Built by: Mike L. Scott 

This model started out as a 1-16th scale 50's era tow truck die cast. I disassembled it and cut it up so that only the bed remained. The tires and rims are from another vehicle; these, the tires and the modified truck bed, are the only intact donated parts.

I bought a lot of 1-16th scale cars and trucks looking for pieces I could use on these projects! Most of it proved unsuitable.

Most of the body is scratch-built from sheet styrene and plastic filler. I stretched the frame to allow the longer wheel base and added the hinge that tilts the cab forward. The body was eye-balled to match the 3 qtr front shot seen so frequently in the early 70's.

Much of the lift mechanism is cut apart from the donor truck. The large chrome structure that supports the pulleys is cut from aluminum, bent into shape, and then polished. All the tubing that makes up the railing, exhaust pipes, and tow-bars are also aluminum.

The side saddle tanks are cast from a scratch pattern, molded, and then covered in foil. I decided to do the earlier interior version because it's better designed to show off the engine. The interior detail is steel epoxy that has been painted and flocked to match the vintage pictures. The engine is a 50's Hemi, which is close to the original show car. The brass oil bath was created from a metal rod and the stacks are cut chrome wood screws. The front grill is a bit of brass perforated sheet metal and the head lights came from my "parts of unknown origin" parts box.

I made a Photoshop set of stencils; these were printed for me by a friend. Unfortunately, they were printed without a white backing, I'm new at this, and the printed decals proved to be almost unusable, so I repainted them by hand in lacquer then used as a regular water slide decal.

The whole pattern was sprayed with a PPG surfacer, wet sanded, and then primed with a silver base coat. Over that, I sprayed a house of color (candy apple red), sanded out to 5000 grit, then polished .

It's been a goal of mine to build a few show rods that have never been released. 

If you think this is cool, wait until you see what's coming next!