What's new on the bench

Lately things have been slow on the modeling bench. With summers final arrival and now it's soon to be demise, I'm trying to squeeze as much outdoor activity in as possible. But I have managed to get out a few decent pieces that have already been spoken for.

This first little guy is a dump truck from the 50's in the White 4000, a resin kit offered by Sylvan Scale. A good friend Ralph Ratcliffe, and one of the best modelers I know is now presenting a line of resin castings which include several 1/87 scale pieces. The really beautifully done wheels and tires are featured on this truck and I think they make this model. The bed is also from Sylvan and I added wooden scuff boards and a gate release lever.













Now for the kind of model I truly enjoy building. This Mack FCSW chain drive quarry truck from the 40's is a resin kit from Don Mills Models. Now if you're paying any attention to some of my other posts, you might remember this truck done up in a water truck configuration by Joe Enriquez. Well this is nothing like Joe's truck in that it is pretty much box stock and Joe's was almost totally rebuilt from scratch. But I love these big old brutes and had a lot of fun with this build. I have cut the hood sides out and replaced the cast faux mesh with a real mesh screening and added a grille guard to the kit. The rest of the build consisted of applying a few different weathering techniques.






























This is an attempt at a rail car. Now I'm a total ignoramus when it comes to rail related models so I've definitely taken some artistic license here and went with what few photos of a prototype I could find. The base model is from Jordan Miniatures of a 1934 Ford school bus. The bed was covered in wood and a wire rack has been added over the windshield. This sits on standard gauge HO track. The roof has been covered in tissue to give it a canvas texture and the flathead V8 which was introduced the year before is exposed.











OK, back to the bench.