1/50 Cable Bucket Truck

**Texman** · #1 08-24-2023, 09:13 AM

As they were planning a retirement, the coworkers of the retiree mentioned to my wife they
wished they could find a "matchbox" vehicle of a cable truck to decorate with and present him.

So, my wife asked me if I could come up with something. I told her get
me some pictures to work with, and I will see what I can do.

Here is the result.

I started with three different kits from minimodel.sk. Thanks to Kre76, I was guided to
some specific kits, particularly FE3557 and FE3583. I then borrowed the wheel and tires from FE 3582.

Using Inkscape, I re-scaled the parts to 1/50, then re-colored them to the school bus yellow the
corporation was using in 1982. After basic construction of the truck bed/body, I began on the boom and bucket.
The bucket and some attaching hardware were taken direct from the FE3557 kit,
I scratch built the booms, actuators and boom support cradle.

I also added the caution beacons (disco lights to some). Additional scratch built items include the extension ladder,
a red step ladder in the bed, two cable reels and a water cooler. The last thing was the scratch built mirrors on the door.
I used a liquid chrome pen to paint the mirrors. I can highly recommend this pen if you
need a chrome appearance, even on paper. I was impressed with it. All done according to reference photos.

The final item, was a custom designed base, using the corporation logo, with the retirees specific dates, etc.

Thanks for your time.