Scale model building

[ebinmaine 76,898]

I've been getting back into scale model building a bit.

 

I started when I was 8 and did quite a lot for 5 or 6 years. 

After that I've been poking at them every few years since.  

For several decades I've been collecting and storing the future projects.  

I'll be keeping this thread as a record of what I'm up to. 

 

Please do feel free to post your own.  

 

One of the things I've wanted to build for many years is a model of what my Ole Man drove from back in the mid 1980s. Oil tankers that delivered  #6 factory oil. 

 

3 years ago this April I bought an IHC 4300 tractor by AMT and Testor's reissue of a 1960s tanker trailer.  

 

I got to measuring the trailer. It's designed to be built as either a single axle short tank or add the extension and use 2 axles to make a longer trailer. 

Still..... really not that long even for 1960s rigs. Then I got to wondering.... what if I had two trailer kits....

If the tank rear is meant to glue on either the front section separately or the rear section in combination  - why can't I use a second kit for a rear extension??

 

 

So here's something neat. Look at the tank tops here. The left side is 8.25" long. The 2 right pieces are the back half of TWO trailer model kits. If I add the second back half to the first back half added to the front half ...

It comes out to a scale model size of 21.5 inches total length. 

 

 

I remember pretty well that Bruce's oil trailers were 45 feet long. An odd length even back then. 

 

This model scale adds up to 44 feet and 10 inches!!

 

 

 

This is the model kit of the tractor that I have.

My Ole Man drove International S2500s. This is a 4300. 

Same basic shape but this model is a little longer nose. That was IHC's fancier road tractor back then. The 2500 series was the worker of the fleet.  

I'll take the chrome off the grill and only use one exhaust stack.

The sleeper will be removed in favor of a large hydraulic pump.

That basically turns it into an S model.

 

 

 

I'd like to go weathered & worn. Never done one....

 

Tank will likely be a faded aluminum with stains.  

 

 

 

Internet find picture: 

This was one of several late 70s IHC S models that the company had. 

At least 2 were green on a red frame. 

That's what @Qball drove. 

Odds are almost 100% he drove THIS TRUCK.  

 

 

 

 

 

Stay tuned.....

[Achto 30,669]

Will be watching your progress on this Eric.

 

When I was younger my fascination with cars & trucks was lived out through scale models. At one time my collection included every year of Corvette from '53 - '86. My big passion laid with the 30's - 60's though, specially 55 - 57 Chevy's. I do have to admit that there is a particular Ford that also held my interest, that would be the '53 - '56 Ford truck. These fat fender beauties are just a work of art. 

 

A gave most all of my models to my wife's brothers. Honestly I haven't seen them since. Don't really want to know what happened to them.

[WHX?? 54,139]

I built a few in my day with the neighborhood boys. Then taped model rocket motors to them and lit em off.   Never a really great job since I have the artistic skills of a cantaloupe. Some came out ok tho. 

[Treepep 1,003]

 

 

I loved models as a kid.  I NEVER made them pretty.  I am not good at that.  I would put tiny electric motors in them and make my uncontrolled model T crash for example.  I will be watching!

[squonk 45,188]

9 hours ago, WHX?? said:

I built a few in my day with the neighborhood boys. Then taped model rocket motors to them and lit em off.   Never a really great job since I have the artistic skills of a cantaloupe. Some came out ok tho. 

Build them and then after a year blow em up with a M-80! 

[Oldskool 6,670]

I used to put together alot of models.. When on road trips my grandmother would buy me a snap together model to keep me occupied in the back of their station wagon.  At one point I ended up with a couple monster truck models. 

With monster trucks comes crushed cars. Soooo some of my less favorite or broken models were heated with a lamp and smooshed lol.

[squonk 45,188]

My brother had all of the Aurora  Monster models. The Creature, Dracula, Frankie the whole bunch. He painted them all up and had red paint dripping out of their mouths and hands as blood. He glued silver glitter in their eyes. I hated those things. When he graduated from HS he gave them all to me. The day after he left for college there were some unexplained explosions and plastic bits in the back yard. 

 

[wh500special 2,372]

1 hour ago, squonk said:

…I hated those things…

 

 

I dunno Mike, it sounds more like you loved them to bits. 
 

steve

[Racinbob 12,569]

57 minutes ago, squonk said:

My brother had all of the Aurora  Monster models. The Creature, Dracula, Frankie the whole bunch. He painted them all up and had red paint dripping out of their mouths and hands as blood. He glued silver glitter in their eyes. I hated those things. When he graduated from HS he gave them all to me. The day after he left for college there were some unexplained explosions and plastic bits in the back yard. 

 

I did the Wolfman, my brother did the Creature. 

I built a lot of models as a kid. One of my 4-H woodworking projects was a workbench specifically for model building and a display area for the models. I got dinged on the judging because one of the judges said it would never be used. Years later of use my Dad used to laugh and ask "is that the bench that will never be used?" After my stint in the hospital in Florida it took a few weeks before I built up my energy. During that time I found tinkering with the model building to be good therapy. I've kinda kept it up but don't spend much time on them. Here's a Bronco I started at least 2 years ago. This long arctic blast got me stir crazy so I pulled it out a few days ago. It was basically done but still had things like windows, sidelights, handles and other chrome tidbits, etc. to do. The tire carrier will have a Horse cover of course. I just need to scale one down a bit more. 

 

 

One of my favorites is this sorta A-111. Not really a model though. It started out life as one of them ugly green thingys.