After a (too long) pause in the hobby, due to moving houses and other priorities, I have started a new project; a 1/35 Caterpillar SIXTY.
Some time ago I received some pictures of older logging equipment and among them were pictures of a tractor pulling a " logging arch" on tracks (don't know if thats the right name ::) ).
Having seen that picture, the idea of building a tractor with such an arch came high on the wish-list.
At first I intended to use a D7 kit by Resicast since I build one of those before.
Reading about John T excellent build of his S-65 triggered the idea again and so I bought a Trumpeter kit and also ordered the LZ models conversion for the Caterpillar 60. This was just the "excuse" to get started again ;D
The idea is to at first build the Caterpillar and build the arch and possibly a diorama later. This is also necessary because apart from the few pictures I need to find more information on the arches in order to scratch one. So if anyone has some information on those, I would be very interested !!
Back to the Cat .... I think the Trumpeter kit has been mentioned some times here so I will not comment further on that.
The conversion by LZ Models is excellent. The kit is very extensive and it replaces a lot (and I mean a LOT) of the original kit parts. Basically only the running gear and the tracks of the kit remain ! Gearbox, engine, frame, radiator etc everything is replaced by the conversion parts !! And that for only € 35,= :o
In short I can highly recommend this kit.
If you would like to have a better impression of the kit simply go to the website http://www.lzmodels.wbs.cz/ (http://www.lzmodels.wbs.cz/) and download the instructions.
I have only just started so no pictures yet but as soon as I have something to show I will post them here.
Cheers,
Marc
PS I have found a limited number of pictures of the engine on the web, so if anyone here has some pictures of the engine, those would be very welcome.
Try a search on Flickr...bet you find something there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rO-ocE4-h8
Caterpillar Sixty Photo Archive from Iconografix has around 135 photos of the Caterpillar sixty at work.
Gordon Birrell
http://www.flickr.com/photos/77318580@N00/
Here is a Sixty for ya.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63GqeB_UpH8&feature=related
Marc,
Here is a picture I found on the net a couple years ago when I was searching for information on a build.
I like this picture because it is the only one I found that was painted in close to the correct color for the early sixty's.
(https://www.finescalerr.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffreightsheds.largescalecentral.com%2Fusers%2Frick_marty%2F_forumfiles%2Fcatsixty%2Fsixty1.jpg&hash=5564569c9d7086d0711b9cef7588542962ebf40d)
Here is one of the Sixty's I built in 1:20 scale
(https://www.finescalerr.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffreightsheds.largescalecentral.com%2Fusers%2Frick_marty%2F_forumfiles%2Fcatsixty%2Fsixty2.jpg&hash=a7f9d05842f9af9adb2f2d3b1c6cab2b9d6f6448)
The tracked arch is a direct evolution of the "Big Wheels" and was developed after the introduction of "Cats" to the Western logging forest. I have a bunch of pictures around here somewhere of a couple different arches that I had measured up for future projects. If your interested and can find a copy of the book "ENDLESS TRACKS IN THE WOODS" by James Young and Jerry Budy it is a valuable resource for information on logging equipment.
Looking forward to your project
Rick
Thank you for all the replies.
@Rick; if you were to find any information on the arches, I would be very interested.
The project is kicked off ;D
I hope the pictures will give an impression of the quality. Note the share of original kit parts vs conversion kit parts. ;)