E. Oswald Strohmei says that for years he had a Caterpillar scraper from Roco with a slightly damaged bowl. When he could buy another one with a damaged tractor he was able to complete one scraper but now had a damaged tractor and bowl as leftovers. E. Oswald didn't have the right idea how to use that parts until he found a Matchbox No. K-4 "Fruehauf Hopper" (again in damaged condition, of course). This GMC truck with two bottom dump trailers is from the "King Size" series and bigger than HO E. Oswald says that makes the trailers a perfect match for the Cat machine.

The tractor got some modifications because it should have a different appearance than the Roco original. It was converted after several pictures E. Oswald found in publications about Caterpillar machinery. First he removed all the fenders (considering that these units can achieve over 40 mph that's not a safety feature for the driver). Without the fenders it was possible to replace the rear wheels by bigger wheels from a Siku toy. The two air filters on both sides of the hood were missing, so a single but bigger one on the right side and added an air horn on the left side of the hood were installed. A new exhaust pipe, a new driver's seat mounted on a box instead of the original post, and self made decals completed the tractor.

On the Matchbox trailer the fenders as well as the hook at the rear end were cut off. The rear axle was replaced by the same toy wheels as on the tractor. The damaged Roco scraper bowl gave it's gooseneck which was cemented to the front end of the trailer and reinforced by three braces. These modifications allowed the use the original joint between tractor and trailer. Two hydraulic cylinders from the parts box were attached to the bottom doors which are fed by hydraulic lines made from vinyl and wire.

Posted December 22, 2012