jpage

Here's some pics of my new 1926 Mack Stake truck. Built box stock with custom built racks and some mild oil and dirt staining which is hard to see in the pictures. This was the log truck version, but I wasn't crazy about the load so I decided to change the bed. I did find certain things that I didn't like in this kit, like poor locater marks and some fitment issues but nothing insurmountable. All in all, I think it looks like a nice model of an historic truck. Sorry about the small pics; for some reason the pictures won't transfer correctly from the camera to the computer.

Here's my new model of a Ford Model AA 1-1/2 ton H.D. Express truck. I know of no '30- '31 Model A closed cab bodies so I had to build this one. It started out as an old 1930 Model a coupe kit. I cut the rear portion of the body off along with the rear part of the top with the rear window. The curved body sides and back panel were scratch built. The rear belt moulding was added along with interior details that were fashioned to fit the cab. The front fenders, hood and grille shell were used from the kit. The chassis, rear axle, springs, rear fenders and express body were all scratch built. The wheels were a set from Scenes Unlimited. Interior of the box is painted Ford gray and the body is finished in Lombard Blue. Note that the body paint is not polished. Ford did not polish the paint on commercial vehicles as a cost saving effort. In late 1930, due to lagging sales, they did offer polishing as an extra cost option on trucks and fleet orders. Today, you'll see very few "restored" Model A trucks that are not polished! The front fender wheel well is made from a rear fender from the kit and the rear fenders are made from layers of plastic then carved and sanded to shape, The bed sleepers are made from wood as is the paneling in the bed. The interior has the exposed wooden structure that would be in a truck, but it's not evident in the photos. Glass is thin sheets of clear plastic cut from a shirt stiffener. Enjoy the photos! Now it's on to figuring out the next project. Maybe a Model of the Walton's express truck!

Thanks for the info!

Very nicely done and a unique model! Love that weathering!

Very nice job! Neat truck!

Beautiful job! Does Mr. Rowley make custom decals? if so, do you have any contact info?

Pretty sharp! Let's see the finished project!

Wow, beautiful job!

Wow, that is just amazing! What attention to detail!

Hello. I'm new to the forum and am looking for a resin Chevy /GMC C6500 cab kit. I saw one on PPVintage kits website but have not been able to get them to respond to emails. Are they still in business? If not, does anyone know where I can find this kit or did it disappear? Any help will be appreciated. Thanks

Nice build! AITM really has some nice offerings!

Finally finished this '34 Ford fuel truck after about 4 months. Started with leftovers from an old AMT kit that I had built back in the late '60's which had been lying around for a while. I wanted something different and I like old trucks. I used the hood, cab, engine, interior and running boards from the kit. The fenders are '32 Ford grafted to the '34 running boards to eliminate the fender mounted spare. The entire frame, rear axle, tank and accessories are scratch built. All the tank supports are real wood as well as are the rear frame risers. The beautiful tires and wheels came from Scenes Unlimited. The tank was formed from 1 1/4 PVC drain tube and then wrapped in .010 styrene sheet because there is virtually no glue that will adhere to PVC! She's not perfect but I think it came out pretty nice. The TEXACO letters are just old stick-on vinyl letters I had around. I wanted to get some period style decals for the cab and cans, but everywhere I look, no-one has any in stock at a reasonable price .I did do some slight weathering to the tank top and bottom and parts of the frame, but I didn't want it to look too shabby. I mounted the spare wheel behind the cab because it interfered with the gate valves; not practicable in real life but doesn't look too bad. I'm considering a Model AA Ford truck as my next project but haven't pick a body style yet. Enjoy the pics.

Very nice! I especially like that ol' Chevy!

This is a really novel idea! I love the different working vehicles, especially ones that you never see as models! Nice job! the rack and ladders look really good!

I'm always amazed as to how you guys get these models to look so real! Great job!

Great looking build ! I really like the dozer!

Great build, Really clean and sharp too! Where do you get the custom decals?

About 3 years ago I started a project to build a model of my son's dump truck and just finished it today. The interior, cab and front end is from the Revell snow plow truck kit with a shortened hood and scratch built fenders. The frame and front suspension, also shortened, came from the International 4300 kit and the engine, wheels, tires, cab lights and rear suspension came from a Dodge L700 kit. I also used the L700 body floor and fenders to fashion the rear of the front fenders. The fuel tank came from A.I.T.M.. The interior tub of the Chevy kit was poorly detailed, so new door panels were made and the seat was reworked. The rear cab window was shortened. The L700 steering wheel was used and the cab detailed, although you really can't see much of it. The bed, end gate, hydraulic lift, vacuum tank and battery box , bumper and mirrors are all scratch built. I was fortunate to connect with a guy on this forum, who 3 D printed a grille for me. This was a piece that I was really racking my brain on how to construct. His part is spot on and looks great! Originally, I wanted an opening hood, which on this model, flipped forward, but I was having issues with clearance and alignment while building the fenders, so I nixed that feature. Incidentally, the pic of the grille and rough hood was a practice piece. The final print was a perfect fit and replica. I did open the headlamps and installed lenses to add some realism. The mirrors are scratch built with fine wire and styrene and chromed with a Molotow pen. It's painted in acrylic paint with no sealer and replicates a worn but not shoddy finish, then lightly weathered to simulate use. This was a tough project for me as I'm not well versed in the scratch building realm and have been away from the hobby for about 40 years. My goal was to replicate as close as possible, my son's truck as it is today and still working! One thing I wish I could add is the decals, but I have no knowledge or equipment to do the white lettering. That would really make it look real! The photos do make it look better than it does in person! Because of the lighting, the paint looks a darker blue than what it is, and almost is exact to the original paint on the truck. The last couple of pics are of the real truck. I have the frame, running gear, bed and snow plow left from one Chevy kit, and another which is complete except for the windshield, which I managed to screw up during the build. I tried to remove some paint and marred the plastic. it could probably be sanded and polished but I don't have the material for that. What do they say, "if something doesn't go wrong, you're not trying hard enough"! I also have a few parts left from the L700 kit and I have no use for any of these kits now that the project is finished. If anyone is interested, we can work out a deal! Enjoy the pics.

The hard part, for me, is that the fenders are not flat. They angle away from the body and have the curves. The rear fenders are peaked in the center rear section and angled away from the cab for door clearance. it's hard to see on the model. The fronts were laminated and pieced to get the contour. The fenders were the hardest part of the build. Can you tell me where on ebay you found it. I can't locate anything; I'd like to see it. Thanks

Thanks! Where can you find a resin cab? I only ever saw the one that P&P vintage had and apparently, they're out of business.

You'll need to shorten the front fenders since the hoods are not as long as the standard trucks. The rear of the front fenders extends past the front door about 3 inches. I like that grill template! Could you email me a full size copy at jamesopage@aol.com. That would help me a lot in making the grille. If I can find my measurements, I'll let you know how long the hood is. We also have a C60 bucket truck for measurements also. if you notice the bottom edges of the hood extend down into the tops of the fenders too.

I've been rebuilding an old Transtar 4300 conventional kit from 1975 that my wife built for her father who owned one. I purchased a new kit for parts and noticed several differences. The old kit had a much smaller engine and a short hood, the new kit had a long hood with square headlamps as opposed to the round lamp version. The new kit also had disc wheels but the old kit had the 5 spoke type. Had to make several modifications on it to match my father in law's truck. It's still a nice looking truck and a nice kit! I did not notice any issue with the centering of the front wheels even since the 2 frames are exactly alike. I do think that the front axles could be made a little stronger though.

To me, the Chevy looks to probably be a C60 judging by the height of the tires. I'm pretty sure though, that the C60, C65 and the C70's shared the same cab. I've been building a model of my son's '75 C65 dump and have also been looking for a cab . There was a company, now defunct I think, that had a resin model of the C65 but looking at some close up photos , was not very nice although it did have a very close grill and bumper. I have purchased a "7's style pickup model to try to build a correct cab. The resin model ,I think, was taken from one of these kits as the p/u version had the large rear window and most of the larger trucks had a small rear window. Our truck has a flip type hood as opposed to the front opening style. I think a regular cab model could be adapted to the C60 or C65 style but it will take alot of work. Fortunately, I have a truck to measure and take photos of handy. If you should ever find anything, please let me know as cab issue is holding me up! By the way, the other model looks great! Oh, forgot..A.I.T.M. has the correct fuel tank for that Chevy.

Back in 1976, my wife built a model 4300 for her dad as his personal truck was an IH 4300. She did a great job for her first foray but over 40 years takes it's toll! I started a restoration on it recently and ordered the new 4300 kit for parts. Found out they are 2 different animals. The older kit had the spoked wheels, a shorter hood, round headlamp bezels, a different engine, plain seats and no sleeper. fortunately, I was able to reuse most of those parts and I did need the sleeper as her dad's truck did have one. His truck had the longer hood, but I kept the original kit engine and just moved the cab back. His truck had one of the special paint schemes which is giving me a little trouble but hoping to remedy that soon. I've weathered the frame so it looks more like a working truck. i'll have to post some shots, although I don't have any photos of the original model. Good luck with your rebuilds, they can be tricky.

Has anyone heard from P&P vintage lately. Kelly e-mailed me a few months ago but now it seems that their website had disappeared. Another shop going out of business?? Been trying to get my hands on a C6500 GM truck model. Any other good suppliers for parts and bodies out there that actually stocks anything?