Autumn

I usually have an aversion to this season, the harbinger of the season that comes after it every year. There's putting up the firewood I've worked on all summer, and swapping the screens for the storm windows (yes, I still do it the old fashioned way) and of course throwing more clothes on than I'm comfortable with. Then there's raking the leaves and....... well, you get the picture. But this year I have the pleasure of seeing the Red Sox in the Fall classic. But then again, my television watching will come to an end with the loss of the 5 or 6 baseball games every week. This is a mixed blessing. It moves me onto the workbench and gets the creative juices going. Lots of unfinished models sitting in the shelves this year that I hope I can finish.
    The model above is the Jordan Miniatures 1922 Packard truck. As I worked on it, I kept thinking about how detailed the chassis is and what a shame it is to keep covering it with the flatbeds, tanker bodies and such that I use to build a complete truck. So I decided, at least for now, to leave it as is and perhaps put it on the back of a more modern truck trailer as a load. I left the cab off as well to view the interior and tried to replicate the Packard Single Six engine for this model. My weathering techniques were the same as I do on a lot of older well used vehicles and I am pleased with the outcome.

I got lazy too with the Model TT, also from Jordan here. That is, I didn't spend a lot of time fabricating an interesting body configuration. I merely put the flat bed of the kit, which usually has wooden stake sides and cut down the wood stake sides from the Athearn Ford F850 kit on the deck. It has good detail and was an easy, quick body.

   I did do something a little out of the ordinary here though. After painting the model with my typical first coat of Floquil RR Tie Brown, I stained it with India ink, slightly thinned with alcohol. The results were that a bit of the brown showed through. All this followed by a wash of Burnt Umber and some colored artists chalks. I thought the metal work came out pretty good here.

  

This next piece did require a bit of work. I started with the awful Imex Peterbilt. First thing I do with these is file out the terribly thick glazing on the windshield. I then ground the nose flat and built a radiator shroud and grille from styrene and corrugated roofing.

  
  I used the Alcoa wheels that came with the Don Mills Mack LTL kit on the Imex wheels. The red paint is a Mazda automotive lacquer. I picked up a dump bed from Ralph Ratcliffe at the Springfield show last year and have been dying to use it and it fit the wheelbase of this truck perfectly.

  
   Some diamond plate steps, fuel tank and some lights from a Jordan kit finished this shiny Pete up.
Well this is going to be a short one since I hear they are getting ready for the first pitch against the Cards on the TV in the next room so thanks for looking and have a great Autumn.