Now this is a big Mack

 A real quick entry here for my latest attempt. This is a resin kit from Ralph Ratcliffe of the Mack M65 off road quarry truck. This 65 ton rated monster is a beast and it dwarfs other pieces in the scale, even the Mack FCSW in my last photo which is in itself quite a large truck.

Ralph's kit is simply amazing. The fit of all the pieces is just perfect and I especially like the addition of brass rod in the wheel area to give a much more stable  point upon which to fasten the wheel/tire combination. Wheels and tires are cast separately by the way so painting is easier. The only thing not included in the kit is the acrylic windshield.

Detail is not lacking either from the diamond plate cast into the deck area of the fenders and hose clamps for the air cleaners to the bulldog rad cap. Castings are crisp, clean and smooth. After assembly which went very fast, to finish the beast, I painted the model in my typical RR tie brown Floquil paint. I don't know what I'll use when my supply runs out as Floquil has stopped production. This was followed by a coat of Future Floor Finish and all was allowed to cure for a day. It was then time for the finish coat of Floquil UP Armour yellow, a favorite of mine. It should be noted that this color is a perfect match for the older Cat yellow.  The weathering consists of a good scrub with Windex, particularly in the bed interior to remove the yellow finish coat. This "chips" the paint away since the Windex dissolves the Future undercoat and leaves the brown show. This time around I did the panel wash with India Ink diluted with alcohol followed by a flat clear lacquer. Then an acrylic wash with burnt sienna was used and allowed to dry well. Only the undercarriage, dump bed, wheels and tires then got a wash of raw sienna and I used some ground artists chalks sprinkled here and there while still wet in some specific areas. And finally I used a product found in any craft store called RubnBuff on the dump bed interior. I just brushed some on and rubbed it out to give the worn to the bare metal look.

   I'm really pleased with the way this model finished but certainly could not have had the same results if it weren't for the terrific way this kit was produced by Ralph. Oh, that's a real Mack bulldog in the last photo. Thanks for looking and say a prayer for our lost loved one's.