Here are a dozen pictures of me climbing all over a old Champion 100T Grader down in the coal mines of Va. I loved this monster grader and just had to build a cool model of one. There are also a dozen pictures too of me building the model similar to it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVdxP4zK1DA
Outstanding :notworthy Great job on the scale 100 T:drinkup
Very nice work:notworthy:drinkup:usa
Thanks , Building steel models of these heavy equipment machines is great fun . I got a list of 100 more machines I would love to build models of someday .
Remarkable talent that you have. Very nice work!
Thanks, It is my love for machinery that keeps me going building the models that resemble the real equipment.
All I can say is WOW! This is one of the best models I have ever seen. I wish you could teach that kind of patience and craftsmanship. If you ever decide to set a price and sell your model I would be interested. I'd also be interested in you building a model of our new C110 grader.
Hi Bryan, Thanks for the kind words . I'm sorry that model was already sold to a collector. But we could sure make you one special of a C110 . I made two Champion graders , here is a couple pictures.
Here is a couple pictures of the Champion T-100 I built too.
I would seriously like to discuss being one of your next projects. I could provide as many engineering drawings and/or pictures as you need. Here is a quick link to the C110 micro site: http://www.championmotorgraders.us/C110/index.html When you get a chance drop me an email at [email protected] Thanks, Bryan
Hi Bryan, My one of a kind, hand built all steel welded and bolted models are pretty pricy !! The large Champion 100Tgrader sold for $4,000.00 and the smaller one sold for 3,000.00 . Usually once people find the high cost , they cannot justify spending that much . And I completely understand. So this will let you know up front if you want to pass on pursuing the project any further. Whatever you decide will be fine and thanks for being interested .
Where do you get your decal sets Don?
I putter on the computer and make them.
Well thats probably a fair price considering the amount of work. Add the fact that I don't have the patience to do it myself. I'm not going to say no, but I can't exactly say yes either. I'll be in touch when I can justify it a little easier. I would love to have one to take to trade shows with me.
Hi Bryan, I sure understand your reply, thanks for being understanding. I used to sell my models for almost half that price, but I was swamped with orders and could never get caught up for the last 13 years. So I slowly raised the prices and the orders slowed down but I still can not get caught up. You should just give it a try yourself. Just make patterns out of posterboard and then trace them onto 18 ga. sheetmetal. I'll be glad to give you helpful tips as you go.
Don, I would never claim to be a fabricator, I'm more of a piddler. I know I do not have the patience to do work like this. I'm very impressed with your talent. This must be enjoyable for you. I hope it continues to be that, as well as relaxing. I'd enjoy hearing your story about how you got started doing this. Thank you very much for sharing, My comments cannot do your work justice. :usa
Thanks Richard for the kind words. I am still embarrassed to show anyone my first model , it sits hidden on a shelf way out of sight. So I always encourage others to give toy building a try. What got me started was I could not afford to buy that toy that I wanted real bad , so I tried making it myself. It was a complete failure !! But that toy building attempt was the very beginning of my toy building hobby. Doesn't matter what we make the toys out of, paper , plastic, tin, or sheet metal, what matters is we have fun doing it and sharing the fun with others. I have recieved over 50 e-mails from people all over the world saying I inspired them to try building toys and they have all built one or two toys themselves. So that makes me feel pretty good inside.