The Modeling Hermit

This one has been posted all over the place already, but maybe it will offer you some inspiration. Now if you're looking for something "off the wall", you can't beat a race track water truck. They were used for wetting down dirt tracks in preparation for racing.

That is an impressive rig. Have you decided what you're going to team it up with yet?

John, I second what Dennis said. Us big rig builders are in the minority here, and new members are definitely welcome. Be sure to show us some of your builds.

Mine was a 48 Chevy coupe.

I'm not attempting to be snide, but the best display for your model, is the model itself. The displays are great for the casual viewers, but I can tell you, as one who's judged shows in the past, that the judges don't have a lot of time to work with. Often the displays are more of a detriment than an asset. The best way to draw attention to one's entry, is to employ excellent modeling techniques. I couldn't believe the amount of cars that still had mold lines between the rear window and the quarter panel, mold lines not sanded off of the tires, oil pans that still had the gap between the two halves, and cars that didn't sit level on the table. No fancy display can offset the damage of a poorly constructed entry. If one wants to WOW the judges; think quality of build and detail. The only addition I liked, was a simple mirror to show the underside detail. I refused to touch somebody's entry (something breaks; I get blamed), which resulted in either I skipped the underside or went looking for the owner.

This is my favorite truck. This one pushed my limits. This is my favorite car I like it because it is not impressive, and hides all of the work that went into converting it.

I promised somebody on one of the forums that I'd scan and post this if I found it. This was from the early Pete Conventional which didn't offer a sleeper. AMT placed this in some of the other kits so that people could get the sleeper by sending it in to AMT. This one came in the van trailer with AMT advertising. If my memory is correct, I think this was just offered in 1970 or possibly into 1971. Note the air conditioner tube between the cab and sleeper. That's something I've never seen modeled. Any corrections or additions are welcome.

What a reminder that winter is coming. I'm glad that I don't live on the mainland where it gets COLD. That is a very clean build and quite well executed. Good luck at the contest.

My favorite brand of car is Oldsmobile. My favorite was a 1971 98 4 door hardtop that I had many years ago. I like the 73-76 Cutlass models because they reminded me of the 54-56 88s, which I also thought were cool cars. I had a 57 98 convertible that was two tone blue with a matching interior, continental kit, wire wheels, fender skirts, and every power option that was available then. That was CLASS.

Ray I just found a copy of that book through Abe Books. I used to have a copy, which I thought must have been in the storage unit, but I can't find it. It never hurts to have two copies if I do find it.

Ray I forgot all about that thread. You could have saved me a lot of typing if you'ld just been faster in posting. LOL

This goes back to the length limits of the early to mid part of the last century. The eastern part of the country had some rather severe limits on long trucks and trailers could be. Some of the states had limits of 45 feet or less. Often trailers would nearly touch the backs of the cabs. The railroads had influence on the government that held well into the sixties, and in some cases into the seventies. They held lengths so short that it was more efficient to ship by rail. Trucking companies didn't let that bother them, and they found ways to work around the limits, with such things as the Illinois Special car carriers. Some of the eastern states had some validity due to large cities with narrow turning at corners. The western states had more wide open country to run in and less friction from the railroads, thus they allowed longer trucks. Some western trucks could be as long as a complete eastern tractor and trailer. The interstate system helped to eliminate this.

I find it amusing as to how many of these projects that I think that I'm just going to skim over, turn into major projects. Someplace I have a picture of a 1:1 that I had sitting in my back yard, towards the end of it's life. If I can find it, I'll post it for you.

Thanks for all of the information and pictures. I started with Hanks Truck Pictures site, but as usual, I got caught up in all of the pictures, and had spent over two hours without ever looking at what I went there for. I've been hoping to find some pictures of the engine area to see what changes were made to allow the shorter hood.

I'm starting a build of a White 9000 using the White Road Boss for the cab and chassis. I'm using a resin cab, fenders, grill, and bumper that I got on line. What do I have to do to make these changes? I'm thinking about a very short eastern style truck; possibly Dorhn Transfer.

There's a seller on ebay that has one he's parting out. You might be able to get him to take some pictures for you. He might charge, but it's worth a try. The worst that can happen, is he would say no.

I've seen cars like that, only they didn't need a crew to take them apart, and the parts didn't go back on. They were usually left along the side of the road.

You've got a good start on this one. Keep us posted.

Thanks for all of the excellent "in progress" shots and the tips. You are truly an artist.

Ahhh; the smell of old plastic, and to be able to also build it, what a wonderful feeling. There is just something satisfying about building an old kit. You get to have the fun of building, the parts left over to keep the smell of the old plastic in the box, and the box to view. I've been diving into some of my stash, and building some of them. There's something fun about building something that I paid five or ten dollars for many years ago, and now I'm building a model values at well over a hundred dollars. That's a very clean build, with a nice mixture of old school and new school.

I second what Ben said. Both rigs are very impressive.

I like the color choices and the angled light in the last photo. Your paint lines are also very crisp and clean.

Welcome to the forum. That's a nice clean build.

I second the bummer.

That's coming along fine. It just goes to show that good dioramas don't have to be in larger scales. If you design the base right, you might be able to have some fun with forced perspective. It would be fun to take a picture of the station while looking over the hood of a larger scale model.