Chuck Most

BEYOND cool!

These pleased me for whatever reason-

Other than the fact I have to log back in every time I visit (you could stay logged in until you shut down the computer on the old setup), I'm starting to get a feel for it.

Salt for the majority- there's still some brushing and sanding to do to further the "distressed" look.

Guys under the age of 60 wearing fedoras, and guys over the age of 12 wearing backwards baseball caps. So not a very irk-y day, all in all.

And here's where the F-250 stands as of 10:24 PM EST this fine Tuesday evening. It has been grunged up a bit and hosed off with Tamiya Light Blue.

They are.

MPB used to cast '68 Torino caps- the Modelhaus parts are very similar to them, if not the same. They might be a tad small in diameter... I'll let you be the judge...

Oh... since the Mustang that coughed up it's air cleaner housing, valve covers, and wheels had optional Tasca Ford markings, I thought "Why not?"

I LIKE that!

Couldn't be more pleased with the 2WD 8-bolt wheels I ordered.

The Scenes Unlimited 8-bolt wheels are now painted and in place. Yep, that looks significantly more 3/4-tonnie than it did a few hours ago.

Like every other kit I've ever built, it has it's hiccups. Every now and then you might get one with a bent hood. Good kit? Nope. I'd call it great despite that. Some people just aren't happy if they don't have anything to complain about, I guess.

Looking good Blair! And, since it was mentioned, I've heard of plans for one of the casters to do a corrected grille for these. I'll not be involved, but when/if it happens you'd best believe I'll spread the word.

I've wanted to do a couple of heavier-duty classic Effies for a while. Finally the planets seemed to have aligned just right so an F-250 variant is a go. If this one turns out well enough, I'll proceed on to the F-350 version I have planned. The first thing about the F-250 compared to the F-100 the AMT kit represents is that it rode an 8" longer wheelbase. The 8' Express bed was standard... at this time, Ford did not offer a long bed half ton. The 8' Express bed differed quite a bit from the 6.5' Pickup bed. Not only was it longer (duh), it was also five inches wider, a couple of inches deeper, and had small wheel tubs inside. After stretching the chassis a scale 16" (8 ahead of the rear axle's forward spring mounts and 8 behind the rear spring mounts), I mocked up the cab and began fiddling with the bed. Rather than mess around with stretching and widening the kit bed, I opted to start from scratch with .030" plastic stock, and a few 2mm square strip. Here is the inner wheel well on the driver's side. I doubt the shape is 100% correct, but I got it about as close as I possibly could without getting myself too frustrated... that would be defeating the purpose of doing something as a hobby (which should relieve frustration) after all. Two tailgates were Frankenstein'd into one, along with more plastic strip thrown into the mix, so I'd have a taller, wider gate for the taller, wider bed. Plastruct C-sections and some scrap basswood make up the floor. I've also added the fender bolts, and at the time this picture was taken, was a few minutes away from adding the four horizontal stamped ribs to the front bulkhead. The wood planks aren't a precise fit- I wasn't too worried about that, as I plan to grunge up the inside of the bed. I added a floor shifter and parking brake lever, both taken from a Lindberg '34 Ford pickup. I still have to add the distributor and wires, but the heater hoses are already in place. In this pic you can almost make out the grille guard. The grille guard is patterned after the optional factory unit, though again, I doubt it's a 100% unflinchingly accurate scale portrayal of the real deal. Well, I know it isn't... the horizontal bars are about four times thicker than they should be. But it'll do for what I want. I also added a wire screen... not part of the factory guard, but I wanted to do add it so... I did. So... maybe it's an aftermarket or hand-made guard that just sort of looks like the factory one. I should have the Scenes Unlimited 8-bolt wheels in shortly, and I've got a decent looking set of old tires to use on them- painting those and installing them to the truck will likely be tomorrow's task. That, or adding a few dings and rust holes. I guess we'll see where the day takes me.

IIRC it uses a Bonneville chassis- which is 4" longer than a Catalina (upon which the 2+2 was based). The discrepancy will probably bother you more if you're familiar with the 1:1 car.

Looking good! I've built this one as well- I cobbled together a full chassis for it so I could use an AMC V8. Looks like your hood fit way better than mine did- I had to trim about 1/16" off the rear edge so it wouldn't have an "overbite" going.

Nice! Very, very, VERY early SuperCab prototype.

Unlike the old Ertl kit, they actually got the grille and forward edge of the hood right this time.

Don't think I've never considered the idea of building such an animal. I've messed around with the thought of doing a Cuban-style road beater, just haven't pulled the trigger on the deal yet. I'm pretty sure I can't be the only one who's entertained the thought.

Uh... we're working under the assumption that money is no object. If money is no object, maintenance and insurance shouldn't be a problem.

I don't have the measurements (I can dig out a few kits later and measure them), but here are the frames. There are three different frame rails. On top is the tractor, in the center is the stake bed, and on the bottom is the city delivery van. This version includes the tractor and stake bed frame rails. No version includes all three sets of rails. There are no differences in the cab or drivetrain- other than what's on the back and the length of the frame rails (as well as a longer driveshaft and carrier bearing on the delivery version), they're all the same kit.

Right now it just exists because I wanted to try the raised roof on the van, but I do plan on actually building it at some point. I'm just not sure if I'll do it as a period ambulance or a former ambulance now being used as a work vehicle.

Take the sprues out of the bags and stack them back in- try to leave enough room in a corner of the box for the cab to sit upside-down. Box should close again just fine.