Whiskymack

I think my picture must have been misleading. It's the large cylinder I was interseted in and you can just see the edge of it in your picture. Most of the pictures of U models I have seen seem to have it. Also, here's a picture of my completed cab. Thanks for all the replies, serious and humorous.

http://surulere-lagos.olx.com.ng/tokunbo-mack-r-model-truck-head-iid-477495886 Stumbled across this site. It's in Lagos. There can't be that many Western R models that made it this far!

Can anyone tell me what the large frame mounted cylinder located just behind the radiator on the passenger side is? a lot of U models seem to have this so I've included it in the 1:25 scale model I'm building but I don't know what it is or what it should connect to.

Congratulations Trent!

The green one looks like a 600 model. I think the shutters are behind the mesh grill. Check out this!

Too little time and too many interests! 1:25, wheels are ERTL but made narrower to take AMT 10 by 20.00 tyres.

Thanks. I think Vinny would win! I didn't have a DM cab, only the hood because it's mostly from the spares box.

I think you're right. Never seen a U model here but have seen a DM600 at a show. They'd have to offset the cab to the other side! The model has an AMT Junkyard dog R model frame and an ERTL DM600 hood. I had no cab so ended up scratchbuilding one.

Finally got a couple of pics of my U model project but it's far from finished. Your full size progress pics have provided me with great reference especially for all those tricky hidden bits! Keep em coming!

Fantastic work Sergey. The amount of detail going into that build is amazing. If you follow the link in Lmackattack's post you can see my Duck build but I certainly didn't put in all the detail that you have! Keep us posted with updates!

I have seen one or two at shows in the past but i don't think there are many around now. There were Right hand drive ones as well which i think were assembled in Ireland. There were more about in the 70's and eighties but now there are few interesting trucks, just lots of Volvos, Scanias and Dafs!

Hi Vlad, I build truck models, especiallly Macks. Unless you want to get into a whole lot of scratchbuilding I think your best bet would be to try and get hold of an AMT R model kit. The scale is slightly smaller at 1:25 but you could adapt it to suit. With many of the smaller components, the difference would be so slight as to be unoticeable but you might have to increase the wheel track and perhaps the camel back axle spread. The engine would also come out undersized as would the wheels and tyres but you could also get an Italeri kit and use the wheels and tyres and even the cummins motor as this would have been an option in the real truck although if you are a purist you would want the Mack motor. You can often find yourself needing more than one donor kit to get all the parts you need! I have made a set of camel back springs for a 1:24 RS700L model I am working on and I have also done resin castings of the axle gear cases from the AMT kit which I have mounted on italeri axles to create lookalike Mack axles to get over some of the scale difficulties. The springs are laser cut acrylic and I could easily knock out another pair for you if you are interested. I agree with your observations regarding the shape of the cab. The cab sides above the 'waist' slope in too much for my liking. I'm scratchbuilding my own F series cab to do a Western F model (If I ever get that far!) Follow this link for a Cummins powered F model on Ebay recently. Greart for reference pics. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1965-MACK-F-700-CABOVER-/261108197676?pt=Commercial_Trucks&hash=item3ccb42e92c Let me know if I can help. Alastair

I agree with some of what you say. It's a pity there aren't more down to earth trucker movies but I still think Convoy has its moments, like that opening sequence when the Mack first appears topping the hill in Whitesands and it is one of those films I can watch again and again. I still think it's better than many of the other offerings of the time like Smokey and the Bandit, White line Fever etc. and it came from a Director known for some good movies like the Wild Bunch and the Getaway. For all its oddities I do like Moonfire as well as it does touch on the everyday lives of Truckers and it has some great footage of those Macks crossing desserts etc. One I really like is Deadhead Miles with a very young Allan Arkin. A very strange movie but somehow likeable all the same. I just wish there were more to choose from because the truck movie craze was pretty short lived. Not even sure if I could do a top 10!

Yep, I'm slow!

Vinny Many thanks for those pics. They help to explain a lot. I'll post some in progress shots because it's going to take me a while to get it finished. I tend to average several years on each build because I usually have more than one model on the go and not enough time! Alastair

Mack by John B. Montville is my Mack bible. There are lots of photos and the 2nd edition goes to 1979 and seems to cover all US output. There's a little bit on Australia. Alastair

Vinny, Been following your progress. It's really looking great! I'm in awe of the amount of hard work and patience it must take to do a project like yours. I'm working on a 1:25 scale U model which is about as big as I can handle! I'd like to get a look at the passenger side cab mount and the splash guard that goes in there. Could you post a picture? It would be a great help. Alastair

It's a shame too see you go. Thanks for all your info on Western R models. Hope you visit from time to time. Alastair

BULLHUSK, Mark, Thanks for the info. I'm searching for a colour scheme for a model. I also found a picture on Hanks Truck Pictures of a Tucker Freight Lines U. http://www.hankstruckpictures.com/pix/trucks/donq/tucker_freight_lines_mack_u_model.jpg Wondered if anyone knows anything about this outfit. Seems like they went out of business a long time ago. Alastair

Just wondered if anyone knows the answer to the above? I've seen plenty of pictures of great looking R models in Matlack green but not a single U. I think they'd have looked pretty smart in Matlack colours. Alastair

I just took alook at your models. Fantastic work and a great collection of Macks. I especially liked the yellow one on the first page. Looks like it started life as a DM800 but it has the centred R cab. Does this make it an R800 or an RD800 or am I wrong on both counts? Alastair

I just took alook at your models. Fantastic work and a great collection of Macks. I especially liked the yellow one on the first page. Looks like it started life as a DM800 but it has the centred R cab. Does this make it an R800 or an RD800 or am I wrong on both counts? Alastair

Would the RS series use the same aluminum crossmember? I always assumed the only difference between RL and RS was the frame rails being ali or steel but that standard crossmembers could be specified as either ali or steel on both models with castings such as motor or radiator mounts being aluminium on both. Alastair

Rob, That would be really great if you could get some photos. It would be really appreciated as it is so hard to find reference material on these trucks. I'm guessing what looks like the crossmember behind holds the front end of the motor? Many Thanks, Alastair

Rob That is a terrific looking 'Western' and looks to be in beautiful condition. You took some great pictures of it too. I love the RL/RS700 Macks and would argue that they are the best looking trucks Mack ever made. I doubt I'll ever own one myself but I made a scale model of one (the Rubber Duck ) and I'm working on another one on and off now. I like to get things accurate and I got a lot of assistance from Lmackattack in the way of photo's. I don't think any Western R's in have found their way over to the UK so these photo's were pretty much my primary reference. I've noticed that some of the higher horsepower models like the 797 had a taller radiator and I can't work out how it mounts into the frame. In a couple of your shots it looks as though there may be a crossmember directly behind it so I wonder if that's what holds it in? The 6 cylinder models had a shorter radiator that sat on top of a crossmember that spanned the front spring hangers which is what I replicated in my duck model. I'd appreciate if you could explain how the taller radiator is mounted. Congratulations on a great aquisition and I think it's a nice idea to keep it as it is in memory of it's previous owner. Alastair