This has been a really great playoff season. We’re a BIG hockey family and everybody fills out brackets. I only missed one pick in the first round, going 7-8. Then I only missed one pick in the second round, going 3-4. And I only missed one pick in the third round going 1-2. (Are we seeing a pattern here?)
I had Edmonton taking the Cup this year. Looks like I’m only going to miss one in the Finals as well. 
We’ll see what happens when they go up to Edmonton.
Looking excellent Gino, I love that paint job. The trailer looks to be coming along nicely too.
Superb modelling!
PS. Your hood will be there in a couple of days. 
Good deal, thanks.
As usual, scratch/convert it and someone will release it.
5 posts were merged into an existing topic: NEWS: Hobby Link 1/35 M818 Conversion Set
I am calling this project done.
For the truck, I gave it a dirty-brown wash then a couple drybrushes of a reddish-dirt color, and then a sandy color. I added grease to the fifth wheel and some scratches and bare metal on the ramps. Lastly, I added Tamiya Smoke as dripped/spilled diesel on the fuel tanks too.
Here it is.
I also added the “Orient Express” decal from the Hobby Link M52 set.
I did similar weathering on the trailer, just a bit heavier to depict it as older. I added black stars and US Army serial numbers to it. The stairs on the back are from a sprue I bought form Hobby DNA (Trumpeter parts service) for the M4 C2V kit.
I also found the “Warpig” decal left over from something and thought it would look good and give it a little character.
Here they are connected together.
I really enjoyed this build and am very pleased with how it came out. Miraculously, all the wheels on the truck and trailer are sitting on the ground too. Another tractor trailer for the shelf.
Great project Gino, you’ve really done some exemplary work. The whole rig looks superb together. I really like the MERDC on the tractor. The trailer looks just beat up enough to be in service but not so beaten as to be abandoned. All of your exquisite fine detailing adds to the realistic perception of the whole. Outstanding model.
Thanks Matt. I am very happy with how it turned out. Well used but not neglected is exactly the look I was going for.
Beautiful build Gino, I love the detail work, the camo and the well-worn trailer.
Outstanding example of “what can be done” by an expert in our hobby.
Damn, that’s some Cold War modeling there! Great job!
Thank you gentlemen. I really enjoyed it.
Excellent builds and finishes.
Cheers,
Ralph
Thanks Ralph.
I decided that this one wasn’t done after all. I didn’t like how the trailer looked with the truck. I also received a couple extra parts that I decided to add.
First, I recently received the Hobby Link M818 Conversion set. It is excellent.
In it, are two angle iron braces that go along the frame next to the 5th wheel on both sides. Also, the 5th wheel has a larger bolt plate.
I missed these the first time, so I added them here.
I also decided to make it an Operation Desert Storm tractor. I added the sand-backed bumper numbers from the Hobby Link set and added white coalition chevrons on the doors. I also gave it a dusty/sandy wash.
I also had the excellent Def Model US Army Driver figure from the Gulf War.
I built and painted him in Chocolate Chip camo from ODS and added an M16A1 w/30 rd magazine to him. He kinda looks like Richard Petty too me.
And leaned him up against the truck.
Lastly, I took my earlier M1062 Fuel Tanker and added black coalition chevrons on it and mated them together.
It looks much better to me now as a Desert Storm tanker truck. I am very happy with it.
The former box trailer has already been repainted and remarked as a Vietnam-era M129 and will be mated to a future-build M52 using the Hobby Link M818 tractor parts. The Hobby Link M800 cab and wheels will be used on a future M813 TPU build. The M1088 tractor that was pulling the tanker will be repurposed to pull an AN/TPY-2 Radar Trailer.
I like your jobs as usual original
nice mix of camo…
question: are old jerrycan still in use in ODS?
Yes! The old metal water cans were mostly replaced with plastic ones by the 1980s, but there were still some in use. The plastic fuel/oil cans did not come out until the 1990s, metal ones were still in use well into the 2000s.
Ken
Thanks gents. I really like how it looks now.
Exactly. The ones on the truck are fuel/oil cans. As a young 1LT at Ft Hood in the mid-late '90s, we went through all our vehicles and connexes looking for metal fuel cans to turn in and draw plastic ones. There were a lot of metal ones still hanging around.
