1/25 International flatbed 6x6 truck and drill rig - kit mods and scratch built

[Stickframe]

Hello gents,

 

It's time to call this project done.  It is an International Paystar 5000, which I converted to 6x6, extended the chassis, made a winch and rack, and flatbed and ramps for.   The project also includes a scratch built all terrain geotechnical drill rig chained to the bed. 

 

If you're interested, here is the build log

 

 

It turns out yesterday was quite sunny, so I took the model outside for lots of photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I include the two pictures above because this project includes a fair amount of interesting details, in this case the front suspension and dual steering, which usually go unnoticed!  But, I like these, so posted them 😀

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The goal of the project was to build a tough old truck hauling an equally well used piece of equipment.  Building the drill rig was fun, as I know nothing at all about these in real life.  The truck became more of a technical challenge as I am more familiar with them, but needed to design it to accommodate the drill rig. 

 

In retrospect, there are few things about the truck build I should have done differently.  Starting with the suspension.  I built my own leaf springs/brackets and so on for the front, which worked out really well.  But, for the back I used some kit parts for a walking beam suspension - this was a mistake, as the parts were (evidently) somewhat warped, which of course I noticed, but didn't worry about it.  Well, as you can guess, I spent far too much time fooling around with it to get it so sit level, and should have just built my own. 

 

Next, the cab, and specifically the hood.  The mounting points on the kit part were/are not solid/clear.  I should have just just cut them off, and made my own.  Should you go back to the build thread, you'll see I spent way too much time dealing with this, all the way up to the end of the project...😄

 

I really enjoyed the weathering process, which I hadn't done in a while.  

 

Finally, just for fun, the photo grouping below.  I don't use any photo filters/processors etc, on any photos, but these have some pretty strong saturated color right out of the camera.  I took these images the day before I took the finals, used above.  As these were taken the day before the others, you can see the cab and hood were not seated correctly:

 

 

OK gents, thanks for having a look - time to find a new project!

 

Cheers

Nick 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[AlxBNE]

Really great photography of a really great model.

[JohnHaa]

Nick,

 

Beautiful result !  Congratilations !

I'm flabbergasted about your weathering skills. 

And yes, the suspension troubles, I know all to well, better make them by scratch from the start....LOL...

 

Thanks for your inspiring photographs,

 

Cheers

JohnHaa

 

 

 

 

, 

[Pete in Lincs]

And didn't the pictures turn out well! It looks fabulous in all of them. Very realistic indeed. Another great build, Nick.

[JeroenS]

Amazing. I love everything about it. That is so well done. 

 

Not to worry, I have your next subject right here.... 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hayes_Arbegui_2010.JPG

 

 

[dnl42]

Outstanding! 

[klubman01]

Superb.

Trevor

[Toftdale]

On 29/04/2024 at 23:15, Stickframe said:

time to find a new project!

All ready looking forward to the masterclass,  thanks again for taking the time to share your work.  Truly inspirational - Andy 

[keefr22]

Fantastic truck, fantastic drilling rig, fantastic photos to show them off really well - just fantastic work all round!

 

Really enjoyed watching these superb models come together Nick, and how you can build them so quickly simply defeats me....!!

 

I'm looking forward to the next project too!

 

Keith

 

 

[ajwebb]

Uhh, where are the pictures of the model? Oh wait, photoshop...

 

Too much detail! It looks amazing.

[Stickframe]

Hello gents, thank you, and I'm glad this passes the collective "eye test!" 

 

In the last few years, I've found I enjoy taking pictures of the final almost as much as building it!  I really struggled through the first few efforts....just not very convincing.

 

These are not photo shopped, but I use a generally similar process.  Each photo is resized, then using a free online tool called "Photoscape X" I make a cutout of the subject, followed by a super high tech step - I import a background that I like, and the picture into....Powerpoint.  Once in PPT I enlarge and reduce pics to work together - that is making sure shadows are basically going in the same direction, and that there is a believable vanishing point.  This is a slow process, but having done it a few times, and like the result, I don't mind.  I don't use any picture corrections or filters ever - the picture of the subject represents the model as built.

 

Ok, thanks for having a look!

 

Cheers

Nick 

[stevehnz]

Brilliant Nick, both your rig ,& your photos, I'm glad I didn't have to ask how you did it. 😊

Steve.

[Keeff]

Outstanding work and result! 👌

 

The pictures really do make this look like the real truck and load ..... 👏

 

Keith 😁