Hack the Mack - DM600 to Something Else

As some of you might know already, I love cutting up styrene (plastic). Some "newer" modelers may be too scared to start cutting things up that they will need for their model kits, but the seasoned modeler has no fear! I've been building models since the age of 5. I've built a lot of the SAME KITS over & over; some because they were all that was available at the time, and others because they were cheap, like on clearance sales,,, yet still others just because I loved them kits so much. Either matter, each time I do build the 'same old kit', I'd like to change it up just a bit, sometimes to the extreme.

This Mack, model DM600 by MPC

was originally by General foods fun group, and also produced under the Ertl name) was recently re-released by the company called "Round2". I changed it to be a long-nosed hood, with the engine not into the cab. This is an animation made from the assistant in G+ (yes very crude! But kinda cool)

I would eventually love to share the techniques I use to do the things I do with newer builders, and share ideas with the the older, more mature (seasoned) builders, learning tips and tricks from them as well. They say a picture is worth a thousand words,,, but words are also nice to have with the pics, when something as strange as the GIF image I posted here pops up on a screen, no?

Although I am not a huge fan of their customer relations style (or more like lack there of), I am most appreciative to them for bringing back some of these old model kits again, that had gone "extinct" so many years ago. It was the 70's & early 80's when the big-rig lines of models had practically ended production of anything, and even though some came back out here n there, you had to be Johny on the spot to get them before they went "out of production" again. So most of these old classic trucks were a thing of envy for me and were always on my WANT list. The past few years have been like I'm reliving my childhood again, now as an "adult modeler".

I released I have gained the talent to be PATIENT and not to rush a build, and the talent to use the tools we have to the best of our ability... mostly I just like seeing how much I can change them around and make something totally different from what's available. I would like to encourage the newer "talent" out there to try cutting some stuff up, and trying different things. Don't be afraid to get creative, but I urge you to keep it realistic. Realism is one thing, but the realism I mean is "practicalness" and "usefulness" as in; someone somewhere just may have built a real one of these once... in other words, not something too whacked or stupid-looking and looks like a "Funny ..."

First step is to cut the grill out:

Then cut the fenders off:

Then, if you have some "diamond plate" laying around, you could cut the top of the fenders out and replace the flat top with it, like this:

...and then (after a little filing & sanding) it can be glued into place like this:

The Mack kit comes with a chrome bumper and non-chrome one. I'm using the non-chrome one because it's going to be a work truck and not a show truck. It was made for a not-set back axle, and the angles on the ends didn't go back far enough, and besides I wanted to put a wench in the middle, so I cut it in half, and re-glued it backwards; this created more length on the outer ends on the angled section (going back to the fenders)... does that make sense? Maybe the pictures will help.

See the different on the ends? They go back farther, and the holes are on the outer sections now.

Here's another couple pics before I mounted a spacer between the bumper halves:

This pic shows the spacer I added to the back side to make the bumper one piece again, and that section in the middle will be used to mount the winch.

As for the radiator being pushed out, I needed something to fill in the sides.

I had a few pieces of this (fake) diamond plate from a cement truck model.

But before I can figure out where to cut it, i will need to build my brace around my core support (radiator/grill).

I am using what was to be used as a frame spacer for a Ford box truck model, or was it from the stake truck??? Who knows; good thing is we have something free to use.

I save everything I don't use on my builds so I will have all sorts of options when I go to scratch building assemblies like these.

The outside of the frame rail will set against the edge of the hood front panel.

First cut one end off.

This removes the upper shape because I did not want it to be boxed in.

(I will use that part for something else)

Then cut it to length.

Then do any modifications you want to it before gluing them together.

(I cut my ends at an angle near the top because it was un-needed strength and it blends into the shape of the hood body this way)

This will spread the front end out slightly, as the support brackets take up a little room.

This is OK because wider is better, right?

For the inner fenders, I used the ones that come in the kit almost as if they were made for this.

As for the side walls, now you can start shaping something in...

I was un-happy with the square 'holes' at first but then It seemed to give it more character this way.

Then when you're ready, glue them together, one side at a time.

Try to use a block or something to help keep things square and true.

See How I use the block to support the work while I glue it?

And there you have the front end (so far)

Use the cab to help with lining up the fenders while gluing & drying.

Here I am trying to find material to use for the long hood panels.

(This piece to the right is from the Ford Louisville race car hauler kit. I am making a custom trailer with two of those kits and have some "extra" diamond plate material! )

This is what I came up with out of the panels:

This pieces I used were from the Ford Louisville race car hauler kit. I am making a custom trailer with two of those kits and have some "extra" diamond plate material!