Boom truck

Browsing at my LHS for ideas for this kitbash, I was happy to stumble upon Athearn's older #96833 F850 boom truck:

While it represents a much older prototype, it had the right bones for this project.  Here it is after partial disassembly, with a few of the other components:

Besides the Athearn core model, the other primary contributors to this kitbash are a pair of A-Line #50017 sleepers, a Details West #HR-918 Hy-Rail guide wheel kit, a Ford F600 cab from Shapeways , and a resin Mack Model R dumptruck that'll be sacrificing its fuel tanks.  Athearn's boom truck frame, wheels/tires, bed, cab interior, and boom would all be used as the foundation for this work.

looking forward to this

Should be a great project Joe

Boom truck

Fuel tank, tool box, and other components were removed from the Athearn frame.  Rear axle was moved back about 18" to match my prototype wheelbase.  Athearn steps were cut away and replaced with fuel tanks from the donor Mack kit, and the front wheels were turned slightly to the left.

Finally, I scratchbuilt the new hi-rail frame extension, bumper, and associated hardware up front using rail wheels from the DW set.  I didn't realize when I ordered that set that my prototype had two tandem sets of hi-rail wheels in front as well as a single rail axle in the rear.  Since the DW kit only came with four wheels, rather than order another set and delay the project, I just scratchbuilt the rear wheels in styrene to match.

Another view of the hi-rail frame extension in front.  I thought the prototype's tandem front rail wheel sets made kind of an interesting feature, and I like the way they rest at an angle in the raised position.

View of the bed modifications.  I flipped the boom around and cut off the base to match the height of the prototype, then secured it to the bed.  I scratched a new bumper, bulkhead, and fore and aft material racks, and removed two of the cable guides along the boom.  In this photo, the hook has been removed from the cable, and the cable masked, in preparation for painting.  Outriggers were cut away from the Athearn boom assembly, refashioned, and attached to the rear corners of the bed per my prototype.  Toolbox came from the DW hy-rail set.

Finally, the two A-Line sleepers were combined to form the taller "crew cab" of my prototype, and the result was grafted to the Shapeways cab.  While the latter is an F600 rather than the F800 of the prototype, it's the closest thing I could find, and the features appear to be very similar.

Model was painted tonight, and my plan is to add the remaining details and decals, reassemble, and weather on Friday.

Oh boy

Wow, when you decide to get going you move fairly quickly. I am following with interest and look forward to another excellent production by you. Thanks as always for sharing Joe.

Tom

Thank you

Steve and Tom, thank you both.

Tom, I was delayed on this project while waiting for the Shapeways cab to show up, so I passed the time by disassembling the Athearn truck and then finishing the scenery west of (across the street to the right from) the Atlantic yard office.  It feels like I've been poking on this, whittling away for the last week or so once all the parts were in hand, so it's nice to finally be in the home stretch.

However, I just made a decision that's going to introduce a delay.  After test-fitting the various components after painting, I decided that the back end of the bed looked too "light" with the boom control levers left as they were on the factory Athearn model, so Friday I'm planning on scratching new control boxes and drilling them out for the 12 levers to give the model the right amount of bulk in back.  It is, as they say, all about that bass...

Hi rail trucks

Greg

Hi Greg - thank you!  Are you referring to the front hi-rail details?  I've already painted them, but I'd be happy to shoot more once everything's weathered.

Regarding the casting, are these items you offer for sale?  The one I found on Shapeways is the earlier style, but by the time I found that, I was just happy to get something that was even close.

Another Winner Joe

Looking forward to the finished model, Very nice. Kevin

Kevin

Thanks Kevin. I had to put this aside for a couple days due to family plans, but I’m hoping to wrap things up this week. I finished the new boom control boxes yesterday, so all that remains is weathering the frame, adding the bed, adding some final details and decals to the cab and crew cab, attaching them to the frame, and final weathering.

Done

I finally finished this up last night.  A few pics are below.

I didn't have any shots of the prototype from 2005 (gap in pics from 2002 to 2010, when the rust was really starting to take over), so I had to make an educated guess as to its condition during my era.

Nathan Holmes photo, October 2, 1999:

I thought it was interesting that the "National" lettering was only on the left side of the prototype.

Council Bluffs, October 14, 2002:
 

Truck

Very nice job, turned out well.

Nice!

Nice job!

Joe

Thank you

Dave and Joe, thank you both.  It's nice having this behind me.

Fantastic Job

Hi Joe,

Fantastic job on your MOW boom truck. That is a great addition to your yard scene.

Tom Klimoski

Modeling the Georgia Northeastern Railroad

Thank you

Thank you Tom!  Very kind of you sir.

Very nice Joe! One of the

Very nice Joe! One of the best vehicles I have seen yet. I hope to see much more.

Jeff

Thank you

Jeff, thanks very much.  I appreciate your encouragement.

Excellent model!

Really nice work on this, it's great to be able to add little things like this to a layout with such detail to really locate the time and place.

Thank you

Hi Eric - thank you!  I'm kind of drawn to boring, simple scenes like this.  Maybe because I can relate to them?   Whatever the case, it was a lot of fun to try to recreate.

Very nice work as always Joe.

Andrew

Hi Andrew - thanks for your encouragement.  I sure wish I knew what those objects on the bumper were for!  I've been studying them, but still coming up blank.  Like you, my original thinking was that they were folded against the bumper, but after studying the other hardware in that area, I'm wondering if they were just hung there for storage, but then pulled off and inserted into what I think are a couple of pockets welded on or near the bumper.

The pocket circled in yellow below clearly seems to be related, with a matching D-ring.  It appears to extend back toward the grill, but also has an arm that angles forward to a support that's welded just behind the object circled in red below.

And the object circled in red...is it some sort of storage pocket for another piece of this assembly - as it appears to perhaps have an opening facing to the right side of the vehicle?  Or does it hold some piece of all this when the assembly is in use? 

Finally, the little square on the bottom arm, circled in blue, is also interesting in the way it's attached at an angle.  Does that suggest that whatever it attaches to extends away from the bottom piece at an angle?

.

That's a very cool little model Joe. 

Arm theory...

Joe

I'd wager that the items circled in Red and Blue serve as stops, to hold the upper arm in position when it is rotated around the bolt which is located just above your blue circle. But I am at a loss to explain what the extended arm is used for - and the lower arm seems far bigger than necessary if it just serves as a stop.

Bracket for rail?