Cornbinder Posted January 13, 2016 I've been wanting to throw together an old James House cement hauler for a while. I was glad to find that Jerry at modeltruckin.com does the proper decal graphics. I figured converting the hood to the SBFA configuration would be fairly simple, but GW trucks makes the hood in resin, so I opted to try that first. The base for this is, of course, the old AMT DR. I'm using the early 90's reissue. First, here are a couple tractors I'm using as reference. This one will likely be #69, though it may end up being unit #65... if you have ever seen the movie "Collision Course" starring Jay Leno and Pat Morita, you have seen James House #65 pulling one of their custom-built powdered cement dumper. James House was part of Rex Transportation, so I'll also be using some photos of single-drive Rex Diamond Reos for inspiration. Here are a couple of 1:1 photos, courtesy of Tim Gibson. Now, onto the model... I kind of eyeballed the wheelbase, and used the hood to position the front axle. I don't think I got the wheelbase 100% correct, but it'll do for me. I also don't think I'll get the Anti-Sail mudflap quite right, but I can get it close, lol. Rear axle and suspension were pirated from a Ford Louisville- I may or may not use the fifth-wheel setup shown here. As far as tanks, battery boxes, and the like, it's basically just a matter of shuffling things around from their position as intended by AMT. #69 had the early style grille, so I made up a new insert. The AMT kit is missing a small chrome trim strip along the vertical centerline of the hood- on the real hood it is there to cover up a row of rivets which attach the skin to bracing underneath. To tell you the truth, I never even noticed this until Tim Gibson pointed it out to me... and he said he never noticed it himself until he bought his 1:1 Diamond Reo. I used the same thin square strip I used to make the details on the grille insert to make this trim piece. Naturally, it will be foiled after paint. I am not sure if I will do the model to look as it appeared in the junkyard, as it did in service, but I will say I'm not terribly interested in doing it in "as-new" condition, so let's just leave it at that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Casey Posted January 13, 2016 Another one to follow. That will be a neat build. What is the purpose of the pipe in front of the rear tires in the image of #69? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cornbinder Posted January 13, 2016 It looks like it's just the exhaust pipe, flopped over the frame rail. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites