This was the original inspiration for the project an M35 series dumper. It comes from the good folks at Warren TACOM. While not exactly what I was going to attempt, it was the start point I needed.
THIS is going to be the end product, an M929 dump truck. Taken from an Army Tech Manual on how to paint any vehicle in the US Army arsenal, it also comes with handy measurements.
This print is scaled to 1:35 so I could trace out the parts that protect the driving compartment. It was of a different design than the M35 series truck.
After calculating and trial and error, I managed to put all the pieces as close to 1:35th scale as possible.
I thought it would be easier to just ran a thin plastic sheet threw the printer and cut out the parts I needed. As you can see, this was a messy proposition.
From paper to plastic, the dump box is starting to take shape.
I had intentions of this little gizmo actually working, but abandoned that thought quickly.
Little did I know, this frame would have to be shortened a few times until it was right.
To shorten the frame, I made the cut just behind the rear axle.
I explored several materials to make these supports, but in the end, settled on the plastic one in the middle. I would later make a casting of it and produce 6 identical parts.
There are 4 marker lights on the dump box. I start with a short piece of half round styrene stock from Evergreen. I then punch out a small circle from my trusty beverage seal. The punch and die are from Micro Mark and at $40, a good investment if you do a lot of add on detail, or scratch building.
The two components of the marker light. Place a small dot of CA glue in the center of the metal disc. and place the styrene piece, flat side down, onto it. Get it as close to center as possible.
I use a tweezer in each hand, one to hold the piece down, and other to bend up the foil on the flat sides of the styrene stock.
The finished light, attached to the dump box.
So, here is the dump box... pretty much completed as far I am concerned. I am not making the pusher pistons to raise the box, nor am I going to hinge the box. Mainly because it would snap off the mud flaps.
Well, come to look at it, I guess I still need to grind out the arches on the bottom of the box for tire clearance... but that's it!
Looks like I got off line on the second mud flap... The wholes are to allow the flap to bend when the box is raised. In real life, they are made of a stiff rubber/plastic that does not flap about while driving. Also check out those reflectors... I love my punch and die set!
These support ribs really help to strengthen the "hood" of the dump box. The foil helped to square it up. All of the large components were taken from measurements, but the details stuff is "eye balled".
The "hood" that protects the cab is made from a one quart yogurt foil container seal. I guess that makes this a "Green Project" using recycled materials. I use a lot of foil seals in modeling. The Carnation coffee creamer seals are the best, even if they are a bit small.
As you can see, the exhaust pipe had to be shortened. I still have to chop the air intake on the drivers side. (see next photo)
The resin tires are from Tank Workshop. They are for the M923A1 series of trucks, so I scratch built the protective plate on the front tires (again with recycled seal foil). (FYI: Tank Workshop makes the M923A2 tires.) The back tires are supposed to have a small tube, but I skipped that for now, because it is so hard to see that tube in the recessed hub.
This will be the "sister vehicle" to the Wrecker: http://picasaweb.google.com/lopicma/M936A1Wrecker#
One critical issue i have with this build is that the "box" might be a smidge short. If I build another one, I will correct this.
Scratch built bridging placard.
Collector's Brass pioneer tools in the rack... yummy.
Scratch built cover for vehicle tire inflation system.
Hydraulic fluid tank for dump mechanism - scratch.
Relocated tail lights trimmed from the bumper in the kit and glued to strip styrene.
Shortened exhaust pipe.
Shortened and re-tooled air intake snorkel.
I used Archer Transfers for the door chevrons and equipment labels. I also used them on the dashboard, but they were not visible for shooting. The rest of the markings are from the kit.
Tamiya paints cover this truck. The base coat is NATO Green, over sprayed with Desert Yellow. MIG Brown Wash and Tamiya Pastels (set A) complete the weathering.
This underside shot shows the base coat of NATO Green. I make it a habit to paint the drive shafts gloss black.
Collector's Brass Pioneer Tools on Rack, is a "must have" for allied builders.
The hydraulic tank is part of the tipping system for dump box. It is the only part of that system I modeled. Looks like the troops god a bit sloppy when they topped it off.
My scratch built Bridging Tag. I got a bit carried away with the beading tool... The numbers are from a Woodland Scenics generic number set. The head lights are M.V. Products. They are another one of those "must haves" for the parts box.
Some scale chain draped over the tail gate mechanism.
Scale chain for the "dough nut hitch" helps to make it real...
My conversion of the tires to the self inflation system of the A2 model of the truck. These are Tank Workshop tires, and I bought them a while back. TW does make this set, but I didn't want to spend the money on another set of tires.
A bit of fuel spillage on the tank. A properly fitted A2 would have a different tank, with the fill cap at the rear, and the corner of the tank cut at an angle to help facilitate fueling.
