The M972 Flatbed Truck w/ Excavator

[tiking]

This is a build I have been working on for some time now. It's a heavy modification of the M915 kit from Trumpeter. As always, I decided to spice things up a bit. I wanted to do something different. So, I kit-bashed the trailer and tractor to bring forth this combo unit. As far as I know this truck version does not exist. But it could have been plausible. The name came about by using the first number of the M915 and the 2 last digits of the M872 trailer. Hence, M972, which is a combination of both.
The Hitachi excavator is from Hasegawa which I built as a burnt out model. The idea came from the pic I found while searching the web. Lots of pics. Hope you like the results.



























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This is the excavator that inspired my version:

[OWhite3]

fantastic kitbash and I love the realism you provided

[Kjenjak]

This specific truck might not exist, but it definitely looks awesome!

[tiking]

Originally Posted by Kjenjak

This specific truck might not exist, but it definitely looks awesome!

Thank you.

[model freak]

Awesome!

[tiking]

Thanks for looking.

[Hemi Killer]

Mind Blowing, absolutely incredible.

I would love a tutorial on this type of weathering. If there are any out there, can someone point me to them?

[tiking]

Originally Posted by Hemi Killer

Mind Blowing, absolutely incredible.

I would love a tutorial on this type of weathering. If there are any out there, can someone point me to them?

thank you kindly. This type of weathering is a combination of so many different methods. But here are a few links where you can get some amazing inspiration:

1. https://youtu.be/E0f1MVUb5TA

2. https://youtu.be/yDMtTIQCgBY

3. https://youtu.be/aNBeRdi_cf8

4. https://youtu.be/VAxegdRdebk

5. This is one of the best: https://youtu.be/y0r2v0odqu4

[lemansnut]

Always love seeing your builds, very imaginative and amazingly real. You have a keen eye for getting the weathering just right. Another outstanding creation!

Mike

[tiking]

Originally Posted by lemansnut

Always love seeing your builds, very imaginative and amazingly real. You have a keen eye for getting the weathering just right. Another outstanding creation!

Mike

Thank you Mike. Kind of you.

[Johan_SWE]

Amazing work!
The weathering is just spot on.

[tiking]

Originally Posted by Johan_SWE

Amazing work!
The weathering is just spot on.

Thank you kindly. Much appreciated.

[Martini Man]

nice build, that weathering is amazing. thanks for sharing this.

Paul

[tiking]

Thank you Paul. Glad you approve.

[Palle]

Wow! This was just mind-blowing! Congrats to a wonderful build model.
I always try to build my models very glossy, with a mirror-like surface. But this is absolutely awesome. Well done!
Looking forward to see more from your work.

Regards,

//Paul