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I have a general question for those who may have first hand experience with the large trucks used in Europe. The reason I ask is I got lost on YouTube the other day and came across videos of these trucks. First off let me say some of them were about the contests for parking and backing into tight spots. These drivers are truly outstanding. Looking thru these videos the things that I noticed were the wheel bases on the cabs and the trailer both. The cabs seem to be mostly the cab over design which makes since with the tight spots they have to get into. The cabs wheel base at first seems longer than needed until I noticed that the mounting point for the trailer was far closer to the center of the trailer than what I'm used to seeing. The trailer axels, usually three instead of two, at first seemed mounted further toward the center of the trailer. This seemed odd at first until I watched how they got these rigs thru the streets and turned around. I know I'm going to open a hornets nest on this, but compared to what I see on the roads around here any way, these drivers are really pros and interesting to watch how they get these rigs around. Lately here all we've had is drivers running into each other and over the top of cars on the highway. We even had one change his mind in the middle of an off ramp and ran into the guard rail. Shut down one of the major highways for hours as they tried to put out the fire.

This has the perfect OEM look even with the big wheels and tires. What impresses me the most is the engine wiring. Even the correct brake lines off of the master cylinder. The wiring along the firewall really adds to the look.

Great looking bracket. Might it stand out a little more in semi gloss black or is that the way Ford paints them ??

I'm with Tom on this one. The Step Side is just to nice to throw away the bed. I'd look for the Little Red Truck kit as there is quite a few out there.

Glad you mentioned that it started life as a VW. Great mixture of body parts. Front axle turned around, front mounted engine with a drive shaft to the differential ? Extensive plumbing from the super charger to the heads. I'd love to see what you would do if you would only let your imagination run wild.

Your first two pictures the model looks very real.

That is a shame on the paint. Not sure if clear will hide that. Even if you get it smooth to the touch I wonder what the finish will really look like. I wish you well on this.

I had the same window frame issue that seems to be happening to everyone else. Contacted Revell on line and interred a claim. They replied that a new body would be sent in a few weeks. Received the new body in two weeks, pretty good service in my mind. I hope that Revell is able to get a handle on this problem, not that it will keep me or anyone else from buying their products, But it has to be costing them a lot of money until they get it fixed. Money that could be spent developing additional new product for us to buy.

After looking at the 1:1 photos it's easy to see just how far back the tail lights extend. I like the duel quads on the engine. Looks like a lot of work on the hood to make it a Merc.

What has made me mad more than once is to be selling complete models at a show and find the same thing has happened when I got home and was putting things away. I didn't notice at first but one kit looked like the box wouldn't close all the way. When I started looking around I found wheels and tires missing from a couple of kits. These are supposed to be our fellow modelers, very disappointing.

Great looking paint job and the interior is well detailed. The little touch of color on the wheels add a great deal to the over all look.

I like the color and the tire tread pattern looks neat also. Can't remember when I last saw one of these built.

I also agree with the others, you have the center piece for a diorama. Sad to think how many race cars end up this way.

I have to agree with the others on the mesh hood sides. The body color and interior look good together. Did you remove the roof drip rails or did the kit not have them ?

I like the stance and the color. The contrasting color of the wheels in a dark red gives the model a very strong look.

Very realistic weathering, not over done. The rusted body panels look perfect. Great engine detailing. You better call "Mad Max" and let him know his new ride is ready.

Great pictures thank you for sharing. The boats were interesting to see.

I masked off the seat patterns on the seat and painted the patterns the way I wanted them. Top coat the interior with a semi gloss or flat finish. In one build I used decals from Scale Motor Sports on part of the seat before the final top coat and it turned out just fine.

That is wild looking for sure. I enjoyed watching your build on this. Your build thread shows just how much work went into this build.

Very nice looking build. The story and your father's connection makes it even better. Much like the tow truck driver in your story I remember a YouTube video some time ago. The video was shot in a mountains area with a very sharp turn. In this case someone in a 3 series BMW had lost control in the corner and landed on it's side. The tow truck shows up and hooks onto the BMW. The operator forgets to set the hand brake on the BMW before he rights the car and when it is upright the hook comes off and the BMW makes a hard left turn over the edge and goes end for end into the tree tops in the ravine below. The audio has a lot bleeps in it.

Very clean looking build. The color contrast between the body and interior really standout. Is the top done as a Vinyl covered top ?? I think this was an option at that time.

I like your conversion work on the wood trim. The tail lights look in the picture as if they extend to far back, but since you have a 1:1 car to measure from it may just be the picture. In the 1:1 world this is an easier conversion than I would have thought. Your post reminded me of a short article in the Nov. '17 issue of Street Rodder magazine. A "Merc Guy" converted a two door Ford wagon into a "54 Mercury. He made it look showroom stock and might give you some perspective on your build. He did it without wood trim but it looks factory to me.

The paint is very smooth and the "flake" in the paint is intense but I think it looks good. You weren't building a showroom model anyway.

As to what it's worth, that would be what someone is willing to pay. Not sure of your personal interest in modeling as a whole or attending model shows, but a thought if you should want to show your model. One it is in excellent condition and I would suggest leaving it as is. Two you have the box that it came in. While that fact isn't that special I think the fact it was mailed by Ford to your father in law as unusual. Since he was a modeler this may have happened at his request or Ford had a special promotional thing at that time. Usually dealers would order a case or two from the manufactures with a mixed batch of models to hand out as they saw fit. If you were to show it at a model show I would include the box in the display. The information molded into the frame and floor boards was the norm at that time on Ford models and Promos and I think it might of even been part of the licensing agreement between Ford and the Promo makers. This type of information was not seen on the GM and Chrysler Promos of that time. Then again you and your wife may have an emotional attachment in which case I would preserve it.

Thank you for sharing. Interesting verity of makes and models.