Old Buckaroo

That is a pretty good discussion subject . I remember as a kid with the trucks on the ranch having all black hoses tangled up, when one dry rotted or got messed up another piece of air hose was sometimes spliced in or the hose replaced all together. Air hoses came in shades of red also. Then I remember the new fangled coiled yellow air lines from sears being used for "less tangles" haha Seems to me though the blue and red standard was more common after the "Truck Driving schools" started popping up everywhere instead of knowing which gladhand went where. The gladhands have been made so they cant be coupled backwards unlike in the early years .

Not all spoke wheels are actually made by Dayton, there were others but the always seem to be dubbed that. As for the spacers - cant really give you an answer on that as they were made by Napa, Dayton and other manufactures due to the abuse they took from road moisture and heavy hammered mechanics having to remove these type of wheels. Nothing like a rusted on set of Dayton duals to put a smile on a "road service mechanic's" face .

That is just a spacer that goes between the spoked wheels commonly known as Dayton's.

Wow Dave , this is some really impressive work. The engine detail is awesome. I also like the pics of your other two Mixers.

Boy I really like this one. Neat old truck also you dont see very often. I get to see 50 or so log trucks rumble by a day. If you dont like this pic let me know and I will remove it.

Thanks guys for looking and commenting. Tom - heat is the concern in the back of my mind also . It looked like the sun was almost going to make an appearance today (rare for the PNW) I did get a few pics outside with some natural light. I am really excited how great these look and how easy it was. I am thinking some ground pastels will really bite onto this surface to simulate road grime .

Alan - the abrasive is Aluminum Oxide. I was super for cleaning tarnished and green crud off brass. Never tried it on plastic yet.. But I was wondering the same thing, I need to find a test subject that does not matter. It most likely will eradicate the detail or soften it. But I am curious. On the tires I sprayed them over a plastic coffee can-(?) to catch and save the abrasive.

I picked this kit up off the "bay" for $23.00. Kit was complete but engine had been previously poorly assembled (gluebomb) Before I get into the assembly I want to show you something . The worst part of a truck kit for me is the tires. I hate scuffing tires. My method up till now had been a small piece of green scotchbrite and a sanding stick. Tires shown left to right - Left tire ,Black and shiny out of the box, Middle tire scuffed with scotchbrite took me about 10 minutes, still has shiny spots in low areas, Right tire took less then 15 seconds to scuff. How did I do this so quick and thorough ? Simple with this. That mini sandblaster had been collecting dust in my hobby room for almost 10 yrs now. I had bought this years ago when I was custom painting "Brass Locomotives" for model RR guys back in Southern Nevada. Fact is I was considering taking it to Goodwill. The drawbacks - Dusty and safety equipment as eye protection and a dust mask is a smart idea. I am excited though as I have been dragging out this project for over a week dreading the tire and wheel assembly.

Well all the junk on craigslist will have another zero added on the price now. Things were just starting to come back down to reality . After the last BJ auction rusted out camaro bodies with no doors, subframe or anything else that was held in place by bolts , clips or welds skyrocketed with that catch phrase - You know what this would be worth fixed up

Sheesch - that is just mind boggling. Very nice , and I am impressed with your work ethic.

Top Notch Traders I have dealt with, Fox am73grand tbill ratnasty trick my mixer DPNM DrKerry kilrathy10 DodgeAddict All have been great guys to deal with.

I could vision that. Speaking of sleepers earlier - I saw a pic in a book of a W-925 with the Stainless Steel sleeper all polished up. Not sure if it was an Able or Mercury as the glare off of it was too much to make out details. I bet that was something !

This "assembling of plastic" gets better and better every time I look at it. If memory serves me right the lower radiator hose would be on the right hand side fan forward view. How custom do you plan on going with this ? I have a visor from a Freightliner coe that I bet you could fit to this !

Are you talking Resin and Photoetch ? Cant help you there. If just needing "regular" hobby supplies may I suggest this catalog. Find a RR Hobby shop and see if they have one you can glance through if you have sticker shock. http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/913-214 Yep that is the price but it is a reference bible. Every bit of Plastruct, Evergreen, K&S and all others. I get one every 5 years. Prices on items fluctuate but when you have the part number and order online it does not matter.

John - that looks really good. I am a little concerned that our 'work shop elves" have been comparing notes. I modified the 359 to have poseable wheels and there is a box of the Moebius wheels and tires here also. But I only bought them due to the economical price. Not for the 359.

I looked all over for it also, thanks for posting the thread. Now 3 years is a long time for no updates.

Firefox & Google - my Wife told me that "Google" has became more pg over the last year or so. That search was a while back. I just never imagined so many females having the name "Marlin" though

This is such excellent work. May I suggest making logs out of "paper mache" very lightweight and you can make a texture on them that would fool any trained eye. If you need any tips or suggestions feel free to p/m me as my Wife and I build a lot of Halloween props out of paper mache.

The more I use the internet the less impressed I am with it. Mostly for the above mentioned and search engines. I once was looking for images of a "Marlin 336 rifle" and I could not believe all the neckid lady pics. What the heck ? And ebay has driven me away , when you go to models, automotive then trucks and you are finding real appliances, fruit baskets, baby chew toys ect it is time for me to move on. And those people who use cross reference for autos also need to be nuked at their keyboard.

Here is another sorta to where you can pinpoint the era . http://www.eddylenders.nl/amt-ertl-matchbox.htm

Hey Tom, I hear those sleepers turn out pretty well with just a touch of sanding here and there !

I like it, did you use a scale plan or design your own ? Nice layout - smooth. I miss that sound. You do need to expand it so the loco does not catch the caboose.

Well we need to come up with something to get you out of that... You have some really nice kits waiting to be shown off to the world.

Well I think that turned out pretty nice. Great job on saving it !

I just used Windex to strip one of my mistakes. (airbrush spit) Base coat Black was unaffected.