# Dodge WC58 Radio Truck



## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

I recently dropped by one of my local hobby shops and noticed an Italeri (ex-Max) Dodge WC56 Command Car for $10.00, with a notice that it was missing the windshield. I asked the clerk if he could open it so I could check whether it was merely the clear "glass" or the whole windshield frame that was missing. Turns out it was just the clear part, so I bought it. This was one of the Max moulds that Italeri had refurbished, so the parts were crisply moulded with no blemishes and little flash. Of course, being a 50-year-old tool, fit is sometimes iffy, but Max was way ahead of its time in detail. The instructions noted that radio-equipped cars were designated the WC58, so I did a Google imae search and quickly determined that the radio I needed was the same as a spare I had left over from an Asuka (Taska) Sherman re-boxed by Tamiya. Add a spare radio handset I had and given the fact that several pictures showed the same antenna mount supplied and I was off to the races. Radio trucks rarely had the winch, so I chose the solid bumper and the lowered canvas tilt to better show off the radio. I had spare windshield wipers from an Academy M151A1 "jeep" and a bit of clear 10-thou sheet and Italeri jerry cans and the rest is a WiP!


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## StarCruiser (Sep 28, 1999)

Yes - a lot of those old kits still stand up well. They may not have the "finesse" (or unneeded complexity) of some newer kits but, when built properly, look just as good.


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## rickc5 (Feb 3, 2013)

Plus, those old Max/Italeri/Bilek kits are about the only WWII Dodge trucks available, except for a couple from AFV Club. The ambulances can fetch a nice price on eBay.

We need to see photos of your Dodge.


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## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

I also have an old Max M3 White Scout Car reboxed by Zvezda which never got the refurbishment when Italeri owned the moulds and it shows it. There are a lot of surface artefacts from fine scratches all over the flat surfaces and rust pitting. Speaking of complexity, though, it has a lot of two-part universal joints, unnecessarily. Still a nice buildable kit, though, but needs some massaging. I'll post pics of the Dodge when I get more progress done.


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## StarCruiser (Sep 28, 1999)

^ Had an early one of those that looked quite clean. Don't have it anymore though, long gone...


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## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

Well, I got the basic assembly done in two subassemblies - the body and the chassis, but when I test-fitted them together, the rear suspension was about 3mm (1/8") too far back, so I took the body off - I won't glue it on until I get the base-coat on and the tires painted - and disassembled the rear springs from the frame. I'm test-fitting the chassis to the body to position the suspension so the tires are centred in the wheel wells. Sorry, the batteries in my camera are dead, so no pics yet.

At any rate, when I got around to assembling the details, some parts had gone walkabout, even though I kept the model parts in a plastic bin, but they were incidental parts, easily replicated - the stickshift, the 4wd shift lever, the gas filler spout and the towing pintle. the filler spout was replaced with a length of 1/16" styrene rod topped with part of a German stick grenade for a cap, the shift levers with thin styrene rod (.015" or .020"), and the pintle with the tow hook from a Tamiya Universal Carrier (think of it as a field modification). The Academy M151A1 windshield wipers look great.

All in all a very enjoyable model to build and I think it'll look good when it's done. I can't spray paint here as I'm in a nursing home, so painting will have to wait until I go out to my friend Bill's to use his spray booth. I'm going to use Tamiya's TS-28 Olive Drab 2 and hand-paint the details and driver figure with custom mixed craft acrylics. The kit decals are very nice Cartograf ones, so I'll use them.


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## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

The suspension has now been moved 2.5mm forward and when the body is placed on the chassis, it looks great! More to come.


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## Owen E Oulton (Jan 6, 2012)

Tried new batteries, but it seems my camera is kaput. Oh well, have to wait on my Trillium rebate.


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## fluke (Feb 27, 2001)

Sorry about your camera Post pics asap I'd like to see your progress sounds like a interesting build.


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