mr moto

WOW! I've never seen one built that well. Very cooool!

The obvious question: Why isn't there a kit?

WOW! This is a really cool build and a great tutorial besides!

Maybe that was the problem with Vegas!

This is the address for "Red Square": http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/ I hope your neighbor enjoys it!

Weird! I had a computer problem and I didn't think this this thread had actually posted so I put up another one. Now here it is! Thanks, everybody. If you've looked at this topic there's not much need for you to look at my other Wheel Horse post.

All the shows in this area - and I think this is an IPMS rule - don't allow a model to be entered again in the same show if they have won an award at that show. They can be displayed but no more competing at the same place if it won an award there. It encourages modelers to keep building if they want to compete. Good rule.

That is INCREDIBLE realism. I've never seen better! The attention to detail really draws a viewer into the scene.

Sounds like a cool idea! I'd love to see it. You should check out the Wheel Horse forum if you need any questions answered, reference photos, etc. They'll love to see your project, they're super helpful, they have a forum section about pullers and you can download just about any WH owner's manual that ever was to see exploded drawings with all the parts shown. It's a win-win! http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/

Actually, I recently discovered that Scale Equipment Limited sells a resin version plus several attachments. http://www.seltd.net/cgi-bin/ez-catalog/cat_display.cgi?account=X344897;search=16;search=Special%20Projects;limit=category;v=2.0

That looks great! The subject is an old favorite of mine and it looks like you'll really do it justice. Man, it's hard to remember that the doors used to open in NASCAR!

Well, gee, it looks like you guys like it. I didn't know what kind of reaction it would get. It's not exactly a car, you know!

Okay, how many of you have actually built the little tractor that comes in some old MPC Indy car kits? That's what I thought. Actually, it's probably a lot of you. That cute little puppy is hard to resist. When I decided to build it I started looking for reference pictures on the net and I discovered an unknown world of Wheel Horse enthusiasts. I ended up joining "Red Square", the forum for Wheel Horse guys and gals, and learning more about WH tractors than I thought there was to know. The tractor in the MPC kits represents an early production 1968 WH Charger 12. You can tell that it's from early in the year because the kit motor is a 1967 Kohler K-301. They were using leftover 1967 engines at the beginning of the year. After poking around on the forum for a while, I decided to convert it into an Electro 12. The Electro was a fully loaded Charger with its own graphics, electric PTO clutch, hydraulic mower lift, chrome wheel covers, etc. So while I was at it, the motor would need to be updated since Electro's never had the leftover engines and it needed a mower deck (scratch built) to go with the hydraulic lift I had to build and so on. Totally crazy but it sure was fun. The Wheel Horse guys were very willing to help a modeler out. So here it is, hope you like it:

We've probably all seen the little Wheel Horse tractor that comes in the old MPC Indy Turbine car and I decided to build it. Little did I know that I was about to learn more than than I thought there was to learn about Wheel Horse tractors. It turns out that there's quite a community of WH enthusiasts out there - who knew! Looking for reference pictures and such I stumbled onto the Wheel Horse forum known as Red Square. It's inhabited by a great bunch of guys who are more than happy to give help and support to a model builder. What I found out is that the tractor in the kit is a 1968 early production Charger 12. You can tell that it's early '68 because Wheel Horse was still using leftover 1967 Kohler K-301 motors in the Charger and that's what is in the kit. After looking around the WH forum for awhile I decided to convert it into an Electro 12 which is basically a fully loaded Charger with electric PTO clutch, hydraulic mower lift, chrome wheel covers, etc. This is the end result - a 1968/69 Wheel Horse Electro 12. The mower deck is scratch built based on photos and owner's manuals from Red Square. What's the point of having an Electro 12 with hydraulic deck lift if you don't have a mower deck? I had already built the engine as it was in the kit before I found out about that leftover '67 business. It originally was like this: But after I stripped it down and updated it it looked like this: http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb10/mr-moto/electro%2012/IMGP0932.jpg http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb10/mr-moto/electro%2012/IMGP0931.jpg The hydraulics were all scratch built also. These tractors had automatic transmissions and the hydraulic system used pressure from the transaxle. http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb10/mr-moto/electro%2012/IMGP1027.jpg The wheel covers were made from those bumps on soft drink lids. http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb10/mr-moto/electro%2012/IMGP0904.jpg http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb10/mr-moto/electro%2012/IMGP0934.jpg All the decals (and there are a lot of them) are homemade and I have to give thanks to "Vinyl Guy" on the WH forum for offering high quality .pdf images of the graphics that I needed. His business is making reproduction vinyl stickers for Wheel Horse restoration. This was a really fun project and I learned a lot that I never expected. BTW, the little round decal on the right rear fender is the logo of the Harrison Elementary Garden Tractor Club in Warsaw, Indiana that I discovered on Red Square. They're restoring a Wheel Horse as a club project. http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb10/mr-moto/electro%2012/1234365_10202118253945613_1428019736_n.jpg

This looks like it's gonna be fun!

I can see plain as day what it's derived from but I can't find this exact car. It's definitely somebody's version of somebody else's tooling. The one's I'm familiar with don't have the "64 Impala" look.

That's optional at extra cost.

Wow! That's a lot to pay for a model with the scoop on backwards!

This a great thread! It's a real education about authentic details for drag cars.

I think it's an old promo. It looked pretty good before it warped!

Great build! 1959 styling fascinates me. It was the year that all of Detroit went way over the top and a lot of it looked great anyway! With 1959 cars it's sort of like looking at a rhinocerous - you can't make any sense out of it but you can't stop looking.

If that's a model I want to see a feature length article on how it was done. I said real but I'd love to be corrected!

Love it! Lots of sexy lines on '60 Merc and a great build, too.

That's a very cool subject! Good luck with the project. I think Fractalign is on the right track about how to do it. Unfortunately, he's also right about waiting on Revell or AMT - don't hold your breath!

No modeler would be that sloppy!