The model represents a 1936 International Harvester F-20 Farmall tractor as it would have appeared in 1944, after years of hard work and exposure to the elements. It is built to 1/9 scale, making the tractor about 13" long from crank to hitch, and is built entirely from scratch, primarily of styrene plastic, with no kit, found or commercial parts used in any way. Each nut, bolt, screw, cotter pin, spring and everything else was created for this model. Decals are custom, inkjet printed and set in the same typefaces as the originals.
No plans were available, so all working drawings had to be researched and drafted from photos, parts diagrams and written descriptions. The drawings were started in 2008, the model started in 2010 and completed just in time for the International Plastic Modelers Society National Convention in 2013, where it won the George Lee Judges' Grand Award (Best in Show) out of a field of 2,500 models.
Photos by John Meyer
I call this model semi-autobiographical-- the desk is built from what I remember of the one my mother owned, and the models are all ones that I built around that time, but no model-building was EVER done on that desk. The model is built to 1/5 scale, with the desk about 9" by 4" and 6" high, and all pieces built entirely from scratch. Parts from the actual old models were reduced on an office copier so they could be carved from blocks of styrene plastic, then silicone molds were made from the carved parts to cast the resin parts that make up the airplanes. Reduced color copies were used to recreate the kit boxes and the formica pattern of the desk top. The skeleton of the stick-and-paper airplane on the floor was built from thinned basswood.
Photos by John Meyer
My first completely scratchbuilt model, about 23" long not including the overhang of the gun. The 1/9 scale was chosen because of the availability of some detail parts, but once construction was under way, their shape and level of detail was found to be inadequate, so they were replaced with scratchbuilt parts. This set the standard for the projects that would follow. I had also decided that as continued research revealed errors, the inaccurate parts would be replaced.
Construction is mainly styrene plastic with plexiglas used in some places for rigidity and strength. The prisms in the episcopes surrounding the commander's hatch were made from mirrored plexiglas and function as working periscopes. Many detail parts were cast in a variety of casting materials depending on the strength and number of reproductions required. The figure of the gunner was carved from blocks of Durham's Water Putty, the same material that made the convincing mud coating the wheels and tracks.
Construction of the model ended up taking over 12 years, but was completed the night before my departure to the International Plastic Modelers Society 1992 National Convention. It received several awards including the very first George Lee Judges' Grand Award (Best of Show).
Photos by John Meyer
