Old Buckaroo

Terry - that is some really skillful work on this old Bullnose. I like the cutout over the turbo , add a vent and it would be a good heat source here in Montana! The tilt is top notch all the way!

A quick mock up. The kit windshield was in really poor shape, lots of scratches and a tire burn. I used a 4 grit polishing stick from a beauty supply using the finest grit, I wet sanded the scratches out. Followed up by the non grit polish end. I then dipped the windshield in a tub of Future to hide and remaining polishing fog. The center molding is a piece of Tamiya tape sprayed semi gloss black and stuck in place. I have never liked the way clear plastic looks just painted. Now I need to do the side windows or make new ones. Alex - I am sure your Astro will look fabulous, just dont rush anything and keep checking clearances by lots of mock ups. I am hoping for the best luck on mine as I have not mounted the cab mounts yet to their new location. I really need to get this in high gear to see if the modifications I have done will work or fail. Thank you for looking in and commenting.

What a great find! I hope you finish it and display it.

Such a cool old truck. I would of never thought it had such an unusual floor pan. Fantastic work on this Brian!

Mike - Congratulations of scoring a hard to find and normally way overpriced kit!

Dan, this is where I would post it.

Billy, I would try making contact with the member "10thumbs" he is very talented and does "lost wax casting" perhaps he could help you out. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/profile/13335-10thumbs/

Yes indeed, those scallops really make it stand out!

Without a picture it is hard to tell what you need done. I have some really old law badges and the mounts on them were soldered. I also have some "peso " chonchos and the same with them.

I have been watching this since day one. This is one of the coolest projects ever and I am really starting to take a liking to this style of modeling. Great work on this stylish truck.

I really like this combo, and it looks very real.

Dan - this just gets better. Oh yeah, real trucks have scratches in the paint

End of month check in, I really should paint this.

That is a nice background story. I think you really should hang on to this one and use it to start your classic collection. You may decide you want to build it after the TM Papa Truck gets released in the near future.

That is a really nice kit. The decals are not that big of a deal as replacements are available. My suggestion is watch a few on ebay over the next few weeks that are actual auctions not the extortionist unrealistic Buy It Now listings to see what they sell for. You are lucky ,I would love to have just because the box art is really fine condition. All the ones I have come across are spray painted, water damaged , rodent chewed and so on.

This just looks like way too much fun. I might have to go to Fargo next year. I always enjoyed the PWD when my son was in the Cub Scouts. Mike that copper car looks like it is going fast sitting still. Sam - I really like your car, especially since it is in the old Cub Scout colors of Blue and Yellow. I am impressed that you still have it and the plaque.

Thank you for the input, sounds like you cant go wrong with that combo. Kevin - those are two really nice coe's , I will try your combo on my next one! Dennis - I have always liked that DR.

Thank you everyone for the great comments. Sam this is why I showed this minor setback. I did not want to strip the paint due to not wanting to paint that awful interior color again. Also to maybe help others not to be discouraged over similar issues. Ok , I am having a tough time trying to think of how to paint the Dayton rear wheels. Black just does not work well as they are to small and shadowy so you loose the details. Yellow (cab color) spokes and wheel with a silver trim ring ? A gunmetal color for spokes and wheel ? any suggestions will be appreciated. The fronts will be painted white. Thanks for looking in

Scrubbing bubbles - It strips Chrome so you dont have toooooooooooooo.

Mike , I have complete confidence in you that you can make a nicer looking grill out of a chunk of styrene or putty. Grill bars can be made out of some real fine brass wire and overlay'ed. If you dont have any I can send you some (left overs from ship models) I will check the old frets of ship p/e to see if there is something that might work. Can you give me the width and height in Millimeters ?

Thank you everyone for commenting. Yes the paint was a speed bump and I normally would not show my mistakes. I have seen some really nice projects shelved do to mishaps. After some careful sanding ,all is good now. This time I used regular Tamiya tape cut down to 2mm with a x-acto and straightedge to mask the curves. What the heck, I had to try that new tape and it did not work for me. Back to forward progress

Sam - Sorry for you and your family. That is a tough one to overcome. I am happy to see some progress on this and it looks good. It makes me think maybe there should be a club for "frame'less" Diamond Reo cabs. I have quite a few myself and it sounds like there are more out there. We could all get jackets!

Hey Mike, I was thinking about the grill fit. Perhaps you could mix up a little blop of JB Weld and fill in the gap. Once dry it can be filed or sanded to shape and should bond better to the metal body then regular auto body putty.

Wow - I thought the trailer looked a little thick , almost dipped. I would be scared of the tires also. If I was doing this I would toss the clear glass and use some Micro Kristal Klear and make new ones. You can find this method used a lot by Model Railroaders and Aircraft Builders. Basically you take a small blop on the end of a toothpick and touch the surrounding frames and fill it with a swirl motion towards the center and lift to where it is all covered in white. I t will dry clear and is transparent. Best thing is you do it after the paint so no masking needed. If your interested or confused I can send you some pics via p/m

I really like the colors on this , this one is really going to stand out once it gets all the cab chrome goodies.