BIG Iron

[Biggu]

Well, now that Mr. Peter Hayes is on the road, time to try my hand at something a little bit different ……so because the bar has been raised by so many of you guys, on fabulous scratch builds and added detail builds, it has pushed me to ‘think’ I might be able to make something of the re-issue AMT/Ertl IH Payhauler 350. I plan to plumb this truck as much as possible as this truck has MILES of hydraulic lines and plumbing for nearly every moving part has a hydraulic line connected. I am being inspired to do as much as I can, by the King of hydraulic plumbing on his Magnificent build, my good friend Brian Kerr. As my scratch building skills are mediocre at best I will be using the fabulous CTM 24097 hydraulic fittings kit. This is anticipated to be a long term build. The plan is also to weather it a little bit to, once again show a working rock truck….. it should have some oil, grease and dirt in the appropriate places.  As this is anticipated to take some significant time , in order to prevent burn out on an involved build I will supplement this build with a heavy haul Western Star ….. and it will have some modifications and additions. Box art shots of the two victims …….I hope some of you will follow along as I wade through this one …. or two 😉

[Gary Chastain]

I will be following this build

[BK9300]

Me too - you're going to have a busy bench with these two on the go at the same time!

[Biggu]

1 minute ago, BK9300 said:

Me too - you're going to have a busy bench with these two on the go at the same time!

You’re probably right, I’m hoping the Star to be a ‘palate cleanser’ as they say ……..

[RoninUtah]

I’ll be in the front row, watching with great interest!

[Biggu]

2 minutes ago, RoninUtah said:

I’ll be in the front row, watching with great interest!

Thanks Ron , whats on your bench now?

[Warren D]

Take your time.  Most of us have several projects going and some have projects that have stalled out for long periods of time.  I've found that if I'm not feeling it, I put it aside.  Usually somewhere down the road I pick it up and suddenly a problem I was having is solved (ie, I figured out how to accomplish something that I needed to do).

[Rockford]

This will be interesting, looking forward to seeing things taking shape.

[Biggu]

15 minutes ago, Warren D said:

Take your time.  Most of us have several projects going and some have projects that have stalled out for long periods of time.  I've found that if I'm not feeling it, I put it aside.  Usually somewhere down the road I pick it up and suddenly a problem I was having is solved (ie, I figured out how to accomplish something that I needed to do).

Thanks, Warren, that's precisely why the 'possible' two builds.... if I stall out on the big one, I can change gears for a while to the other... sometimes a change of pace is all that is needed..... I have and am still gathering bits and pieces ( odds and sods for my buddies over seas LOL ) for the heavy haul Star.... so that can be a cleanser too.... 😉

[RoninUtah]

46 minutes ago, Biggu said:

Thanks Ron , whats on your bench now?

I’ll be starting an old AITM 1930s/40s U-series Autocar cabover, on an AMT Ford C-900 donor chassis. But that’s a separate thread…

[Biggu]

10 minutes ago, RoninUtah said:

I’ll be starting an old AITM 1930s/40s U-series Autocar cabover, on an AMT Ford C-900 donor chassis. But that’s a separate thread…

That sounds really COOL. Got a start  date?

[RoninUtah]

13 minutes ago, Biggu said:

That sounds really COOL. Got a start  date?

Hopefully next week sometime but with Christmas coming up it’ll be hard to find time…

[Biggu]

32 minutes ago, RoninUtah said:

Hopefully next week sometime but with Christmas coming up it’ll be hard to find time…

Well , I  picking my chair NOW in the front row so I get a good view ….. this is going to be exciting. I’m looking forward to it …..

[Pete68]

Jeff front row please. Your going to be very busy with these guys for sure. I’ll have a case of aspirin by me just in case things get out of hand 😂 

[Biggu]

26 minutes ago, Pete68 said:

Jeff front row please. Your going to be very busy with these guys for sure. I’ll have a case of aspirin by me just in case things get out of hand 😂 

Thanks Lee. What will probably happen is I will start the rock truck and end up working steady on the Western Star ….. I’m hoping I can get them done but I’m sure the rock truck will be a very long term build, mostly due to the fact that there is a LOT of plumbing and that may get tedious over time. I am glad you will be sitting front and center, to help keep me on track …. This may be a fun project …… I hope. 🤭

[gotnitro?]

Looking forward to both of your builds! I see someone already called Shotgun!!! I'll lurk from my corner lol

[Jürgen M.]

Jeff, Im sure this is gonna be far more than mediocre! 

Can't wait to see this grow! 

Hope you guys left one seat vacant in the front row?

[Biggu]

9 hours ago, gotnitro? said:

Looking forward to both of your builds! I see someone already called Shotgun!!! I'll lurk from my corner lol

Thanks Jeff , no need to sit in the back, please comment as you see fit and make sure I stay on the straight and narrow, great to have you along ..

[Biggu]

9 hours ago, Jürgen M. said:

Jeff, Im sure this is gonna be far more than mediocre! 

Can't wait to see this grow! 

Hope you guys left one seat vacant in the front row?

I hope you’re right buddy, glad you are here. Hope to hear lots from you …..

[Biggu]

A Journey of 500 pieces starts with the first two…… I’m not sure about the box full of yellow plastic , but I get it. For an old mould ( mold?) it has held up pretty good, there is a little flash , and the heads had some shrinkage from the cooling process but nothing of anything big. These Ertl kits really were top drawer kits. I know there will be no serious fit issues unless I botch something up …… so we are off to the races …. I’m beginning to think it is the yellow plastic I’m going to need a break from not really the build ……thanks for checking in guys , comments and criticisms welcome … 

[Rockford]

That's not just yellow, the box says it's authentic IH colour! You'll feel better about going blind now. Watch you don't fall off this kit, it's big enough. 

[Biggu]

49 minutes ago, Rockford said:

That's not just yellow, the box says it's authentic IH colour! You'll feel better about going blind now. Watch you don't fall off this kit, it's big enough. 

Thanks Steve. I missed that description on the box 🤭🤣, so armed with that information , I plan to prime it and paint it yellow 🙄……. I know. 🫣🫣….

[Biggu]

So as I slowly start cutting ‘yellow’ plastic , I notice there is a fair bit of molded details. And again , this is a very old kit, and for the day it was cutting edge, and I think in this case and the other re-issue Ertl kits we sometimes forget they are old designs. So with that said, I looked closely at some of the details and there is an alternator molded in but has some detail and has an adjusting bracket. So a little tiny detail that can be added are those wonderful Meng bolts. A very small thing, but under a splash of paint and a dab of weathering changes the whole thing … so I added a couple nuts and bolts as on the real deal, I have also added big bolts for the engine mounts on the frame. Very small but can change the looks

[Biggu]

it will look better under paint.....

[BK9300]

The beginning of a lot of detailing to come!