Shardik

Thank you, Riley. I'm pleased that you're pleased

Thanks, Terry. As stated above, for me the model is all about the story. Glad you liked it.

Thanks, Mark. Weathering is fun! Thank you, Larry. Glad you like it.

Thanks, peekay. Glad you like it.

Thanks for all the kind comments. I'm pretty blown away by all the positive feedback . I'm pleased that you all found the story entertaining. This is actually how I aproach all my models. I begin with a back-story, then build the model to "flesh it out".

That I can certainly identify with.

Oh great. Now I'm gonna have nightmares.

Thanks, Danno. It means alot.

Absolutely gorgeous! I love the old trucks, and you've realy done this one justice. Any more pictures of the bed load and, maybe, the engine?

Given the peculiar nature of the vehicle presented here, I thought it encumbent upon me to offer some explanation of how such a conveyance might come to exist. For that pupose I offer you... The Tale of Seamus McKinney's Truck Seamus McKinney lives on a modest fourty acre spread, north west of Eldora, Colorado. Sylas McKinney, Seamus' Granda', bought the land with the procedes from his partnership in the fourth of July Silver Mine (now a state park). Seamus' Father, Sean McKinney, ran off with a Lithuanian footwear model when Seamus was just a lad (just to be clear, the model was Lithuanian. The footwear was made in a dirt floored shack in Taipai under a French lable). Mother McKinney moved to Boulder several years ago to open a hand made candle boutique, Leaving Seamus the property, two goats, Roxanne the mule, and seven llamas. Now, about the truck. Three winters past, a flatlander was criusing the back roads in his four wheel drive F-150 when he spotted Puck and Ariadne frolicking in the snowy valley below (I may have forgotten to mention that the llamas were all named after mythological characters). He pulled off the road and got out to capture this peculiar sight with his trusty Nikon. Unfortunately, what he believed to be solid ground beneath his wheels was in fact a snow valence; a sort of shelf formed by wind currents sweeping snow up along a vertical ridge. This, of course, quickly succumbed to the weight of the vehicle leaving our intrepid photographer slack-jawed and shivering. The following spring, the insurance adjuster contacted Seamus, on whose property the truck had come to rest, to arrange for its' removal. Allways one to capitalize on a situation, Seamus offered his services (and those of his Fordson tracktor) to extricate the the unfortunate vehicle from the ravine in which it now rested, wheels-up, for the modest sum of $100. The adjuster (being also a capitalist) readily accepted the offer. As one might expect, the truck was immediately written off as a total loss. However, Seamus had noticed that the frame and running gear still seemed to be serviceable. Seeing this, a plan began to take shape. And so, after a brief negotiation, Seamus returned the "extraction fee" and took posession of the remains. Having righted the wreck, Seamus drug it behind the chicken coop where rested Sylas' '37 Ford pickup. The '37 was in relatively good shape aside from a blown engine and the predictable results of languishing under a tarp for thirty years. The grill had been replaced with sections of irigation pipe after an encounter with a near sighted big horn sheep. And so the work began to meld the two trucks into one. No longer would Seamus have to drive the Fordson into town to pick up a sack of McGruders Llama-Vite. Scratch built winch and hood hinges. Chasis, engine and running gear are from lindberg F150. More to come (as soon as I re attatch the license plate and exhaust tips that I knocked off durring the photo session)

In my youth, when I worked for GoodYear, we had a fleet of big international service trucks. To change the plugs I would climb into the engine compartment and work standing up next to the engine (both feet on the shop floor). the rest of the tune up was done either sitting on the inner fender well or crouched on the upper control arm, depending on your reach.

Applying unregulated heat to a sealed metal container full of VOLATILE liquid that is already under pressure is not a good idea! This is how bombs work! I only use water straight from the tap; although the water from my tap is hot enough that I can't keep a finger in it for more than a couple seconds. This is plenty hot enough to get the paint to flow.

WOW, Jim! That's stunning. Beautiful (shiny :) :) ) paint, clever engineering, and impecable craftsmanship! The load is going to have to be something truly special. I'm seeing, maybe, a mid engine Prowler and the '37 grille sounds cool, too.

I've been through the pictures three times now, and each time I find more neat stuff. What did you make the eyelet on the ground wire from? It looks perfect. The wiring to the voltage regulator put a smile on my face (even if it is a tiny bit out of scale). And one more question: what did you use for the fuel lines?

Peter, You do such exemplary work that even when you get it wrong it still looks right.

Yeah...but what have you done lately? Just kidding . This is truly a treat for the eyes: beautiful paint, tasteful color choice, and superb craftsmanship all around. Come to think of it..what have you done lately? If you were turning out this kind of stuff 20 years ago...

Excelent job with the BMF, and the detail painting on the interior. I'm afraid I'm in the "don't care for the wheels" camp though. It looks like an off-road conversion to me. But, like you pointed out, it's all about what you want. Keep it up; you've got a knack for this stuff.

I definitely agree with that last sentence.

I love 4x4 conversions. I've got a '37 Ford pickup on my bench right now with a modern F-150 chasis under it...FUN, FUN, FUN! I'd also like to get my hands on an early Blazer, but I just can't see dropping $70.00 for what's available out there.

It's hard to narrow it down to just one thing, so I'll cheat: one for me and one for my alter ego For me: Brush painting. For Shardik: Focus. I/He/We have enormous trouble sticking to one proj.... oh wait, I just got an idea...

I'm with Harry on this one. What I enjoy about modeling is creating a convincing representation of a real object, or making an imagined object seem real. Thus, like Mike, I often take forever to finish a project. But, as each part becomes a model in itself, this doesn't diminish my enjoyment at all; the contrary in fact. As an example, I just spent three hours making a winch for a project I've been working on since March...but the winch is finished, and up close it looks like the real deal (if I may say so myself). This is immensely satisfying.

I would be very interested in knowing more about how you enlarged the rear rims. Those trim rings look great and I can't see a seam or break anywhere. The workmanship there matches the rest of the model: clean build, beautiful paint, period correct mods and skillful scratch building. Bravo!

Color not withstandig, that is one beautiful paint job. I picked one of these up at a show a couple of years ago for $5.00. If I can come anywhere close to these results with it I'll consider it money well spent.

You have absolutely nothing to appologize for! I love the color combo; very classy.

Actually, there isn't (anymore).