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Bell Lines was out of Charleston, WV and sold out to Smith's Transfer in Staunton, VA in 1970.  Pictures are about impossible to find, I have seen only 5 from all my books and internet searches.  Here are two Bell Lines B Macks and the prototype pictures they are modeled after.

20190421_15092220190421_151010Bell Lines 3

Note the small mirrors and only two clearance lights.  The trailer is a scratched box on a Revell chassis.

 

20190421_15104920190421_151106Bell Lines B Mack

The tractor had a second axle added, plus some details.  Note no stack, quarter fenders or mudflaps on the picture (That's the WV state capital in the background).  Weaver trailer.

Thanks to Christie at Graphics on Demand for the custom decal designs.  Nothing would have been possible without her work.

 

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5395F06D-E066-41F0-9881-676357FF1FF2B7DE4835-49F1-49BA-BD1A-D180B7362259Gray

you knock it out of the park with these Wow! Your last pic of the real truck is my favorite. It’s a Mack B67 tandem  with a drag axle and a contour cab very rare. The B67 was a shorter hood than the B61. For those who never saw a Mack B contour cab here’s one I’m working on in 1/25 scale. They did this for length laws the cab was contour so the trailer would clear. Gray keep those old LTL’s coming 

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Gray, Lee,

Thanks so much for sharing these models.  I’m really inspired by your efforts, which show modeling at its absolute finest.  It’s OK to see die cast photos, but those can be had anywhere.  

What you do to regular trucks, with both paint and details, provides a high standard for the hobby.  I especially like what you’ve done with Champ of the Road models.   I’m currently away from trucks, working on a layout addition, so no recent trucks to share... 

Great work!!!!

Don

1A5CE7F0-9AC8-4047-B712-1C297749CC7EABD08142-EE7F-4B2F-AFC6-2AC4FF0EEB48EE7AF80F-3735-402B-811A-9A439908EEC877E0AEAB-9BA9-48FD-9317-41F0BB5F7F14Thanks Don for the nice complements that means a lot 

speaking of champs of the road I need to finish this one I got when I was a kid. It was a old TG&Y truck I played with it till wheels fell of but I never got rid of it. I striped the paint off about 5 years ago and repainted it and made some Custom decals for it. Here’s some pics of it. It’s going to be on a Revell honest John frame and Don Mills Wheels pulling a Reffer trailer 

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Thanks for the compliments on the trucks.  I had an uncle who drove for Bell only wish I had been old enough to have talked to him about driving, B series Macks, 2 stick transmissions etc.

What is a source of 1/48-1/50 1955-1970 (approx) trucks, especially looking for F and R model Mack's, White 9000, IH R and DCO, GMC conventionals.  Spec Cast made the White WC, but they are getting impossible to find, at least as a decent price to cut up and modify.  I know of Corgi, Spec Cast, Revell and some super expensive British made castings (Smith and EMD???).

Seems like all the kit and parts suppliers are drying up, It's a tough business.  I'm by no means a master modeler, but it's fun to see what an attempt might bring, and sometimes projects comes out well.

 

Some nice 1/43 from Iconic Replica and IXO, but 1/43 is just too big for O scale in my opinion.

Gray

 

 

 

A308A874-DCBA-4E60-AC92-73B5DCA13AA81ADED518-9EDF-4DA2-9A6B-1988776A6E1C7C87C185-639C-4DCF-8EF2-9E5B7A2479A2Gray

WSI just release the Mack F 1963-1980ish outside that good luck. No one makes a R International series that I know of I have a bunch of old Rick Manz 1/48 cab casting that are super rare but they are in bad shape. Here’s a narrow nose Pete I’ve worked on for hours getting it this far.I plan on putting a Don Mills Log Trailer on it. Don Mills told me a couple months ago he’s not selling truck kits anymore not to anyone. 

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Last edited by lee drennen

Hi Lee, take a look at these new release from diecast direct'.. 100 bucks a pop, but  I'm having trouble from stopping myself from ordering  the aero willys, I've  always loved that car'... 

BTW, I must reemphasize everything Don has stated.  You and  Nhvrygray perform the epitome of truck modeling'.

 

 

aero33 ford

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Last edited by Quarter Gauger 48

Oh yes! I know it’s alot but hey you only live once and if you can afford it do it. I sold a lot of HO stuff this winter and took some of the cash and bought stuff that I’ve been wanting for years. I could have saved it but some of the O scale stuff just fell in my lap and I couldn’t get a deal like that again. 

Quarter Gauger 48 posted:

Hi Lee, take a look at these new release from diecast direct'.. 100 bucks a pop, but  I'm having trouble from stopping myself from ordering  the aero willys, I've  always loved that car'... 

BTW, I must reemphasize everything Don has stated.  You and  Nhvrygray perform the epitome of truck modeling'.

 

 

aero33 ford

Thank you. I love trucks and trains glad you like them 

I agree Mel, 1940 to 60 were the best looking cars of all time.  I think part of our affection for them is the fact that those are the cars we grew up in and traveled to trips with our families.  We have such fond memories of those years.  Plus the simple fact there was something special about them when we started driving them ourselves.  The sounds, power, handling and the ride itself.  With all the technology today, I miss not changing my own spark plugs, adjusting the carb, and changing the oil....  

Quarter Gauger 48 posted:

I agree Mel, 1940 to 60 were the best looking cars of all time.  I think part of our affection for them is the fact that those are the cars we grew up in and traveled to trips with our families.  We have such fond memories of those years.  Plus the simple fact there was something special about them when we started driving them ourselves.  The sounds, power, handling and the ride itself.  With all the technology today, I miss not changing my own spark plugs, adjusting the carb, and changing the oil....  

The days of our youth, as well as changing our own spark plugs and oil, and adjusting carburetors, are gone forever. The best we can do is remember...

MELGAR

Hey guys I’m only 50 but I got in on this stuff too my first vehicle was a 1970 International 3/4 truck with a granny low 4 speed. What I liked it was simple to diagnose why your vehicle won’t run back then all a engine needed was fire and gas if you had fire and getting gas to your carb it’s your carb. If no fire then it’s points, coil, or a bad plugs. And remember those inline fuses if your headlight fuse blowed dad taught me to care some aluminum foil and wrap it around the fuse to get you going till you could get one tuff luck doing that these days 

MELGAR posted:
Quarter Gauger 48 posted:

I agree Mel, 1940 to 60 were the best looking cars of all time.  I think part of our affection for them is the fact that those are the cars we grew up in and traveled to trips with our families.  We have such fond memories of those years.  Plus the simple fact there was something special about them when we started driving them ourselves.  The sounds, power, handling and the ride itself.  With all the technology today, I miss not changing my own spark plugs, adjusting the carb, and changing the oil....  

The days of our youth, as well as changing our own spark plugs and oil, and adjusting carburetors, are gone forever. The best we can do is remember...

MELGAR

When I was 16yrs old I used to change my own oil and plugs it made me feel so Manly 

Last edited by lee drennen
lee drennen posted:

Hey guys I’m only 50 but I got in on this stuff too my first vehicle was a 1970 International 3/4 truck with a granny low 4 speed. What I liked it was simple to diagnose why your vehicle ...

Lee,  Geat summary of trouble shooting back in the good old days.  In addition to those tips, a friend always kept a can of Coca Cola on hand.  Pouring a little stream of it between the battery terminals gave a low battery enough of an acidic boost to start the car.  Guess that is one thing that would still work. (Kids, don't try this on your train sets or computer keyboards :-).

My second car was a 4-door 1969 Ford Falcon.  It had a simple way to by-pass a stuck/dead starter.  It was pure genius and so handy, too!

I am still hoping that the model manufacturers will produce that particular Falcon body style.   A 2-door in the earlier body style has been made in 1:43 scale, usually painted as a race car.  Some of you have posted examples.  The 1969 was perhaps more transitional?  The Falcon style following my car looked like pony cars, of which I think there are better known examples and plenty of scale models.  

Speaking of which, painting of the interior of my 1964 1/2 Mustang has stalled.  I really need a head lamp/magnifier or maybe see if I can find that little starter switch under the hood .

Tomlinson Run Railroad

Tom

Thanks I always poured Coke on them to get rid of the  corrosion I never knew that great tip.I’m sorry but I just never did like the 69 falcon body style I like the 61 through 63 no offense.  Will you post some pictures of you working on your interior I don’t care if you post work in progress pictures on here I would like to see what you guys are working on and stuff.  I also I thought of another trick my dad taught me was if your distributor cap got wet to spray WD-40 inside of it to keep it dry. And he also taught me to pour alcohol in your Windshield wiper fluid so it wouldn’t freeze and it wouldn’t freeze up the little holes where it sprays out my dad was a trucker for 43 years and I’m not bragging but he was a very smart man when it came to mechanics I guess because he owned his own trucks and worked on them.I’m proud to say I’m a fourth generation trucker in my family also.

Last edited by lee drennen
MELGAR posted:
Quarter Gauger 48 posted:

I agree Mel, 1940 to 60 were the best looking cars of all time.  I think part of our affection for them is the fact that those are the cars we grew up in and traveled to trips with our families.  We have such fond memories of those years.  Plus the simple fact there was something special about them when we started driving them ourselves.  The sounds, power, handling and the ride itself.  With all the technology today, I miss not changing my own spark plugs, adjusting the carb, and changing the oil....  

The days of our youth, as well as changing our own spark plugs and oil, and adjusting carburetors, are gone forever. The best we can do is remember...

MELGAR

MELGAR, those were the day's.  I was 14 the first time had my hands literally in an engine.  My best buddy, two years older, had just gotten an English Ford.  Just happen over to his house finding his dad and he doing a ring and con-rod bearing job.  Literally put my hands down into the cylinders.

Ironically years later he and I pulled an 14-hour all nighter partially rebuilding to flathead six in his then 53 Plymouth.

Lots of engines since most notably the 392 Hemi from first car.

Ron 

Lee,  I used silicon spray on the distributor cap and wires -- a similar concept. :-)  It's great that your father passed on so much information from his extensive experience owning and driving trucks. And, four generations is impressive!  Per your suggestion ...

Here are some photos of the '64 1/2 Mustang. It's from the Ertl "Classic Vehicles" series from 1989, although I bought it new last year or so.

First, I painted the door handles and the front running and rear lights to match photos of restored cars:

I also painted the windshield wipers and "washed" the vent on the hood with black paint but I really should have used a grey instead of black.

At minimum, I wanted to paint the seats white. In my dreams, I also wanted to add "glass" to the side vent windows and maybe the backseat windows.  The model disassembled:

The hump for the stick shift is detailed enough to include chrome and wood -- with a steady hand and magnification.  It would be good to remove the steering wheel and give it the chrome and wood treatment, but it doesn't look easy to remove -- the plastic is kinda melted on the reverse side.

It's hard to see in black, but there's nice dashboard detail and room to paint the radio (translation: or "suggest" it with a dash of silver):

I've started the first coat. It needs a second one and the embarrassing "paint slop" cleaned up afterward :

Here's another view showing the potential for dashboard and etc. detail:

Tomlinson Run Railroad

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Last edited by TomlinsonRunRR
MELGAR posted:
Quarter Gauger 48 posted:

I agree Mel, 1940 to 60 were the best looking cars of all time.  I think part of our affection for them is the fact that those are the cars we grew up in and traveled to trips with our families.  We have such fond memories of those years.  Plus the simple fact there was something special about them when we started driving them ourselves.  The sounds, power, handling and the ride itself.  With all the technology today, I miss not changing my own spark plugs, adjusting the carb, and changing the oil....  

The days of our youth, as well as changing our own spark plugs and oil, and adjusting carburetors, are gone forever. The best we can do is remember...

MELGAR

Yes Mel, unless we obtain a classic car...(LOL) a 50s model, and we can again be shade tree mechanics....

PRRronbh posted:
MELGAR posted:

The days of our youth, as well as changing our own spark plugs and oil, and adjusting carburetors, are gone forever. The best we can do is remember...

MELGAR

MELGAR, those were the day's.  I was 14...  My best buddy...had just gotten an English Ford. ...doing a ring and con-rod bearing job.

Lots of engines since...

Ron 

Those British 4-cylinder engines often had three-bearing crankshafts and did not have robust bottom ends - like my Sunbeam Alpine.

Like everything else, cars are changing. The gasoline engine may someday disappear altogether. I heard a few weeks ago that General Motors is looking to hire more electrical engineers and fewer mechanical engineers - to support future electric vehicle development.

To keep the thread on topic, and with due deference to the 21st century, here is a picture of the 1930s gasoline truck on my layout.

MELGAR

MELGAR_20_AUTOS_48_GASOLINE_TRUCK

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Last edited by MELGAR
MELGAR posted:

The 33 Ford is nice but nothing captures the style of 1950s American iron like the Willys Aero!

MELGAR

I ordered the Aero last night after thinking about it for a spell'.. Just out of principle,  I've never let myself spend a 100 bucks on a 1/43 diecast model.  Lee, said go for it, and my wife said, "Great, that will be your father's day gift'... So I went for it, what the heck...I deserve it.. Speaking of favorite cars, I had a used 64 Falcon sea foam green..was a decent little car and I enjoyed driving it to and from work.  I blew out a freeze out plug, and it was to expensive to repair it.  While stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas, after returning from Nam, I bought a 63 Impala, from a fellow solider that was shipping out.  Needed a lot of work, but at 200 bucks a good deal..

Scan0001_optScan0002_opt

No problems changing plugs and oil on this 327 CI, with glass packs. Drove this baby back and forth, Kansas,/New York several times.. Finally blew a rod, by over revving.  Had well over 200K on the clock'...And in those days going through Indiana, @ 70 plus MPH, the legal limit, the State Troopers would wave the high sign back at you'...Truly one of my all time favorites'..  Best ever, was a 1970 Dodge Coronet. Coast to coast pulling a Uhaul and family twice and shipped to Germany and ran on the 'Autobahn and around Germany/Europe.  Only thing I ever changed was tires and exhaust pipes.  Great car, and fast 302 V8 4brl... Sold it when I returned to CONUS...   

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Quarter Gauger 48 posted:
MELGAR posted:

The 33 Ford is nice but nothing captures the style of 1950s American iron like the Willys Aero!

MELGAR

I ordered the Aero last night after thinking about it for a spell'.. Just out of principle,  I've never let myself spend a 100 bucks on a 1/43 diecast model.  Lee, said go for it, and my wife said, "Great, that will be your father's day gift'... So I went for it, what the heck...I deserve it..

Glad to hear that you ordered the Willys. Please post pictures when you get it. You clearly liked it too much to pass it up. Money is not everything!

MELGAR

MELGAR posted:
Quarter Gauger 48 posted:
MELGAR posted:

The 33 Ford is nice but nothing captures the style of 1950s American iron like the Willys Aero!

MELGAR

I ordered the Aero last night after thinking about it for a spell'.. Just out of principle,  I've never let myself spend a 100 bucks on a 1/43 diecast model.  Lee, said go for it, and my wife said, "Great, that will be your father's day gift'... So I went for it, what the heck...I deserve it..

Glad to hear that you ordered the Willys. Please post pictures when you get it. You clearly liked it too much to pass it up. Money is not everything!

MELGAR

Mel, that is what my wife say's all the time'...However, I'm VERY, VERY< frugal'...I keep telling her, it don't grow on a tree..........

A few days ago I asked about sources for several trucks including an F model Mack.

Look what I found at the MackShop.  1/50 by Tekno.  Really nice trucks at half or less than a WSI.  I can find no mention or listing anywhere except the MackShop.

Wanted to share the source ASAP, this hasn't even made it to the shop yet.

Check out the MackShop, you will be glad you did.

Another that I haven't received yet will become my Smith Transfer successor to Bell Lines tractor. 

My only concern is they are so detailed how to get it apart to repaint without messing things up-  Anyone ever done one of these before?

Gray Lackey

 

https://www.mack-shop.com/esho...700-model-white-blue

https://www.mack-shop.com/esho...-model-american-flag

Mack F700Mack F700-1

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Quarter Gauger 48 posted:

...take a look at these new release from diecast direct'.. 100 bucks a pop, but  I'm having trouble from stopping myself from ordering  the aero willys, I've  always loved that car'...

aero

Quarter Gauger 48 posted:

I ordered the Aero last night after thinking about it for a spell'.. Just out of principle,  I've never let myself spend a 100 bucks on a 1/43 diecast model.  Lee, said go for it, and my wife said, "Great, that will be your father's day gift'... So I went for it, what the heck...I deserve it..

QG48,

As I said before, given how much you like that Willys Aero, you did the right thing by ordering it, no matter the price. My father used to say that the name "Jeep," as first used by the U.S. Army during WWII, came from the initials "GPW," which supposedly stood for "General Purpose Willys." I keep this model on my layout to remind me of him.

MELGAR

MELGAR_21_AUTOS_12_JEEP

 

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Smith's Transfer F700 Mack.

I would say a simple repaint, but not so simple.   

The tractor started off as a 1976 red/white/blue/stars by Tekno from the Mackshop.

The cab will come off and all cab details will come off VERY DELICATELY.

The frame and wheels were hand painted black from factory white as attempting to dissemble the running gear was more trouble than is worth.

Use Testors window glue when reassembling as some press fits don't work on the second try. 

Trailer is a KLine.

Smith's Transfer was an LTL carrier so show was not an important feature on their trucks as the model shows.  Smith's as an independent company sold out to ARA Services in early 1980 and was gone entirely by mid 1987.

 

Smith F700 Mack

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Another car for my used car lot:

4474

Added fog lights

Changed to left hand drive

Painted wheels and hub caps

Changed interior colors (two different shades of Suede Green)

Detailed the grille

Redid the dash using photos of the real instruments (did not come out quite as well as I wanted, but they are better than what was there)

Redid the steering wheel.

All in an effort to make a model of the real thing:

4475

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Last edited by John Sethian

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800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

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