn't exactly the same, just a representation. Finished assembling the front suspension with new tie rod in place. I think it will hold up to my clumsy hands. Time to tackle the rear cab wall. Thanks for looking. Keith

Yeah, I know, I know, what about that other post I started on the 65 4x4 dump bed? Still pondering (procrastinating) on how to do the dump bed hydraulic ram. And these past few weeks have been a little hectic. I had also been working on this '72 step side at the same time. You know "ponder" one project while working on another... This project is based on a truck sitting in the area for several months a while back. Kept seeing it and finally got some photos of it before it disappeared. It was just begging to be modeled. I am using the Moebius 72 F100 Sport Custom but changing out the bed (box?) with the step side box from the 66 F100 Flairside kit. This is kind of along the same conversion as Dave Toups did on his 70 F100 stepside 4X4. Not a 4X4 but it is pretty close to the same. I have filed and sanded off the chrome trim areas from the cab. I reworked (not recommended) the box sides so I could add the wood buck boards as seen in the photo. Milled off and rebuilt the pockets and extended the angled tops. I think I have the basic buck board configuration figured out so I don't have to ponder about that anymore. Now to get up the nerve to follow Dave's lead and redo the back wall of the cab. That involves two cabs being chopped up and reworked. Also need to decide what to do on the tie rod linkage. Making a brass tie rod isn't the issue. It is the linkage to the spindles. Also leaning toward going with a straight six vs the V8. Make it simple looker or a sleeper (all engine-nothing else)? So many decisions to ponder over... Thanks for looking, I will try to make better progress on this and the 65 4x4 Keith

Thank you guys for the feed back questions, ideas and corrections! Last one first. I truly apologize to Scenes Unlimited! I should have double checked that information. I meant to make sure both companies were correctly recognized but I failed. Sorry Danny! I will make sure I get it right in future posts. Dang, messed up on my first post! I really like how these trucks are designed to be interchangeable and well detailed. Makes them fun to kitbash. I have another one in work that I will be posting in a few days. The plan is to loosely make it some sort of State Park grounds service truck. Yeah the front bumper would be an aftermarket add-on. Just trying to make things different and have fun with things that are available and 'could be' out there. Weathering? (shudder) yeah will try to do a little at some point. Need to get it built and painted first. Some shade of green, Black everything else except the white grille and mirrors from Fireball. Greg, I like your hydraulic cylinders. A little small for this application but I have saved your image for use on a project planned for "next winter". One more item I failed to do in my original post. I want to thank Bill Lanfear for his '64 F250 and '66 dually posts. I have them both book marked and have referred to them for inspirations and ideas. OK, time to get to the bench. Have some corrections to make. Keith

Greetings y’all, hope everyone is doing well. I am making my first post (hope it works). Please forgive me if I babble and ramble. Trying to get all this new stuff outta the way so we can get to some models. I've spent quite a bit of time reading various post here. Have seen some projects that have helped me on mine, now and later. As I kid I built a bunch of model car kits and a few in my younger adulthood years. But another adventure side tracked my model car building for quite a few years now. Then a couple years ago I came across a YouTube video reviewing and building a Moebius F100 kit and a whole new interest was piqued. Continued interest in these models and some of the aftermarket products lead me to wanting to build some of these truck models. I had planned to build a couple of these Moebius trucks over the winter and actually started early. Not working too fast but to a point I think I am ready for some critiques. So, with all that babble out of the way, let me show you what I have accomplished so far. Warning: I don't build anything the way it was designed to be built. Always have to put my personnel touch on everything. It is a curse and probably why I don't get as much done as I would like. First up is this '65 F100(?) 4X4 with a 2 yard dump box. The cab has had the chrome trim removed and the tire openings in the front fenders opened up to represent the 4X4 style used in '65. New wheel wells in the engine compartment were fabricated from .020” styrene sheet. Did a lot of experimenting on these. This end result is not quite right but hopefully once it is painted it will look okay. The front bumper/winch and dump box are from Olsen Brothers. Wheels and tires are from Scenes Unlimited. Most of this model is currently just temporarily sitting together. Not much is glue together. You would be surprised how many times the firewall has been in and out. Still not glued in. Hopefully I can quit fiddling around and make some progress on assembly One of the remaining things I am toying with is making the hydraulic cylinder functional (manually) when opening and closing the bed. It won’t be real accurate but the idea of the cylinder moving is one of those challenges I would like to attempt. Hopefully y’all are okay with what you see. Feed back, suggestions, corrections and tips are appreciated as they will help me get things done. Progress is slow as I have other commitments that I need to keep up with as well. And I do a lot of procrastinating while I think things over. Thank you for letting me in. Hopefully I haven't over posted. Will try to make updates as I have more to post, if that is OK. Regards, Keith