I don't ask any manufacture to do a two-in-one kit offering both types of cabs in the same kit. After all they gotta make money somewhere.

However I will never understand a kit maker investing let's say, $600,000 in initial tooling for the LWB open cab Deuce and then not investing an additional $100K to also do the enclosed cab wherein they could sell perhaps 40% more total kits?????

I have said all this before in this thread and folks perhaps smarter than me say that wouldn't make sense.

Tamiya I guess I will just have to agree to disagree.

Going through the thread from the first post to the last to pick up any missed or forgotten information and I began to wonder if any one has thought about putting this all in a book.
I mean there are books on building and detailing shermans and stuarts tanks why not a book on the 2.5 ton.
Having a more indepth article about converting a LWB to a SWB with measurements for frame, load box and gas tank.List's of all the aftermarket kits, resin and PE. Any thing that's been in this thread and more.
Now if some one has all ready done this please point me in the direction of this book. Thank you
Dave M

Regarding the question of measurements on the door of the enclosed cab Deuce and a Half:

Thanks to the fine folks at the World War II Museum in New Orleans I now have the following information:

The bottom edge of the closed cab Deuce door is 34 1/4 inches wide. Also the door is 31 3/4 inches wide at the belt line molding so those of you with the HobbyBoss model Deuce in hand, scale it out for us and let us know how the model measures up.

Photos of a beaut of a SWB Deuce taken 2 weeks ago at the WW II Museum in New Orleans.






More detail photos to come!

Michael,the first pic its a scale model!

Thsnks for posting!

Regards from the south
Alvaro

Just a few Studebaker US6-based tanker trucks :

US6 U5 750 gal. Gasoline Truck



Two Soviet variants :



BZ-35S :



H.P.

Thanks Frenchy - nicely done research.

Mike

Anyone have a ruling on these outside mounted gun racks? They look great but I cannot say I've ever seen them done this way before. If I am riding in the cab in a combat zone I would like my weapon available to me INSIDE the cab!

What say ye all? Thumbs up or thumbs down?

I for one when the shooting starts if I can't get that truck moving then I want to get as low to the ground as my buttons will allow and behind some thing that will stop bullets better than the sheet metal of that cab.
The mounting on the outside of the cab is better then the springfield in a scabbard mounted to the fender pictured some were in this thread.

DaveM

That's the first pic I have ever seen with the rack mounted out side of the cab.

Then you have to consider that the rifle would be exposed to the elements.

So HB's CCKW cab is incorrect. Unfortunately, the kit has quite a few more things to watch out for:
First of all, there's no drag link / Pitman arm or whatever the technical term is for the connection between steering gear and left front wheel.
Staying with the chassis, the kit offers an option for a truck with or w/o winch, but I haven't ever seen a photo of a tanker with a winch; the same goes for the towing pintle - check your references (for the water tanker, too)!
The spare wheel clamps are a lot better than Italeri's ones, but still not really correct: on the prototype, only one of them (on the left side) is movable and has the indentation that the fixing rod goes into; the other one is bolted to a sheet metal triangle and doesn't need nor have that rod and indentation.
As for the jerry can racks, they need five wooden slats on their bottoms and wooden "bumpers" at the front and on the stowage boxes: the david Doyle book on the truck shows this detail very well, just like the channels for the (four!) tarpaulin bows. Twelve tiedown hooks for the tarpaulin are on the PE sheet: again, Doyle helps with their correct positioning, while the kit's instructions want to see only four on the model, and these installed too high.
Tools would belong onto the running boards: shovel left, axe and mattock right.
At the rear, there was a chain hanging down (slightly to the top left of where the pintle would be, if there were one), to discharge static electricity.
Finally, the PE sheet contains the sheet metal "sleeve" for the fuel tank of the CCKW 352, if you want to build your own instead of waiting for HB's one ...
Think positive - we got us another variant of the CCKW to prove our modeling abilities!
Peter

Looking at Tamiya web site I see they are releasing the ambulance version of the Gamma Goat.
Now why are they still dragging their feet on releasing another version of the Deuce and a Half in 1/35 scale.They have both open and closed cabs in 1/48 scale.
Is there any news about any new releases from any one, haven't seen any thing since Hobby Boss last releases.

That would be a no. However your question about Tamiya's 1/35th scale Deuce is well put! Why still no hard cab?

p.s. Thanks for asking.

Speaking of the Tamiya 1/48th Jimmys...

A British Modeller FB'ed me saying "I think there was an article saying the Tamiya tanker had a GMC cab and Studebaker bonnet so I'd check first?"

This is setting off my OCRD!*

I don't know much about 'Jimmys',
but: allowing for the chassis being re-engineered from a metal lump chassis to a plastic one, The Tamiya 1/48th soft & tin tops have exactly the same hoods, engine side panels, 'fenders' & grille, so if Tamiya got it wrong both versions are?

Anyone have any thoughts here?

*Obsessive Compulsive Research Disorder...

Anybody doing a build yet on the HobbyBoss Fuel Tanker CCKW - any build shots?

I will probably build one eventually but I will be replacing the cab with the oncab from the old Italeri water truck. (I usually have about 3 in my stash.)

I have not even seen the kit at my LHS and they are usually good about getting new offerings in early.

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234971652-hobbyboss-83830-gmc-cckw-750-gallon-tanker/

H.P.

Thanks Frenchy

I know the cab is incorrectly proportioned but I have to say that built-up it doesn't look all that bad. Will have to hold off until I can see it in the flesh.

As to the oversized HobbyBoss Jerry cans, the Tasca aftermarket water and fuel cans are the best thing out there so just get those!

Anyone else out there have some built up photos of the HobbyBoss fuel tanker to post?

Frenchy gave us a link to one fellow but his build is as a post war civilian hodge-podge of a vehicle that is rather difficult to get a good look at.

I would build it myself but right now my shop is full up to overflowing with two big monster Russian MAZ 8x8's, a Diamond T Wrecker, two small fuel trailers and another two other Deuces.

Beautiful two part diorama by Francis Degols:


I very much like this concept of the two separate dio bases working together as a larger display!


Appears to be the Italeri enclosed cab Deuce with gun ring and the Peerless Max/Italeri water tank trailer.

I have been looking for built-up photos of the new HobbyBoss CCKW fuel truck and finally found them - in Armorama's own review of the product.




Model by Darren Baker

It is still my contention that on the latest HobbyBoss offering of the closed cab fuel truck: #1 the hood + cowl is too long, front to back. #2 The fenders are also too long to match the hood. #3 In order to make up for these excesses the hard cab has been compressed and made too short. This disparity scales out to approximately 4.3 scale inches - almost 1/8th of an inch in actual measure.

It is my theory that the problem started with the earlier offering of the CCKW / Bofors AA gun. However the problem went unnoticed due to the fact that the Bofors was correctly marketed with only the open cab making it less obivious. AND the long, low nature of the original vehicle itself allowed this problem to go unnoticed.

With the offering of the fuel truck, HobbyBoss unknowingly or unwisely decided to stay with the previous overly long items and instead sacrifice the correct vehicle body proportions by compressing the very iconic GMC hard cab.

For possible comparison: (This is a Chevy rather than a GMC cab but the proportions remain the same.)

Mike Koenig Photo

Model by Marcos Serra

One CCKW version that I believe we have overlooked in this rather lengthy thread is the GMC Deuce with Bofors AA gun used by the French Army. A very impressive offering from HobbyBoss.

Looking at some of the pic's from the Nuremburg Toy Fair. A lot of nice stuff coming this year.
In one pic I spotted a deuce and half from Hobby Boss.Closed cab machine, gun mount and cargo box. could not tell if it was a S W B. Could only see the front of the model and could not read the tag that was with the model.
Obviously they are using different molds since there is a hole in the cab roof. Lets hope they corrected the issues from the tanker version.