How It’s Made ~ Mauch Farms Service Truck

Here is a simple way to make a great looking service truck that is all diecast and relatively easy to assemble. This truck was sent to me by Mauch Farms to match up to an identical truck I completed a few years ago. My job was assembly.

To start, this truck is a Kenworth W900L day cab. To prepare this truck for the new bed I leveled the frame by removing the fifth wheel plate then grinding down the fifth wheel plate attachment points. Then I removed all accessories such as airlines, fuel tanks, ladders and anything on the frame behind the cab.

The service bed is a wrecker body off a SpecCast 385 Peterbilt wrecker. The bed can be bought separate from various individuals or the whole wrecker can be bought and the body removed.

If a whole Specast 385 wrecker is bought, remove the body from the truck frame by simply drilling out the compressed die cast on the bottom of the truck.  Use a drill bit slightly larger than needed to remove enough metal that the bed will pop off with ease. Remove the mast and related pieces from the body for a clean service body. There are some small diecast parts on top of the now service body deck that I grind off with my Dremel. These are points where the mast attached. By removing these points the deck becomes completely flat. The ground areas I paint to match the bed. This step is optional.

Notice I did not mention anything about stretching the frame. With clever shopping trucks can be bought that do not need to be stretched. To go the “no stretch” route look for a cab that measures                                            from the back of the cab to the end of the frame.

On the bottom side of the service body are additional places to grind.Little tabs that served to guide the bed on the 385 Pete truck frame do  not fit on DCP frames. Grind those off or use a side cutter to remove them. Other diecast parts may need ground off so the body sets level on the new truck. Use styrene or other kind of space to level the body as needed and get the desired space between the tires and fender wells.

Once the spacing and alignment look the desired way, glue it all together.

Moore’s Farm Toys sells a great service bed accessories kit which was sent for this build.  All the accessories in this picture are included however, none are painted (a crane is included but not in this photo). Paint each accessory to the desired color. I used fingernail polish to paint the oxy acetylene cylinders colors I like. The welder has a sticker that can be applied for that detail. At purchase, there is a choice of red or blue stickers. The hose reels can be tricked out a little bit by drilling out the space between the bottom round reel and the flat holder. Small wire can be threaded around the real to make more realistic. All parts can be glued on however one wishes. (Sneaky trick— us old telephone land for the hoses on reels and oxy-acetylene tanks. Strip away the out insulation and 4 small colored wires are inside perfect for modeling purposes)

This build is a great beginner type project. Not overly difficult and can be accomplished with hand tools. The best part is a great model can be made by you.

 

 

 

List of Items with Cost Estimates
DCP Kenworth Cab	45-65
Wrecker Body	15-25
Complete Wrecker (Optional)	25-40
Accessories Kit	26
Range of total cost	96-136
Shipping for purchased items was not factored in