Rat Rod Wrecker Rigs- The Series (?)
Way back in 2010, I decided to have a little fun and get rid of some spare parts at the same time. The result of that was the '53 Ford Rat Rod Wrecker Rig. About forty different kits provided parts, and there were tons of scratch built and cast-off pieces added for flavor. Even a Lindberg 1:48 scale street car coughed up a lever for use as the truck's automatic shifter! The simple version is that it's a Monogram F350 chassis and drive train, with a '53 Ford "flip nose" cab, and a Lindberg '34 Ford wrecker boom as the main ingredients, with the aforementioned spare parts.
Then, and now, it was one of my favorite models, because every time I looked at it it made me smile. It's just such a ridiculous looking thing I found it amusing. I'm guessing something similar could be done in 1:1 scale, and I've seen a few that are pretty close, but overall this was just one of those "it's a model, screw it, I don't need to worry about the practicality of real-world vehicle design this one time" kind of diversions.
Fast forward about one year. I had gotten bored with a few of the model's features, had second thoughts about some others, and after the model sustained some light damage on the way back from a show, I decided to do a light refresh.
Originally the hook was just tucked under the rear of the body, so I made a sling to attach to the back. I added a Mr. Gasket scoop to the engine, and removed the front spoke wheels (taken from a 1:32 scale Mack pumper) and replaced them with the wheels and tires from a Revell "Rat Rods" series kit- I used the taller, wider rear tires. These were capped off with '49 Ford hubcaps. Since I now had wide whites on the front, I carefully popped off the outboard rear tires (AMT Goodyear semi tires) and used acrylic white to give them a wide-white look as well. And that's where the model stood until 2017, when I decided to dust it off and give it a few more updates...
I retained many of the original and 2011 elements, but replaced the scoop with a weathered air cleaner taken from a Moebius comet. I also added turn signals from an AMT big rig clear amber sprue, and a couple of cab clearance lights taken from a Ford Louisville. The headers are the same ones it's always had, but I flipped them so they'd point down.
I thought of adding a larger light bar, but the old gumball has looked good for almost a decade, so it'll stay for now. You can also see the bullet gas cap- originally I just had a rag stuffed into it. You can also see the sling, which was added during the 2011 refresh.
Around the back you can see the mud flaps... there's a Ford flap on the driver's side and a Fruehauf flap on the passenger's side. The model might still undergo a few changes over the years to follow, but it's still one of my favorites of all the models I've done over the last thirty years.
A few months after finishing the most recent refresh on this one, I was already kicking around the idea of another. I imagined yanking the crusty old 460 engine out of it and replacing it with the Cat V8 diesel from one of the old AMT Ford Louisville kits. I even had one mostly built up with a scratchbuilt scoop, but the more I thought about it, the more ideas I got, and eventually I just decided to do a completely new model. Enter the 1969 version!
Once again, I wanted the model to be based around an old Ford and built mostly using stuff I had laying around. The Cat diesel was mostly complete by the time construction began, it was set up into a junk AMT F-350 chassis, which was modified to accept axles from a Ford Louisville at both ends. The wheels and tires came from a Ford C-600.
Some time ago I bought a Moebius '69 F-100 for parts, so I used the cab from that. I added clearance lights and an air horn to the roof and made my own side mirrors, to make the cab look like it came from a medium-duty F-Series. As a callback to the first one, this was also lettered as having belonged to a salvage yard at one point. This one originally belonged to the county road commission- their logos have begun to reappear over a hastily-applied orange respray done by the Old Town guys.
A wooden push bumper was raided from the parts box, and capped off with lights from a Revell '29 Model A. The grille fits over the Louisville radiator, and was made using sections of the F-100 hood. I had originally intended to do a blocky "industrial" style grille like I did on the '53, but I hit upon the idea of reshaping the F-100 hood and went with it.
Along the sides you can more clearly make out the scoop on the engine. The headers are resin dragster pieces from Replicas and Miniatures Company of Marlyland, which I settled upon after deciding I did not want to use stacks. You can also see the Louisville steering box. A piece of tread plate was cut to shape to cover the door hinges, and I added a gas can and fire extinguisher behind the cab. The cab itself sat flat during test fits, but the back end didn't want to settle all the way during final assembly, so I left it like that. That's the beauty of a project where you're just having fun and you don't need everyting to be exact!
Inside the cab, I modified the gauge cluster to more closely resemble one found in a medium duty F-Series, and used a pair of bucket seats from an AMT Louisville kit, along with a steering wheel and column from that kit. I made a smiley face antenna topper for the CB antenna, which was attached to the top of the driver's side mirror. Also, as a callback to the '53, I added an amber gumball flasher to the roof.
And now, we have the business end. The wrecker boom and it's related components are from the MPC Datsun Monster Truck, I just added a few details here and there. I also extended the frame the sling attaches to at the bumper, added bullet tail lights, and used a resin hook from KFS on the boom. Four batteries were also added, they're resin pieces from Accu-Pro. The paint is mostly Testors Orange Sherbert, though the orange used to spray over the old Road Commission logos was Floquil Reefer Orange. The rest of the model is mostly "rust"... Krylon Rust Tough flat black, covered with a few mist coats of Duplicolor "Rust" sandable primer. Various black and rusty washes, along with a few touches of Tamiya Hull Red, round out the rest of the finish. Or un-finish, if you want to look at it that way.
The '53 is still one of may all-time favorite projects, even though it's changed a bit over the decade since it's been "finished". And like I said, it may get a few more tweaks as time goes on. And what about the '69? I'm pleased with that one as well, and at this point I don't see it going through too many more changes later. But who knows? I don't think I thought the '53 needed any tweaks after I originally built it, but here we are.
The thing is, while building the '69 and reworking the '53, I got even more ideas for a wild ratty wrecker project. Both evolutions of ideas I used on these two, ideas I couldn't or didn't want to use on them, and more. So maybe at some point the '53 and '69 will be joined by a third sister. Time will tell...
