Aaronw

I'll be getting an early start since I have time off now, and not much after the first. Lindberg / IMC Dodge L-700 So far it is proving to be rather fidly as I had been warned, but it is really not that bad as long as I take my time. I've got the cab primered, and have almost finished the engine. I've decided to build it as a stake bed, so I'll be stealing the bed from the Ford C-600 kit.

My Landcruiser has a driveline mounted parking brake, it does present some positive and negative features. One of the odd trucks I'm thinking of was an IH S1600 that had some kind of an electrical booster. It had a spring brake with a button like air brakes, a handle for what was probably a driveline brake, and if you had your foot on the brake when the engine was off you could hear an electric motor running, until you relaesed the brake pedal. I also drove a 1999 Ford F-450 diesel that had the hydraulic power steering / brakes you mentioned. I didn't think about it at the time but it was kind of strange.

Wespe resin does a 1/24 WW2 GMC 2 1/2 ton truck. It is kind of expensive but they did a good job on it. http://www.wespemodels.ro/-c-25.html?osCsid=0be050df44d35a6dfc4680fe55224899

I never really thought about that but it does explain the somewhat odd brakes on some under 26,000lb medium duty trucks I've driven.

I wouldn't have either, but I found quite a few posts on various old truck forums from people who are restoring old trucks that have this type of system. Under current laws I don't really see the point, the driver would need a class A licence so why not just provide air brakes. It looks like in many states there were no commercial licensing requirements until the 1980s. I guess these hydraulic / vacuum brakes were either cheaper or considered easier for drivers to learn to operate.

I ran across this blog while looking for a history of driving laws. I thought others might find it interesting too. It covers the major US trucking laws over the years. I was very surprised to see how recently the current licensing regulations came into effect. 1880-1949 http://www.getloaded.com/content/history-trucking-regulation-1880-1949-part-1 1950-1985 http://www.getloaded.com/content/history-trucking-regulation-1880-1949-part-2 1986-1989 http://www.getloaded.com/content/history-trucking-regulation-1986-1989 1990- present http://www.getloaded.com/content/history-trucking-regulation-1986-1989-part-2

Pending re-issues also play a big part. Payhaulers were selling for $200-300, until RC2 reissued it for $25. Now the originals still go for more than the re-issues because of collectors but if you just want to build one the reissues seem to sell for $40-60.

Now that you pointed this out, I've done a bit of research, and it appears the kit has a vacuum over hydraulic brake system. Hydraulic brakes for the tractor and vacuum brakes for the trailer. This type of brake system seems to have fallen out of use for commercial vehicles in the 70s because the vacuum brakes did not work all that well compared to air. The vacuum was supplied by the engine, and a tank was used to store vacuum. Air over hydraulic brakes also exist, but these require an air compressor so a bit more complicated. This type of braking system is still available for smaller trailers like campers or boats. It looks like diesels don't create enough vacuum so require an electric vacuum pump which might be another reason they fell out of use, diesels were getting popular in the 70s. http://www.lowcosttrailersupplies.com/Merchant3/merchant.mvc?page=LCTS/CTGY/Vac-Hyd I had never heard of this type of brake system before. Now I guess I'll have to swap parts with a Ford C cab, to do an air brake equipped L700 and hydraulic equipped C600.

If the judges are actually following the IPMS rules, out of the box / box stock should be able to compete with the kits loaded with aftermarket stuff. They are supposed to be judging the quality of techniques, which start with the basics (filling seams, good paint job, good decals, no glue marks etc) not which model is the most whizbang neeto (although I'm sure some of that creeps in). There are examples of very clean out of the box models beating ones with a ton of aftermarket, because the basics or the aftermarket parts were not done well. If you are going to add stuff make sure you do it well, $50 of resin and photo etch does not make a good model just because it is there.

Here is the post with the tracked truck. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=36952

Funny, I may be putting the cart before the horse. I haven't really looked the kit over that well, maybe I should be looking for air brake details, having just assumed the kit was set up with air brakes. Oh, well that is why I'm starting one, so I have a better idea of what is needed before doing anything fancy with it. If you are talking about building a tracked L700, you might try looking at the Lost in Space chariot. There was one posted recently and it has a good set of what look like a snow cat suspension and tracks. I ran across that photo of a tracked flatbed L700 too, assuming that is what you meant.

I've got a number of these L700 kits due to them being packaged with the trailers. I was thinking of doing one base model L600 with a slant 6 or 318 and hydraulic brakes. It is easy enough to remove the air brake equipment, and perhaps add some wheel cylinders, but I'm not sure where I should mount the master cylinder since it is a tilt cab. Would it be mounted near the motor with some kind of linkage to the pedal, or mounted to the cab with a hydraulic line running down to the frame? I haven't had much luck searching for photos of the engine compartment, and those I have found tend to be air brake equipped L700s.

Hamsters, gerbils have long furry tails and a much more pointed face. They also make much better pets, hamsters are dim witted, canabalistic, nasty little critters under the cute exterior.

I think I'll do something with the Lindberg Dodge L-700. I keep getting them with the Lindberg trailer kits, so I should probably see how they build up. I have 3 weeks of leave to burn up in December so I will be getting a head start.

I bring home the old months from the desk calendar at work. One of these fits perfectly into the bottom of my booth, and (unfortunately) it takes me far more than a month to get enough over spray to make it neccessary to change it out.

This commercial always makes me laugh, I'd almost taking up drinking so I could support them. Of course the old milk commercials were the best

While I'm asking questions, I haven't actually seen one of these Weird Ohs built up. I realize they are not really scale, but are they of an appropriate size to put alongside a 1/25 model car? I'm thinking of something like this guy http://www.megahobby.com/diggerweird-ohsbyhawkmodels.aspx

Is the '59 Ford you guys are talking about the one that has just been reissued with a green and white car on the box art?

I need to build another truck, somehow it has become a few years since my last one so count me in. I'll have to figure out what I'm going to build though, so many kits so little time.

I'm looking for a 1/24 - 1/25 figure of a fairly "square" 1960s man in a driving position. I know Jimmy Flintstone does a lot of figures but most are scantily clad women, "cool" guys or police officers. I've had the idea of doing a diorama of an event that happend to my dad when he was a young man and need a driver figure for his part of the story. I'm thinking about using one of the Wierdo kits to play the part of the other car. In the early 1960s my parents lived in Fresno, CA a (then) small city surrounded by farm land. He owned a stock Model A. One day while driving to work some guy in a "hot rod" with a big skull shift knob sticking out the top, kept trying to engage him in a drag race. Each time they came to a red light the other guy would rev his motor than take off in a cloud of tire smoke when the light turned green. Each time my dad in the Model A just putt putted along to the next light where this other car was waiting. After 3 or 4 lights, the light turned green and my dad started down the road, the hotrod made a great deal of noise but went nowhere. As he pulled off into the distance my dad said he looked into the rearview mirror and he could see a growing pool of oil under the hotrod, with the skull frantically flailing away.

My favorite at the moment is the ad for Geico with R Lee Ermy as a therapist. Patient: I think that is why yellow makes me sad Drill Sgt therapist: That's interesting, you wanna know what makes me sad? YOU DO! Why don't we take the bus to namby pamby land you jack wagon... Tissue? (bounces tissue box off of patient's head).

I think I'm right around a dozen, but they are all 1/72 aircraft. I'm hoping to finish up 2 or 3 cars though, since I have annual leave through almost all of December.

The AMT tanker trailer recently re-issued as a Texaco tanker should provide a good start. The tank will probably be too big, but will provide the undercarriage, top hatches, piping etc. Corrosives are much heavier than petrolium products so they have smaller diameter tanks. The US department of Transportation classifies that style of tanker as a DOT412, TC412, SCT-312, MC312 or TC312. I don't know who builds them, but using those terms should help you find photos of the trailers, maybe even some good line drawings.

Some good ideas to consider. Ever since the do you weather your trucks thread I've been thinking about a weathering test model to specifically try out various techniques I've been scared to try. The things that don't work will just get more weathered until it looks good . I'll add this to the list of things to experiment with.

It sounds like the mystery motor has been identified, but there was some question about the AMT D-8's engine. It should be pretty obvious if you do find that motor in a parts box, it is huge somthing like 1200 cid (20 liters +/-). Here it is next to the AMT 1972 Chevy