Jim Groeneweg says he's had this nice Sheepscot International R-190 for years and for some reason decided to finally get on with the project! A lot of work later (Jim hollowed out the solid resin cab) and a few roll castings were completed to begin the build. From there it went on to a modified Athearn R model Mack chassis using the five spoke rear wheel/tire sets and the six spoke front wheel from Athearn mounted with Boley tires on the front. The fuel tanks and hydraulic oil tank and cylinder were semi scratchbuilt along with the cab interior and tailgate. The dump box is a heavily modified Lindberg part that started as a dump trailer from the GMC Astro and Ford CLT-9000 series kits, cut down with floor, cab shield, mud-flaps scratchbuilt along with mirrors for the cab. Glass is Humbrol “Clear-Fix” for the side and rear with an acetate formed windshield. The model is finished off in R-M BASF 1970 Ford Grabber Blue and Testors gray for the dump box. It is based on an actual truck Jim says he remembers as a kid owned by a local excavating company.

Posted February 17, 2012