Thanks for looking guys. I have seen the Hasegawa one but, as mentioned, it is much smaller than what the military uses and what I wanted to depict.

The excavator is done, except for weathering. I rerouted the hydraulic lines so they would be more accurate than they were. I added a few pieces of tubing to complete them as well. I made all the markings and decals for it myself by copying images off the net and printing them on computer decal paper. I think it came out nicely.






I fully detailed the cabin as well with extra levers and a small instrument panel, placards, etc. It is hard to see, but it is all there.



I found a CAT image on the net that replaced the "A" with a girl bending over. Knowing soldiers, that is exactly what one would put on his vehicle. So I added some overspray around it and tagged the excavator.


The truck and trailer also have been base coated. I need to camo them and they will be ready for decals and weathering as well. More to come soon since I plan on working on it a lot and finishing it up soon during the Covid-19 Apocalypse lock-down.

Great work! Hopefully we can see the complete truck soon!

Stay healthy!

Andreas

Haha! Love it Gino!

Thanks guys. I figured the "CAT Girl" stencil would be a hit. The truck is almost done. I should have another update in a couple days.

CAT

I have completed this project.

First, I changed the bumper numbers on the excavator since they really couldn't be read well being black on dark green. I added a sand surround so they would be more visible, just like the Army does. I also weathered it with a wash of a dirt brown color and some selective rust and bare metal.






For the truck, I painted it in NATO camo and marked it as a vehicle in IFOR (UN Implementation FORce, Bosnia-Herzegovina in '95-'96). I also added the yellow RAWS (Rotating Amber Warning Signal) on the roof and red/yellow reflectors as per European regulations on the rear mud flaps. I added the airlines and brake wiring cable from thin wire and strapped the spare wheel to the frame in front of the 5th wheel. I weathered it in a similar way as the excavator, just a little lighter handed. I wanted some weathering to show details, but not to cover them up.








Some close-up details.




For some contrast, I painted the trailer in overall medium green and weathered it similar to the excavator, just a little heavier to represent a very well used trailer.




Here it is all hooked up together. I have the correct chain binders to tie-down the excavator, but am waiting on some chain to arrive. So it will have to be tied down later. It is quite large when all hooked up.






This was a very rewarding build to me. I really enjoyed the scratch work on the truck and was pleasantly surprised with the excavator. I really like how it turned out. Now to make room on the shelves for it.

ummm ...
Wouldn't the excavator arm be folded somehow to reduce the height?

Impressive build!
/ Robin

Example:


Edit: Folding the arm also lowers the centre of gravity and this may be relevant when travelling at some speed ....

Thanks. Sure, it can be. Like I said, it is not tied down yet and the arm is still movable.

Morning Gino, very nice build. Minor point, if the machine has been in use the teeth and side cutters on the bucket, along with some of the surface would be shiny bare metal from wear. From experience the paint doesn't last long. Any way love to see heavy equipment as a retired operator. Wayne

Thanks for checking in. I actually did put silver on the teeth. I just doesn't show well in the pics.

The arm is definitly folded down during railroad travelling.

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/features/6524

I'm glad you posted this link in the, Construction Vehicles for Dioramas??? thread.
This looks great.

Looks awesome Gino.

Thanks guys. Hopefully it was/is helpful.

I plan to get back to finishing this by securing the load soon. I was waiting for the chain to come in the mail (which basically stopped from overseas due to Covid shutdowns). While I was waiting, I put it on the shelf and started something else. I now have the chain and binders; just need to install them. More to follow.

A double-handful to move, that's for sure. I'm about to add the NATO camo to my HET and trailer, and find that even in two parts, it's intimidating to wrestle on the workbench. Especially with the large amount of PE scattered all over the kit.

I think it's time for another Tamiya M151A1, just to settle my nerves a bit......

Great job! But take Robin's advice about the excavator boom and stick being folded down on the trailer as per his picture. I've been doing this for 30 years, and I have yet to see an excavator anywhere hauled on a highway truck with anything other then it folded down. It would just be to unstable otherwise, even if the height was OK.

I have since folded the boom as much as the model will allow. I had to lengthen the rod on the upper piston to allow it to fold more. I will have pics soon of it folded and securely chained down.

Robin's pic also gives a good example of chaining it down - short tail chains and binders at the four corners. The other option is cross-chaining at the rear (i.e. the view shown in the pic), running a chain from the track on one side to the tie down point on the other. That's hard to do at the front of the trailer when the load is right up to the trailer neck (which you want to get more weight on the drive wheels) so the short tail chains at the corners are usually the simplest option.

And your operator is obviously following orders - most guys wouldn't bother putting out the trailer deck side extensions! As long as about 1/3 to 1/2 of the track width is on the trailer, good to go (again, as per Robin's pic)!

It turned out amazing Gino. The excavator looks great too. Always wondered how some of the die cast 1/35 construction stuff would look painted and detailed.

Thanks Jon and Jamie. I hope to have some pics of it all tied down soon.

I finally got to properly tying down the excavator. For the chain binders, I used 3D printed ones designed by our own Matt Leese (mdlbldrmatt135). You can get them at his Down Range Productions Shapeways store. They look really nice. I chained it down on all four corners and chained down the bucket. I folded the boom as far down as it would go without cutting it up and redesigning the whole thing. I did have to replace and lengthen the upper piston to make it go as far as it is.

Looks really good Gino, having the boom down makes it look very realistic. 'Course I'm a sucker for anything with construction equipment. Wayne

Just awesome!

Thanks guys. Glad you like it. I am very pleased with how it turned out.