MINI BIG RIGS
Dobbsy’s Blue Thunder in 1:50th scale, on its pilgrimage to Churchill’s Head, the location of the famous Truckin’ Life Rig of the Year poster, 1987. Photo: Craig McCauley. Insert: A timewarp back to 1987, with Blue Thunder in all its glory sitting at Churchill’s Head.
DOBBSY REVISITS CHURCHILL’S HEAD
It was a text from our editorial director, Dave McCoid, a few weeks ago that initiated the resuming of works on Dobbsy’s Blue Thunder. The deal was that McCoid and a few good Some images and photos leave lasting impressions, stir emotion mates were about to head to and even evoke pilgrimages. The 1987 Truckin’ Life magazine Rig the red centre of Australia to chase roadtrains, and they of the Year poster was one such image. were planning to visit the very site where the famous Rig of Story by Carl Kirkbeck Photos by Carl Kirkbeck and Craig McCauley the Year poster was snapped n the February 2021 issue Replicas Northern Territory back in 1987. The lads the heavy construction and of New Zealand Trucking Freight Services (NTFS) mooted the idea to me: How applied the topcoats of paint. magazine, during one of company Mack Super-Liner cool would it be to finish the All we needed to add was the Covid-19 lockdowns, I into a representation of Blue model, take it to that location the NTFS blue to the cab, wrote an article about model Thunder, the Super-Liner and recreate the poster photo sleeper and bonnet assembly trucking on a budget. We owner-driver and Kiwi expat, in 1:50th scale?’ Mission and to manufacture a set of featured a project I had on the late Neville Dobbs, ran on accepted. oversized exhaust stacks and the go and the processes contract between Adelaide The first task was to a pair of Hadley air horns. associated with working and Darwin in the late 1980s. apply the NTFS blue with It’s fair to say that after the with a diecast model. It By the end of that article, an airbrush, then the orange article, all of this went on the involved heavily modifying the model was mostly pinstripe. Had there been back burner, and the project Low Loader a 1:50th scale Highway complete. We had finished time, I would have stalled.1/50 KW C509 & Drake 2x8 & 5x8more “Centurion” at $649.50 Special Combo Deal!
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