RPM 1/72
Mack AC 'Bulldog' Truck Type HC3

Background

The Mack truck was one of the mainstays in early motorized transportation. The Mack AC Bulldog series were workhorses with serious hauling capacity that second only to ships and railroad transportation of the day.

During WWI, the Mack truck was pressed into military service, and variants of the truck were used for everything from tank hauler to supply truck. The HC3 was a three-ton capacity vehicle!

One of the unique features of the Mack trucks of the day was their chain drive that transfered power from the transmission to the rear wheels. The transmissions of these trucks weren't attached to the rear of the engine as with today's powertrains, and the rear differential was not yet available. Instead, the transmission was attached to the engine flywheel via a drive shaft, and the transmission itself resembled a differential. At the end of the power shafts from the differential were sprockets and larger sprockets were on the inside of the rear wheels. Over these sprockets were what looks like oversized bicycle chain.

The Kit

This RPM kit represents the model HC3 cargo truck, that looks in many ways much like the cargo trucks of WW2 and today.

Molded in light gray styrene, the kit features nice detailing of the cab, chassis, drive train, and cargo bed. Even the four-cylinder engine is nicely represented.

Because the kit is so detailed, care will be required to ensure that all of the parts fit together properly after the various detail parts are installed. Remember to dry-fit often before gluing.

Markings are provided for several US Army Engineer vehicles, including a rolling blacksmith.

Painting is straightforward with an overall coat of olive drab, but with these trucks being the work horses they were designed to be, you can have a field day with weathering and wearing these trucks, especially those that were moved over to Europe.

Conclusions

This is a nice looking kit and opens all sorts of possibilities for WW1 era dioramas. For those of you who build larger scales take heart. These Mack trucks will be released in 1/35 scale sometime in the summer.

Here is a link to the kit at Squadron's website.

My sincere thanks to Squadron Mail Order for this review sample.