tanks a lot

I suppose looking at the prices on the gas pumps the other day made me think of this one. No matter what the liquid is that we are in contact daily with, usually was in a tanker of some sort or another at one time. Even water is either transported by tanker or used from a tanker like in the example above of the '56 Chevy LCF that is similar to many fire department tanker unit from back then. The resin cab for this truck was placed on a Roco military chassis and made to look like the old 4 wheel drive conversions back then by Marmon-Harrington Corp. The tank itself ironically is made from a cigarette lighter that I made bunks for to fit on the chassis.


Of course tankers are most well known for hauling fuel as is the case with the unit being hauled here by a Mack Vision with flat top sleeper. The tanker is from Promotex and has merely been repainted and detailed.


Way back when, food related liquids were almost always hauled in wooden tanks. The truck above was modeled after a cider/vinegar transport truck. The truck itself is a 1922 Packard and the tank is modeled with Manila paper wrapped around a wooden dowel.


I knew I'd get around to showing more of that 1930's truck that I made so many versions of in an earlier posting. Here's one more in the form of a tanker. The tank was made this time by wrapping a dowel with sheet brass and a pair of wire bands.



If you remember seeing the movie "Duel" then you might recognize the Peterbilt 281 above that chased Dennis Weaver all over the desert in his poor little red Valiant. This model took some doing by adding 6 scale inches to the height of an inexpensive Imex Pete and cutting out the heavy window glazing that comes with the original model. Then the grille was scratch built and it was fit onto a customized chassis and all the details such as fuel tanks, steps, wheels/tires and mirrors were added. The trailer is an old Wiking piece that I added the tool/chain box to and all was heavily weathered. I love these old Petes and when I drove a truck, it was one similar to this.


The Peterbilt above is a rather unusual truck. It is a fuel and lube truck that would be in service supplying fuel, lubricants and hydraulic fluids to large equipment that cannot be driven back to a fuel and service facility. The spent fluids would also be carried away with a truck like this. The model itself is the Wiking Peterbilt and the tanker bed is from a train load that has been detailed.








To the left above is another of the Sheepscot International R180's in a highway tractor pulling a fuel tanker similar to the one on the Duel Pete. On the right is the same Sheepscot R 180 cab this time in a milk tanker. The body on this is also from Sheepscot and is cast plaster. Two very distinctively different trucks using the same cab.



Often a piece designed for the military is quite suitable for civilian use as is the case above with the Oshkosh tanker. More commonly known as a HEMTT this model is from the Roco Miniatur civilian line and is painted to represent an airfield refueler.












We'll be entering the area of fantasy for this next piece as I don't believe anything like this ever really existed. But I loved the truck and wanted to do something really different with it. The Henschel is a German truck from the 30's that is shown here in an airfield fire/rescue unit that has been with hyrail wheels. Perhaps there was a large enough industrial facility to once need something like this but who cares really. I just like it.



Lastly I'm going to come around full circle and show another Chevrolet fire department tanker from 1956. This one is a resin casting of the Wiking Chevy that has been sitting roadside for many years.

Well again it's been my pleasure to show some of my builds to you all and I hope you enjoyed. Tanks again.

on the job - here to assist

I don't particularly like the thoughts of having to call for a tow in real life. But for some reason the wrecker has become one of the model types I do quite a few of. When I started building them I was using wrecker units from other models and a favorite was the Holmes unit that came with the B and R model Macks that were so well done by Athearn. The International R 190 above left came from Classic Metal Works and I fit the Holmes wrecker unit from Athearn directly onto the chassis and added some corrugated metal fenders. It's companion to the right is the IH LC 180 cabover that had a bed from a Wiking model altered to hold the Holmes unit.

Much more to my liking and frankly just a much better model is the Sheepscot IH R190 in a solid resin cab. This cab is prototypically correct and appears less toy like than the CMW offering. I scratch built the tow boom on this model.



I showed this one already but it's one of my favorites. The 1930's Zis 5 from Roco that I scratch built the wrecker body for out of old watch parts and styrene. Just another glimpse above.


I have a customer and now friend that loves his old trucks and among his collection resides a 1938 round nose Ford cabover. When Clare Gilbert of Sylvan put out the call for info on this truck I went over to my friends barn with camera and ruler and gave the information and photos to Clare. He was kind enough to give me the first of this model to which I scratch built the wrecker unit for on what you see above. I was very pleased at what Clare did with this truck and am happy to have been able to contribute to bringing it to the scale.


Another of Sylvans trucks that you have already seen is the '37 Chevy. This time done up as a tow truck with again, a scratch built wrecker unit. These are rather simple affairs really with styrene rod pinched on the ends and a Tichy bolt used to hold them together. The winches are mostly all scratch built as well on these trucks.


The model above is one of the resin castings of the Wiking '56 Chevy I mentioned in an earlier post. In the resin casting process it sometimes occurs that voids and bubbles appear. This I tried to overcome by making a beater 4x4 wrecker with this model. The bed on this is a very nice piece that comes with a Trident model of a newer Chevy that I put on a chassis from a 1/72 scale Jeep.


Another '56 Chevy available in the scale is the LCF, a resin kit from Resin Unlimited. For this truck, I scratch built the bed and wrecker unit.




As you can see, I've cranked quite a few tow trucks out and most of them altered greatly from the original model. However, sometimes I just like detailing an already good model which is what happened here with the Wiking Peterbilt. Some nice photo etched mirrors, different tires and rims and a few decals over a glossy paint job here is all that was done.



OK, one more as I watch the clock ready to go to AM from PM here. This a really heavy duty military rig. The M936 from Roco Minitanks that was detailed by painting and adding a protective screen for the wrecker operator, hydraulic hoses and a chain.
Hope you enjoyed and don't need the services of a tow truck anytime soon.

on the job - equipment

Trucks and cars are what we all are most familiar with since we see them everyday when we get into our own vehicle to ride to work, play or errand. It isn't a rare thing to see the equipment used for work being transported by trailer so we recognize many of the pieces I'm about to show, but don't take the time to look carefully at them. Most prominent among them would be earthmoving equipment since we can also see this type of vehicle as we wait to be flagged through a road construction/repair project. No comment on the number of workers it takes to dig a trench here. Among them backhoes play an important role in getting unwanted material into dumps and away from the job site. The small backhoe above is a European version in the Liebherr 912, a plastic model from Wiking. This is a good example of why I prefer to weather the metal blades like the bucket above on a piece as I do, instead of trying to wear paint off to metal in the case of a diecast or white metal piece. The technique of painting first with an appropriate color and then adding the metal look to it can be done with virtually any material be it plastic wood or even paper. Hence I use it for everything with the same consistent results.











Here's another example of a backhoe or shovel if you will, from back in the days of steam. This Bucyrus Erie B2 is a magnificent model from Vintage Vehicles (Jordan) that is a plastic kit with quite a few parts to it. Not a kit for the novice. I show it above with a vintage lowboy trailer which is a great little and very simple cast metal and wood kit from Rio Grande models. And another version on the right of the same model.


To achieve the grade on a road, graders much like the Caterpillar here are used. This being a very inexpensive Norscot diecast piece from WalMart that I merely painted the plastic pieces, applied a few washes and then used chalks for the final weathering.










Having grown up in a farm community has brought me to think of work vehicles in terms of tractors and other various farm equipment. There was a lot of red International Harvester equipment that I saw in my youth but a few nearby preferred the "green" tractors for their work. The John Deere styled model B was very popular back then and I show the Innovative Designs cast metal model here that I turned into a single tire tripod version. Often seen with a tractor like this would be the discs shown in the photo with it or something similar to the forage wagon on the right which is a plastic kit from Preiser that represents a Euro version.




Here's another John Deere called the "Waterloo Boy" which I believe is an orchard style tractor that I have weathered heavily. This another example of the very cheap stuff once available in scale at WalMart.



And before we leave the farm (something I fear will never leave me), I'll show one more out of use old tractor. The Fordson was one of the first affordable tractors to farm folk. This one from Jordan Miniatures in the farm version. They also offer one for industrial use with steel disc wheels. Henry might well turn in his grave seeing this one left to rot out under the old apple tree.









Also Euro is another Liehberr piece from Kibri in a plastic kit to which I have added a brass lattice boom from Sheepscot models and an excellent cast metal dragline setup from Langley models. This model has been weathered to represent a unit that has not seen use in a while.

Well so much for me neglecting my responsibilities and ignoring the fast growing honey-do list. I must go now but will continue to present things at work soon. Thanks again for coming.

On the job- dumps

Back in 1907, my grandfather P.Russell Fesmire and his brother started a contracting business in S.E. Pennsylvania. Most of my uncles and my father all entered the business eventually as did I. It wasn't unusual for me to spend my Saturdays and summers even as a little kid, on the job sites. What could be more entertaining to a 10 year old boy than to watch a backhoe fill dump trucks and watch dozers grade a site? So trucks on the job hold a familiarity that goes way back. We are fortunate that in the scale, there are an abundance of construction related vehicles and equipment available to us. For this section on construction vehicles, I'd like to focus on dump trucks. And with little text this time, I'm just going to load up a bunch of photos of dumps I've built. The shiny new looking dump above is the Mack Granite with a dump body given to me by the great modeler Joe Enriquez that he built from scratch and made a resin copy of. The Granite cab is from Masterbilt Models.


This next one is also a Mack Granite, the SBA (set back axle) again a Masterbilt cab, with a resin dump body from Ralph Ratcliffe. The paint is a transparent green over silver.


Stepping back a few years and going off road now is a quarry truck. This round belly dump is a cast metal kit from Alloy Forms of the Autocar Constructor. I've left the sides of the hood off here to expose the engine compartment and put some high flotation tires on the front.



Another off road dump is this Autocar DC 102 with rock bed and planetary rims on the rear. The cab is a solid resin piece from Sheepscot Scale.


Of course not all dumps are monstrous high volume machines. Many residential contractors have been using smaller dumpers like this '56 Chevy above for years. This model is from the German company Wiking and has been out of production for many years. Some might think that I'm a bit crazy for taking a rather valuable collectors piece and changing it from it's original condition, ruining it's value. I suppose they are right and had I known it's value when I modeled this I might not have. I have seen these fetch as much as $100 on Ebay in good condition. This particular model holds a great deal of meaning for me in that it's the first true 1/87 scale model I ever owned. I received it on my eighth birthday making it almost 50 years old. I have had several resin copies made of it since.



Up until now I've shown construction type dumps but not all dumps are intended for building purposes. This Oshkosh has had a plow frame put on it and represents a municipal snow removal truck. This solid resin cab is a Sheepscot product.


A few years ago, Busch came out with this really nice model of a Dodge Power Wagon. What could be more suitable for use as a plow truck? The plow unit here is scratch built and the dump bed is from a cheap toy.


Another use for dumps is not seen often anymore. Coal delivery seems to be a chore of the past. This Autocar cabover U90 from Sheepscot has been fitted with a dump body from Lifelike.


We'll make this Mack BX the last for this time around. A slight departure from solid resin here for Sheepscot. This model is a cast metal and brass and I used another of the cheap Lifelike dump beds here also.



Well again, just a few examples of a type of vehicle I have modeled and I'm sure others will crop up from time to time. I hope to show more construction related vehicles soon and who knows what else.

getting the shot

Odd how this electronic world of ours has changed so much of our life. I lived for years in isolation as a modeler, not knowing what was happening outside of my workbench. Now with this magnificent window on the rest of the world of modeling available to us all, it behooves us to share all that we've done with each other. I am truly amazed and inspired by what I see accomplished by modelers from around the world. Photographing our models has become an art in itself and there exists true artists at the craft. I myself am totally ignorant of such things as composition and lighting and photography itself is as alien to me as fine wine (I prefer a cold beer). But I manage with my ancient Sony along with a 60W incandescent bulb to convey the images of my modeling in what I think are accurate renditions of the work. The digital thing certainly helps since one can take literally hundreds of photos and we are bound to get at least a few that are acceptable. Above is an example (as are most here) of a stroke of luck with the camera. The small cast metal racer with a few minor alterations from the Innovative Designs kit, caught the light just right and I couldn't have done better had I planned it. The workshop interior here is one of my first attempts at a diorama. You may have noticed many of the photos on these pages taken both in front of and inside of the garage that I have called "Junior's" (I am Junior by the way). It was the purpose of the diorama to take photos of my models in a scale environment as I believe it adds credibility to them as I have mentioned before.

The photo above shows just how well used and abused Junior's Garage gets with the bent metal roof. It also gives a good impression of this International R230 heavy haul tractor offered by Sheepscot Scale in a solid resin kit. The chassis is scratch built and I have added many extras including the knobby off road tires. Taking photos outside offers someone like me the opportunity for the best kind of lighting since as I stated before, I have no knowledge of this sort of thing. This was taken in full midday sun.












It's been said that taking photos in direct sunlight isn't particularly the best method of displaying a model. The shot to the left above is one taken just as the sun is dipping down over the horizon and I really like the light here on this pattern shop I built out of Manila cardstock. The photo above right is the opposite of the previous in that the sun is just starting it's day. The shadows presented by this low sun whether starting or ending the day present a good way to distract the eye slightly to the fact that these are models and I believe give a bit more realism to the photo.


This late afternoon photo of the water side of my boathouse allows the details to pop out pretty well. The water gives a nice reflection here. Staying with the boathouse for a moment, I gave a shot of the interior a try and came up with this shadow box type effect you see below. This was taken indoors and I now wish I had placed a better backdrop on the other side of the window.


Having an inexpensive camera does have quite a few limitations. I get a terrible field of focus and can really only give an accurate image of what's directly in focus in front of the camera. This is only a problem when trying to portray a large scene and if I'm trying to present just a vehicle is acceptable. I should point out that in addition to not knowing much about photography, my skills with photo manipulation with software like Photoshop are equally devoid. I do however bump the brightness up on some shots to compensate for the problems I face when using the camera settings. I have also learned how to crop an image to eleviate unwanted surroundings. The photo below was done at a distance of about 8 inches under a 60W incadescent bulb as are most of my indoor shots of vehicles. This one of the Jordan Miniatures Model T touring car with family of Preiser figures.

The parting shot here is of a Mack B875 which is from a resin kit of Don Mills Models. The trailer is a beam lowboy kit from Sheepscot Scale and the dozer is the terrific diecast First Gear International TD25. This model was part of a vehicle feature of Model Railroading Magazine before it's demise. The shot was taken in midday sun on a diorama base.

Breifly I'd like to thank all that have visited here for the kind words and encouragement. Presenting this material to everyone and spreading the news of the hobby is much of what it is all about to me. I am often asked how I could possibly part with my models as I sell many of them but I am truly gratified to know that I am promoting the hobby and that my work is ending up on layouts and in collections around the world. So thank you for visiting and I do hope you all are enjoying.